South Africans Abroad (SAFFAs) Abandoned By ANC Regime! Some Even Stuck in Foreign Jails, Unable To Get Documents From SA Embassies or Home Affairs!

When perusing the many online groups for communities of South Africans abroad, it soon becomes clear that the one single biggest problem for SA Expats (SAFFAs), or just those visiting or  travelling abroad, is getting Documentation or Identification from SA Embassies (DIRCO) or even Home Affairs back home! In many cases this documentation is vital in order to travel or remain legally abroad. Yes, we all know, and joke, that South Africa is now a barely functioning failed state, but to be told in an official communication by an SA Embassy, that you would have to wait up to THREE YEARS for a birth certificate, is, to put it bluntly, criminal! The Embassy even went so far as to recommend asking family back home to do it for you! Remind us again why we have a “government” and pay taxes?

It is hard enough, if not near impossible nowadays, to get out of SA, but most SAFFAs abroad have also come across their fair share of road blocks and frustrations, when dealing with ad

Russian Delegation Headed to South Africa to Discuss Resettlement Plan with Oppressed Boers Seeking Asylum (Video)

A Russian delegation is due to come to South Africa to work out a more detailed resettlement plan with the Boer community. The first families of Boers, descendants of Dutch, French and German settlers in South Africa, could soon be moving to Russia to escape farm murders, anti-white racism and rising violence against farmers. An estimated 15,000 Boers want to leave South Africa and become farmers in Russia.

Stavropol in Southern Russia is ready to settle up to 50 Boer families, according to the region’s Deputy Commissioner for human rights Vladimir Poluboyarenko. He told Russia Today there is already a plan for settlement of roughly 500 families with their own cattle near Stavropol. The official also said that out of the four million Boers, representing eight percent of South Africa’s population, an estimated fifteen thousand Boers want to move to Russia.

The Schlebusch family from South Africa’s Bloemfontein is going to be among first 50 Boer families to s

The De Hoge Veluwe National Park and the Kröller-Müller Museum

About an hour’s drive from Amsterdam you get to one of the largest continuous nature reserves in the Netherlands. The De Hoge Veluwe National Park lies between the towns of Apeldoorn, Ede and Arnhem in the province of Gelderland.

Geologists and geographers will keep you busy for hours on end about the geological history of De Hoge Veluwe. It once (somewhere at the end of the last Ice Age) marked the end of an enormous glacier that created and formed this beautiful piece of land. I won’t go into too much detail – rather read the Wikipedia article online. Because, although nature’s beauty is here at its best (certain parts reminded me of the Highveld and even the Karoo), we visited this park of about 55 km2 for a completely different reason: Between the woods, grass and veld, the second largest Van Gogh collection in the world is nestled away in the Kröller-Müller Museum.

You can reach the museum in one of two ways: Either you pay the additional amount fo

What you need to know about a tax-free savings income.

The allowance means that the first £1,000 interest on savings income for basic rate taxpayers (taxable income up to £33,500) is tax-free. For higher-rate taxpayers (taxable income up to £150,000) the PSA is £500. Anyone earning over £150,000 does not benefit from the new PSA.

In addition, any taxpayers whose total taxable income is less than £17,500 won’t pay tax on any savings income. This is made up of three elements, the personal allowance for 2017-18 of £11,500, the £5,000 savings starting rate and the £1,000 PSA.

Interest from savings products such as ISAs and ‘premium bond wins’ do not count towards the limit. A basic-rate taxpayer with ISA interest and premium bond wins can still benefit in full from the relevant PSA limits.

Savings income covered under the PSA includes account interest earned from bank and building society accounts as well as accounts with other providers such as credit unions or National Savings and Investments.

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Good Advice to S.A. Citizens who is Arrested or Jailed Abroad.

Under the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations (1963), which is the accepted standard for all member countries, persons who have been arrested outside their own country must have access to their consular representative. South Africans in this situation must immediately request the authorities to allow them to contact the South African Representative in that country.

Alternatively, somebody can contact the South African Representative (South African Embassies/Consulates/High Commissions are referred to as “missions” ) in that country or the Chief Directorate Consular Services of the Department in Pretoria on your behalf.

Consular Officials seek to ensure that South African citizens arrested abroad are treated humanely while incarcerated. In this regard issues such as torture, inhumane or degrading treatment or punishment will be reported and taken up with the local authorities. The United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners is use

South African ‘Braai’…as Explained by a Foreigner

Previously, I mentioned several unique things South Africans do that I got to observe in the time spent living in this country (away from my homeland, The Netherlands).

Recently, I saw some people walking barefoot in the local supermarket. This phenomenon comes along quite often, and my initial reaction was to offer assistance. “Did someone take your shoes?”, I asked.

Unimpressed, the girls mentioned no help was needed, and explained to me that this was their way to stay connected with the earth. Later in the queue, one of them was definitely connected with a slice of ham, some used dental floss and a cash receipt.

I forgot to mention the braai as a specific subject, as I feel this deserves a dedicated article in itself. A braai, or braaing, derives from the Dutch word ‘braden’, which means roasting.

Some might argue that a braai these days is considered more of a social event, which also just happens to involve the roasting/grilling of meat on an o

BizStay City and Beach Apartments

This property is 5 minutes walk from the beach. These apartments are located just 500 m from Scheveningen Beach. Short Stay Keizerstraat offers free Wi-Fi, a terrace and fully-equipped kitchen. It is 10 minutes by tram 1 to The Hague centre. Both spacious apartments are decorated in a modern décor. They feature a terrace and seating area which is set-up Lees Meer …

Sheraton Amsterdam Airport Schiphol only 20 minutes to Amsterdam

The 4-star Sheraton Amsterdam Airport Schiphol has direct access to Schiphol International Airport and is only 20 minutes’ drive from Amsterdam. It includes a gourmet restaurant and modern fitness facilities including a sauna. The 407 sound-proofed rooms include flat-screen cable TV, modern décor and a minibar. Each room benefits from a Sheraton Sleep Experience, including a duvet and hypo-allergenic pillows. Lees Meer …