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Getting Started South Africa
13 MINUTE READ
February 7, 2022

Exporting to South Africa

If you are considering doing business in South Africa, here are some steps you may wish to consider as you get started:

1. Visit South Africa on export.gov page to get an overview of economic conditions and opportunities. Access the U.S. Commercial Service Market Research Library containing more than 100,000 industry and country-specific market reports, authored by our specialists working in overseas posts.

2. Contact Information and Links for Assistance:

Investing in South Africa

This section provides information for current and potential investors in South Africa.

1. Potential investors: Getting Started.

If you are considering investment in South Africa, here are some steps you may wish to consider as you get started:

2. Current Investors: Staying Connected

If you are a current U.S. investor in South Africa, the U.S. Embassy wants to stay in touch. Here are a few steps you can take to keep the channels of communication open:

  • Register with the U.S. Embassy: if you are active in South Africa, let us know by sending an email to the contact addresses at the top of this page.
  • Add Commercial and Agricultural Specialists to your mailing lists: we are always happy to stay informed. Send emails to contact addresses at the top of this page.
  • Subscribe to our embassy Facebook page at @USEmbassySA or Twitter at @USEmbassySA
  • Set up a meeting with our economic or commercial team to discuss any issues that arise. Contact information is listed at the top of this page.

3. Working in South Africa

In this section you will find information on business visas, travel advisories, and anti-corruption tools.

Business Visas

  1. Short Term: U.S. citizens (U.S. passport holders) visiting the Republic of South Africa for ninety (90) days or less for tourism / business purposes do not need visas.
  2. Long Term: If the visit would exceed ninety days or if traveling to South Africa to work, you will need a temporary residence permit instead of a Business visa is Find out more from the S.A. Department of Home Affairs.

Travel Advisories

  • Make sure to check the current State Department  travel and advisories for South Africa for up-to-date local conditions.FCPAThe Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) is an important anti-corruption tool designed to discourage corrupt business practices in favor of free and fair markets. The FCPA prohibits promising, offering, giving or authorizing giving anything of value to a foreign government official where the purpose is to obtain or retain business. These prohibitions apply to U.S. persons, both individuals and companies, and companies that are listed on U.S. exchanges. The statute also requires companies publicly traded in the U.S. to keep accurate books and records and implement appropriate internal controls.More information on the FCPA can be found herehttp://www.justice.gov/criminal/fraud/fcpa/A party to a transaction seeking to know whether a proposed course of conduct would violate the FCPA can take advantage of the opinion procedure established by the statue. Within 30 days of receiving a description of a proposed course of conduct in writing, the Attorney General will provide the party with a written opinion on whether the proposed conduct would violate the FCPA. Not only do opinions provide the requesting party with a rebuttable presumption that the conduct does not violate the FCPA, but DOJ publishes past opinions which can provide guidance for other companies facing similar situations.More information on the DOJ opinion procedure can be found herehttps://www.justice.gov/criminal-fraud/fcpa-opinions