The short answer

Offshore structures are accounts and investment "wrappers" based in international finance centres, designed for people whose lives cross borders. The main ones are offshore bank accounts (hard-currency cash in your own name), offshore endowments and bonds (life-assurance wrappers holding funds, with beneficiaries you can name), international investment platforms (flexible accounts holding funds and shares), offshore funds (such as Irish and Luxembourg funds and ETFs) and trusts. For a South African resident, money gets there through your offshore allowance, and SARS still taxes your worldwide income and gains. The right choice depends on where you'll live, your family, the size of your investment and how long you'll hold it. Look for a strong jurisdiction, clear charges and flexibility — and take advice before you commit a large sum. Lawrence offers a free review to help you choose.

What "offshore" really means

"Offshore" simply means outside the country you live in. For South Africans in Thailand, almost everything is offshore in some sense: your retirement annuity is offshore from Thailand, and your Thai bank account is offshore from South Africa. In investment, though, the word usually refers to international finance centres — places that specialise in serving people and companies from many countries.

The main centres used by South Africans are the Isle of Man, Jersey and Guernsey, and Ireland and Luxembourg in the EU. Several of South Africa's own banking and insurance groups run offshore operations from these places, so many South Africans can hold money offshore with a name they already know. Each centre has decades of experience and strong investor protections.

Offshore doesn't mean secret. Financial accounts held abroad are reported automatically between tax authorities, including SARS, under international information-sharing rules, and you're expected to declare income and gains wherever they're taxable. The point of these structures isn't to hide anything — it's to give people who live across borders a neutral, flexible and well-protected home for their money, in a currency other than the rand.

Why South Africans abroad use offshore structures

Many South Africans at home get offshore exposure through rand feeder funds and never need a structure abroad. Once you live in Thailand, there are practical reasons to go further:

• Hard currency: hold your savings in dollars, euros or other currencies rather than rand.
• Money genuinely outside South Africa, in your own name, rather than rand products valued in rand.
• Portability: an offshore structure stays with you if you move from Thailand to another country, or back home.
• Estate planning: endowments with named beneficiaries can pay out without waiting for a South African estate to be wound up or for probate abroad.
• Control over Thai tax timing: money that grows offshore isn't brought into Thailand until you choose.
• Access to global investments: a wide range of international funds in one place.
• Strong protections in long-established jurisdictions.
• One home for everything: consolidating scattered savings into one place you can manage from Thailand.

The main structures at a glance

These aren't alternatives so much as building blocks. A typical South African in Thailand might keep a retirement annuity or living annuity at home, hold an offshore bank account for hard-currency cash, use an offshore endowment or platform for their main investments, a regular savings plan for school fees — and name beneficiaries so it all passes smoothly to the family. The skill is in choosing which blocks you need and putting them together so they work in both countries.

How the main structures compare

A broad guide to the structures most South Africans abroad use.

Many South Africans abroad use more than one. Retirement funds are covered in our Retirement & Pension Planning guides.

Offshore endowments and bonds explained

An offshore endowment — sometimes called an offshore bond, portfolio bond or international investment bond — is the structure South Africans abroad ask about most. Despite the name, it isn't a bond in the sense of a government or company loan. It's a life-assurance policy issued by an insurer in a centre such as the Isle of Man, Ireland, Luxembourg or Guernsey, which acts as a wrapper around a portfolio of investments you choose.

You invest a lump sum, usually in US dollars, euros or another hard currency, and can usually add more later. For an SA resident, that money goes offshore on your allowance. Inside the wrapper, it's invested in a range of funds — often hundreds to choose from — and can be switched between them. Because the policy is technically life assurance, it pays out a small extra amount when the last life assured dies, but its real purpose is investment.

Beneficiaries and estate planning

For many South Africans, the biggest attraction is what happens when you die. You can usually name beneficiaries, so the policy pays out directly to them rather than through your will — avoiding the wait while a South African estate is wound up and the need for probate in another country. Some policies also allow several "lives assured" or a contingent owner, so the policy can carry on after a death and pass to the next generation without being cashed in. Estate duty may still apply if you're ordinarily resident in South Africa, so this is about speed and simplicity rather than avoiding tax.

Switching and withdrawals

You can usually switch funds inside the wrapper without selling anything in your own name, and take partial withdrawals or a regular income. Some endowments restrict withdrawals in the first five years, so check the terms before you invest money you might need soon.

How it's taxed

While you're South African tax resident, SARS taxes your worldwide income and gains, and the rules for offshore policies differ from those for South African endowments and for investments held in your own name. Once you're Thai tax resident, what you bring into Thailand matters too. The right structure — and the right records — can make a real difference in both countries, so it's worth taking advice before you invest a large sum.

What makes offshore endowments so flexible

Beyond estate planning, offshore endowments and bonds have practical strengths that make them a favourite for South Africans abroad with larger sums:

• Hard currency — US dollars, euros and other major currencies.
• Switch funds inside the wrapper as your plans change.
• Name beneficiaries so the policy pays out quickly to the people you choose.
• Continue after a death with additional lives assured or a contingent owner.
• Take a regular income through partial withdrawals — useful in retirement.
• Move with you wherever you live.
• Keep paperwork simple — one policy, one statement, many investments.
• Choose a strong jurisdiction with policyholder protection.

The main jurisdictions

Where offshore structures are based matters for protection, reputation and practicalities. These are the centres South Africans use most.

Isle of Man protection as described by Friends Provident International. Always check the protections that apply to your own account or policy.

Regular savings plans

A regular savings plan is the monthly cousin of the offshore endowment: usually also a life-assurance wrapper, but built around regular contributions over a fixed term — often 10 to 25 years. They're popular for long-term goals such as retirement and children's education, because they build the habit of saving in hard currency and let growth compound over many years.

They work best when you're confident you can keep saving for the full term, as most plans have an establishment period in the early years with higher charges, and stopping early can be costly. Chosen well and kept going, a savings plan can be one of the most effective ways to build wealth from Thailand. Our guides to international regular savings plans and charges on long-term savings plans explain them in detail. Ask about school-fee planning, or compare schools in our international schools directory.

International platforms and offshore funds

International platforms

An international investment platform is an account, run from an international centre, that holds funds, ETFs and sometimes shares for clients living abroad. It's the offshore equivalent of a South African investment platform — flexible, usually with no lock-in, and often with lower costs than an endowment for simpler portfolios. Many platforms can also hold an offshore endowment as an account, combining the two. Our guide to international investment platforms covers them in depth.

Offshore funds

Most international investors hold funds based in Ireland or Luxembourg — often under the European UCITS rules, which set standards for diversification, liquidity and the safekeeping of assets. Irish-based ETFs that track world markets are a low-cost core for many portfolios. Funds are what go inside an endowment, platform or plan; the wrapper you hold them in decides how flexible they are and how they pass to your family.

Where a fund is based matters

For a non-American, holding US-listed funds or US shares directly can expose your estate to US estate tax above $60,000 — a common trap for South Africans who invest their allowance through an offshore broker. Funds based in Ireland or Luxembourg give the same global exposure without that risk.

Where to start

Someone to help you choose the right structure, the right way to move money into it, our number-one offshore account as the first building block, and a flat-fee route for everyday money.

Getting money offshore: your allowance

While you're South African tax resident, money that leaves the country for investment uses your single discretionary allowance — up to R2 million each calendar year — and, beyond that, the foreign investment allowance of up to a further R10 million with SARS approval, which can take three weeks or more to obtain. Larger sums may need to be moved in stages or across two calendar years.

Money that's already offshore — a salary paid abroad, savings built up while working in another country — doesn't use your allowance. Keep records of where it came from. And remember that retirement annuities and pension funds stay in South Africa, limited to 45% offshore; once you retire, a living annuity can hold more offshore, and a retirement annuity can be paid out once you've ceased tax residence and been non-resident for three years.

Trusts: looking after your family

A trust is a legal arrangement in which assets are held by trustees for the people you choose — your beneficiaries. South African law recognises trusts, and many South African families already use them. For South Africans in Thailand, trusts are mainly about family: making sure money passes smoothly to a spouse, children or grandchildren, and that young or vulnerable beneficiaries are looked after.

Trusts need care, though. A South African trust pays income tax at a flat 45% on income it keeps, and there are rules that can tax income or gains back to the person who funded it — including on interest-free loans to a trust. Offshore trusts set up by South African residents are more complex still, and can bring their own SARS reporting and attribution rules. Thai law has no general equivalent of a trust, so arrangements for Thai assets work differently.

For many families, a simpler route does much of the same job: an offshore endowment with named beneficiaries or a contingent owner, wills in each country where you hold assets, and up-to-date nominations on living annuities and policies. A trust is worth considering where there are young children, complex family arrangements or a large estate.

Estate duty

While you're ordinarily resident in South Africa, estate duty applies to your worldwide assets, including what you hold offshore: 20% on the dutiable estate up to R30 million and 25% above, after a R3.5 million abatement, with what you leave to your spouse deductible. Good structure and good records make sure your family receives what you intended, as smoothly as possible.

Thai tax and offshore structures

If you live in Thailand for 180 days or more in a calendar year, you're Thai tax resident. Since 1 January 2024, foreign income that a Thai tax resident brings into Thailand can be taxable, at rates from 5% to 35%. Income earned before 2024 is protected when you bring it in. A proposal to exempt foreign income brought in during the year it's earned or the following year has been drafted, but as of October 2026 it has not become law.

That makes structure and timing more important than ever. Investments that grow inside an endowment or on a platform aren't brought into Thailand until you remit money. How much of what you bring in counts as capital, and how much as gains or income, depends on the structure and your records — and the Thai rules on investment wrappers are less settled than South Africa's. Good records of what you invested, and when, are essential.

Many South Africans in Thailand plan their remittances carefully: bringing in money from capital built up before 2024 first, keeping gains offshore until needed and spreading larger amounts across tax years. If you're still South African tax resident as well, both countries may have a say. Because the rules are still evolving, it's worth taking advice before you bring in larger sums. Our guide to tax residence and international investments covers the Thai and South African rules in more depth.

If you might return to South Africa — or cease residence

Many South Africans in Thailand aren't sure whether they'll stay for good. Offshore structures can be chosen with that in mind:

• Ceasing tax residence triggers a deemed disposal of most of your worldwide assets at market value — South African property is the main exception — so the timing of large offshore investments matters.
• Money legitimately offshore, moved on your allowances, can generally stay offshore if you return to South Africa.
• Keep records of every allowance used, SARS approval and transfer — they're your evidence later.
• Choose structures that travel — offshore accounts, endowments and platforms that will serve you wherever you live.
• Check fund domicile — Irish or Luxembourg funds avoid US estate tax wherever you end up.

Planning before you move — in either direction — is almost always cheaper than fixing things afterwards.

Choosing the right structure

There's no single best structure — only the best one for you. These questions point the way:

1. Lump sum or monthly? An endowment or platform for a lump sum; a savings plan for regular saving.
2. How long? Endowments and plans suit money held for many years; platforms suit shorter or uncertain timescales.
3. Family and estate? If passing wealth on quickly matters, an endowment with named beneficiaries is often the neatest answer.
4. How much, and how fast can it move? Your offshore allowance may decide the pace.
5. Which currency? Choose the currency you'll spend the money in, or a hard currency for long-term savings.
6. Where will you live? Choose structures that work in Thailand, South Africa and wherever else you might go.
7. How simple? Fewer, well-chosen structures are easier to manage from Thailand.
8. What will it cost? Compare total yearly costs, and any charges for leaving early.

What to check before you invest

Good offshore structures are excellent. The secret is choosing well and understanding exactly what you're buying. Before you commit, make sure you can answer these:

• Who is the provider, and where is it based?
• What protections apply if the provider fails?
• What are all the charges — set-up, yearly, fund and adviser — as a total percentage?
• Is there an establishment period, a withdrawal restriction or a charge for leaving early?
• Which funds are available, where are they based and what do they cost?
• Can you name beneficiaries or a contingent owner?
• How is your adviser paid, and for what?
• What happens if you move country or return to South Africa?

Our guides to early encashment and liquidity and platform and fund charges cover these questions in more detail.

Three worked examples

Deon: a house sale and a retirement income

Deon, 64, sells his house in Pretoria and moves to Hua Hin with R6 million. He wants an income, money outside the rand and something simple for his daughter to inherit. Lawrence helps him open an offshore account and move the money in stages on his allowances, then sets up an offshore endowment in US dollars, invested in a balanced worldwide portfolio of Irish-based funds, with his daughter named as beneficiary. He takes regular withdrawals to top up his living annuity income, planned around Thai tax rules.

Kobus and Noi: saving for school fees

Kobus and Noi, in Bangkok, want to save for their two children's international school and university fees. Lawrence sets up a regular savings plan in US dollars for each child, timed to pay out when the fees fall due, alongside a small lump sum invested on an international platform. Growth over the years pays a large part of the bill.

Marlene: passing wealth to her grandchildren

Marlene, 72, a widow in Chiang Mai, has R8 million offshore and two grandchildren. She's still ordinarily resident in South Africa, so estate duty applies to her worldwide estate. Lawrence restructures her offshore investments into an endowment with her grandchildren named as beneficiaries, so the money can pass to them quickly without probate abroad, makes sure she has a will covering her offshore assets, and keeps part of her savings for a regular income.

The mistakes we see most often

1. Choosing a structure before a plan — the goal should come first.
2. Not knowing the total charges in money and percentages.
3. Committing to a long plan you may not be able to keep paying.
4. Too many structures, scattered across providers.
5. Buying US-listed funds directly and creating a US estate tax problem.
6. Bringing money to Thailand without thinking about tax.
7. No beneficiaries, no offshore will when family matters most.
8. Losing records of allowances used, what you invested and when.

Your offshore structure checklist

• Set your goals first: income, growth, education, family.
• Decide where you're likely to live — Thailand, South Africa or elsewhere.
• Plan how money will move offshore within your allowances.
• Choose the structure that fits your goals, timescale and amount.
• Choose a strong jurisdiction and understand its protections.
• Know your total costs and any exit charges.
• Name beneficiaries and keep wills up to date in each country.
• Plan your remittances to Thailand and review once a year.

Keeping your accounts secure

Offshore accounts are managed online from wherever you are, so good security habits matter:

• Use a password manager and a different strong password for every account.
• Turn on two-factor sign-in on every investment and bank account.
• Use a private, protected connection on hotel, café and condo Wi-Fi.
• Be wary of unexpected calls offering offshore investments — always check who you're dealing with.

How we researched this guide

We used Friends Provident International on Isle of Man policyholder protection; ThaiLawOnline's tracker of Thailand's foreign income rules (updated October 2026); KPMG on US estate tax for non-US individuals; and South Africa's offshore allowance, Regulation 28, estate duty, trust tax and residence rules, as set out in our earlier guides. Examples are illustrations. Checked 23 October 2026. Tax rules in both countries change, and investment values can fall as well as rise. This guide is general information, not personal financial or tax advice.