u/TodaySpecialist5352

I would like to register a US LLC for dealing with international consulting clients. Will be 100% owned by me and all income will be moved to my personal bank account and taxed in SA as PIT.

I just want the US LLC for a layer of legal protection as well as access to Stripe and easier payment for clients who prefer dealing with USD.

Has anyone opened up a US LLC recently and then banking (Mercury, Relay, etc) and what was the process like for South Africans specifically?

I'm South African but have been living overseas and looking to move to Cape Town. Looking at rentals seem that agents check your salary and credit history.

Since I don't have a South African bank account or credit history would I be able to use my overseas bank account to prove my income?

To anyone who enjoys basing in Cape Town for extended periods....what's your reason for choosing it and what were your other options?

I'm curious as a South African looking for somewhere to spend time but not sure if I should setup somewhere in Southern Europe, Asia, or Cape Town.

Both of these 2 options seem reasonable. The Gold card requires about $5k/month salary income and the DTV $15k in savings.

If you could qualify for both of them, which would you choose?

I've not spent much time in Taiwan, just a few visits and enjoyed it overall, but the visa seems way better? even leading to PR after 3 years. I don't know if i'd prefer Taiwan over Thailand, but Thailand keeps changing things and the DTV is basically a tourist visa without even offering you banking.

I started driving a scooter the last few days and got used to how to drive in Bangkok quite easily. I haven't mastered quickly driving through tight spaces like Grab drivers, but driving myself is a much nicer experience because issues i've experienced with Grab drivers are: low quality bikes, terrible map skills (taking the worst routes), and just bad driving in general.

Despite all that, i'm considering going back to Grab. I don't enjoy driving since the roads are so busy it's actually annoying to sit in the heat without moving and also parking has proven quite inconvenient - sometimes places I want to go to don't have parking and malls require me to go down 3 floors to park. It's so much easier to just get off a Grab.

I’m looking for thoughtful discussion on economic reciprocity regarding foreign ownership rules.

Many non-EU countries heavily restrict Europeans/EU companies:

• Thailand: Foreigners cannot own land + max 49% ownership in most companies.
• Philippines: Constitutional ban on foreign land ownership + 60/40 rule favouring locals.
• China: Foreigners cannot own land + strict ownership caps and joint-venture requirements in many sectors.
• Similar restrictions exist in Vietnam, Indonesia, etc.

Meanwhile, the EU is generally quite open - non-EU nationals and companies can buy property in most member states (with some exceptions) and own 100% of companies in many sectors (subject to FDI screening).

Should this not be reciprocal? Or if those countries prefer to restrict their markets, should Europe not do the same to nationals/companies from those countries?