From personal stories to large sweeping statistics. There’s no shortage in things pointing to people wanting to leave South Africa.

The story is consistent: If people could, they would.

Of course, many people don’t want to leave the country they love behind, but sometimes things simply don’t add up. At some point an opportunity abroad is simply too good to leave be.

But in a country where financial and personal security are not always a given, and in a place where there’s a lot of uncertainty about the future, opportunity can take many forms. Here, opportunity could simply be a better future for your children.

And that’s probably why the distribution of the people leaving looks more like this:

One could argue that wealthy people in South Africa have to deal with a lot less compared to others. And this is true to some extent. For example, whatever schools lack in South Africa can easily be solved by sending children to private schools. While more expensive, there are solutions for a lot of issues.

But, however you look at it, there are also reasons for more concern for people who’ve built something substantial over time. In an uncertain political climate, they stand to lose a lot more than the average worker.

But that alone doesn’t explain why wealthy people are leaving South Africa.

Part of the reason is also simply the fact that once you have a certain amount of capital available, you just have more options.

While everyone else needs to wait for the opportunity to emigrate and leave South Africa, those with available capital don’t really need to wait to do so. You see, while countries are always cautious when it comes to letting people in, that’s largely because of the potential risk of people having to fall back on government support.

Of course, when someone that can prove they have enough capital available to sustain themselves or at the very least provide value to the country, things change.

How does it work? Do you just walk into an embassy and show them your bank account?

Unfortunately, while the guy behind the counter may be impressed, that’s about all that would accomplish.

But as soon as you understand that it’s mainly about the value you can bring to the table, you can see why it’s possible. It all comes down to investing in the country.

That’s right. While there are some ways to “buy” a passport without any returns, these are not very common. In any case, it’s always nice to have your new passport AND expect an ROI to boot.

The way it works is simple enough. There are 2 ways in fact.

The first way is to buy into a government program. Here, you just have to buy into a fund provided by the state and in return you’re eligible for a passport. It’s fast, simple, but of course, there’s no return on investment and there’s only so many options you have with this.

The second way is far more interesting and can give you a whole lot more options, AND an ROI.

Here, together with an agent, they scope out deals which they can buy into. These deals are specifically selected (or often, even designed) for the purpose of providing the investor with benefits like a second passport.

The deals are often real estate projects, but don’t have to be. Most are limited since they only need so much investment, but an agent should be able to tell you what’s going on where and how that matches your wishes.

You see, while there’s a lot of consistency for the reasons that people are leaving South Africa, what they want out of it is vastly different. And it the agent's job to make sure that you get the right opportunities in front of you.

That’s pretty hard to beat, and if you’re one of those who can invest the typical minimum amount, there’s not much keeping you from making a move like this.

The added benefits of being able to do business in Europe for example, without needing a visa or other limitations, are just icing on the cake for most investors.

Many do it just for travel alone but being able to give your family benefits you never had in the first place is about as rewarding as it gets for years of hard work.

So now, the question is: Is this available to just anyone?

Well, it’s not something that’s widely known so that right there is a barrier of entry, but there are some actual requirements to being able to do something like this.

What’s available to you will depend on your specific situation and there are some limiting factors that everyone has to deal with. But once you’re past that, the only limiting factor will be how much you can invest.

More capital means more choice and often, benefits that kick in faster.