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Can you sit on a board there?
Pick a market. You get the residency test, the nationality test, the work-authorisation position, the appointment steps in order, and the frictions that actually delay appointments — each cited to the instrument that creates it.
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Open to foreign directorsZA
The Companies Act imposes no residency or nationality requirement on directors. The real question a board will consider is how a foreign appointment sits alongside its transformation commitments.
- Residency test
- None.
- Nationality test
- None.
- Work authorisation
- A non-resident non-executive director attending board meetings does not require a work visa. Executive and interim operating roles require a general work visa or a critical-skills visa.
- Board language
- Board process is in English.
- Tenure limit once appointed
- No hard cap. King IV requires that independence be assessed substantively every year, and that service beyond nine years be subject to a rigorous review before a director continues to be classified as independent.
- Time commitment
- Typically 4–6 board meetings a year plus committee cycles; the Social and Ethics Committee adds a distinct reporting obligation to the annual general meeting.
- What a seat pays
- ZAR 500,000 – 1,200,000 a year for a non-executive director of a JSE Top 40 company, with mid-cap boards materially lower.
- Tax on your fees
- Directors' fees for services rendered in South Africa are South African-source income; non-residents are taxed accordingly, with treaty relief and exchange-control formalities to consider.
The appointment steps, in order
- 1Consent to act, and confirmation that you are not disqualified or ineligible under Companies Act s.69
- 2CIPC filing of the change of directors (Form CoR39)
- 3For a JSE-listed issuer, the appointment and the director's details are announced through SENS
- 4For a bank, insurer or financial-services provider, Prudential Authority or FSCA fit-and-proper approval
What actually gets in the way
- B-BBEE scorecards weigh board composition, so a foreign appointment has consequences beyond the seat itself and boards will discuss it openly
- Exchange-control considerations can arise for fees and for share-based director remuneration paid to a non-resident
- Directors face a codified duty and liability regime under the Companies Act, with s.77 personal liability provisions that are actively used
The instruments behind these answers
- Companies Act 71 of 2008 s.72(4) and Regulation 43 — Requires a Social and Ethics Committee for state-owned, listed and larger companies, with a statutory mandate covering social and economic development, ethics, labour and consumer relationships. (Republic of South Africa)
- Companies Act 71 of 2008 s.94 — A public company must appoint an audit committee of at least three members, each of whom must be a director who is independent as defined in the Act. (Republic of South Africa)
- King IV Report on Corporate Governance for South Africa 2016 — Seventeen principles applied on an apply-and-explain basis, covering ethical leadership, board composition, independence, remuneration governance and stakeholder relationships. Principle 7 governs board composition and independence. (Institute of Directors in South Africa)
- JSE Listings Requirements s.3.84 — Prescribes governance obligations for listed issuers, including an audit committee of independent non-executive directors and a board policy on the promotion of race and gender diversity, with reporting against it. (Johannesburg Stock Exchange)
Reviewed against primary sources in August 2026. This is governance decision-support, not legal or tax advice. Rules change and transitional provisions frequently apply — verify against the primary instrument before you rely on it.
Eligibility is only the first question
Being allowed to sit on a board there is not the same as being read for one.
The mobility index answers the second question: whether your record is legible to a board in that market, whether you hold what it is currently short of, and whether you can do the job in the language its board works in.