According to the information published on the website of the National Bank of Angola (BNA), the notice 17/2020, which regulates foreign exchange transactions ordered by natural persons, was revised to clarify some rules and align the procedures regarding the transfers of foreign non-residents to the rest legislation governing such payments.
The new Notice stipulates that all foreign workers who receive remuneration under an employment contract must open an account with a bank domiciled in Angola, and transfers abroad must be made exclusively through that account.
Thus, it is no longer possible for such a transfer to be made through the account of the employer domiciled in a bank in Angola directly to the account of the worker abroad.
According to the BNA, there are also changes with regard to the reference “work visa”, now being considered a “visa that allows the exercise of a paid activity”, aligning the notice with Law 13/19 of 23 May on the legal regime for foreign citizens in the Republic of Angola.
Foreign non-resident foreign exchange workers can buy foreign currency and transfer their legally earned income abroad under an employment contract, and can do so at any time, with any periodicity that exceeds the receipt of income.
In foreign currency purchase operations, banks must verify the length of a series of conditions, namely the existence of a valid visa that allows the exercise of a remunerated activity and its validity, a work contract duly approved by the supervising ministry, which the amounts that the worker intends to transfer are consistent with the earned income or compliance with tax obligations.
