smallbusiness.co.uk: Helping your business think big

When moving abroad you face several choices in both personal and business banking. Do you need to open a new account overseas? Should you keep an account open in your country of origin? What paperwork is needed?

Having an account in your new country of residence makes it much easier to pay bills and wages and, provided the country is stable, it should be relatively easy and painless to set one up. A basic personal account usually requires you to provide your passport, two separate proofs of address and, in some cases, references from your previous bank. It can take between three and ten days from the date of application to actually get the account operational.

In some instances, to satisfy anti-money laundering laws, ‘applicants may also be requested to provide source of funds documents as evidence of where the funds have been prior to the application,’ explains Jane Matthews, head of marketing and business development at Abbey International.

Of course, in these days of global banking it is entirely possible that your bank in the UK also operates in your intended location, in which case it is advisable to speak to your existing bank as early as possible to make arrangements.

Your bank may suggest opening an offshore account, which would enable you to carry out transactions in both the UK and your new home country. It can also be used as the guarantee for a credit card, giving you a credit limit of the amount in the offshore account.

Whether to keep an account open in the UK after you have left is entirely dependent on personal circumstances. ‘It’s really up to the individual,’ says an HSBC spokesman, ‘but make sure you’ve sorted out your finances and understand the possible tax implications before you leave home.’ It is possible that having an account in the UK will affect your status as a resident in either place, and therefore your tax situation.

However, it can be simpler to maintain an account in the UK for paying any ongoing payments such as a mortgage, or for easy access to money when you return to the UK on holiday. If you decide to return permanently, it is also a great deal easier to have an existing account rather than having to set up a new one.

There are currently no comments on this article