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SWISSMONEY Iban Accounts with Sepa

Multi currency bank account with stock trading in the UAE, what are the best options?

#3
KJK beat me to it. I was gonna suggest internaxx in Luxembourg now known as swissquote.lu. They offered multiple currency accounts with individual iban's but don't know if they still do.
 
#5
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#7
shikari said:
Anything to note or was they just a "normal" bank?I don't need anything strange, just multicurrency, debit/credit card and the major markets
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Nothing note worthy. They offer everything but are not cheap. They closed my account last year as citi no longer offer services to non-resident account holders.

Do you really want to hold your money and stocks in Dubai? That is suicide to keep them both in a country with no democracy and whose ruler is is a brutal dictator whose own wife and daughter ran away from him. Think wisely.....I mean really wisely over where you hold your money.

Personally I would keep only the cash you need in Dubai. If you want another possible bank and brokerage solution outside Dubai then try BGL BNP Paribas. Minimum 50k needed to open.

https://www.directinvest.bgl.lu/en/become-a-client/
 
#8
Martin Everson said:
Nothing note worthy. They offer everything but are not cheap. They closed my account last year as citi no longer offer services to non-resident account holders.

Do you really want to hold your money and stocks in Dubai? That is suicide to keep them both in a country with no democracy and whose ruler is is a brutal dictator whose own wife and daughter ran away from him. Think wisely.....I mean really wisely over where you hold your money.

Personally I would keep only the cash you need in Dubai. If you want another possible bank and brokerage solution outside Dubai then try BGL BNP Paribas. Minimum 50k needed to open.

https://www.directinvest.bgl.lu/en/become-a-client/
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From Dubai I only want CRS protection. My reasoning is that a bank in the UAE will be ok with me having just a PO Box in the UAE and with me being resident just visiting twice a year, while banking in another nation while being resident in the UAE just with a residency visa might cause problems down the road (this is only my thinking), especially if the battle between the OECD and the UAE intensifies. I mean, every country has its risks I suppose. Anyway, thanks for the suggestion, I'll think about it, I know that it's wise not to put too many eggs in the same basket.
 
#9
shikari said:
From Dubai I only want CRS protection.
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So why didn't you say that in first place. I could have just told you upfront its a waste of time what your planning.

shikari said:
My reasoning is that a bank in the UAE will be ok with me having just a PO Box in the UAE and with me being resident just visiting twice a year,
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Have you checked with bank in UAE its 2020 now?

shikari said:
while banking in another nation while being resident in the UAE just with a residency visa might cause problems down the road (this is only my thinking),
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Thats what a lot of people with Swiss accounts did before CRS by changing residency to UAE on paper. Lets see how well that works out long term.

shikari said:
I'll think about it, I know that it's wise not to put too many eggs in the same basket.
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Think very hard my friend.
 
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#10
UAE is AA rated country and of course UAE is a safe country[1]. You can bank with ENBD or ADCB both are government-owned and A+ rated very safe banks.

I don't know your situation but if you're looking to deposit 7 figures, you can go to DIFC and open a private bank account. You can find maybe 50 private bank offices from the world and bank account will be open with your UAE residence(CRS ;)). Some of them require high deposits like $5m but it is generally starting from $1m.

[1]: Sovereigns Ratings List 2020
 
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#11
Avoid the UAE for banking any significant amount of money. Only a fool would place large amounts under a dictatorship in a volatile region of the world.
 
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#12
Martin Everson said:
So why didn't you say that in first place. I could have just told you upfront its a waste of time what your planning.
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Well I'm a freelancer (software developer), I could live perfectly even without a company, in fact I plan to get a freelance visa. I have clients only in countries where I don't reside, I don't have any form of private property, I don't have family, and I also think that the UAE could be a good market for what I do. If I find clients in the UAE, have a residency visa in the UAE and bank in the UAE, don't spend more than 6 month in any country, don't own anything in any country, I shouldn't have too many problems, I mean we are talking about 150k a year, not millions. I'm even not resident in my country of birth, as I've moved my residency through europe. Sure, if I want to buy a house somewhere there will be questions, but the only house I plan to possess is my mother's house when she dies. I understand that there are risks, everything is risky, keeping money in my own country could be risky for other reasons.
 
#14
shikari said:
I mean we are talking about 150k a year, not millions.
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Have you done the maths on cost of living and setting up and maintaining a company in UAE? Would be great if you shared your approximate costs here and we can see how that will eat into your bottom line.

You may be better of looking for another solution for 150k.
 
#15
The cost for freelance license and residency visa is <$4k per year if I remember correctly, possibly even less.
So the cost really isn’t that bad.
But of course it would be wise to rent an apartment.
 
#16
JustAnotherNomad said:
The cost for freelance license and residency visa is <$4k per year if I remember correctly, possibly even less.
So the cost really isn’t that bad.
But of course it would be wise to rent an apartment.
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Yes, it is correct. I suggest you Dubai based www.gofreelance.ae It will cost you around 4k USD per year. Your name will be your company and no need to pay for accounting or audit etc because not required. You can receive your earnings to your personal bank account.
 
#17
Martin Everson said:
Have you done the maths on cost of living and setting up and maintaining a company in UAE? Would be great if you shared your approximate costs here and we can see how that will eat into your bottom line.

You may be better of looking for another solution for 150k.
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it's 4k USD a year for residency visa + freelance licence, and I don't need to fake living there, as I will be resident in another country where I have no ties (I rent a house without a contract and don't even have a bank account), where I actually live 5 months a year. With no CRS the other country will have no way of knowing what I'm doing in the UAE and all my work is remote, so money will go from US / UK companies to my UAE bank.
 
#19
Martin Everson said:
Avoid the UAE for banking any significant amount of money. Only a fool would place large amounts under a dictatorship in a volatile region of the world.
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And to be clear I totally understand what you are saying, UAE is not a democracy, they are under pressure with falling oil prices, they introduced VAT, anything could happen. But there are countries in Europe where there is democracy, but something like Cyprus might happen soon, as there is no more money and they will need to get money from savings inn the banks. So I understand I'm taking risks, but I don't think my money will disappear overnight entirely in the UAE, and I can survive a Cyprus like thing in exchange for no tax. Of course I might be wrong, time will tell :)
 
#20
There are even cheaper freelance options than that. I think in Ajman, you actually get a FZE company through a freelance license, which is cheaper and even comes with two visa slots. And in Dubai, you have to pay for health insurance, which isn’t a requirement in Ajman. But I guess banking can be more difficult in Ajman.
 
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