Best Offshore Account for Expats in the UAE: What You Need to Know
For many international expats operating in the UAE and the Middle East, an offshore bank account is essential. If you haven’t opened an offshore bank account yet, this guide has everything you need to know about the best offshore savings accounts for expats.
What is an Offshore Bank Account?
An offshore bank account is one that is located outside of the client’s country of residence. For foreigners living or working in Dubai, practically any country outside of the UAE, including the expat’s country of origin, is considered offshore.
Expat Investing Offshore
Offshore banking is a practical way for international expats to manage their money in multiple currencies, instead of having to open bank accounts in several different countries. In addition, it facilitates selling shares of your organisation and onboarding investors within the UAE.
Best Offshore Accounts for Expats
When relocating overseas, moving financial assets is on top of the priority list. An advantage to financial relocation is to better enhance the application process when incorporating your entity. Also, bank charges tend to be lower when transferring money between onshore and offshore accounts.
If you’d like to research and find the best offshore account for you, there are multi-channel online price comparison sites that will help you filter search results based on the provider. However, this process needs to be manually completed and can be quite tedious.
Benefits of Offshore Banking for Expats in the UAE
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Protection against political and currency risk: many offshore accounts offer valuable protection against political instability or currency exchanges. Before opening an account, it’s important to find out how much of your money in these accounts is protected against risks such as bank insolvency.
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Taxes: many expat offshore bank accounts offer extremely attractive tax rates - or no tax rate at all!
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Currency exchange rate: If you plan to send large sums overseas, check how competitive your bank is. Many offshore banks offer competitive exchange rates.
Although offshore accounts offer a number of advantages, you must read the fine print before deciding on a bank. Extra charges can apply when using your cards in a different currency or you could be charged for choosing to receive paper statements instead of online statements. Some offshore private banks set high minimum balances and you could face big charges if your balance falls below a certain level. You must check all the fees, often buried on the bank’s website.
Safest Offshore Banking Countries
Expats have many options when it comes to choosing the country to host their offshore account. The following places offer secure, stable banks and are great choices:
At Europe Emirates Group, we continuously consult and assist in incorporating entities within the GCC as well as offshore. We offer robust consulting services tailored to your vision and, most importantly, your business as a whole. Get in touch with us today and let us help you launch your business across new markets.
Written by
Adrian Oton
CEO, Europe Emirates Group
