Citizens of most countries are entitled to open foreign bank accounts. Similarly, banks of most countries will take foreign clients onboard. You can set up a personal or a corporate bank account abroad. In some places, you can open a bank account for your offshore-registered company.
How to open a non-resident bank account
The procedure of setting up a foreign bank account will differ from the procedure of opening a bank account at home. As a rule, banks work with foreigners on special conditions. If you would like to open a bank account abroad – for yourself or for your (offshore) company, – please be prepared to submit a larger number of documents and wait for a longer time. Below we discuss some specifics of setting up a bank account in a foreign country.
What country should you choose to open a bank account in 2023?
Expectedly, there can be no universal answer to this question. Every person will have their own preferences and expectations. Similarly, banks in every country will provide services of different range and quality. As far as banking opportunities are concerned, some of the most popular jurisdictions include the following ones:
- Cyprus;
- Latvia;
- Switzerland;
- Poland;
- Hong Kong;
- UAE;
- Serbia;
- USA;
This does not mean, of course, that you cannot bank in another country: the choice is great indeed.
Can you open a foreign bank account remotely?
Yes, you can. Moreover, you don’t even have to hire an agent in the country where the bank is located. Some banks accept application documents sent by mail. Today, videoconferencing applications are widely used for interviews with banking officers. A few years ago, a new phrase was coined: ‘Nice to e-meet you’, which means ‘Nice to electronically meet you’ (via a videoconferencing application).
We must admit, however, that this sort of loyalty to customers is uncharacteristic of many banks. If you don’t want to travel to the foreign country where the bank is located, you’d better hire a local agent who will act on your behalf when opening a bank account.
For example, you can hire an agent in the UAE, Switzerland or Serbia and he or she will tackle all the issues related to bank account opening. When the process is finished, the agent will send the original of the agreement with the bank by mail. If the bank issues a plastic card to you, it can also be sent by mail. Because you will not have to travel to a foreign country in this case, you can say that you have opened a foreign bank account remotely.
The opportunity to open a foreign bank account remotely is not always available. You have to inquire about it with every country and every bank. Sometimes you may be able to solve all the preliminary issues from home but you will have to pay a short visit to the foreign country at the final stage anyway. Many bankers today want to meet their customers in person.
How to open a foreign bank account on your own
If you want to set up a foreign bank account without anybody’s assistance, you will have to take a trip to the foreign countries in all likelihood. You have to do your homework before you go, however:
- Learn the basic facts about the foreign country and its banking system;
- Pick 2 or 3 banks there;
- Find out about the application documents;
- Acquire a letter of recommendation from your bank at home;
- Organize the trip.
The first task may prove time-consuming indeed. The choice of foreign countries is great and each of them will offer certain perks not available elsewhere. When choosing where to open a bank account, you have to ask yourself: ‘What primary benefits am I looking for?’ Much will depend on your answer as far as the choice of country is concerned.
We suggest that you should pick 2 or 3 banks instead of 1 because chances are that you will be unable to obtain services from a foreign bank for a reason that you could not have predicted. If this is the case, you’ll simply end up wasting your time in a foreign country.
You have to bear in mind that different banks in one and the same country may have different requirements to the application documents package. You should inquire with each bank that you have chosen as a possible alternative about the required application documents. Please note that banks’ websites may carry incomplete information about the application documents sometimes. You cannot fully trust the information in the website and you’d better try to establish personal contacts with a bank officer or have a local agent do it for you.
When you find out what application documents you will have to submit, you have to prepare them. Obtaining certain certificates or letters can take time, so you have to start the process in advance. Sometimes, the date of the document issuance can be of importance. Utility bills, for example, normally have to be less than three months old.
When all the application documents are ready, you can start organizing your trip to the foreign country of your choice. First, you have to find out if you need a visa to enter the country. Then you’ll have to book a hotel for the period required for setting up a foreign bank account. Please note that in some countries, one day will be enough while in some other countries, you may have to spend a week or two and pay several visits to the bank office.
Bankcards that carry the holder’s name are issued in a few days after the bank account has been opened. This fact should not worry you because most banks will agree to send the cards by mail to you so you will not have to stay in the foreign country waiting for your bankcard to be issued.
Another important factor to bear in mind is the possibility that the bank officer in the foreign country will not speak English. In most European countries or in Hong Kong, for example, bankers will be fluent in English but if you want to bank in South America or China, the language barrier may become a problem.
Opening a foreign bank account on your own is not impossible, requesting some professional assistance in the matter would be a better idea. A professional agent can help you avoid various obstacles and save your time and money.
