When people move abroad, it\u2019s usually because they\u2019re looking for a whole new life \u2013 different climate, fresh culture, exotic foods.\u00a0 But this sense of adventure rarely applies when people want to establish themselves financially in a new country.<\/p>\n
This is understandable; foreign banking can seem intimidating when you first arrive.\u00a0 It can also seem like a total hassle, especially when it might be completely possible to use your accounts and credit cards from back home.<\/p>\n
So although you might not need <\/i>an account per se, it will make your life a whole lot easier in the long run (but if you have a business, plan on it being mandatory).\u00a0 For instance, it will be more difficult to work with your existing bank on anything from loans to account changes.\u00a0 They often just aren\u2019t equipped to deal with the international issues that may arise.\u00a0 Plus, since many places abroad still rely heavily on checks, you\u2019ll probably need to have checks that are in the local language and currency in order for them to be accepted.<\/p>\n
Once you\u2019ve come to terms with opening a foreign account, shop around for the bank that locals are most happy with.\u00a0 Ask them what you\u2019ll need to set up an account and bring those items when you go, but don\u2019t be surprised if you have to make an appointment (especially if you need a translator).\u00a0 Some paperwork that might be necessary: your passport, a utility bill with current your address, marriage certificate (if applicable), birth certificate, or old bank statements.<\/p>\n
Prepare for the banking process to be very different from what you\u2019ve experienced.\u00a0 During the appointment to open the account, there might be awkward delays, they might ask you some strange questions, and there will probably be a mountain of paperwork.\u00a0 They may also do things like require a certain amount of money to be maintained in the account, or additional charges for a joint account.\u00a0 Don\u2019t be shocked; just try to go with the flow.<\/p>\n
Once everything has been signed, initialed and stamped accordingly, you\u2019ll be the proud owner of a new bank account in your destination country.\u00a0 Now all you have to do is wait for your ATM cards and checks, which will usually take anywhere between 2-8 weeks to arrive.<\/p>\n
Depending on the country, this process can be much simpler or require a lot more hoops to jump through.\u00a0 Regardless, you should consider having an account in a foreign country as a privilege and not a right, and no matter how aggravating the process might be, treat any personnel with respect when opening a bank account overseas.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
When people move abroad, it\u2019s usually because they\u2019re looking for a whole new life \u2013 different climate, fresh culture, exotic foods.\u00a0 But this sense of adventure rarely applies when people want to establish themselves financially in a new country. This is understandable; foreign banking can seem intimidating when you first arrive.\u00a0 It can also seem […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":135,"featured_media":1307,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"content-type":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"footnotes":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false},"categories":[9410,9409],"tags":[29,168],"yst_prominent_words":[2670,1724,18491,12018,2274,1712,2304,5010,18493,18490,1716,2273,2022,7477,1793,3915,18494,15816],"acf":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.escapeartist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/02\/bigstock-World-Trade-Links-1383942a.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.escapeartist.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1306"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.escapeartist.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.escapeartist.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapeartist.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/135"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapeartist.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1306"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapeartist.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1306\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6431,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapeartist.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1306\/revisions\/6431"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapeartist.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1307"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.escapeartist.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1306"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapeartist.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1306"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapeartist.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1306"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapeartist.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=1306"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}