Question Where to open remote bank account?

[Digits]

I am new here but have been surfing this community for long time. I am from Lebnon, PayPal and TW are not available.

I am interested in opening a personal bank account in a country that is safe and have little to zero tax on my monthly earnings (Not BTC or Gambling).

I've had a look at:
- UAE: Is there any bank that allows Non-Residents to open personal bank accounts?
- Georgia: The insurance is around 15K GEL which is around $4.5K, is it safe?

Any other countries? What do you recommend?

 

[troubled soul]

UAE: No bank will allow you to open Account online remotely,Physical Presence is mandatory.
Georgia: Possible

With "zero tax on my monthly earnings" and Personal Account it is very complicated .
You should Register Company to achieve Your target.
It can be done very Easily.
But with personal account it is very difficult (legal Way).


Thnaks

 

[Digits]

UAE: No bank will allow you to open Account online remotely,Physical Presence is mandatory.
Georgia: Possible

With "zero tax on my monthly earnings" and Personal Account it is very complicated .
You should Register Company to achieve Your target.
It can be done very Easily.
But with personal account it is very difficult (legal Way).


Thnaks

Thanks hirenshukla2007 for answering.

Regarding UAE, are you sure it is possible to travel there and open a personal bank account? Can you suggest a bank? I believe being a resident is required.
Can you explain why it is very complicated to open a personal account?
Last, regarding registering a company, what is the cost and which countries are best? I read UAE company formation is expensive and a bit complicated.

 

[MiddleEuroAsia]

Why not take a look at the Estonian E-residency.

with it you can open an account with transferwise, payoneer and lots of other EMIs. You can also have lots of other options with this e-residency.

Eventually, you will have to move my man. If you have the means, great. Buy a 2d passport, look for a Caribbean one as they are faster and cheaper than the other schemes. If you don't have the means but have some sort of freelance income that you could prove to immigration authorities, then look for portogual D7 Visa and after 5 years, you will become a Portuguese/European citizen.

There other options as well, but all of that depends on you and what are you trying to achieve.

Cheers

 

[troubled soul]

Thanks hirenshukla2007 for answering.

Regarding UAE, are you sure it is possible to travel there and open a personal bank account? Can you suggest a bank? I believe being a resident is required.
Can you explain why it is very complicated to open a personal account?
Last, regarding registering a company, what is the cost and which countries are best? I read UAE company formation is expensive and a bit complicated.

Yes I am sure , it is central bank rule that physical presence required. Emirate nbd and emirate islamic bank are good one.
Personal account opening is easy but with 'tax free' status that is complicated. There are lots of offshore company jurisdiction depend on your requirements.
Bvi is easy and cheap. In uae , rak is cheap compare to dubai.

 

[Silvio]

Why not take a look at the Estonian E-residency.

with it you can open an account with transferwise, payoneer and lots of other EMIs. You can also have lots of other options with this e-residency.

Eventually, you will have to move my man. If you have the means, great. Buy a 2d passport, look for a Caribbean one as they are faster and cheaper than the other schemes. If you don't have the means but have some sort of freelance income that you could prove to immigration authorities, then look for portogual D7 Visa and after 5 years, you will become a Portuguese/European citizen.

There other options as well, but all of that depends on you and what are you trying to achieve.

Cheers

Estonian E-residency is not a residency, it's just a way to submit tax reports etc to the Estonian authorities so you can manage your Estonian company yourself. It's not a tax residency.

 

[MiddleEuroAsia]

Estonian E-residency is not a residency, it's just a way to submit tax reports etc to the Estonian authorities so you can manage your Estonian company yourself. It's not a tax residency.

I know it's not a tax residency. It's just that he is from Lebanon and reside in Lebanon. and there are a lot of banks/EMIs that won't accept him as a Lebanese without workarounds. but if he have an Estonian E-residency, he can get around this easily. as his main request is that he doesn't want to travel abroad but he wants to do everything online.

 

[Digits]

Yes I am sure , it is central bank rule that physical presence required. Emirate nbd and emirate islamic bank are good one.
Personal account opening is easy but with 'tax free' status that is complicated. There are lots of offshore company jurisdiction depend on your requirements.
Bvi is easy and cheap. In uae , rak is cheap compare to dubai.

I need to contact them, as I read they require resident visa. Aren't banks in UAE tax free?

I know it's not a tax residency. It's just that he is from Lebanon and reside in Lebanon. and there are a lot of banks/EMIs that won't accept him as a Lebanese without workarounds. but if he have an Estonian E-residency, he can get around this easily. as his main request is that he doesn't want to travel abroad but he wants to do everything online.

I do have Payoneer, but is it safe to reach like $30K and above?
Estonian E-Residency status cannot be used as leverage to open a personal bank account in Estonia. I believe, they require a company formation. Can I apply for E-Residency as an individual and use Transferwise along with Payoneer?

 

[MiddleEuroAsia]

I do have Payoneer, but is it safe to reach like $30K and above?
Estonian E-Residency status cannot be used as leverage to open a personal bank account in Estonia. I believe, they require a company formation. Can I apply for E-Residency as an individual and use Transferwise along with Payoneer?

Yes payoneer is safe, I've used them (and still do) for a business account with more than 100k a month. But keep in mind though that eventually you will need a real bank account, you want your money to be insured. if I were you @Digits (without knowing anymore info about you) I would consider these options in the near future

1- UAE freelance visa (about 2000 USD a year) and this visa will help you live in the UAE and open bank accounts there easily.
2- Portougal D7 visa. If you could prove to the Portuguese immigration authority that you receive regular income through investments or freelance work. You'll have a visa and you can live there on it as much as you like and after 5 years you'll become a Portuguese/EU citizen. Also There are certain tax schemes like the NHR scheme that you could benefit from under this visa.
3- Estonian E-residency as far as I heard would require you to have a company but this company could be tax exempt if you decided to reinvest the profits. and If you wanted to cash out, There are certain schemes where you could receive this "reinvested" money through another entity without paying taxes. But I would advice you to contact an Estonian lawyer or tax consultant First to understand your situation better.

Conclusion. Short term, payoneer and most EMIs are fine, but for long term you will want a real bank account that will give you some sort of insurance on your money.

 

[troubled soul]

"Aren't banks in UAE tax free?"

Dear, Yes they are ,But your home country will impose tax on your foreign Bank account.



Why do not you move to UAE with Freelance visa.
That will be the best option.
No Personal tax , No worry.

 

[zebios]

If you don't have the means but have some sort of freelance income that you could prove to immigration authorities, then look for portogual D7 Visa and after 5 years, you will become a Portuguese/European citizen.

This is very interesting man..I didn't know this trick exists in Portugal. So I have to declare my income in my country to be able to approve it to immigration authorities for D7 Visa right?

 

[MiddleEuroAsia]

This is very interesting man..I didn't know this trick exists in Portugal. So I have to declare my income in my country to be able to approve it to immigration authorities for D7 Visa right?

No, you don't need to tell your country anything. If you have a bank account that is able to generate bank statements and shows these to the Portuguese immigration authorities, then you will be fine.

Additionally you'll need to have about 10,000 Euros in a Portuguese bank account to Show the authorities that you have the sufficient funds to cover your expenses there. Basically, you'll have to prove that you will not become a liability to them. That's it.

 

[zebios]

No, you don't need to tell your country anything. If you have a bank account that is able to generate bank statements and shows these to the Portuguese immigration authorities, then you will be fine.

Additionally you'll need to have about 10,000 Euros in a Portuguese bank account to Show the authorities that you have the sufficient funds to cover your expenses there. Basically, you'll have to prove that you will not become a liability to them. That's it.

Wow it seems so easy to get the D7..I was always looking for a way to live in europe (spain) but portugal is also fine for me.

I read that i have to contact the portuguese embassy here (I live in Canada), and it's the consul here who approves or disapproves the D7 Visa. So all the documents of my bank statement should be presented here..it isn't risky a bit?

 

[MiddleEuroAsia]

Wow it seems so easy to get the D7..I was always looking for a way to live in europe (spain) but portugal is also fine for me.

I read that i have to contact the portuguese embassy here (I live in Canada), and it's the consul here who approves or disapproves the D7 Visa. So all the documents of my bank statement should be presented here..it isn't risky a bit?

no, it's not. if anything the embassy may contact the bank to make sure that the documents you provided to them are legitimate. And if you're in Canada, the visa will be easier because you came from a "western" country, So don't stress it man and you'll be fine!

 

[zebios]

no, it's not. if anything the embassy may contact the bank to make sure that the documents you provided to them are legitimate. And if you're in Canada, the visa will be easier because you came from a "western" country, So don't stress it man and you'll be fine!

Thanks a lot man to clarify this out for me..I will definitely begin to see how it works and to do some paperwork to go live in Portugal

 

[jscargo]

Let's make some clarifications about the D7 Visa.

1. You need to have a solid business plan, and experience and/or diplomas in the field you are working.
2. You need to apply at the Portuguese consulate in your jurisdiction, I have heard of cases that it took 1 year just to process the D7 (depends on the queue on your jurisdiction).
3. Taxes in Portugal (except NHR) are stratospheric. Expect to lose 40% of profits in average even running a small business.
4. In 5 years you will ABSOLUTELY NOT become a Portuguese citizen. After 5 years of continuous residence, if you have all your documents in order and you prove you can speak Portuguese you will be able to apply for citizenship. You can put another year around this at least, if everything goes right.

 

[Evgeniy Miller]

Thanks a lot man to clarify this out for me..I will definitely begin to see how it works and to do some paperwork to go live in Portugal

Also you can open it in CIM Bank of Switzerland

 

[zebios]

Let's make some clarifications about the D7 Visa.

1. You need to have a solid business plan, and experience and/or diplomas in the field you are working.
2. You need to apply at the Portuguese consulate in your jurisdiction, I have heard of cases that it took 1 year just to process the D7 (depends on the queue on your jurisdiction).
3. Taxes in Portugal (except NHR) are stratospheric. Expect to lose 40% of profits in average even running a small business.
4. In 5 years you will ABSOLUTELY NOT become a Portuguese citizen. After 5 years of continuous residence, if you have all your documents in order and you prove you can speak Portuguese you will be able to apply for citizenship. You can put another year around this at least, if everything goes right.

Unfortunately you are right. I just talked with immigration service provider in portugal and with my situation she suggests that i open a portuguese incorporate company with bank account and from the company i can pay myself the minimum wage and i can prove to the consulate the source of income because right now i don't have a company as i work as freelancer and i have no contracts with my clients so it's a bit tricky

 

[Peacemaker]

Why not take a look at the Estonian E-residency.

with it you can open an account with transferwise, payoneer and lots of other EMIs. You can also have lots of other options with this e-residency.

Eventually, you will have to move my man. If you have the means, great. Buy a 2d passport, look for a Caribbean one as they are faster and cheaper than the other schemes. If you don't have the means but have some sort of freelance income that you could prove to immigration authorities, then look for portogual D7 Visa and after 5 years, you will become a Portuguese/European citizen.

There other options as well, but all of that depends on you and what are you trying to achieve.

Cheers

Can you please let me know what is Estonian E-residency. ? What is the benefits for opening as a freelancer from Serbia or the Balkan ?

Pozdrav, Cheers !

 

[joffreylol]

@Peacemaker what he is referring to with e-residency is that you can register estonian ltd company and then open business bank account for that estonian company remotely with transferwise and similar. That is an expensive way to open bank account because you have to register company and have virtual office and accounting in Estonia. Still you would need personal account to transfer money out of company as either salary or dividends. As a Serbian you can open personal account at transferwise and almost get the same results (Serbia doesn't get USD ACH account, Estonia does). If you want to do this legally you would have to inform Serbian tax office of your accounts and business in Estonia. Estonia doesn't grant any privacy. But Serbia isn't a part of CRS so you might be able to run it illegally. Legally running Estonian company remotely from Serbia doesn't help you because of CFC rules, you would probably be taxed liked DOO in Serbia (you have to check double tax treaty agreement with Serbian and Estonia). Legal and best option is to pack your bags and go somewhere that works for you.