Opening a foreign bank account

The modern world undergoes rapid changes in almost all the rounds and financial management is not an exception. Increasing possibility of carrying on business abroad, establishment of the international financial institutions, international tourism and the numerous related factors require development of international financial system.

More and more people consider opening a foreign bank account as the instrument for the effective facilitation of the company financial operations.

Different countries provide various conditions of opening and operation business bank accounts. Such countries as Switzerland, Austria, Sweden, Canada and Australia have stable financial systems. However, nowadays they set too high requirements. The average minimum balance ranges from at least 50 thousands to 150 thousands Euros. Moreover, the amount of a minimum balance can sometimes reach 500 thousands Euros and more. For an active business blocking such amount of money is impossible in most of the cases.

Many European countries, as well as the USA and Canada, exercise a total control over the financial activities of their clients. You have to prove the legitimacy of the source of funds and submit certificates from the revenue agency. Such requirements are evidently understandable, however often these exceed reasonable extend.

The UAE and some other countries such as Cyprus, Hong Kong, the Dominican Republic, Latvia and even Switzerland allow setting up a bank account in the so-called offshore regime. Opening a bank account in an offshore zone is known to be the easiest way. Such account provides effective money operations along with security.

Both natural persons and legal entities can open a foreign bank account in UAE. Passport, utility bill and some additional docs are the only document required to open a bank account by natural persons. You should also indicate the source of income, a purpose of opening an account and an approximate annual turnover.

The procedure of opening a bank account in UAE seems to be quite transparent. However, some questions can arise.