Thursday, 28 August 2008
Opening bank accounts


It’s mandatory to have a residence visa, which demonstrates your right to be in the country. You also require a ‘letter of no objection’ or a ‘no objection certificate’ (NOC) from your employer. The employer’s letter needs to stipulate your salary, to show the amount that will regularly be paid into the bank. Some banks will ask to see your tenancy agreement to establish your residential address, and most will ask for a photocopy of your passport. You should take copies of all these documents, as well as identity photographs.

A worker’s dependants (e.g. wife and family) can open an account with his permission, as he’s in effect their sponsor.

When moving to Dubai to live and work, it’s unlikely that you will close your bank account at home, particularly if you still have payments to make to cover commitments in your home country. In order to limit your tax liabilities there, however, the funds going into home accounts should be kept to a minimum. It’s almost certain that you will also open an offshore bank account.

Savings & Deposit Accounts


You can open a savings or deposit account with any retail bank in Dubai. There are no specific savings banks such as thrifts or S&Ls in the USA or building societies or ‘mutual companies’ in the UK. Although savings accounts offer lower interest rates than deposit accounts, they have the advantage of easy withdrawal at any time. Savings account holders might receive a passbook in which financial transactions can be recorded, but more usually a monthly statement is issued in order to record the progress and details of the account. Holders might also be issued with a cash card for use in ATMs, a cheque book and a credit card, depending on the type of account.

There are many types of deposit account available, offering varying rates of interest according to the amount on deposit and minimum deposit period. This is usually a month, although some banks pay interest after a week – generally on large amounts only. High interest accounts are available but require substantial amounts to be deposited in order to qualify for the higher levels of interest. Some banks offer standing order facilities with these accounts and issue cheque books, but there might be maintenance charges and a limit on the number of cheques that can be issued annually.

In many banks, you can open savings accounts designed for major foreign currencies, predominantly US$ and GB£. Most expatriates, however, wish to export the majority of their income to accounts outside the region.
 
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