HOW TO OPEN A NON-RESIDENT BANK ACCOUNT IN BELGIUM
Apr 29th, 2011 by Conor McCabe
In Ireland, there has been a “silent bank run” on financial institutions for much of the last year. In February, for instance, Irish private sector deposits dropped at an annual rate of 9.8 percent. That’s largely because some depositors doubt the commitment of the Irish government to the euro. They fear that they will wake up one morning to frozen bank accounts, followed by the conversion of their euro deposits into a lesser-valued new Irish currency. Pre-emptively, the depositors send their money outside Ireland, where it still represents safe euros or perhaps sterling, accessible by bank transfers and A.T.M. cards. (New York Times, 16 April 2011)
[This post is a bit of an experiment. All the information is valid and up-to-date, but I’m curious as to how many hits it will receive. I’ve got a feeling that there are a lot of Irish people searching for this type of info.]
For those wishing to move their savings out of Ireland, the simplest option is to open a non-resident Euro savings deposit account in one of the less risky jurisdictions within the EU.
All banks require two forms of I.D. - usually your passport and a domestic bill as proof of your address in Ireland - and for you to open the account in person. That is, you need to bring your passport, an ESB bill or equivalent, and physically travel to the city and branch and open the account face-to-face.
The ING Bank in Brussels, for example, asks that you arrange an appointment before your arrival.
According to an email they sent me, they require you to make a initial deposit of €100 to open the account. They also ask that you fill in a questionnaire and give details of the source of your main deposit - savings, inheritance, windfall, etc.
The whole process, they say, will take about an hour.
In Belgium, you pay a higher rate of capital gains tax than in other countries, but the benefit is that your details are NOT passed on to the authorities in Ireland. In almost all other EU countries, the names and addresses of non-resident account holders are passed on to the tax office of the country of residence.
It is perfectly legal to open a non-resident account, but it is illegal to use it to evade paying tax.
The questionnaire which ING Bank asks that you fill in before making your appointment is available here as a word document.
Is it due to the previous post that you’ve opted for Europe’s only anarchist state for the experiment Conor ?
(They haven’t had a government for most of the last year)
Same scam the IFSC etc. was minting it on for most of the last decade, isn’t it ? You should maybe try Luxembourg for even less formalities in setting up the account.
If they allow it, I would prefer Rabobank, which is a mutual. (I don’t know if the internet accounts they provide for Irish customers are different in legal status than a non-resident account would be; nor do I know if they will open non-resident accounts.)
The rabobank online for irish customers is an irish bank - that is, it is subject to all the rules and regulations of the Irish state. The fact that it is online doesn’t make any difference - it’s still Irish-based.
As far as opening a rabobank account in the Netherlands - again it shouldn’t be a problem as long as it’s a deposit account you’re opening. The real restrictions are on current accounts. After that it depends on how much money you’re depositing. with ING in Belgium it’s anything upwards from €100 - with the State Bank of India, for example, it’s €20,000. Not sure if rabobank Netherlands has a minimum deposit criteria.
Landlord said France to me the other day. scary stuff.
Would have thought France was about the worst possible option for a dodgy non-resident account. Even as a resident setting up a bank acocunt here is an administrative assault course (like so much else). Either your landlord’s Brian Lenihan or he has mistaken the nice bank phone salesperson from Monaco or Andorra (delocalised to Morocco) for somebody in a French bank.
So how many hits have you gotten so far Conor for the forthcoming flight of capital ?
Nothing out of the ordinary.
Hi Conor,
After reading all kinds of mixed opinions/advice on how to get money out of Ireland, I would like to get advice specific to my situation, where do I go looking for this besides the internet?(am still in the dark here!) Do I look up financial advisors in my local area or what would you suggest?
Hi Mary Kate,
I know very little about any of this. I put up this post, and wrote to ING in Belgium, out of curiosity. If you an afford it, get professional advice - the internet is the worst place to go looking for financial guidance.
This is what I have found out, though, in the course of writing this post:
there are no legal restrictions on opening up a non-resident savings account in the EU. now, this is not to say that it is a legal requirement that banks provide this service - many don’t. They simply don’t want the hassle of dealing with non-residents, which is also why those that do have a minimum deposit requirement - usually €20,000 to €25,000. If you have that level of savings, though, it shouldn’t be a problem. Just pick a country which should withstand the shocks for a while, find a Ryanair flight which goes there, bring your passport and household bill, and you should be able to open an account there and then. It is best to email or ring for an appointment first, though, but remember, there is nothing illegal about opening up a non-resident account - it is HIGHLY illegal, though, to avoid paying tax on any interest gained from such an account.
with the exception of Belgium and Luxembourg, once you open up a non-resident account anywhere in Europe, the bank is obliged to forward your details to your country of residence. what that means is, once the interest is paid on your account, you need to calculate how much tax is due on that in Ireland and then pay Revenue accordingly. Once you do that, you should be fine. Opening a non-resident account is not the crime - tax evasion is the crime.
If you want to stay with an English-speaking country, there’s always Belfast of course. Or, you could open up a non-resident Euro savings account with Barclays Wealth in London. They want a deposit of at least €5,000. It’s called the ibank saver account, and there are no monthly fees:
http://www.expat.barclays.com/ibank-saver/
Make sure you go to the London branch, though, as that is the one covered by the UK deposit guarantee. The banks in Isle of Man and Jersey are covered by the Isle of Man and Jersey.
similarly, you can go to one of the two Indian Banks in London - both of which are backed by the Indian State and the UK bank guarantee:
There’s the bank of baroda:
https://www.bankofbarodauk.com/retail-banking/deposit-products/savings-accounts/
and the State Bank of India (this requires a deposit of €20,000):
http://www.sbiuk.com/account-opening-non-resident.aspx
Now, THIS IS JUST STUFF I HAVE FOUND ON THE INTERNET. KEEP THAT IN MIND. Depending on your savings and financial position, you should get professional advice. And you need to work out if you want a deposit savings account or an investment account. with savings, it’s a piggy bank, with an investment account, you’re asking the bank/financial institution to invest in bonds, shares, etc on your behalf.
and again, always remember - THE INTERNET IS THE WORST PLACE IN THE WORLD FOR FINANCIAL OR MEDICAL ADVICE.
One other thing: if you are looking for non-resident accounts on the web, the accounts with the most restrictions are current accounts - the banks want proof of residence in the country and proof of salary as well. But, if all you want is to deposit your money, with no card or related current account services, you’ll find it a lot easier.
also, Rabobank is NOT a non-resident account. Just because it’s an internet account doesn’t change that fact. It’s as Irish as Enda Kenny.
Thanks Conor,
I will look into the above in the meantime…..
Where do I go looking for professional advice in relation to keeping my money safe as opposed to investing it in shares etc. What type of financial advisor should I choose?
Also Investec, and NIB foreign currency accounts, how safe is my money with these in your opinion?
I haven’t a clue Mary Kate - the above is the extent of my knowledge of these things.
The one thing I will say, though, is that the moment you convert currency, you’re into currency speculation. If up to now all you’ve been doing is putting your money into a deposit account - fixed-term, savings, etc - then you have to ask yourself: do I want to move into currency speculation? I can’t advise you on that. I’m not a currency trader. Nor do I gamble - which is what investec and foreign currency saving accounts are really about. And, as with gambling, you should only ‘invest’ what you can afford to lose.
If you are worried about the future state of Ireland’s banking system, and, indeed, the possibility - however remote - of Ireland breaking with the Euro and reverting to the Punt - then NIB won’t address those fears. Even though NIB is probably the safest bank in Ireland today, it is still subject to the laws of the land. And if NIB is told by the government to freeze accounts for three days while a new currency is brought in, then it will have to comply.
I suppose what I’m saying is:
if you think Ireland’s banking system is unsafe, then move your money out of the jurisdiction.
But if you think the Euro itself is unsafe, then change currency.
And, if you want to speculate on currency and asset fluctuations, then neither of the above matter because you’re choosing to actively gamble with your savings. And because nobody can guarantee speculation, only speculate with what you can afford to lose.
Belgium changed from withholding tax to exchange of information in 2010. Austria and Luxemburg are the only EU-countries that stick to the option of 35 % withholdin tax (up to 30-6-11 25 %)
http://deloitte.12hna.com/newsletters/2009/WTA/a091030_3.pdf
Thanks for the update, bankomat.
“I’ve got a feeling that there are a lot of Irish people searching for this type of info”
and not only Irish…
If you’ve got friends living in Britain you can go into a British post office and open a savings account, giving your friends’ address as yours. You can put a big opening deposit into it and then continue feeding the account while over there on hols and business trips. Otherwise keep your cash under the matress, with the usual risks.
Dear all, please pologies if i make any interruption here, im latino, i survive In Belgium and i wanna share information and ask OFFCOURSE. Dear Connor, in really i dont understand why do you speak about belgium as a miracle. here we have to paid for all, in fact we are in the list of the most high level taxes; like SO Mnay people here i just try to save some cents out of thye hands of the goberment. BE SURE OF THIS, BELGIUM IS NOT THE PLACE FOR SAVE (if we are speaking about taxes) money. is a strong country but for the goberment, not for You. just check the list published by you, is not normall all what they ask for open a bank account; wherever the point is, just this week im searching information in 4 lenguage i i found something interesting (for some kind people) isla man, caiman islas look the most interest if do you need open an account for save some cents out. here could be interesting for all you, but you speak english, someone told you what kind service can you recive when you dont spek any of the local lenguages ? anyway, my question Connor is, how do you know about the banks send the information about the non residents in almost all the counstries of the EU, so i have to ask, if a posible open an acoount in: ISLE of man, Andorra, Monaco and be 100% safe ? i just need get my data out of belgium, otherwise i have to pay for HAVE ANOTHER ACCOUNT OUT OF BELGIUM. i dont have thousands euros, in FACT, I DONT HAVE money, just like you and all the people here i wish save some cents think in the future, in my family and my chid, NOTHING ELSE. god burn the goberment, thanks you all !
It seems to be getting worse now folks. After watching Vincent Brown last night on TV3 I don’t know if the Irish Banks will eventually fail or if the Euro will fail or the world is going to end. Should we all have Stealing accounts or just by Dollars and put them out the back in the Shed/Ground. Am I right in thinking no matter what happens all the currencies will be affected negatively as they all have assets tied up in Europe. Could you keep your money in cash and then if a change over happens (Bank Freeze for 3 days) for Ireland then your cash is still at the rate of the Germans. Maybe we should just by dollars and keep them in the pillow. Any “update” advice on what to do with some savings would be very much appreciated.