Expat Advice: Financial Issues in Dubai, UAE

What is the name of the city or town that you are reporting on?

Dubai

Which banks do you use? If you have a local account, which bank do you use? How do you like it? Do you also have an account in your home country? Which bank? Do they charge for ATM withdrawals? Do they charge a lot for international wire transfers? How has it been working with them from abroad? Do you use a special international wire transfer service? Do you use an online bank? If so, tell us about them.

There are many offshore banks which are appropriate for most expats (be careful if you're US). Local banks, even branches of larger, international banks, are really just locally-owned franchises. Don't expect the same type or level of service you might get back at home or you may become frustrated. There are different values here regarding "customer service." Offshore banks based out of the Isle of Man and other offshore centers often have accounts explicitly focused on the international expat. These will include features like international debit cards, domestic and international payments, multi-currency accounts. They're especially appropriate if you travel a lot. You should always check what type of insurance cover they carry for your deposits. Local banks offer local and international accounts with most of the features you'd expect from a bank. They're not very different from what you might expect at home in terms of services they provide. However, the laws regarding debt are different here. See below.

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What advice would you offer others about banking as an expat in your country? What do you wish you had known about banking when you first arrived?

Local banks are very loss-averse these days and will not be quick to give out credit cards or even open accounts (especially if you don't have your residence visa yet). Account opening can take a few days or a few weeks. Some will only offer credit cards linked to cash you've deposited (really a debit card). You will generally need a residence visa before opening most current/savings accounts, though there are some banks such as Rakbank and Emirates Bank who will offer accounts to those without resident visas yet, but these do not allow for checks and most other privileges. Really just a place to temporarily park your paycheck.

Bring your passport, copies of the last three bank statements from your home country bank, a letter of introduction from your employer describing your employment status, salary and visa status (if you don't have your residence visa yet).

Be very careful about using credit or writing checks that bounce. If you don't repay your creditors, that's a criminal offense. That's why there are so many abandoned car at the airport and in various lots throughout Dubai. People left the country after losing a job and couldn't sell the vehicle or repay their debt. They won't be coming back.

NOTE: a bank can have you thrown in jail, even before you're judged guilty, simply because of an apparent lack of payment on a credit card, loan, etc. I STRONGLY advise that you do not use local credit until you've been here awhile and you have very good job security. Horror stories abound. Use a credit card from home if need be (they may charge you 3-4% of the charge but there's no sales tax here).

Talk to your bank (and your credit card companies)at home before leaving. Tell them where you're moving and give them your new address if you're not maintaining one at home. Ask them ahead of time about currency exchange rates and fees for wiring money. My American bank required me to sign up for a special security feature before they could do a wire transfer. That security feature depended on them sending me a text message to a US-based cell phone. Useless. I couldn't request the wire transfer. However, I had given my sister (who I trust unequivocally) ownership rights over the account before I left and she had to go to the bank and make the request in person.

What sort of challenges or frustrations have you encountered as an investor living overseas? Please describe.

If you are a non-US expat and do not intend to return home any time soon, offshore investments are excellent in terms of the tax-free or tax-deferred benefits, especially for UK expats. (UK expats who return to the UK eventually can take advantage of several tax strategies will will nullify the majority of the taxes due if they dispose of the assets from the UK.) However, you need to understand the charges and fees you will pay. An trustworthy advisor will volunteer that information.

If you are a US expat, investing offshore comes with heinous taxes from the IRS due to Passive Foreign Investment Company (PFIC) rules. Most independent financial advisors have no clue about how these work. They just want you to put money with them and sign a waiver saying you understand the tax liabilities and do not hold them or the investment company liable.

[In the interest of full disclosure, I am an American Certified Financial Planner.]

What advice was particularly helpful to you in managing your finances? What advice would you give? Any other thoughts?

There are many people peddling financial advice. Many are just salespeople and aren't in the business as advisors or consultants. Ask them about their credentials, how they earned those credentials, how they're paid, their experience, etc.

If you're married, you should get a will here in Dubai for your Dubai assets. Otherwise, if a husband dies intestate (without a will) the wife will be subject to local Sharia law. This means if there's a brother or father of the deceased, they're actually next in line to inherit the assets. Another possibility is to title everything in your wife's name because if something happens to her, the husband will automatically take ownership without local probate.

Do you do your own taxes, use a local firm, an expat-oriented firm or does your employer handle this for you (i.e. via an corporate tax firm)?

I use an expat-oriented firm based out of Europe but there are qualified tax and estate attorneys here in Dubai for those with more complex situations. This is for US expats.

Everyone else, as a very general rule, you won't be filing taxes on income earned from Dubai. There may be peculiar exceptions for things like withholdings on dividends from an investment in your home country.

Check your consulate website or a trusted advisor for referrals.

What advice could you offer others about doing your taxes as an expat?

Again, for non-US expats, there is not very much in terms of tax filing because the UAE has no income, capital gains, estate tax, etc.

For US expats, the first year that you come is the most complex. You have residency tests, possibly foreign bank acccounts (FBAR) forms, you have to file for the Foreign Earned Income Exclusion and the Housing Exclusion/Deduction(it's not automatic and if you have more than the lowest levels of income, you will need to file your taxes). I would not suggest trying to do all this on your own. It's all the more complex if you are self-employed because you have to pay self-employment taxes on all your net income, regardless of the Foreign Exclusion.

Do not hire just any CPA from the US. You must find one with extensive expatriate experience. Interview them ahead of time if possible. Ask if it's their only focus and how many returns they've done for expats and for how long.