Properly boring bank question

[perfectingmygrowl]

hello hello

Really sorry for a boring post but would really appreciate your views on the logistics of dealing with money/bank accounts/ savings when moving overseas....

Am planning on moving to Oz in the next couple of months and have been pondering what to do re: money. DH should be working fairly quickly so not too worried about immediate cash flow but...

• any tips on what we should do with our smallish savings - if we transfer it over I suspect we'll lose quite a bit in the process?

• also I have noticed in the t and cs of my accounts that you have to be resident to have them - does this really matter? can you just ignore this and leave accounts open?

I'm not even really sure what my questions are so any general thoughts on this topic welcome too!!

cheers xxx

you have to be resident here for tax purposes. But your bank will be able to change your accounts to reflect that you're no longer resident. Just go in and see them.

In terms of savings, it depends on what you wnt to do with them. If you're going to continue saving, I'd leave them here for now. If you need the money in Australia then once your'e settled and have bank accounts etc, you should move them over. Find a good service that will do you a good deal on trading FX - WorldFirst are good IMO - and check on commission, speed and rates before committing.

If you transfer significant amounts of money your bank here or in Aus may require info from you on why you're doing it and there's the possibility of a tax implication. For small amounts, it shouldn't be a problem.

Thank you so much- ah if its for tax then that's fine...makes sense.

I'll have a look at world first. In terms of the children's money then I can leave it here as I don't spend it. But I think I will want my savings (those shoes won't by themselves!) so will look into that.

i can't imagine our savings will really have a tax implication in terms of Oz we're pretty small fry.

Thanks again

If you leave it in the UK, you'll have to pay tax on the interest.

UK banks deduct basic rate tax at source. However, if you don't have any other source of UK income, you're unlikely to cross the personal allowance threshold of c. £7500. Therefore, you can apply to receive interest gross (without tax deducted). Do this before you leave.

You're entitled to a personal allowance even if you're non-resident so long as you're a citizen of an EU country.

Thank you bagged and tagged - that's helpful.

I would also leave one of your credit cards open so you can use when you are back and also as your credit rating may be affected by your not being in the country then it is easier to leave one open than trying to get new ones when/if you do return to the UK.

Great point by Merlion. Also sometimes comes in useful if you want to internet shop from the UK because some UK websites will accept a UK billing address and overseas shipping address but not an overseas billing address.

Another example is i-tunes and the app store. In HK, you cant use the UK stores if you don't have a UK credit card- you have to use the HK one which is rubbish and doesn't even have Angry Birds- i mean COME ON!!

Anyway, when we moved I just changed my billing address to my mums and kept all my UK accounts/cards going.

A bit of a plug: I bank with HSBC and have found them to be excellent with all our moving around- you can link all your accounts via internet banking and do online transfers etc.

Merlion- thank you - that is a really good idea.

bagged and tagged - thanks very much.

I lived in china for a while and did exactly that with billing address as I was only there for two years. I have been thinking about this as a more permanent move but actually it would still be really useful to have things open. I'll ask mum if I can do it again - also I'd then be able to use Amazon or whatever for UK friends' birthdays etc.

cool, starting to get things a bit straighter in my head.

Glad to help. Mum is fine with me using her's as a billing address so long as I get everything electronically so she doesn't drown under 2 yrs of my mail, and don't get her credit blacklisted