Paid in UK, live in Sweden

jecooper

Hi all,

I'm about to start a trial period where I will be based in Sweden for the next 3 months (and then hopefully longer after that). During this trial I will continue to be paid into my UK bank account and pay tax in the UK.

Has anyone got any advice on how to handle my current account during this period? Obviously I will need the bulk of my wages for spending in Sweden (rent, bills, life etc) so I see two options:

- a monthly international transfer into a Swedish account, which seems expensive
- use a credit card such as Halifax clarity for everything, which will have limitations (no setting up direct debits etc)

Any thoughts?

noh

Use a currency transfer service such as transferwise.com or currencyfair. Both are inexpensive.
.

grumbler

jecooper wrote: »

- a monthly international transfer into a Swedish account, which seems expensive

http://www.mycurrencytransfer.com/money-transfer-to-Sweden/1000-GBP

- use a credit card such as Halifax clarity for everything, which will have limitations (no setting up direct debits etc)

This is likely to be a better option regardless.

badger09

As a frequent visitor to Sweden I can confirm it is possible (even expected) to pay for most things by credit or debit card. Might not work for rent to a private landlord, but for only 3 months that shouldn't be a problem.

Enjoy!

SleeplessinScandinavia

jecooper wrote: »

Hi all,

I'm about to start a trial period where I will be based in Sweden for the next 3 months (and then hopefully longer after that). During this trial I will continue to be paid into my UK bank account and pay tax in the UK.

Has anyone got any advice on how to handle my current account during this period? Obviously I will need the bulk of my wages for spending in Sweden (rent, bills, life etc) so I see two options:

- a monthly international transfer into a Swedish account, which seems expensive
- use a credit card such as Halifax clarity for everything, which will have limitations (no setting up direct debits etc)

Any thoughts?

If you are staying in Sweden (certainly after the initial 3 months), I would advise opening a Swedish bank account into which money transfers could be paid.

In my experience, utility providers don't do direct debits: you usually get a bill for services, and you transfer the money electronically from your (Swedish) bank account to the 'provider' of the service. I prefer this system to direct debits.

I take it you know that if you become 'normally resident' in Sweden, after the 3 months, there could be an issue of paying tax there? There is a 'double taxation treaty' between UK-Sweden so that UK tax paid is subtracted from the Swedish bill

benjus

It may be a good idea to open a local account for things like utility bills; however, you can still do your day-to-day spending directly from your UK account.

If you're near London you can pop into a branch of Metro Bank and open an account immediately. You can then arrange to have your salary paid into this new account, and access it directly from overseas with no fees or charges. It's much like the Halifax Clarity option, but you don't have to worry about paying off cash withdrawals to avoid interest.

opinions4u

I hope you're getting an extra allowance.

The cost of EVERYTHING in Sweden is HUGE.

innovate

http://www.fxcompared.com/

jecooper

thanks for all the replies guys especially the links to some good transfer services. sounds like the answer will be a bit of both!

A good credit card will get me going, and then I'll look to set up a local current account and use one of those services to put some regular chunks of cash. will also check out that metro bank suggestion.

and thanks for the advice on Sweden, I've been visiting on a monthly basis for the last 6 months so well aware of how much a round of beers can sting. fortunately I have a private rental set up already which will save me about £500 a month compared to London. Hoping this should keep me in the plus until I can formalise a contract and salary to stay there permanently.

cheers!

SleeplessinScandinavia

Foreign currency traders may well get you very competitive rates of exchange - but I wasn't convinced they were right for me.

I sometimes transfer money from my UK bank to my Swedish one - but I don't let the UK bank do the conversion as the Swedish bank have always offered a better rate of exchange.

Just a thought

plunt

I currently have been in sweden for 2 months and been paid in the uk.

I have done the following. Used my halifax clarity card the entire time (call them before you leave to let them know, also EVERYWHERE even taxis accept card in sweden!)

secondly i have my back up n&p gold account which is comission free in case i need to do cash withdrawls or i lose my other card

Finally you can set up a bank account here, last i heard is handelsbanken offer a fee free card (very rare in sweden) Then transfer money over using transferwise. Finally any excess money you may have left (which is doubtful in sweden) you can transfer back using that bank account as they give you near perfect fx and take a £4 comission.

Alternatively do something crazy like buy bitcoins in the uk and sell them in sweden

Enjoy!

P