Moving Abroad

herebeme

Why do you think you can’t keep a UK bank account?

notavailable

herebeme said:

Why do you think you can’t keep a UK bank account?

I thought I was required to be a UK resident.

Doesn't that mean living there and having a UK address or am I wrong ?

herebeme

You just need to use a relative’s or friend’s address, and set everything to electronic statements. You can keep your house too you know, just rent it out. 

I strongly advise you keep your current account open until you are fully set up in Thailand. I don’t know anything about financial system there, but setting up accounts when you move abroad can take some time, as can building your credit rating, and you’ll want access to cash and credit from your UK accounts in the meantime. You definitely don’t want to be going through the airport with a suitcase full of cash!

You do need to let HMRC know though. 

I cannot possible tell you everything you need to know, especially as I know nothing about moving to Thailand. You need to find an UK expat in Thailand forum and start reading, or googling. 

notavailable

herebeme said:

You just need to use a relative’s or friend’s address, and set everything to electronic statements. You can keep your house too you know, just rent it out. 

I strongly advise you keep your current account open until you are fully set up in Thailand. I don’t know anything about financial system there, but setting up accounts when you move abroad can take some time, as can building your credit rating, and you’ll want access to cash and credit from your UK accounts in the meantime. You definitely don’t want to be going through the airport with a suitcase full of cash!

You do need to let HMRC know though. 

I cannot possible tell you everything you need to know, especially as I know nothing about moving to Thailand. You need to find an UK expat in Thailand forum and start reading, or googling. 

Ok that's encouraging.

Thanks.

Albermarle

notavailable said:

Albermarle said:

notavailable said:

herebeme said:

Ok. So now you need to research. 

Some starter things to think about:
What dates does the Thai tax year run from/to? After how many days do you become tax resident? What is taxable? Is worldwide income taxable? Under what circumstances is it not taxable? What about capital gains i.e. from house sale (remember what the UK considers a capital gain may not be the same in Thailand)? What about ISAs or other investments? Is there a double-taxation treaty, if so how does it work? 

I see.

Sounds like I need a financial advisor.

I was hoping for a simpler solution

Probably your average local financial advisor, is not going to be very well informed on Thailand tax laws, and probably would not be interested in getting involved ( apologies to any advisors reading this if I am incorrect )

I didn't really want to invest my money there I wanted a way of leaving it in UK but it seems no one has a solution for that.

The issue is that even if your money is invested in UK, if you wanted to access it then it would probably be affected by Thai tax law in some way or another. 

Johnjdc

herebeme said:

You just need to use a relative’s or friend’s address, and set everything to electronic statements. You can keep your house too you know, just rent it out. 

I strongly advise you keep your current account open until you are fully set up in Thailand. I don’t know anything about financial system there, but setting up accounts when you move abroad can take some time, as can building your credit rating, and you’ll want access to cash and credit from your UK accounts in the meantime. You definitely don’t want to be going through the airport with a suitcase full of cash!

You do need to let HMRC know though. 

I cannot possible tell you everything you need to know, especially as I know nothing about moving to Thailand. You need to find an UK expat in Thailand forum and start reading, or googling. 

Apologies for hijacking this thread but it reminded me of something that I often remember and think "that's can't be true can it?" and as far as I can tell it is. I might be relevant to me at some point in the coming years.

As I understand it

1) You lose your UK tax status by becoming resident somewhere else, not by failing to be resident in the UK

2) You become resident somewhere else either by spending 185 days or whatever their, or whatever their tax laws say

3) Therefore if I spent eight months in Italy, I'd not be a UK resident for that tax year - creating e.g. ISA problems

4) But if I spent four months in Italy, then four months in Australia, then four months on a manned mission to Mars, my UK tax status would be retained and HMRC would treat it no differently to if I'd gone on a round the world cruise?

Is that right?

ColdIron

Albermarle said:

notavailable said:

Albermarle said:

notavailable said:

herebeme said:

Ok. So now you need to research. 

Some starter things to think about:
What dates does the Thai tax year run from/to? After how many days do you become tax resident? What is taxable? Is worldwide income taxable? Under what circumstances is it not taxable? What about capital gains i.e. from house sale (remember what the UK considers a capital gain may not be the same in Thailand)? What about ISAs or other investments? Is there a double-taxation treaty, if so how does it work? 

I see.

Sounds like I need a financial advisor.

I was hoping for a simpler solution

Probably your average local financial advisor, is not going to be very well informed on Thailand tax laws, and probably would not be interested in getting involved ( apologies to any advisors reading this if I am incorrect )

I didn't really want to invest my money there I wanted a way of leaving it in UK but it seems no one has a solution for that.

The issue is that even if your money is invested in UK, if you wanted to access it then it would probably be affected by Thai tax law in some way or another. 

Thailand has some of the best lawyers that money can buy

MalMonroe

Hi, some things to think about when moving to Thailand -

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/living-in-thailand

My daughter's dad (my ex) moved there a few years ago. Every year he has to prove that he has enough money in his bank account to be able to stay there, financially secure. (I'm not sure of the amount but you can probably find out easily enough).

They don't have a reciprocal arrangement with the NHS and medical and dental care can be quite expensive for ex-pats.  

My ex says it isn't all plain sailing but now he's married a Thai lady he is probably going to stay there. Sadly, just because he's married to a Thai national doesn't mean he receives any preferential treatment. At all. In fact, sometimes he thinks the opposite applies!

He retains a current bank account in the UK and has done since he went to Thailand but I'm not sure how much he's allowed to keep in there. He has full access via online banking and an app.

I'd say think long and hard before scooting off there. It's a culture shock to some. 

notavailable

MalMonroe said:

Hi, some things to think about when moving to Thailand -

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/living-in-thailand

My daughter's dad (my ex) moved there a few years ago. Every year he has to prove that he has enough money in his bank account to be able to stay there, financially secure. (I'm not sure of the amount but you can probably find out easily enough).

They don't have a reciprocal arrangement with the NHS and medical and dental care can be quite expensive for ex-pats.  

My ex says it isn't all plain sailing but now he's married a Thai lady he is probably going to stay there. Sadly, just because he's married to a Thai national doesn't mean he receives any preferential treatment. At all. In fact, sometimes he thinks the opposite applies!

He retains a current bank account in the UK and has done since he went to Thailand but I'm not sure how much he's allowed to keep in there. He has full access via online banking and an app.

I'd say think long and hard before scooting off there. It's a culture shock to some. 

This is true I am well acquainted with the place.

The amount needed to keep in a Thai bank is 800,000 Thai baht or approximately £20k and for anyone married to a Thai national it is 400,000 Baht and they make you jump through hoops and turn tricks every three months at immigration to stay there. For married couples they even come and inspect your home to ensure you are living together.

Lots of pitfalls many people are willing to overlook because of the perceived advantages.

Come to think of it why bother.

fifeken

As already mentioned, keep the money in the UK for now.

Other things you may already be aware of or already planning:

Keep all your UK accounts open (open more if possible as some may end up being closed if they know your real circumstances) and use a friend or relative's address for correspondence.

Open accounts with no fees for overseas transactions if you don't already have them (credit and debit card accounts).

Open a Wise account for money transfers.  Open a Xendpay, XE or similar account as back up to Wise.

Get a cheap UK SIM (Lebara is often mentioned) to receive OTPs for online banking if you're not intending to keep any current UK mobile package you have.

One for your conscience, but if you tell HMRC you are moving your state pension will be frozen - no annual increases.

Money brought into Thailand is only taxable there if brought in during the calendar year it was earned.  In practice for most people this will never be checked but we don't know what you'll be doing which might attract attention.

What visa status do you plan to arrive/stay in Thailand on?