Hello
I've done a search and scanned the "Moving to Finland" section looking for informatiion, without finding any.
I have a friend who will be hopefully moving to Finland at some point this year. He will bring with him his savings from the UK.
He's already paid all appropriate UK taxes on this money, but when he gets here, will the Finnish government want to tax him when he transfers it? Anyone know anything about this?
Moving large amounts of money to Finland
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Niall Shaky
- Posts: 832
- Joined: Mon May 05, 2003 3:41 pm
The first thing he needs here is a bank account to transfer the money into.
To open a bank account here needs a Finnish address.
So he either needs to be resident here before he can make the money transfer or he needs an "address of convenience" to use as his stated place of residence in Finland. e.g that of his GF or mate..e.g you!
As the money was not earned in Finland..There is no tax charged unless he puts the cash into some investment account which earns interest in Finland.
The transfer is quite simple he just needs to tell his UK bank the IBAN number of his Finnish bank, and also the Finnish banks ID code.
The Finnish bank will help here.
To open a bank account here needs a Finnish address.
So he either needs to be resident here before he can make the money transfer or he needs an "address of convenience" to use as his stated place of residence in Finland. e.g that of his GF or mate..e.g you!
As the money was not earned in Finland..There is no tax charged unless he puts the cash into some investment account which earns interest in Finland.
The transfer is quite simple he just needs to tell his UK bank the IBAN number of his Finnish bank, and also the Finnish banks ID code.
The Finnish bank will help here.
No, they won't tax the money on a wire transfer from his savings. If he was from the US I'd recommend carrying a large cashiers check since wiring money out of the US remotely is like, well, I have a few colourful expressions for it. If he goes with Nordea bank, the most likely to have english speaking services, the online interface for banking is really very nice. You have to ask for it when opening an account. Also, the Visa Electron card is handy for getting money at ATMs.
He really MUST make sure he understands the full cost of transfering his money. Probably both banks (sender and receiver) will take a fee and he must decide whether he wants the currency conversion done here, on receipt, or over there before it is sent as that may make a difference. In my opinion there is no real reason to move his savings unless he plans to actually use them here.
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Niall Shaky
- Posts: 832
- Joined: Mon May 05, 2003 3:41 pm
Here's my slow money transfer idea.
(Because my money is in dollars and the Euro is high.)
I have a bank card/visa and online banking from my bank in the US and a Finnish account. I use the US visa for purchases when the Finnish account is dry. If I'm short around bill paying time, I go to the machine, take out what I need and deposit it in my Finnish bank.
But beware, many banks will want to charge "forgeign ATM" fees and exchange rate fees. I hunted around in the US until I found one that didn't. Wire transfer from the US is insane.
Of course, doesn't help if you need all the money NOW!
Good luck!
(Because my money is in dollars and the Euro is high.)
I have a bank card/visa and online banking from my bank in the US and a Finnish account. I use the US visa for purchases when the Finnish account is dry. If I'm short around bill paying time, I go to the machine, take out what I need and deposit it in my Finnish bank.
But beware, many banks will want to charge "forgeign ATM" fees and exchange rate fees. I hunted around in the US until I found one that didn't. Wire transfer from the US is insane.
Of course, doesn't help if you need all the money NOW!
Good luck!