Offshore accounts have retained their popularity among individuals and entrepreneurs and today are not something illegal. An offshore bank account is an account opened by a foreigner in any country or bank outside the territory of their residence and tax residence.
What are offshore bank accounts for and how to open such an account? Experts from International Wealth, the top website about offshore services, will help us sort out these issues. You will learn about the most popular offshore banking countries, the features of offshore accounts, and the procedure for opening them.
What are the types of offshore accounts?
Offshore accounts are bank accounts in foreign banks and financial institutions, which can be divided into several subgroups:
1. An account for an offshore company – is called offshore due to the company’s status (international/offshore), the place of registration of which is an offshore territory (Nevis, Belize, Cayman Islands, Delaware USA, Cook Islands, etc.).
2. A personal offshore account – an account opened in the name of a foreign citizen in any state other than his place of residence and tax residence. Such an account is also called a foreign account.
3. An offshore account for foreign business – an account that can be opened with an offshore bank for European, Asian, and other foreign companies. At the same time, the company itself does not necessarily belong to offshore companies and often has an economic presence in respectable jurisdictions. A reserve offshore account is most often opened for a subsidiary or branch, or to set up a trust to manage a business.
Why open an offshore bank account?
Having an international account is becoming more and more common among individuals and companies. The purposes of opening an offshore account are:
2. passive income from high interest on deposits
3. diversification of capital and confidentiality of the beneficial owner.
Offshore banking is the transfer of money to a bank located outside the client’s country of tax residence.
An offshore bank account for individuals provides a number of advantages:
1. Accessibility and flexibility:
foreign banks offering their services focus on the flexibility of their products. The main goal is to provide global access to personal savings through online banking, which allows you to perform any transaction from anywhere in the world.
2. Minimum documents for opening an offshore account for non-residents in relation to similar requirements in European banks.
3. Confidentiality and security:
Offshore banks pay special attention to the security of assets and the preservation of confidential information about their customers without transferring data to third parties.
4. Diversification:
Foreign banks are suitable and used to protect capital and distribute assets among different wallets. This will protect against the risks of blocking accounts and currency fluctuations, as well as against the backdrop of political and economic crises.
5. Protection:Â
Offshore accounts in private banks have a higher level of protection from both government and commercial foreign structures.
In general, an offshore bank account allows an individual to use modern banking products with a high level of security.
How to open an offshore account?
When we have understood the advantages of offshore accounts, it is time to talk about how to open an offshore account.
Opening an offshore bank account for individuals or offshore companies is not as easy as opening a bank account in the country of residence. Banks carefully check each potential client, especially for involvement in the sanctions list of persons and jurisdictions, as well as for violations of tax regulations and financial fraud.
As part of this process, banks require a number of documents related to conducting an in-depth KYC (Know Your Customer) due diligence on you as a new customer. But even this will not be enough to open an offshore account if the client has already been included in the list of EU-sanctioned persons. To solve the problem, it will be necessary to narrow down the list of available banks that will give the go-ahead to open an offshore account, and (if necessary) choose a different route to diversify and protect assets.
To open an offshore account (for individuals), you will need to provide legalized documents translated and certified by a notary:
- scanned copy of the passport
- a document confirming the place of residence
- original certificate from the place of employment (the document is required to confirm the solvency of an individual)
- a CV indicating the source of origin of funds and planned future transactions on the account.
The list of required documents may vary depending on the selected country.
When the package of documents is ready, it is sent for verification by the bank’s compliance. The process can take up to 30 days. But even with a properly collected and completed package of documents, an individual may be refused by a foreign bank.
Is it possible to open an offshore account remotely?
You can remotely open an offshore account in a number of jurisdictions, including:
- Belize
- Nevis
- Switzerland
- Bahamas
- Cook Islands
- Curacao
- Liechtenstein
- Lucia, etc.
The procedure for opening an offshore account remotely is similar to the process of creating a bank account in person. The difference lies in the KYC verification and the transfer of documents, which takes place online via electronic means of communication.
Regardless of the method of opening an offshore bank account, you should not forget about the correct legalization of documents and their preparation. If the document is submitted with errors or incomplete information, service will be denied.
International Wealth offers to open offshore accounts for individuals and legal entities of any country. Get personal assistance from experienced experts and do not waste your time searching for a suitable financial institution, traveling abroad, and preparing documents in accordance with the requirements of an offshore bank. In addition, agents and registered intermediaries around the world will provide comprehensive offshore solutions for business registration, licensing, trust structures, and accounts in banks, neo-banks, and payment systems.
