"coming back" strategy

[bigbite100]

hello,

lets say you are a nomad but have residency in the UAE. but youre not tax resident, so your staying less then 90 days in the uae.
at some point (5 or 10 years later) you would like to come back, either to your home country or even to a different country, for example switzerland.
if you transfer your UAE money to for example switzerland, they might want to see tax residency certificates from uae and so on.
is that even realistic? would they really do that? what if you dont have the certificate, since you were nomading most of the time?
and what is common, for how many years they normally want to see the certificate?

thank you!

 

[justnew]

It’s a fair concern, and yes, some banks or tax authorities might ask for proof‌ of tax residency when large sums move across borders, especially after years abroad.

In practice,‍ it depends on the country, the bank, and how strict their compliance is at that⁠ moment.

Without a certificate, you may need to provide other documentation showing the lawful source⁤ of funds.

 

[bigbite100]

thank you for the reply. which countries tend to be more lenient and which more‌ strict?

 

[uplana]

Cyprus and Malta are good!

 

[JackAlabama]

just make sure you have not lived in your target︂ country in the meantime.

 

[uplana]

totally agree, if you do, you can forget about this strategy!‍

 

[burden]

Not necessarily at all. You can simply make a declaration︂ and have an accountant or tax lawyer help you with it, allowing you to bring︃ the money into the country freely without being taxed on it initially. If the country︄ you return to has wealth taxation, you will of course be subject to wealth tax︅ when the money arrives in the new country you move to.

 

[JimBeam]

1. Spend a year (or two) in UAE. Keep all the utility and phone bills, gym‌ cards, restaurant bills, tenancy contracts, car rental agreements.
   
2. Get tax certificate
   
3. Move
   

Depending on your‍ goals, you could move all the money to a brokerage account (IBKR), buy some bonds/stocks⁠ and then you move with less cash. You sell when you need money (pay capital⁤ gains tax) on your profits and you're good to go.

 

[Xshore]

Many countries will only issue a tax residency certificate when you need it to claim‌ treaty benefits from another country that they have a tax treaty with, and specifying a‍ specific income that the treaty relates to. They won't issue a blanket certificate stating you⁠ are tax resident. And they will only do it the year after, when it is⁤ clear that you were tax resident the last year. I've never been asked by banks⁣ for a certificate of tax residency, and as explained this might not be possible to⁢ produce even if you are tax resident.

 

[shimo]

In Latvia for example I witnessed a case with a US citizen where tax authorities⁣ asked for source of funds on IBKR money even from before he invested it, going⁢ back many years - isn’t it the same in CH, case by case? And now︀ with Switzerland also exchanging bank data under CRS, who knows what will be in 5–10︁ years… better prepare for the worst in advance and hope for the best.

 

[uplana]

Well, since this is about US citizens, you really can’t compare it to the rest‌ of Europe, thankfully. There’s still a big difference in how you can move around (for‍ now) within Europe, compared to Americans who are completely locked down because other countries are⁠ scared of US authorities.

 

[blizz]

don't you think they will see it in the new country by the end of⁣ the year?