Compliance, acceptable residency

[Meta]

Place of residence is one of more important factors for various compliance departments. It's much more difficult to open a bank account if you live in Russia than if you live in France.

I have a few specific places in mind where I live / lived / consider moving / consider getting a residence permit and other papers. In your opinion, which ones are good and which ones are blacklisted?

Spain, UAE, Georgia, Thailand, Paraguay.

In my opinion the ranking would be (best to worst):
1. Spain. Perfectly fine in most cases, but high taxes.
2. Thailand. Not the best reputation, but a "real country" at least. It's easy to believe that one lives there.
3. UAE. Depending on a bank. Kind of rich but was on blacklists lately. I have seen some recommendations to compliance workers with effect of "It's easy to get UAE residence and people use it to dodge taxes. If you see one, ask for all residence permits that the person holds, ask how long he actually stays in UAE per year and be cautious".
4. Georgia. Small country, no taxes on foreign income, nobody have heard of the country actually.
5. Paraguay. Small country, no taxes on foreign income, nobody have heard of the country actually.

Of course it's country-specific. I remember Singaporean banks were happy assuming that I'm a resident of Thailand and disappointed to hear that while I spend lots of time there, I don't hold long-term visas ("We have lots of clients from Thailand, we understand regulations, but we would need head office approval for a client from your unusual jurisdiction").

Do you agree with my ranking? Cheers.

 

[Sols]

I agree with your #1 and #5 spot. As for the other three, the difference‌ is either so small or so circumstantial it's hard to say.

Thailand is probably correct‍ to rank second. There are some corruption and money laundering concerns, though.

UAE is well⁠ known for having wealthy expats. It also has a tax evasion and money laundering reputation⁤ problem.

Georgia is to some banks grouped with all other (non-EU) post-USSR countries as corrupt,⁣ risky, and suspicious.

You might be interested in Country Reports – KnowYourCountry

 

[Forester]

I agree in full. E.g., in‌ my opinion “western” banks currently evaluate lower Georgia than Paraguay, because of certain Georgian economic‍ ties to Russia and possible attempts to circumvent anti-Russian sanctions.

Otherwise, I agree with your⁠ evaluation, except of the statements “nobody have heard of the country actually”. Any (at least)⁤ european bank clerk knows about Georgia and probably any person in LatAm is aware about⁣ Paraguay.

 

[JackAlabama]

the ranking is dependent︌ on how many digits you are willing to gift to the banks.
If you let︍ the bank manage your money (lets say 50M which they will put in their subpar︎ fund products to get a good bonus while you have just a meager return) but️ you are retired in Burundi bc of your family being from there (and you do‌ not do business there) they will fly to you to sign paperwork.

 

[Meta]

Thanks for the info! And especially the link Country Reports – KnowYourCountry
Can't say about Paraguay. But I certainly⁠ had lots of conversations in Asia go like "Georgia? Is this a country? Are you⁤ sure?". Basically 100% of them 🙂 Also a few in Europe.

Nah, even if you have 50M it's easier to be a resident of Swtzerland,︄ not Burundi.

That's a pity because it's not︆ true I believe. Also they are not that friendly to Russians (though obviously many Russians︇ are there). Just a few weeks ago a person with a Russian passport has visited︈ three banks in Tbilisi. One declined personal account, one offered an account in GEL only︉ and bank card working in the territory of Georgia only, the third one opened the︊ accounts and issued the cards, but certainly no SWIFT transfers online, I gather no SWIFT︋ transfers at all and most likely no money from Russia is welcome.

 

[Forester]

Yes. In Asia it might be well possible, I am not experienced.⁠ In general, Georgia (country) is confused with Georgia (the US state) by many, many English⁤ speakers. In the US by close to 100% except really well educated people or Georgian⁣ expats 🙂
Also note that I have written “Any (at least) european bank clerk knows... ”⁢ 😉 (but it's an important fact).

No doubts 🙂 But with︁ 50M many issues are manageable even from Burundi 😉

Very probably, it is not true to the︃ comparable extent as for some other ex-USSR countries. (BTW, even some currently EU but ex-USSR︄ or ex-Soviet bloc countries are considered risky and suspicious by some banks.) But – take︅ it or leave it 🙁

Well, I do not maintain much personal︇ contacts there in the last time; but IMO this depends. The society is remarkably divided︈ re: this there.

This is perfectly expectable. And in my deep opinion, the core background is︌ not related to friendliness or hostility to Russians but to the concern about the relations︍ with the correspondent banks and especially the ability to perform USD transfers. The fact that︎ one bank offered an account in GEL only and bank card working in the territory️ of Georgia only illustrates this perfectly. They may or may not like Russians but they‌ are mainly concerned about their general business that can be endangered if their western counterparts‍ come to the conclusion that bank is breaking or circumventing the anti-Russian sanctions. Because it⁠ it true that a lot of Georgian business is related to the western countries, currently.⁤

Well, this is⁣ just my guess: SWIFT transfers – why not; but come to the bank and explain⁢ us that it is really not harmful so we will stay OK...

Well, I am convinced︀ that money from Russia is welcome there (as almost anywhere) if and only if it does not endanger their other business, or at least not too much. Exceptions exist –︁ created by subjects that really do not like Russia / Russians from political reasons (but︂ this is not a majority in Georgia, IMO; Georgia is not Baltic).

 

[Meta]

Thanks for the comments! Yep, when saying "friendly to Russia", I had only political will‌ / ability to do business in mind. Not personal attitudes of people, just purely business.‍

I will put it this way: in some countries (Kazakhstan lately for example) it's easier⁠ to get a company, bank account and trade. In Georgia it is not really. Well,⁤ offtopic.

 

[JackAlabama]

nah matter of fact is your residency︃ only matters if youre poor.

 

[cusano]

What is the threshold from where you are not considered poor anymore? How‌ much is enough if your residency isn't in a high risk country. Residency in countries‍ like #2 to #5 from the list.

 

[JackAlabama]

depends on the country. Id⁠ say 100M is a safe starting point.

 

[jafo]

Big Jack is dropping MAJOR real-life Wisdom and exposing⁢ bankers 100% rof/% rof/% rof/% rof/%
Brilliant! 😉
In my friends' and my experiences, 5M broke most "subjective moral & ethical" barriers bankers, lawyers, accountants, public servants, and regulators pretended to have! 😉
In my friends' and my experiences, 10M broke EVERY "subjective moral & ethical" barrier bankers, lawyers,︁ accountants, public servants, and regulators pretended to have! dev56"""

I won't go into it with dozens︂ of real-life examples that I've personally experienced, but you all get the point. 😉

As other︃ members have alluded to many times in the past, when we deal with bankers and︄ others like them, be aware that you are dealing with criminal WH0R3$! 😉
Everything is negotiable!︅ smi(&% rof/%

 

[Forester]

Agreeing on both. The SoF naturally counts.⁤ If the cash is sufficiently clean, then with even 5+M anyone is fine. If not...⁣ well, perhaps even 10M need not be enough, let's double the threshold.

 

[Meta]

Let us poor people who don't have $100'000'000 yet, discuss our petty problems...‌

 

[jafo]

Do you remember about 2 or⁠ 3 years ago, we discussed me moving +1M I had in cash sitting in a⁤ Private Bank (PBA) account? Compliance found my cases on Thomson Reuters (TR). In particular, the⁣ indictment, but there was NO mention of the acquittal! The Feds sealed the acquittal. They⁢ sealed their loss and the loss of their employment etc. smi(&%
So, the bank told me︀ to take a hike.

Lo and behold, while trying to find a new bank and︁ avoiding TR, PBA poached a VP of a competing bank. He called me to bring︂ my portfolio along with him. I told him what happened. All of a sudden, PBA's︃ compliance told me: You are welcome (again) rof/% smi(&% . No SOF - No SOW - nothing!︄ No questions asked. To this day, they have NOT even asked me a single question.︅ They are a bunch of wh0r3$ smi(&% rof/%