Offshore (non resident banking) for Canadian thinking about Paraguay residency?

[freedomseeker]

As the title states, I am considering leaving Canada and getting residence in Paraguay (not to live full time, but as a base to set myself up tax wise). That being said I would prefer to do most of my banking outside of the country.

Would obtaining Paraguay residence hinder myself from finding adequate banking in safe jurisdictions? Setting up a IBKR accout?

What countries and banks should I look to that would onboard me as a private multi currency account (money in usd and local)? (obviously I would prefer as low of minimum balance as possible unless it can be used toward investing, I am solidly middle class, not high worth)

 

[Dom pedro]

The options are limited but from my research there are some:
Banks/EMIs: AdvCash, Dukascopy, SwissQuote,‌ possibly Puerto Rican banks such as ItalBank. If you are willing to travel, there are‍ probably more options, like even the US.
Brokers: IBKR, Tradestation, Trading212, SwissQuote.

One thing you⁠ might consider is opening an offshore just for the purpose of banking.

 

[Forester]

Have you‍ checked the banks at Channel Islands? (Isle of Man, Jersey, Guernsey, ...) I suspect that⁠ it can also work...
Yes, it can work –⁣ although perhaps it's a little bit overkill, IMO.

 

[RealDude]

Wise Personal is supported in Paraguay. Wise Business not.

Considering Paraguay too. In 2023, some‌ rules will change. Who knows what will come after that, maybe similar to Panama? Thus,‍ one should hurry up...

 

[Forester]

@freedomseeker have asked about adequate banking... 😉 😉
BTW, what will happen? (It's a little bit OT, so take‍ it adequately 🙂.)

 

[MiltonStone]

In theory you could live with a simple personal account I would say.

 

[Forester]

It depends on the way how he/she makes money for living...

 

[backpacker]

... "local"‍ = guaraní -> Not achievable with offshore banking (day-to-day transactions).
It also does not make⁠ much sense: Only keep offshore what you do not need for a living. If you⁤ do not want that because you do not even trust the local system for that⁣ amount, better look for another country.
Indeed, that's what he should tell us to︀ get better suggestions.

 

[Dom pedro]

What rules will change?

Wise Personal is supported, but there is no⁢ Debit Card and no Guarani. The local people use it to send/receive USD from paraguay︀ banks via Swift.

If you want local alternatives in Guarani that you can open remotely,︁ it seems the easiest ones are Tigo Money and Ueno. The most convenient way to︂ top up the cards is by selling USDT on Binance P2P.

 

[freedomseeker]

which banks in the channel islands⁠ would you recommend?
I have done⁣ extensive research and I can recomend a agent. (about $2000 for the agent and all⁢ government fees and done in 5-6 weeks)
I have a pension, but more then︁ 50% of my money comes from investment in the stock market (mostly usa).

I am︂ using wise to have my Canadian pension deposited each month so I can have access︃ it and have a decent conversion rate. However I need a bank account for the︄ proceeds of my investments and to transfer some money from my wise as the limits︅ on pulling cash out are quite low.

Anyways that is how I see it... Is︆ there a better way to structure? (paraguay might just be my base, and travel from︇ there. I am also considering Malaysia as it also has a territorial tax system)
In the new year it is︉ expected (although not certain) that instead of automatically getting permanent residency, one will only be︊ able to get 2 years temporary and then a chance for permanent (which of course︋ the laws could change again in the 2 years).
Yes I would prefer to have the majority of my wealth offshore‍ from my place of residence, it just seems safer.
read above about the (possible) rule changes.︁

 

[backpacker]

If that is the case, why Paraguay? The country has‍ no Income Tax Treaty with USA.
The same is valid for Malaysia which means that⁠ you will get zero relief when it comes to US withholding tax.

 

[Forester]

Honestly, I have no personal experience with them in the last years, only from what I‌ heard from my business partners; so I would definitely recommend you to perform more research;‍ the things are changing. I would start from Barclays and Standard Chartered (both are onboarding⁠ on-line), they have a good reputation IMO; but another ones might fit you as well;⁤ personally I would avoid HSBC and Santander (bad experiences in the past) and Unicredit (very⁣ bad experiences in the past). Barclays has branches in all the islands but they used⁢ to direct all international clients to the Isle of Man branch, Standard Chartered has a︀ branch in Jersey.