r/ExpatFinance

EDIT: thanks everyone for the advice! I have just closed my account

I just naturalised as a citizen here in the country I moved to 7 years ago. My bank back in my home country (where my whole family is) has said they can’t verify my identity over the phone and that I would need to send a bunch of documents in the next 21 days signed by two qualified witnesses if I want to keep it open.

It has $2.73 AUD in it and I haven’t used it since 2019

My long term plan is to move back though, but is it better in this case for me to allow this account to close? They basically realised that I wasn’t using it.

What would you do?

Will my K Plus bank account stay open? I have over B2000 in the account. I could use the app until I bought a new iPhone last week. As of last week, it was still open. I have been depositing B1000 every six months using my Wise account. My wife and I plan to move to Thailand in three years.

Moved to Ireland and decided to make it a permanent move so looking to establish ourselves permanently. Need to move our personal life savings from UK to Ireland. But a couple of times I have recently moved smaller amounts the bank have done more security checks - which of course I passed - but it's more the anxiety of larger funds getting stuck mid way or getting locked out while overseas. What is the best way to make this transfer?! I understand I don't need to pay tax on it as UK savings before moving.

Hi everyone!
I’m M33 Canadian citizen and I lost my brother recently. He was working in the US and had a life insurance policy which will payout the money to the beneficiary.
I am added as a beneficiary however the insurance may have more questions about this. We do not have a will.

1. What other documents can I provide to ensure smooth payout? Like an affidavit saying I am the next of kin.
2. They have given me options for a wire transfer or a paper check or an alliance account. Which one is the best one considering I have to eventually move the money to Canada.
3. Do I need to hire a financial advisor who will help me with this?

I have a cross-border US account that I can use.
I’d like to ensure I am not paying double taxes and conversion fees.
Any help or suggestions would be helpful here.

UAE resident, salary in AED, long term investor.

started with a very simple idea:

some ADX/DFM stocks because I actually want UAE exposure

US/global stuff for the rest

easy.

except now payday comes and I'm staring at two parts of the portfolio wondering where the new money goes 😂

if UAE ran up, do I stop buying it for a few months?

if US is down, just send more there?

do people actually SELL the overweight side to rebalance or just use new contributions until the percentages fix themselves?

this is one reason Al Ramz started making more sense to me once I wanted both UAE + US exposure.

having UAE + US markets in the same platform and one portfolio view at least means the local side doesn't disappear from my brain while I'm looking at the global stuff.

IBKR obviously still makes a ton of sense for broad international access.

I'm more curious how people actually manage the allocation.

one spreadsheet?

two brokers?

rebalance once a year and stop looking?

because checking percentages every salary day is starting to feel like another hobby I didn't ask for.

Hi, I am 63 and living/retiring in Australia. I am a dual citizen with the US, and eligible for US Social Security. As I am easing out of the working life, I wanted to start to draw down on my US Social Security.

I have read a bit on the pros and cons of starting early, and was ready to apply.

Then I came across this odd provision applying only to American citizens living overseas under the normal retirement age of 67. If I work more than 45 hours in a month, I am not eligible for Social Security in that month, with penalties for not reporting it. The wording of the rules was a bit odd, but it seems I would simply forfeit that months' benefit and never get it back.

Can anyone confirm or provide more clarity?

Thanks!

Hello,
My wife and I are planning to move from Germany to Australia (open-ended), and I am looking for a cheap, reliable option to transfer a larger sum (under 100k €) to AUD.
I don't have any accounts yet besides my German banks, but a friend checked, and it would cost around 700-1000€ to use Wise. I have checked some FX sites, but I have never heard about this before and I do not feel comfortable using it, moving a big chunk of what we have in finances haha
Therefore, I wanted to ask the Hivemind if there are any other options we should consider. Thank you!