Lawson

Hi

My wife and i currently work in London and are in the process of looking to move to Dubai to work and live for a couple of years.
Can anyone tell me if you can transfer money money back from Dubai to the UK? I still have a student loan to pay back and have outstanding credit card bills.
Does anyone know if there are any restrictions regarding this and what they may be.

Comments are very much appreciated.
Thanks

lace7725

I could be wrong about this ... but I am pretty sure that if you have the ability to pay over the internet than you should be fine. I know most people DO send money back to UK due to the fact that if ... well for example = If my husband and I both work in Dubai and we both put money into a savings about with a bank in Dubai then if my husband dies I will have to split the money between his entire family. (Muslim laws here - remember!)
Dont get me wrong I am NOT greedy, just something to think about.

Quaser

Hello Lawson

I am in the same postion as you, living in Windsor, working in London and in the process of moving to Dubai later this year with my wife.

Unfortunately, I can't help you out concerning money transfers, but I recently bought a book called Dubai Explorer (by Explorer Publishing Insiders City Guides - £12.99 from Amazon.) It was published in March 2004 so it seems to be quite up to date and has a whole section dedicated to new residents (including banking).

I would be interested to hear how your preparations are going (jobs, accommodation etc). I have registered with a number of agencies, but from what I have read in other threads, the process of finding a job is a fairly lenghtly one, so I would appreciate any "hints and tips" that can be passed on.

Regards
Quaser

Lawson

Hi Quaser

Thanks for your reply and information. I'll look out for the book.
I'll keep you posted on how we get on and if i can pass on anything that may be useful i certainly will.
I did find a company called Budge Recruitment that specialise in recruiting people from the UK to Dubai. They are a fairly new company i think and so the job opportunities listed are fairly limited. Run by a girl called Georgina, the website is www.budgerecruitment.com. May be worth a look.
All the best with all your plans!

Kind regards
Lawosn

Lawson

Thanks very much Lace.
I see you are from Texas! How long have you been living in Dubai?

MCA27

Hi Lawson,

Can't say for 100% certainty but am very sure that transfers to the UK are not a problem.

You can do it via internet eg with Citibank or via branches. Remember HSBC is very popular in Dubai so they may be a good bank to use due to their presence in the UK also.

Typically, transactions of GBP 10,000 within the UK get monitored. Sometime in the future, you may be asked where you got this money from. However, if earned from working in Dubai there will not be a problem.

This is just because of money laundering laws introduced post 9/11.

Good luck - I would also like to hear how you get on as I may move out there next year......what is it you do?
Martin

lace7725

Lawson - I actually still live in Texas, but I might be moving to Dubai (I HOPE!) in a couple of months.

Balushi

Yes u can transfer money from uae! But it will be transferred through the Central Bank depending upon the amount the money, they stay in the bank for a couple of day to weeks.

but if u have a dirham in ur pocket! Dubai will take ten dirhams out of u....

philipz

Never thought I would see a question like this, but it definatley shows how the media portray the middle east, being nothing more than desert.

There are alot of banks in the UAE including CitiBank, HSBC, etc. and transfering money from bank to bank is the same here as in any other place in the world, which includes a similar transfer cost of around US$ 25 per transfer.

Balushi

But are you surprised?

lol

daisystan

Myself, my husband, my cat AND both my dogs are very shortly about to arrive in Dubai too!

We currently live in South London (Putney) and I work for Battersea Dogs Home.

I don't much about (well, anything) about money transfer (I DID notice a Lloyds bank during my last trip to Dubai) but I thought I would say hello to other Nearly-Newies to Dubai.

Cheers

Caroline

isp7868

Hi

Moved to Dubai in November 2003, transfering money is easy, just watch out for tax liability in UK. Would recommend opening an offshore account and paying bills, etc. from that. HSBC, Lloyds have offshore branches in Dubai.