bashiraad

Hi Guys,

Just wanted to find out how long it takes to get your residency visa in Abu Dhabi?

I have been told if I open a bank account, I will not be able to withdraw my salary until I get my residence visa. Is this correct?

If so, will some banks provide you with a credit card to use in the interim? No intention of using the cc once I can withdraw using my debit card.

Thanks

archie159

1. If all your paperwork is in order (certificates attested correctly, etc), and your PRO is efficient, a week or 2.
2. Not true for HSBC, don't know about other banks.
3. HSBC offered me both credit and debit cards from day 1. I did provide them with a company salary letter, though - don't know if that made a difference.

bashiraad

Thanks for your reply.

Did you open an expat account with hsbc?

Also is it easy to transfer money between the Abh Dhabi hsbc account and a british hsbc account?

archie159

First I opened an account here (Premier), then filled in various forms and they opened for me accounts in Jersey and the UK. Jersey account has AED, USD, EUR and GBP sections. Very easy to move surplus AED out of local account into Jersey account, costs nothing and is instantaneous if you leave it in AED. If you convert the AED into another currancy, it is "free" but the exchange rates aren't great - for currency exchanges, I used MoneyCorp, who have always provided a very good rate (and as MoneyCorp also bank with HSBC, it is quick and free to move the funds into their account). The only caveat to that - if you are exchanging more than GBP30k equivalent (I think it was about that amount...), HSBC in Jersey can give you a massively better exchange rate than you get for smaller amounts - the one time I did that they were within a gnat's whisker of MoneyCorp, with less hassle. Final caveat - if you don't qualify for Premier banking, I'm not sure everything above applies (eg the ease of shifting money between accounts) - you'd need to check.

Some people on this forum have had bad experiences with HSBC, I have not (though don't get me wrong - they are pretty rubbish by UK standards, but then every other bank in the UAE seems to be just as bad). But the people in the Jersey branch, and back in the UK, have been reasonably good and quick to respond to questions.