Afternoon Bored!

Just received a tax rebate from HMRC from the period 2009/2010 (on the ball as ever). However I no longer have a UK based bank account, and from a quick scan on the interweb, most banks insist on being resident in the UK before they will allow one to be opened.

Would it filter through the UK banking system if I deposited it with HSBC here?

Having all your money in a country that can freeze your account for sneezing.

Clever one aren't you

You're making a couple of assumptions there Nick!

I was surprised at how easy it was to cash a US $ bank cheque in my Saudi (SAR) account. I am sure that your UAE bank will do it no no questions asked.

just had a quick flick through the HSBC website and found a form to complete when submitting. Downside is that it'll take 6-8 weeks to clear. that said, it's not money I was expecting so I guess it'll do fine.

Yep, HSBC will do it, I'm sure my Mrs did it a while back, think it was quicker than expected too.

Banks in UAE and GCC are actually a lot better than in the UK. Could they be worse ?

I've deposited a GBP cheque into my UAE bank account before - ADIB to be specific but I did get charged quite a whack then making the cheque pointless really but suppose better than nothing!