Burning Questions Q&As
Here follows the answers to your ‘Burning Questions’:
Q. Does the account offer a visa card with no charges for overseas transactions? (19/03/2009)
A. Our current range of accounts does not offer a VISA card facility. Halifax International are always looking at new products and services to give expats a little extra help and we will certainly consider this. Keep checking back on the site or sign up to our monthly newsletters so you can keep up to date with any new products or services.
Q. What does the term US expats mean? (19/03/2009)
A. It refers to a person who is citizen in the US but resides in another country. This can be applied to any country, for example, British expats living in Spain.
Q. Myself and my partner are UK citizens and live in Australia and will stay here for another 4-5 years. We wish to buy a flat in London for when we return but in the meantime we want to rent it out. We would like to get a mortgage with the Halifax and pay the instalments from Australia. After much searching, I can find nothing about how we could do this or the products that you offer to do this on your web page. Is this possible? How do we do this? (20/03/2009)
A. “Halifax International don’t provide offshore mortgages, but Bank of Scotland International, also part of the Lloyds Banking Group, do.
The offshore mortgages from Bank of Scotland International are designed exactly for this purpose, and you can find more detail about them on their website. Alternatively call the Offshore Mortgage team on +44 (0) 1624 644080.”
Q. I have a Higher National Certificate in Medical Laboratory Sciences and a diploma in Business studies. I took all my exams in the UK in 1980 and 1995 respectively. I have been teaching privately Biology and Chemistry A levels here in Cyprus for the last ten years.
I have been thinking about working in Dubai or else where in the UAE. I have not found a web site address I can log on to giving information on requirements, wages, and accommodation. I am 57 years old and very eager to work in teaching particularly Biology and chemistry. Any information you have I would be very grateful? (30/03/2009)
A. Thanks for your e mail. Whilst I can’t really give you much information about Dubai at the moment, we are currently working on a guide to living and working in Dubai which we hope to have on the site in the next few weeks, so make sure to check back.
Why don’t you tak a look at our Useful Links page, or the link below has some good advice too. http://www.shelteroffshore.com/index.php/living/more/work_in_dubai/
Q. I live in Italy. Following the renewal of ATM machines here it has become impossible to withdraw cash using a British debit card. Neither the Italian nor British banks will take this problem seriously or offer a precise explanation or a solution that does not involve more expense. Can you help? (31/03/2009)
A. You don’t mention where you live in Italy, so I can’t offer a more precise response, and I don’t understand the reason for non acceptance. I assume it is a Maestro card?
You need to find one with the Cirrus symbol which is on the MasterCard network, so why don’t you try searching their ATM locator for your area and it will tell you which banks will accept the card.
Banks only host the machines, MasterCard is actually the service provider. Some banks choose not to be on the network due to high charges from MasterCard, which is their prerogative but unfortunately it is at the expense of the customer.
Hope this helps, and the ATM locator does have banks in Italy on there, just depending where you are.
Q. I am trying to find some information on Term or Life Insurance policies. I am currently residing in Paris, France and I need to get a policy for US $500,000 and I don’t have the ability to get a medical because I am not yet covered by the French medical system? (15/04/2009)
A. Halifax International or Bank of Scotland International don’t offer life assurance policies but we work very closely with Rossboroughs Group in Jersey who are a well established group of businesses which offer insurance policies to UK residents.
We have already put you in touch with Rossboroughs, who have managed to find you a policy with William Russell which doesn’t require a medical examination.
For anyone in a similar position, you can contact Craig Wallder who is an Investment Adviser at Rossboroughs by e mail at cwallder@rossboroughgroup.co.uk or on +44 (0) 1534 500688.
Q. I am three months away from retirement and have sold up in the UK and have bought a house in Spain with a Euro mortgage through Halifax ES. I also have a state pension from my time in the Royal Navy. As both these pensions are paid in the UK in sterling if I opened a Halifax account with my state pension being paid in every month could I then transfer the funds to Spain (my Halifax ES account) without charges?
A. If you open a Halifax International account, we can transfer the funds to Banco Halifax Hispania, free of charge, as long as there is no currency conversion. So for example, you can hold a Sterling Websaver account here, and pay in your pension every month and then pay it in Sterling to your account with Banco Halifax Hispania, every month. They would have to convert it to Euros there.
Q. Currently I am UK based, employed and paid. However while I will continue to live in the UK my employer is intending to place me on a US Dollar payroll. What account can I use and what are the charges levied for money received electronically from my employer and then the charges to transfer that money, converted to sterling into my UK halifax sterling account. Appreciate being pointed in the right direction? (02/07/2009)
A. I would recommend opening a US Dollar Variable Web Saver which can accept your salary in US dollars. You could then have them converted at no charge to Sterling, and paid into your Sterling Variable Web Saver account which will take 2 working days. We can then pay it by BACS, free of charge, to your UK Halifax account, which takes 3 working days.
The only charge I would envisage you incurring is to accept the US Dollars from your employer, details of which can be found on our Charges sheet.
I do hope that helps, but if you would like to talk to someone about it in more detail please call us on 01534 846501.
Q. We are Denise and Geoff Roberts, originally from Wales, but we now live and work in Tripoli Libya. We have fallen in love with a place in S.W. France, so can you please tell us if you offer mortgages for ex-pats like us? (02/07/2009)
A. Hi Denise and Geoff. Thanks for your e mail. Unfortunately we are unable to offer mortgages outside of the UK, but as we are now part of the Lloyds Banking Group, its possible that Lloyds may be able to help you. I will forward your e mail on to them and ask them to contact you direct.
Q. I will be moving to Germany permanently in September and I am unsure about what to do with money I have in saving accounts in the UK. I would like to be able to transfer money from time to time from a UK online account to a German account but it seems this will not be possible through Halifax online banking as this is set up for people to carry out transactions who live in the UK only. So, do I open an offshore account and move all savings offshore? Even if I do, would I receive gross interest? I believe because I would be living in the EU, interest paid would still only be net. Can you help with these questions? I need some advice! (21/07/2009)
A. Thank you for your email. You are correct, our UK internet banking system only allows transfers in pounds sterling to another bank in the UK. If you wished to transfer funds to Germany you will be able to do this via our telephone banking service or you can make the request in writing.
In terms of interest payments, as you are resident in the EU you would be subject to the European Union Savings and Tax Directive (EUSTD). Under the directive you would be required you select one of three options which will affect how the interest is paid, the options are:
Please note that you should declare the interest on your tax return, if you are legally required to do so.
- Retention Tax - The Bank will automatically deduct tax (currently 20%) from the interest paid to your account, and send the money to Isle of Man tax authorities, who will send the retention tax anonymously to your country of residence.
- Exchange of Information - The Bank will pay your interest gross, and we will inform the Isle of Man tax authorities of the amount of interest paid to you. The Isle of Man tax authorities will notify your local tax authorities at the end of your tax year.
- Exemption - If you are exempt from the directive for any reason, we will pay your interest gross and will not inform any tax authority of the interest paid to you. We would require a fully completed copy of our exemption form and a document to support why you were exempt, e.g. a letter from your accountant or solicitor.
Please note that regardless of which option you select, you should declare the interest on your tax return, if you are legally required to do so. If you would like any advice regarding which option to pick, we would recommend you seek independent advice, as there is nobody at Halifax International who is qualified to give tax advice. I hope I have answered your questions sufficiently.
Q. I have recently returned to the UK from the US and will need to continue to transfer money back there to pay my mortgage until I can sell the property. What would be the best way to manage this?I have a current account with the Halifax but I was investigating ways of transferring money to the US including Halifax International. What would the costs be? £9.50 a time or is there a cheaper way? (28/09/2009)
A. Dear Ms. Thompson, Thank you for your enquiry. To transfer funds from an account with Halifax International to the US carries the following charges*:
£0-£4000 £14
£4000.01-£8000 £20
£8000.01-£12000 £25
£120000.01 and above £30
*Please note that as the charges are quoted in pounds sterling, the charge taken from a dollar account would be the US dollar equivalent that day.
We can also issue you with a banker’s draft/cheque, and the charges are as follows:
Up to £200 £12
Over £200 £16
Again these figures would be the US dollar equivalent on the day.
I hope you have found this information useful and If you would like me to provide some further details regarding our products and services, please feel free to contact me.
Q. Where can I contact a Halifax representative to discuss a mortgae in France? G F Crudgington
A. Unfortunately neither Halifax International or Bank of Scotland International provide mortgages to assist in the purchase of French property.
Our colleagues at Lloyds TSB do, however, provide such mortgages through their International Mortgage Service. Please note this service is designed primarily for customers planning to purchase property outside their country of residence i.e. holiday / second home / investment so is not for customers who reside in France on a permanent basis. For your information, I attach the appropriate link to their website which includes contact details. http://www.lloydstsb-asia.com/product/mortgage.asp I trust this meets with your approval.
Q. Could you tell me how much money you guarantee if we are faced with another banking crisis like we saw earlier in the year? (12/11/2009)
A. Deposits made at Isle of Man branches of Bank of Scotland plc and Bank of Scotland International Limited are covered by the Depositors’ Compensation Scheme contained with the Compensation of Depositors Regulations 2008 (as amended). This is currently up to £50,000 of net deposits, you can find out more here.
On Friday 6th November, a Jersey Compensation scheme was introduced which also guarantees up to £50,000 of net deposits. You can find out more here. Deposits made in Jersey and the Isle of Man are not covered by the UK Financial Services
Q. I have been an expat for the past 5 years but have now returned to the UK. I have a cheque for €78,000 euros, the proceeds from the sale of a property in France, but I now only have a UK sterling bank account. Is there a procedure to get the cheque converted to sterling? (13/11/2009)
A. We can open an International account to pay the Euro cheque, and we can open an account in Euros or Pounds Sterling. Please note that as we are not a Euro clearing bank, we would need to send the cheque back to the remitting bank and they would then transfer the money to us. The Euro cheque can take anything up to 8 weeks to clear. If you open an account in pounds sterling, we would automatically convert the funds for you. There is a charge to process the Euro cheque and this is 30p per £100 with a minimum of £15 and a maximum of £60.
I have attached some details of the products we offer, together with latest interest rates. If you wish to open an account with us you either apply online at www.halifax-international.com or by completing the attached application form.