# Sending money to England from Dubai



## Hunnybunny (Feb 5, 2012)

Hello,

I am moving to Dubai in August and I plan on saving whilst there. I am Irish but have lived in England a while and have savings and bank accounts in both the UK and Ireland. I want to send money back eventually but I haven t decided what currency (I suppose it all depends on what is going to happen with the Euro )
Either way I think its sensible to maybe keep my savings in Dirham whilst I am living out there so that I can assess which country I move back to (as I honestly don't know with the way things are in Ireland at the moment).

What I want to know is,* is there an easy, cheap way to transfer money back to England or Ireland?* Can it be done using IBAN codes(thats how I was paid when I worked in Dublin for Brussels)? If so what is the charge? What information from my UK bank do I need to have? Am I better off sending the money all back in bulk or bit by bit?

I would really appreciate some answers as I have tried googling this but all I yielded was stuff about taxes and rules which I already know. I am sure this must have come up before as people have direct debits and mortgages to pay. I only really want to do seldom transfers of money.


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## Felixtoo2 (Jan 16, 2009)

I keep as little money in the UAE banks as possible as if you have any problems out here the first thing they'll do I'd freeze your account. The banks are also give poor rates and charge about twenty quid for money transfers. I send money back to the uk through al ansari exchange as they give a pretty decent rate if your doing it regularly and they charge nine pounds regardless of amount. 
As to whether to go pounds or euro I'm no expert but with the number uk eu economies that are struggling I think I'd do gbp.


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## rednelly84 (Jul 4, 2010)

I use Al Rostamani (not sure if there are branches in Dubai) and use either instant transfer which costs 45AED or banker's draft (10AED) depending on the time of year. I usually save a couple of month's worth and use the draft if I am due to fly home as it saves a bit of cash and stops my UK bank charging me too!

Agree with previous poster, do not keep any money in your account here. I empty mine each month.


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## Hunnybunny (Feb 5, 2012)

rednelly84 said:


> I use Al Rostamani (not sure if there are branches in Dubai) and use either instant transfer which costs 45AED or banker's draft (10AED) depending on the time of year. I usually save a couple of month's worth and use the draft if I am due to fly home as it saves a bit of cash and stops my UK bank charging me too!
> 
> Agree with previous poster, do not keep any money in your account here. I empty mine each month.


Thanks for the replies
What is the problem with keeping money there? Is it the lack of interest? I am just unsure as to which country I ll move back to so I want to keep my options open. Wouldn't they only freeze if you have done something wrong, no? I lived there before and some people got into trouble for taking out loans and trying to leave which is understandable. 
So just to clarify whether I send £1000 or 100 I pay the same charge. Thats good to know if so. I don't have any monthy payments so I would rather do it every couple of months.


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## Garth Vader (May 11, 2012)

Hunnybunny said:


> ...but all I yielded was stuff about taxes and rules which I already know.


What and what?!


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## rednelly84 (Jul 4, 2010)

Hunnybunny said:


> Thanks for the replies
> What is the problem with keeping money there? Is it the lack of interest?


The Government can freeze your assets if you find yourself in any difficulties. In the 2 years I've lived here, I have kept a maximum of 100dhs in my account at any one time.



Hunnybunny said:


> So just to clarify whether I send £1000 or 100 I pay the same charge. Thats good to know if so. I don't have any monthy payments so I would rather do it every couple of months.


Yes, the charge is the same regardless of the amount. Being a canny Scot, I like to build it up a bit first!


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## Elphaba (Jan 24, 2008)

Issues with keeping money in the UAE include impact of Sharia law on death and banks ability to freeze account.

If transferring substantial amounts of money to another currency you can get much better rates than those offered by your bank or high street exhange bureaus and without charges too.

Want to save money on currency transfers? | Financialuae's Blog


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## rsinner (Feb 3, 2009)

Elphaba said:


> Issues with keeping money in the UAE include impact of Sharia law on death and banks ability to freeze account.
> 
> If transferring substantial amounts of money to another currency you can get much better rates than those offered by your bank or high street exhange bureaus and without charges too.
> 
> Want to save money on currency transfers? | Financialuae's Blog


Elphaba, I tried the method once and didn't bother with it again. For 40K AED the rate that I got from the company was worse (by about 1.2%) than what I got at an exchange house. But this was for INR, and the market for other currencies might be different


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## AmiraAlk (Jun 13, 2012)

I need an info too... reading the posts looks like it's not good to have a bank account in Dubai.

Does some one can explain me pro and cons?


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## Elphaba (Jan 24, 2008)

rsinner said:


> Elphaba, I tried the method once and didn't bother with it again. For 40K AED the rate that I got from the company was worse (by about 1.2%) than what I got at an exchange house. But this was for INR, and the market for other currencies might be different


The company I use always offer better rates than for high street exchanges, particulalry for 'Western' currencies, but only for substantial amounts. I use it all the time, as do many of my clients.


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## Elphaba (Jan 24, 2008)

AmiraAlk said:


> I need an info too... reading the posts looks like it's not good to have a bank account in Dubai.
> 
> Does some one can explain me pro and cons?


If you are resident here you will need a local account for your salary to be paid into and for general day to day banking needs. You just keep what you require and keep savings elsewhere. No issues with security of banks.

Compare accounts here: www.souqalmal.com


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## ibkiss (Feb 1, 2012)

PLUS , the exchange rates of GBP and Euros are continously falling !!!


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