Ease to move savings from Middle East currencies to €?

Question

Hi, apologies in advance for the question not entirely consulting related.

I got consulting offers in the UAE and one in Qatar. I worked in Europe all my life. Obviously, the salary is extremely appealing even considering the higher cost of living. I see my self in the ME (Middle East) short term 2-4 years maximum. I got told that transferring your money from the ME to Europe could be challenging for legal limitations and costly because high fixed and variable fees apply exchange rates.

I wanted to learn from someone who had this experience:
- How easy is it to move your savings from UAE / Qatar to a European Bank (€) from a legal perspective? - How costly is it (conversion fees)? Is there a trick to exchange in a cheaper way to €? (e.g. pass it to $ a then € maybe..)
- Any other untold challenge or story regarding this matter you would like to share with me?

Thanks in advance for your advice,
Andrew

Answer 1

Hello!

As long as the money is obtained by licit ways, you have totally no problem.

To save comissions, best is to talk to your bank directly for special treatment o leverage fintechs such as Transferwise or other that are in the market that minize comissions

Hope it helps!

Cheers,

Clara

Answer 2

Hi there,

I highly recommend you use TransferWise for all money transfers. Banks are a pain!

Answer 3

I second Ian - Tranferwise is great!

Answer 4

+1 for TransferWise

Answer 5

Hi Andrew,

Congrats on your offers. The best ways to transfer money nowadays are TransferWise and Revolut, although you should check they are available in your country.

Best,
Francesco