chiang mai

Those are not international banks, there are some international names but they are Cambodian banks, regulated by the Cambodian central bank, just as in Thailand. UOB and CIMB are both Thai companies here.

That may be the thread topic but it wasn't the point being discussed when you joined in ! I/we understand your personal paranoia about being not detected but don't confuse that with my/our desire to understand how all the pieces of this jig saw puzzle interact. And if you can't figure out the answer to your question, there's no hope. Once clue might be name and DOB, another clue might be those things and passport number. The main clue however is that government agencies and departments talk to each other, in most countries, if one wants to know who somebody is, they ask. If you think that's scaremongering , again, there's no hope.

We agree.

For the very last time, BM, the issue is not what you want to talk about, the topic in debate is tax residency.

I don't think we're talking about just wealthy people who can buy their way into and out of many scenarios, I think the subject is the average person.

OK, fair enough. The point here is that not being tax resident somewhere makes it so much harder to do business and conduct your financial affairs with mainstream businesses. Over time, that will become stricter as more countries join CRS.

Once again, the issue is tax residency, not whether/how/can people be identified. Again very much as an aside, the UK sees the link between the NI number and passport number and overseas banks want passport numbers. Let's not keep going down this road, it's off topic and none of us fully understand how that cross border identification process works or will work.

So not tax resident in Thailand, are tourists allowed to open or maintain bank accounts, they cannot in many countries in the West!

CRS identification is not the issue, having tax residency is the issue. The issue is also NOT about how they will know anything, the issue is about what are the rules. But as an aside, UK has NI number which carries across most things equivalent to an ID number, in the UK at least.

You have a bank account in Jersey and Jersey is a member of CRS. Today you are tax resident in Thailand hence there is a potential exchange of financial data between the two countries. If you leave Thailand and go somewhere else to stay/live, Jersey will want to know where that it is, unless of course you fly under the radar and disguise that fact. If you move to another country and chose to pay tax there, all will be well and good because you can pay tax there, just as you did in Thailand. But if you move away from Thailand and claim not to be tax resident anywhere, your bank in Jersey will almost certainly have something to say because they believe that everyone has to be tax resident somewhere, otherwise you probably can't bank with them.

Sorry but I need to come back to this again, just to set things straight. You have a bank account in Jersey which is a CRS member but you live and work in Japan and Thailand and you pay taxes in Thailand. "The CRS requires financial institutions to identify the tax residency of all customers and report information on customers who are tax resident outside of the country where they hold their accounts". It seems to me that you must be tax resident in Jersey, (unless you're flying under the radar) and probably are also the same in Thailand, or did I miss something here? I'm not trying to be argumentative or deliberately dense but I think it's important that members understand the reality of this situation so it will help everyone if you can clarify.

It can and it does in practise.

OK, understood, the trading accounts is a sensible option. If a person wants to bank in countries like Cambodia then they probably can escape tax residency for a while yet. But if you want to bank in countries where banking is better regulated and the home currency is safer, it's going to be extremely difficult.

Not really, it's just convenient for me

Again, where does your Jersey bank think you are tax resident, please?

Yes I accept those points are true. But you also have to want and be prepared to have your bank account in places such as Cambodia, you'll excuse me for saying that's not a choice I would make willingly.

OK understood, but banks in any country are agents of the country's Central Bank and carry out central bank policy, as well as administration of tax policy. I find it very hard to imagine that banks in the UK each have different approaches to the residency and tax issue hence it's not just HSBC, it's the country's Revenue Dept.

I have a Thai bank account and also a UK account, that's not the issue. I am declared tax resident in Thailand, have a Thai TIN and my UK bank knows this. BUT, if I didn't have the Thai TIN, I couldn't have my UK bank account.

Ah sorry, yes I did. So you were tax resident in Thailand and you paid tax here, that seems about right. Where does you Jersey bank think you are tax resident?

Sorry but I'm trying to understand this rather than challenge anything. I said, HSBC wont let me have a bank account unless I declare my tax residency and show them a PIN, that seems contrary to what you and Rolo have said about the UK's liberal approach to this and that some banks might ignore tax residency.

You said you lived in Japan for 7 months but paid tax in Thailand where you weren't tax resident. Can I ask again where you worked, presumably it was financially beneficial to pay tax here rather than Japan where the flat rate would have been what, 20% for a foreigner?

I find it hard to imagine that UK banks apply UK HMRC policy differently.

Did you work in Thailand? Because you were tax resident in Japan, why didn't you change it?. And....bump re UK bank account at HSBC.

I'm a Brit and not UK resident for tax purposes but HSBC UK wont let me keep my UK bank account, unless I give them a TIN from somewhere.

Can a British subject open a bank account and receive payment without tax residency somewhere? I'm a Brit and not UK UK resident for tax purposes but they wont let me keep my UK bank account, unless I give them a a TIN from somewhere.