# Moving from UK to Ireland - need advice



## BritLad (1 Nov 2006)

I've recently wed and moved to Ireland from the UK.  I've sold my apartment in London and now want to move the money over to Ireland - any suggestions on how best to do this to minimise bank charges and get a good exchange rate?  I bank with Nat West in the UK.

Also I'm looking to find the best credit cards and current accounts over here, as I'm currently still using UK based Visa and Amex cards and getting charged on every 'foreign' transaction even though the billing address on the cards is Ireland.

All advice very much appreciated.


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## CCOVICH (1 Nov 2006)

Check out the Best Buys forum and www.itsyourmoney.ie for info on best value products.


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## deem (2 Nov 2006)

my advise have money in your current bank account in uk and write a sterling cheque

take it a bank or credit union and lodge it, I found that there fees are quite low for this

It may take some time to clear but it works much better than charges of automated transfers


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## paddyodoors (3 Nov 2006)

Do you intend using the cash straight away - if it is proceeds of an apartment I presume it is a substantial sum. Once you have deceided what bank you are going with (based on best buys forum) you should call through in advance and get them to quote you a rate - phoning around the banks then to get the best on offer.

However do you intend using this cash straight away? If not UK interest rates are far higher than here, so you should, if you intend leaving it on deposit, transfer to the highest yielding account at your current bank in the UK.

Paddy


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## EOC74 (3 Nov 2006)

Go to a London firm called Foreign Currency Direct. They gave me the best rates and fees were low. They specialise in this type of thing. There are others online too and worth checking to ensure you get best rate.


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## kathryn (3 Nov 2006)

Hi just reading this thread and thought of my uncle's dilemma.He's 74 single and had a brain haemorrage two years ago which has left him hard to deal with. 

He moved here in Aug '04 after spending 45 years in England.. He has circa 300k in banks and Building Society in London. The money was all income generated not proceeds of any property sale.

I gather his tax affairs may not entirely be in order and as far as I can tell he seems to be still claiming to live there. He asks for advice but hasn't kept any of the appoinments I have set up with accountants or tax consultants. Every euro/pound is a prisoner and he possible dosen't want to pay them

How can he transfer the money? and what tax issues should I try to highlight to him?
 Thanks in advance


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## Marie (4 Nov 2006)

According to the Irish Inland Revenue webpage  [broken link removed] your father's savings (on which tax has already been deducted in the UK) are not taxable again in the RoI.  The "Living in Ireland" section is all relevant to your question. 

As far as currency conversion of large amounts and transfer to RoI are concerned you can either leave it in the lap of the gods at whatever the exchange-rate is at the time (you get the commercial rate with larger sums) OR pre-arrange a 'fix' in advance.  You can lose or benefit depending on which way international currencies move.  They shift from hour to hour so trying to time the market is difficult.


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## RugbyBoy (4 Nov 2006)

I have used HIFX and Canton FX in the past and got good rates however for large amounts ask you bank for a rate


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## jodyhogg (4 Nov 2006)

I use www.xetrade.com, no charge and a very competitive conversion rate, much better than the banks (the Irish banks catch you out here by when depositing a sterling cheque on the rate they give you). If you were transferring a large amount of cash, it can be done via BACS (or wire) as they call it for about €14.  And if you were working in large amounts, i.e. more than €10k, go for this safe secure method as you the rate is still superior than the AIB or BOI or PTSB.  If you were not time concscious, XETrade also send payment by draft cheque which is what I use to send my Euro back to the UK and it takes about 2-3 weeks.
Cheers


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