German bank accounts on leaving Germany

I just got a job offer in S. Korea starting in October and need to begin the move out ...

Any advice on whether I can keep my German bank account and credit cards (german visa / mastercard / amex) active even though I will not be a german resident? I am planning to return several times a year to Europe for business and pleasure thus the want/need to keep the euro account active.

my credit card gets deducted from my bank account each month, so as long as i keep my account filled, i can pretty much still use my credit card even if I've left germany. i still have my visa and discover cards from the u.s. although i don't use them. i have no yearly fee that is why i kept them.

Elfenstar: Thanks for your input.

So, I can keep my german bank account open even if I am no longer a resident of Germany? I unclear on this issue as someone else told me that I would be required to close the account because I am no longer a german resident.

I think that officially you have to close your bank account. However, if you can provide them with a valid german address to send your bank statements etc to and there is money in your account, I see no reason they have to know. That's what I'm doing back in Britain anyway. My parents get my statements and my bank is convinced that I'm still living there... means I got to keep my student account with the overdraft function (the likes of which has yet to hit Germany!!)

I'm with Barclays back in the UK...have all my statements sent here to Germany...doesn't seem to bother them as long as I leave some money in my account back home...

my bank statements from the u.s. get sent to me here in germany.

@Elf
That's only because you're a U.S. citizen. An Austrian friend of mine who returned from living in the U.S. had the problem that they wouldn't send his statements overseas because legally he wasn't allowed to keep the account. I assume this holds true within the EU as well. If you can maintain a local address however, no one is the wiser. Trick is that it only works if you have someone that can forward your statements to you. Same with the credit card too.

There's no requirement to live in Germany to have a bank account here. If you already have a bank account then the bank is satisifed that you exist, wherever you live, which is all they are required to do.

If you are leaving they may want to have a new address for you, but there is no reason for it to be in Germany. Clearly they'll likely want you to stay in credit, or may remove and overdraft facility, so if you do go in the red any incoming requests for payments will bounce...

YL6

Next month, I am moving back to the US. However, I want to keep my Sparkasse account open and active to make some payments for some outstanding German bills.

Does anyone know if it is a problem to keep a German bank account active even if your mailing address is in the USA?

Topics merged by admin

This man is absolutely correct

Will you marry me?

Yeah, what YL6 said. Not the "Marry me" part, but the banking part.

One additional note though, the "overdraft" protection they afford you in the form of short term interest added borrowing (depot kredit) is simply dependent on your monthly deposits. If you continue to deposit money, you will continue to have that added (albeit costly) service.

Different banks may have different international policies regarding statements, account status, etc. It is always best to check with them before being hit with fees for international transaction (whenever they send your statement or other correspondence, etc.) I´m not one for the surprise factor.

Does anyone know how easy it is to shut an account here? I leave on the 20th July and my last pay check will go in on the 10th August. I need to arrange for it to shut after i leave, how do i do this? (kreisparkasse bank)

I'm assuming i can go in and ask for a form and they can transfer the funds to another bank account but am worried about having to be there in person.

I had a strange situation trying to close my account with Sparkasse from another city. Only my new bank could do that for me (deutsche bank) and not the "local" sparkasse here in Munich. They said they can only cancel my account if I start a new account with then. I think the reasoning is that the cancelled bank wants to have access to an account in case you have outstanding charges. But it may be easier to cancel at the location, but I had a hard time canceling from a distance.