To keep your bank account open and accessible, you need to provide them with your current visa page every 2 years. It's too avoid money laundering for illegals!
Why doesn't your friend open an offshore bank account instead?
If his VISA has still to be cancelled, he does still have the option of opening a current account with any of the banks which will continue to be active when he leaves. As he's not looking for borrowing, the requirements will also be relatively limited on an ongoing business so hopefully this should help him get round this issue. Most of my friends who left the UAE still maintain accounts over here.
Banks do not always freeze accounts, only if you also had a credit card with outstanding amount or unpaid loan with them. I switched jobs 3 times here and never any problems with banks.
thats not always the case.... we are premier customers with adcb no loans but credit card of course, but it had zeo balance, when my hubs changed jobs a 2 digit figure was "put on hold" just in case, even tho there was money in the account as usual, but we had to show new contract/visa etc in order to "get that money back" and have been with them 17 years now.
Banks do not always freeze accounts, only if you also had a credit card with outstanding amount or unpaid loan with them. I switched jobs 3 times here and never any problems with banks.
I am assuming he has already left his job so his final salary has been paid in. HSBC should be able to do exactly what Di suggests below and transfer it into a savings account, you can have a debit card with that account but no cheque book.
He could open a savings account with HSBC or possibly transfer his current account into a savings account with them, you do not need to be resident to open a savings account here.
In any case I would not risk them freezing the account, he needs to draw the funds out and close it before that happens.
hth
A friend of mine that used to work in Dubai has his resident visa expiring soon, he kept his bank account (HSBC) open because he was unsure if he was going to come back to Dubai in the near future or not.
Opening an account in his home country it's not the best option since he doesn't live there and yes, he might come back to Dubai, but he's not sure when would that be.
The thing is that HSBC will be freezing his account soon unless he regularizes his situation.
He's studying different options, but he asked me to post here in order to get some feedback from some of you that might have been in the same situation.
Looking forward to your replies. Thanks!