Offshore banking is often associated with a high level of financial sophistication. However, the reality is that an average person can open an offshore bank account with just a few hours of work.
Each offshore bank and foreign jurisdiction has its own requirements, so you'll have to do some research to find the specifics relevant to your situation. The following is an overview of what you can expect, based on common offshore banking centers such as Switzerland, the Cayman Islands and the Channel Islands. The Basic RequirementsThe basics of opening an offshore bank account are similar to opening a bank account in your home country. Offshore banks will ask for your personal information, such as your name, date of birth, address, citizenship and occupation.
To verify your personal information, you can expect to submit a copy of your passport, driver's license or other identifying documents issued by a governmental agency. Additionally, banks are concerned with verifying your residence or physical address since this may affect taxation issues. This requirement may be satisfied by presenting a utility bill or similar documents.
Due to the wide range of different identification documents that may be presented to offshore banks, additional assurance of a document's authenticity is often required. A notarized copy of certain documents may suffice in some cases. Other offshore centers prefer an "apostilles" stamp, which is a special type of certification mark that is used internationally. Where this is the case, you will need to visit the government office that is authorized to issue this stamp for your state or nation and you are good to go....
