Can I keep a German Bank account as non-resident

Question

Last year (2019) I(non-european) did an exchange in Aachen, Germany (for 1 year) and had to open a bank account in Germany.
I left it open on purpose when I left (around October) because I had an internship lined up. (The internship was in Belgium, so I had to go back due to a couple of visa issues - aka I had to get a Belgian student permit but could only do this in my country).
A lot of problems happened and I was not able to go back.

Now my questions:

I work as freelancer and sometimes I receive payments in Euro. Can I keep this account at least as a savings account? (My country's currency is messed up.)
If not how could I close this account?
Bonus: how can I check if I owe something to Rundfunk (not sure if I paid everything correctly)? I have sent them a couple of emails and no reply :(

Michael Borgwardt · Answer

Can I keep this account at least as a savings account? (My country's currency is messed up.)

Ask the bank. It may depend on where exactly your country is. Some banks even allow foreign residents to open accounts, but this is typically restricted to a short list of countries. Keeping the account after opening it brings mainly two requirements:

The handling of taxes for any interest payments. The bank may have to classify you as a "Steuerausländer".
Some kinds of communication between the bank and you require paper mail, so the bank needs your foreign address and send international mail, which may result in longer delivery times that mess with their processes.

Some banks may refuse to deal with these problems and tell you you have to close the account.

If not how could I close this account?

Ask the bank.

Can I keep a German Bank account as non-resident

One Answer

Add your own answers!

Ask a Question