Moving house sale proceeds from US to UK
March 12, 2025 12:33 PM Subscribe
What and how exactly do I follow anti money-laundering laws in moving 40-60k from a US bank to a UK bank?
That is the primary question, but there are particulars about it.
I'm under contract right now to sell my house. I'll then be able to apply for a UK spousal visa that has financial requirements. I'll need to demonstrate that the money originated from the sale of the house to qualify for an exception to the 6mo funds-possession rule. I'll be receiving the funds into a US bank account and leaving it there during the visa application process. Once my visa is approved, I'll be transferring it to Wise, and then eventually to a UK bank once I have established residency.
That all seems comprehensible but I feel there's a big gap in my choreographic plots which is: at what point do I send notice to USGov that I am moving the dollars abroad, and what are the keywords I need to research the exact forms and processes for doing so?
I'm also pretty sure the spousal visa process allows for the funds to be assessed in a US bank rather than a UK one, but only 98% sure. Anyone know for sure?
That is the primary question, but there are particulars about it.
I'm under contract right now to sell my house. I'll then be able to apply for a UK spousal visa that has financial requirements. I'll need to demonstrate that the money originated from the sale of the house to qualify for an exception to the 6mo funds-possession rule. I'll be receiving the funds into a US bank account and leaving it there during the visa application process. Once my visa is approved, I'll be transferring it to Wise, and then eventually to a UK bank once I have established residency.
That all seems comprehensible but I feel there's a big gap in my choreographic plots which is: at what point do I send notice to USGov that I am moving the dollars abroad, and what are the keywords I need to research the exact forms and processes for doing so?
I'm also pretty sure the spousal visa process allows for the funds to be assessed in a US bank rather than a UK one, but only 98% sure. Anyone know for sure?
With this much at stake, I really encourage you to find an emigration lawyer who has worked with these type of situations in the past.
posted by ananci at 12:43 PM on March 12 [9 favorites]
posted by ananci at 12:43 PM on March 12 [9 favorites]
Please for the love of god hire a suitable legal firm, at least for a consultation or two. Don't ask how I know.
posted by aramaic at 1:11 PM on March 12 [5 favorites]
posted by aramaic at 1:11 PM on March 12 [5 favorites]
Response by poster: Forgive my autism here. Exactly no one I can find advertises themselves as an "emigration lawyer." I do have an immigration solicitor in Glasgow to facilitate the literal visa, but US money laundering law is outside his scope. Very specific instruction on the exact classification of professional help in this would be really valuable.
posted by droomoord at 1:27 PM on March 12 [1 favorite]
posted by droomoord at 1:27 PM on March 12 [1 favorite]
Have you considered banking at a bank that has a global presence?
posted by notjustthefish at 1:56 PM on March 12
posted by notjustthefish at 1:56 PM on March 12
Can you explain why you believe you need to notify / get permission from the US government to move your own money from a US account to a non-US account?
posted by NotMyselfRightNow at 2:19 PM on March 12
posted by NotMyselfRightNow at 2:19 PM on March 12
Best answer: I don't know anything about the UK requirements, however: I moved from the US to Canada, and eventually moved all my money over as well in the process of buying a house here. I just did it via a wire transfer from my US bank to a USD account at my Canadian bank. At no point did I ever have to notify the government about it. If anything, US banks probably have reporting requirements about this sort of thing, but I don't believe there is any obligation for you personally to tell the government that you're doing something with your own money that you have already paid taxes on.
posted by number9dream at 2:28 PM on March 12 [5 favorites]
posted by number9dream at 2:28 PM on March 12 [5 favorites]
Best answer: Hello, I work for a financial institution and am trained yearly on our anti money laundering program. There is no form for you to fill out, the responsibility is on the institution. It is not illegal to transfer large sums, only to try and avoid detection when doing so, like sending three $9000 payments instead of one $27000 payment.
IANAL, IANYL, TINLA.
posted by funkaspuck at 2:37 PM on March 12 [10 favorites]
IANAL, IANYL, TINLA.
posted by funkaspuck at 2:37 PM on March 12 [10 favorites]
If you have the UK immigration legal side taken care of, then the US financial side can be handled by you filling out a fairly straightforward form...
As long as you are a "US person" (that is, unless you have explicitly renounced your US citizenship and had that renunciation accepted by the US Government) you will need to file an annual form with FinCEN if you EVER have more than ten thousand dollars equivalent in a foreign bank (if you pass that line for any length of time at all, you need to file).
This is usually done at the same time you file US taxes (which you will also need to continue doing forever); my tax guy does it for me. The deadlines are basically the same (April 15th for FBAR). You can do it yourself, frankly, it's not that hard -- I just have my tax person do it mainly to ensure it absolutely never gets forgotten.
...those two filings (FBAR and income tax forms) cover your obligations to the US and effectively notify them you've moved the money and where you've moved it. If you ever fail to file, they can impose serious fines. People get away with not doing this all the time, but people also get all their money taken away as well, so I personally wouldn't risk it.
The bigger trick is that many foreign banks prefer to avoid doing business with US persons even when they're resident in a foreign country, due to the filing obligations imposed on them by the US. As a consequence it's usually easier to deal with massive multinational banks and investment firms, or else smaller specialist banks that specifically target international persons.
posted by aramaic at 2:42 PM on March 12 [2 favorites]
As long as you are a "US person" (that is, unless you have explicitly renounced your US citizenship and had that renunciation accepted by the US Government) you will need to file an annual form with FinCEN if you EVER have more than ten thousand dollars equivalent in a foreign bank (if you pass that line for any length of time at all, you need to file).
This is usually done at the same time you file US taxes (which you will also need to continue doing forever); my tax guy does it for me. The deadlines are basically the same (April 15th for FBAR). You can do it yourself, frankly, it's not that hard -- I just have my tax person do it mainly to ensure it absolutely never gets forgotten.
...those two filings (FBAR and income tax forms) cover your obligations to the US and effectively notify them you've moved the money and where you've moved it. If you ever fail to file, they can impose serious fines. People get away with not doing this all the time, but people also get all their money taken away as well, so I personally wouldn't risk it.
The bigger trick is that many foreign banks prefer to avoid doing business with US persons even when they're resident in a foreign country, due to the filing obligations imposed on them by the US. As a consequence it's usually easier to deal with massive multinational banks and investment firms, or else smaller specialist banks that specifically target international persons.
posted by aramaic at 2:42 PM on March 12 [2 favorites]
I do this all the time with Wise. This is why they ask you for ID and other verifications.
Also the sums you mention are not a lot of money in the scheme of things. Just transfer it all at once.
posted by vacapinta at 2:54 PM on March 12 [3 favorites]
Also the sums you mention are not a lot of money in the scheme of things. Just transfer it all at once.
posted by vacapinta at 2:54 PM on March 12 [3 favorites]
"at what point do I send notice to USGov that I am moving the dollars abroad"You don't. Just transfer it. It's possible that the banks involved could ask you for information about the transaction for anti-fraud/anti-money laundering purposes but you do not have to directly notify the US government about the transfer. aramaic is right, you are just obligated to file an FBAR annually which will reflect your foreign money movement activity (both transferring funds out of the US and moving money between accounts held outside the US).
posted by 4rtemis at 3:16 PM on March 12 [2 favorites]
It's fine to show savings in a US bank as long as it's regulated by "the appropriate regulatory body for the [USA]." To quote the gov.uk website:
There's also a thorough guide on financial requirements on migrate.org.uk, which might be easier to read than the gov.uk legalese. I'll also call your attention to their page on cash savings, which includes a section on "Sale of a property".
I recommend going through as many resources as you can stomach and making a giant list of questions. Then, pay an immigration attorney/solicitor for a consultation and ask them everything.
Good luck.
posted by ftrtts at 5:10 PM on March 12 [1 favorite]
11A. In respect of cash savings:There's some really specific requirements that you should read over in that guidance. For example, your bank statements either need to be on "official bank stationery" or "accompanied by a letter from the bank on its headed stationery confirming that the documents are authentic or which bear the official stamp of the issuing bank on every page." You should be able to phone your bank and request such a letter.
(a) The savings may be held in any form of bank/savings account (whether a current, deposit or investment account, provided by a financial institution regulated by the appropriate regulatory body for the country in which that institution is operating), provided that the account allows the savings to be accessed immediately (with or without a penalty for withdrawing funds without notice). This can include savings held in a pension savings account which can be immediately withdrawn.
There's also a thorough guide on financial requirements on migrate.org.uk, which might be easier to read than the gov.uk legalese. I'll also call your attention to their page on cash savings, which includes a section on "Sale of a property".
I recommend going through as many resources as you can stomach and making a giant list of questions. Then, pay an immigration attorney/solicitor for a consultation and ask them everything.
Good luck.
posted by ftrtts at 5:10 PM on March 12 [1 favorite]
[mildly unrelated point for future readers doing searches, it appears that "global mobility" is now the preferred phrase among professional firms involved in this sort of thing, presumably due to political assholes insulting immigrants/emigrants, and attempting to distinguish between high-net-worth people and the hoi polloi.]
posted by aramaic at 5:22 PM on March 12 [3 favorites]
posted by aramaic at 5:22 PM on March 12 [3 favorites]
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posted by droomoord at 12:36 PM on March 12