Opening a bank account in Macedonia

is it difficult for expats to open a bank account in Macedonia ?

Varies by circumstances but no more or less onerous than most other European countries.

Which documents are required to open a bank account in Macedonia ?

This seems to vary a little.  But you do get foreign bank accounts which can be opened using your foreign passports and id.  However, the best and most generally accepted way seems to be to apply for a Macedonian foreign visitors id.  This is something you will need anyway if your spending any significant time here.

How long does it take to open it ?

My company provides incorporation of businesses, nominee directors etc and can support opening business banking facilities. This can take as little as 2/3 days.   Personal accounts are a different matter and like everything else here, you must be physically present.   A personal account can be opened in 24 hours at some banks although you will have to wait a week for things like debit cards etc.

Is there any restriction for expats regarding the services (loans for instance)  ?

Expats will find access to loans etc very restricted.  Unless your resident here with demonstrable assetts and income etc then I believe you will find it quite difficult to get access to any funding. The banking system here is generally much more cautious about lending generally than banks in the US or UK from what I have seen.  There is no proper facility for credit checking individuals (this is being constructed) so no standard points system exists so it is down to individual circumstances in each case.



Which bank would you recommend ?

Banking here seems to involve one being present far more than I have seen elsewhere. In particular oreign currency transactions can be painful with some banks insisting on converting the currency to denars, signing a document confirming where the money is coming from and why before it is credited to an account.  You may also need to be phsycially present to sign for incoming and outgoing transactions.

This is just my own personal opinion, but there in my experience there several good banks and others less so.  Pro Credit and Tutunska seem relatively good for business. 

What I have noticed is that the longer your with the bank and the better your relationship is with the people involved then the easier they are to do business with. I do very little personal banking here so my experience is primarily business based.

I have noticed significant positive changes in the banking system over the last 3 years.  This is one area which seems to be catching up with the sort of facilities one would expect in London or Paris etc.  Given the caution around lending and the current economic climate, some may even say this is a better basis for banking than elsewhere in the long term.