Bank Account(s), where to start?

I had been reading everything related to opening a bank account in the UK for a while now. Since I wasn’t able to come up with a basic understanding of it, I decided to call directly Barcley’s and the representative I spoke to said this:

• An EEA, only needs to show their passport and about £50.00 to open a basic account.
• A non-EEA, can be added to an existing account by showing: 3 bank statements (from the last country the applicant lived in), driver’s license and passport (she emphasized that this might take a few months).
• A non-EEA, can open a basic account by showing: 3 bank statements (from the last country the applicant lived in), driver’s license, passport and an utility bill (she mentioned something about council tax?!


My wife (EEA) is the one opening the account but, could someone indicate, what’s the proper way to open an account? What exactly is required?

Thanks!

What do u do in the UK ?

Work, Study etc? and your permission to leave in the UK

You would just require some utility bill to open a basic account! This is proof of address and your passport/permission to live in uk

If your working, your payslip, if your student then Uni Letter!

One of my colleagues, a non-EEA citizen opened up a bank account in Santander last week. All he needed was -

a) his passport - basically a photographic ID.
b) a recent (within 3 months) utility bill [council tax receipt/rent slip or contract would also do] - proof of residence.

This account was not a basic/cash account. It was a normal account with an option to add a saving account as and when he chose to in the future.

terriblescream wrote:What do u do in the UK ?

Work, Study etc? and your permission to leave in the UK

You would just require some utility bill to open a basic account! This is proof of address and your passport/permission to live in uk

If your working, your payslip, if your student then Uni Letter!

I am sorry for not being all clear..!

We currently live in the US and we'll be moving to the UK in the next incoming weeks. My wife is an Italian Citizen and will start -hopefully- at her new job in London within weeks after arriving. Initially, I will be admitted with a Family Permit and later will get a residence card.

Sorry for omitting some crucial piece of information.

krazydude wrote:
b) a recent (within 3 months) utility bill [council tax receipt/rent slip or contract would also do] - proof of residence.

Thank you for your great input. Although, I don't understand: our realtor in London, has mentioned that in order to sign a lease/rent agreement, we must produce a bank account. How on earth, are we going to open an account if we don't have an address (proof of residence) or the other way around for that matter?.

Can somebody weight on this?

Thank you for your great input. Although, I don't understand: our realtor in London, has mentioned that in order to sign a lease/rent agreement, we must produce a bank account. How on earth, are we going to open an account if we don't have an address (proof of residence) or the other way around for that matter?.

Letting Agents do this. Tell them that you are moving in from the US and can provide them with a 3 month statement from your current US bank account. They basically want to ascertain if you would be able to meet the deposit and rental obligations or not.

Once you get your rental contract, use that as address proof for your bank account (waiting for a council tax receipt or utility bill in your name could take you a month or more and you cannot live on cash for that long).

krazydude wrote:Letting Agents do this. Tell them that you are moving in from the US and can provide them with a 3 month statement from your current US bank account. They basically want to ascertain if you would be able to meet the deposit and rental obligations or not.

Once you get your rental contract, use that as address proof for your bank account (waiting for a council tax receipt or utility bill in your name could take you a month or more and you cannot live on cash for that long).

Well, my wife just did exactly what you suggested and the letting agent told her that without a banking account in the UK there's nothing that she can do! We even offered to pay 6 months in advance.

Needless to say, my wife told her that we don't need her anymore. Any suggestions from here?

jrge wrote: Well, my wife just did exactly what you suggested and the letting agent told her that without a banking account in the UK there's nothing that she can do! We even offered to pay 6 months in advance.

Needless to say, my wife told her that we don't need her anymore. Any suggestions from here?

Search for a better letting agent.

Its better if you tell a letting agent that you are currently in the US and would not be able to provide things like UK bank statements or references before you start your discussion. There are letting agents who are ready to process rental contracts without UK bank statements.

If your wife is being offered a job in the UK, she can request her HR dept in the UK to help with the relocation and they would then be able to provide her with good leads based on her current situation.

jrge wrote:

krazydude wrote:Letting Agents do this. Tell them that you are moving in from the US and can provide them with a 3 month statement from your current US bank account. They basically want to ascertain if you would be able to meet the deposit and rental obligations or not.

Once you get your rental contract, use that as address proof for your bank account (waiting for a council tax receipt or utility bill in your name could take you a month or more and you cannot live on cash for that long).

Well, my wife just did exactly what you suggested and the letting agent told her that without a banking account in the UK there's nothing that she can do! We even offered to pay 6 months in advance.

Needless to say, my wife told her that we don't need her anymore. Any suggestions from here?

Most letting agents agree on 6months advance rent and give you the property without any hesitation since thats the minimum contract and you have already paid it.

Seriously, look for better agents!

krazydude wrote:Search for a better letting agent.

terriblescream wrote:Seriously, look for better agents!

Yes, I should've known better. But, my lovely wife decided to handle this matter herself, as I was on a business travel. However, the letting agent is OUT! and ain't coming back. (I will start my own thread on this subject, I hope you all can weight in)

Now back to the main topic!!

krazydude wrote:This account was not a basic/cash account

Could you elaborate more on this? I need an account to write checks (checking), access to some money (savings), and save some more (money market)

Both myself and my partner (both non-EEA) opened bank accounts with by taking passports and letters from our companies proving our addresses (I asked them several times and all they basically need to see is: are you who you say you are (passport)? Can you prove your address (they trust an employer's letter)? Do you have the right to be in the UK (passport)?. The process was the same at HSBC and Lloyds TSB. With HSBC I didn't even need an immediate deposit - I only deposited my money a few weeks later, but Lloyds TSB required an immediate deposit just to activate the account.

Could you elaborate more on this? I need an account to write checks (checking), access to some money (savings), and save some more (money market)

Basic/Cash account means that you cannot use your bank card in ATM's other than those which belong to your bank. That means if you get a Barclay bank account, the bank card you get will only work on Barclay's ATM's and shops. You will be charged if you want to withdraw money from say an HSBC ATM (or any other bank ATM). You can open a saving's account and get a check book on a cash/basic account. You can also do online and financial market transactions using your basic/cash account. Over a period of time as your bank service usage history develops, the bank convert basic/cash accounts to normal or preferred accounts. You get better saving rates and access to loans at a cheaper rate then. You can also qualify for some special services like good deals on mortgages, insurance, international remit as the case might be (which the bank has on offer).

Instead of a address need (on a document), can someone having a/c with particular bank, introduce the person for new account?

Say a friend or family member??

t1s2010 wrote:Instead of a address need (on a document), can someone having a/c with particular bank, introduce the person for new account?

Say a friend or family member??

Introduction does not mean that you will not be asked for address proof.

krazydude wrote: Basic/Cash account means that you cannot use your bank card in ATM's other than those which belong to your bank. That means if you get a Barclay bank account, the bank card you get will only work on Barclay's ATM's and shops. You will be charged if you want to withdraw money from say an HSBC ATM (or any other bank ATM). You can open a saving's account and get a check book on a cash/basic account. You can also do online and financial market transactions using your basic/cash account. Over a period of time as your bank service usage history develops, the bank convert basic/cash accounts to normal or preferred accounts. You get better saving rates and access to loans at a cheaper rate then. You can also qualify for some special services like good deals on mortgages, insurance, international remit as the case might be (which the bank has on offer).

That is pretty much what I have with SANTANDER, a basic checking account linked to a saving and money market accounts. (This is the kicker, they can't transfer my accounts from the US to the UK for residency restrictions!)

krazydude wrote:You can also qualify for some special services like good deals on mortgages, insurance, international remit as the case might be (which the bank has on offer).

Now, this is music to my hears... simply because, we would like to buy a house ASAP.

On an average, how long does it take to build a credit history there? Here in the US, only takes 6 months to a year depending on your spending habits.

Your credit history generally starts as soon as you either obtain some sort of credit or put your name on the electoral register, however, this is general not sufficient to obtain any sort of credit. To get credit, you normally have to have had credit.

I asked both HSBC and Lloyds TSB about this and both came back and said that you have to have a credit history for about a year before they will consider issuing me with a credit card and for larger things like mortgages, you need about two years of squeaky clean and well-conducted credit history.

There are tons of articles on the net on how to quickly build up a good credit history.

This is the kicker, they can't transfer my accounts from the US to the UK for residency restrictions!

This is coz the central bank/regulating authority (FSA in the UK) is different, so you have to open a new bank account as per the rules of the land. I cannot transfer my Barclay's current/saving account from the UK to India (and vice versa) as well.

mulderpf wrote: To get credit, you normally have to have had credit.

Will a contract with a mobile phone company count? Cable?

mulderpf wrote: I asked both HSBC and Lloyds TSB about this and both came back and said that you have to have a credit history for about a year before they will consider issuing me with a credit card and for larger things like mortgages, you need about two years of squeaky clean and well-conducted credit history.

Our credit card company is going to transfer our "charge card" to the UK, and after a few months of establish local credit history will transfer our credit cards. But, two years to get a mortgage seems like a lot to me.

I'm not sure if a mobile contract will help - not completely clear if that also goes on your credit history (and also not sure how easy you will find it to open one).

A mortgage is a long-term commitment - obviously the lender has to be sure about your ability to repay. Hence the long history they need to assess your capability.

mulderpf wrote:I'm not sure if a mobile contract will help - not completely clear if that also goes on your credit history (and also not sure how easy you will find it to open one).

According to this: http://www.immigrationboards.com/viewtopic.php?t=77318 I should only need to provide a form of ID and a proof of address. I will look further to see if it actually affects your credit score/history.

mulderpf wrote:A mortgage is a long-term commitment - obviously the lender has to be sure about your ability to repay. Hence the long history they need to assess your capability.

I guess it makes lots of sense now.

Yup, they need that in order to do a credit check on you.