Girlfriend moving from EU country to UK

hyposmurf

Not sure if this is the best foprum subject to post this in.My girlfriend is intending to move here next sept/oct or maybe sooner.In order for her to receive a credit history she needs to have like a credit card/phone contract etc.But in order to get one of these she needs credit history! :wall: What ways are there that she get the ball roling?Reason Im asking as shell need a credit hsitroy to be taken seriously by many companies and also to attain a mortgage later on.Ive been told by a bank that if she went on income support etc,claimed aslyum shed go onto the system alot quicker,this however is totally not what she wants to do.Shed rather stick hot needles in her eye than take handouts.She will be coming form a EU country,so she will be able to work without a visa.What other things are best to sort ahead of time?Reguistering with certain organisations bodies?

Galstonian

Getting on income support does not get you a credit history, that suggestion sounds like nonsense to me and if it was given by an official advisor I think merits a complaint. I'd avoid the hot needles too...

What she should do now is try and get an account with a company who can transfer her credit history to the UK when she moves. This could be Amex or might be a local bank that owns or is owned by a UK bank. Discuss it with them beforehand, they are usually keen to keep business.

When she does arrive she should make sure she exists in the eyes of the autorities. I can't help with things like tax and NI but assuming she will be working her employer should be able to help sort those out. I also don't know the mechanics of a foreign national getting on the electoral register but that should be high the list of priorities too. Opening accounts and maintaining them well over time is the best thing to do so perhaps a store account would be of use? Do not carry a balance on it, always pay it off in full. Even if the balance is £0 every month it should still show as an account which is not in arrears every month and these all add up.

As for mortgages, they are usually easier to get than unsecured credit because quite simply the lender takes less risk - they can simply repossess if things go wrong.

Hope that helps a little.

hyposmurf

So you mean like a store card?What do they normally neeed for that different forms of ID and her addres details.At the moment she is not in the UK but maybe over for a hol.

PokerPortal

hyposmurf wrote:

Ive been told by a bank that if she went on income support etc,claimed aslyum shed go onto the system alot quicker,this however is totally not what she wants to do.Shed rather stick hot needles in her eye than take handouts.She will be coming form a EU country,so she will be able to work without a visa.

Income support when she comes from another country and has never worked in the U.K.? Not a chance. Claim asylum? I thought she was from an EU country? Not a chance.

Only one way forward for her:

Get a job in the UK. Get a national Insurance number. Get a UK bank account. This might be just a savings account without overdraft facility, as she probably will find it hard to get a current account. Don't move house too often. A credit card might be further down the line. With credit scoring, credit history is really important, and you will only get it over time. She has to be patient. It will take years. I am from an EU country and I had to work for 1 year for the same employer before I could get a credit card. Even now, after working and living in England for over 5 years I still find that I have too short a credit history when applying for credit cards. She will have to register for the electoral roll as soon as possible.

pagan705

I moved from france 2 years ago (I'm english but lived there 14 years).

Make sure she gets herself on the electral register as soon as she moves & also make sure if she moves in with someone (ie you or others) that one of the bills is in her name so that she has proof of domicile. I stayed at my mothers & couldn't prove I was living there so I couldn't open any bank account for 9 months !!!! ....they will only accept certain forms of proof ie utility bills etc.

I got a basic bank account & then a few months later applied & was accepted for a capital one card. I still can't open lots of accounts ..apply for many credit cards etc because most companies want 3 years of addresses which I don't have

pagan705

What country is she moving from ? many banks have branches in other countries eg abbey & barclays are also in france, maybe she could find a bank in her counrty and get an account open.

Bossyboots

People coming from 10 of the EU countries still need to register to work here and must do so within one month of starting employment.

hyposmurf

Bossyboots wrote:

People coming from 10 of the EU countries still need to register to work here and must do so within one month of starting employment.

Yeh shell do that ,wants to everything above board.Im just trying to make it a smooth enough process for her.Shes from Czech Republic.Maybe there are Czech banks that are also here hjavent clue who they are though.Thanks for all your help Im a bit clearer now as to what I can do to help her.

innovate

Try Citibank - they are renowned for operating in many countries, and they certainly operate in CZ and UK.

Getting on the Electoral Register is, as has already been mentioned, a critical thing to do to improve a person's credit rating! Be aware though that this means she also has to pay Council Tax - or risk being prosecuted for not doing so.

hyposmurf

Thanks I take something Czech is going on there,second reply by yourself about Czech subjects.

Quasar

hyposmurf,

if she is a EU citizen she CAN'T claim asylum, as nobody can be a refugee from a EU country to another. As PokerPortal suggests, she needs to get a job and a NI number and she can build a credit history very quickly.