EU Student... looking for a card?

chrestomanci

Hi guys,

I've been in the UK for 5 years (worked abroad during this term for a year). Now doing a PhD... decided to apply for a credit card as it's just useful to have extra credit, but RBS (my bank for the past 5 years) rejected me for "being foreign".

Before I found out about this I was a bit silly and had applied (and was rejected for) a Tesco card and a Halifax card.. the latest must have been about two months ago. Both were rejected due to electoral roll (which I have since sorted).

Apparently, this makes a difference: from Sep 2009 till December 2010 I lived in Malta (EU) for work purposes.

Does anyone know of a bank which will offer me credit? I'm wanting to start building my credit rating.

(Experian has listed me as being "Good" or "Great" with credit").

Your help is VERY MUCH appreciated.
Thanks.

Venusflytrap

You say that you've been in the UK for 5 years: Have you

Been ordinarily resident here?
Had a registered UK address(es) the whole time?
Had a steady income (p/t work, grants, scholarships)?
Had any other form of credit issued in this time?

Find it hard to accept that your bank - assuming you've been with them for over 1 - 2 years - would cite being 'foreign' as a reason to refuse you credit!

My husband is from the EFTA, and when he opened a Barclays current account he was offered a Barclaycard platinum CC straight away.

chrestomanci

1. Yes.
2. No - when I worked abroad I saw no reason to keep on paying rent in the UK.
3. Yes.
4. No. This is my first time applying for credit.

I've been with my bank for 5 years 7 months now, and in branch, they keep on refusing to let me apply for credit cards as I'm "foreign"... which to be honest, makes me feel rubbish. Have booked a meeting with the manager next week to see if he has a different take, but previously, he recommended I speak to Barclay as they treat "foreign" people better.

(Funnily enough, I can't register at Barclay as my "work placement" has resulted in me not having a "previous UK address" for the last year.. the woman I spoke to on the phone stated that this meant that I needed to forget about applying for at least the next two years, irrespective of how long I've been living here!)

Venusflytrap

qwertymz wrote: »

No - when I worked abroad I saw no reason to keep on paying rent in the UK.

Probably a large contributory factor to the decline.

I've been with my bank for 5 years 7 months now

Which bank? You may have better luck meeting with the branch manager. Helps if you are on the electoral roll and haven't changed addresses more than once in the last 3 years.

chrestomanci

Fair enough... but I'm sure I'm not the only person to work abroad!

I'm been with RBS for that period of time, and apparently CS says that "you just need to be resident in the UK, there is no minimum term", despite whatever my branch says. I've changed my address twice in the past three years - once to go abroad, and once to return!

Tixy

A lot of places do seem to require you to be able to provide UK addresses for the last 3years before they will consider you for any credit, some are 6years resident in the UK.

You are not the only person to work abroad but a lot of other people (including UK residents) also have the same issue if they haven't maintained a presence in the UK of some sort.

chrestomanci

Well- in that case, I could provide my girlfriend's address for the year I was abroad, as I stayed there whenever I returned (two/three days a month), helped with bills etc. But nothing was in my name there, not even council tax.. so I don't think I could use that, could I?

Venusflytrap

In terms of residency:

Article 16 (3) of the EU (Free Movement of Persons) Directive 2004/38/EC - transposed into UK national law in the [Immigration (EEA) Regulations 2006] - which lays out the law on rights of residence of EU/EEA/EFTA nationals in member states (and I paraphrase): Temporary absences of up to 6 months per year may not constitute a break in residency in that member state.

Going by this, and as long as you were not temporarily absent for more than 18 months in the last 36, you should be able to argue that your residency in the UK has been continuous.

Mind you, don't expect the bank manager to have even heard of the EU Directive let alone understand it's application!

Good luck!

chrestomanci

That's really interesting - but I was away for 13 months! I did keep on returning monthly for weekend breaks etc, but as I say, as far as the council are concerned, I was "away", I suppose. Unless I can use something else to prove I was still "here"?

Venusflytrap

qwertymz wrote: »

That's really interesting - but I was away for 13 months!

Then, in terms of demonstrating lawful UK residency, you're stuffed! You may need to give it some more time before applying for credit.

Are you now residing in the UK for the foreseeable future?

chrestomanci

Yes I am, at least for the next 3 years, and probably staying on anyway.