Bank accounts for non-residents?

StinkyMonkey

Hello,

Is it at all possible for someone (EU citizen) living permanently outside the UK to open a UK-based bank account?

Thanks for any advice

jonesMUFCforever

No they will be directed to an offshore account if they want a sterling account.
To open an account you have to have a UK address.

Dr_Cuckoo3

yes


"I am not resident in the UK, can I still open an account or a fixed deposit?

Yes, a person who is not resident in the UK can open an account or a fixed deposit."

http://www.sbiuk.com/how-to-open-an-account.aspx

[Deleted User]

Regarding non-resident accounts, to quote Barclays :


"You can have a UK bank account or one located in an offshore centre, depending on which is best for your financial and tax planning needs"

http://res-non-dom.barclays.com/open-non-resident-bank-account/

Hope this helps.

jonesMUFCforever

State bank of india - if you want to that's fine I wouldn't bother.

StinkyMonkey

Thanks for the suggestions. The SBI is out of the question - I know nothing about them thus I could not recommend them to the person interested in doing this.

Is Barclays the only 'high-street' bank offering such accounts?

I have also been unable to locate any terms and conditions for opening such an account or any fees. I would be surprised if such accounts would be fee-free. Some help would be appreciated...

Many thanks

Dr_Cuckoo3

I've got one with a debit card




State Bank of India require a £500 balance for the savings account with debit card - account is fee - free

SBI is regulated by the Financial Services Authority and covered by the FSCS


Bank of Baroda also offer a basic account with debit card with a £100 balance

I am not sure that the UK Bank offshore accounts (eg Barclays Wealth) are covered by the FOS ,FSA & FSCS

I have no connection to any of these banks other than being a customer , a few people on these forums hold accounts with these banks

I opened the accounts because I am not one to follow the herd

[Deleted User]

Years ago, I had a Barclays account in $EC (East Caribbean Dollars) opened over there but living here. No issues whatsoever - statements etc. came to me at my UK address. I suspect that it's much the same for an overseas resident who wants to bank here.

When I retire, I may decide to live abroad but my pension will still be paid into my UK bank account ...

Dr_Cuckoo3

Cater Allen then - £5,000 minimum balance

http://www.caterallen.co.uk/sterling-bank-account-for-individuals


"Non UK residents (only EU countries permitted)
Please give us your current Tax Identification number that is
appropriate for your current country of residence (i.e. give us the
number that identifies you within the Tax Collection system of the
country in which you reside).
Tax Identification number (if applicable)"
link to application form
http://www.caterallen.co.uk/download/25

RetiredInThailand

jonesMUFCforever wrote: »

State bank of india .....

... are a bunch of clowns.

I tried to open a 5 year deposit with them. Knowing how difficult it is to open an account these days I went in person to the main London office with all my documents for them to copy; UK passport, UK driving licence, UK bank statements, utility bills showing my address, UK chequebook, UK credit cards, kitchen sink. Everything up to date and all in perfect order. I had to wait a long time to see one girl in reception with many other people milling around, which wasn't very nice. I filled in several forms and they copied all the documents and the girl was happy.

Then they gave me another form which no other bank has ever given me before, for my signature to be verified by my existing UK bank. This for a deposit account, and in spite of me producing two UK government ID documents with my signature on, and a UK credit card with the same. I asked if that wasn't something they can send to my bank themselves for them to complete and return and they said "no, we do it for business customers but not private ones". So I gave that to a branch of my bank round the corner, who don't do these in-branch but send them off to be done centrally, and that's the last I ever heard of it. Apparently my bank didn't send that document back to them, but SBI didn't bother to contact me about it to let me know. When I contacted them they just gave me another form for my bank to complete, which I took in to my bank and which also never got back to SBI. So I got fed up with SBI's nonsense and they lost an 85K deposit which I just took elsewhere.

No bank has ever asked me to have a document like that completed, until now.

lolavix

You can open a Natwest current account registered at an overseas address, but you would need to be identified at a Natwest/RBS branch in the UK, or ABN AMRO overseas. They would need 2 forms of ID to prove your address, and a passport.