What Bank Account would be best for a work permit holder

comely

I recently joined my wife in the uk and have since had my wages paid into her account. I tried opening my own account but keep being told various reasons why i cant get even a basic account. We live in an all-bills inclusive accommodation and receipts are made in her name each month when we pay our rent. This way, we don't have a proof of address tied to any utility bill. Hence an appropriate proof of address is hard for me to supply. I had issues with Santander Bank because of this. On seeing another bank that would accept my NI letter + My International Passport, i was told the NI letter has to be dated in the last 3 months. This is not possible as i received my NI letter in June, 2012. Lloyds was ready to collect my International Passport + a letter of identification from my employer; but i was refused on the basis that my work permit visa would run out in 10 months time: even though this is a renewable permit and has never given my wife any issues since she lived here for 7 years.
Surely it's not so difficult requesting to have a bank account in a country where i currently reside in. I don't know what to do. Please can anyone out there advise me please. Thanks

jonesMUFCforever

What about council tax bill?
You are on the bill yes??

That plus the passport should be sufficent.

PhenoM

7 years back, everything bank related was a lot more lax than today.

That said, you should be able to get a bank account. A letter from your employer and passport should be more than enough. Apart from that, try getting a landline in your name... it's pretty easy to get and they don't ask for much.

Wait a month till your next bill (make sure it's a paper bill) and you're all set. Walk in with your passport and bill and walk out with a bank account. It might be credit restricted but once you stay here longer and build your credit profile, you'll be able to apply for better products.

Also, get on the electoral roll stat (any commonwealth citizen is eligible).

Lastly... get a driving license. Provisional will suffice in a lot of places (with your current address on it) and once you get the full license, no bank will ask to see your passport in 99.9% of cases. You might also be able to convert your international license (if you have it) to a full UK license if you are from an eligible country. Check the DVLA site.

That's all there is to it. Oh and no late payments even once for atleast the first 4-5 years if you want to be an eye-candy to financial institutions. 1-2 late payments every decade is ok, but no more. Atleast that's the principle I'm living by.