Saving money while living outside UK

soldave

OK, let me give you a bit of a rundown about my situation. I'm currently living in Japan, and probably will be for the foreseeable future unless I get deported (joke... probably!). I've got a bank account here in Japan but the interest rates even for savings accounts here are about 0.1% so no point saving here. I've also got an HSBC account in the UK, which is where I've done my very limited bits of saving.

Now I don't have much money to my name. I've currently got about 12000 pounds which I could save. Currently 6,000 of that is tied up in HSBC fixed savings accounts (although the amounts can be withdrawn if needed), but the other 6,000 has just matured and is ready to be reinvested.

I can't get a HSBC ISA because I'm not resident in the UK, nor can I open any other bank accounts in the UK as far as I'm aware, as I am not resident there. Which appears to severely limit my options.

The only things I can see available to me are either reinvesting into a fixed rate savings account (getting 1-2.5% gross), or putting 3,000 pounds into a regular saver, which would gross me 50 pounds over 12 months.

I'm not looking for some magical way of getting 100% interest on my tiny savings, but are there any other options open to me with a little bigger return?

Thanks for any thoughts in advance

HappyMJ

Not being resident in the UK then just invest in the best currently available savngs account. You can open them online. Do you use a UK address for your corresspondence? If you don't then I would. Take the regular saver as well as they usually pay the best rates by drip feeding it the maximum and then when it matures put the money back into your savings account....p.s you don't have tiny savings that's a healthy amount of savings to have.

RetiredInThailand

soldave wrote: »

I can't get a HSBC ISA because I'm not resident in the UK, nor can I open any other bank accounts in the UK as far as I'm aware, as I am not resident there.

You cant open a new ISA but many UK banks will take on non-resident customers, with the usual ID/address verification requirements. These requirements are tedious to comply with from a distance but not impossible.

About the best you can hope for at the moment is under 3% on instant access or about 4% for a 5-year time deposit. Punjab National UK have the best rates as of now but Scottish Widows, Clydesdale, Triodos, Investec are all possibilities. There are others.

Select a bank that accepts form R105 for non-residents so that you can get your interest paid gross. You should declare it in your country of residence though. Or you can just claim the interest back from HMRC if you have no earned UK income.

And of course all the offshore banks in the CI and IOM will take you.

soldave

HappyMJ wrote: »

Not being resident in the UK then just invest in the best currently available savngs account. You can open them online. Do you use a UK address for your corresspondence? If you don't then I would. Take the regular saver as well as they usually pay the best rates by drip feeding it the maximum and then when it matures put the money back into your savings account....p.s you don't have tiny savings that's a healthy amount of savings to have.

I do have a UK address for correspondence (can use the folks' address), although I thought it was for residents and not just for correspondence. I'll look into it though and will definitely consider the regular saver too.

And thanks for the comment about the amount that is. Like everyone, I guess I just wish it was more

RetiredInThailand wrote: »

You cant open a new ISA but many UK banks will take on non-resident customers, with the usual ID/address verification requirements. These requirements are tedious to comply with from a distance but not impossible.

About the best you can hope for at the moment is under 3% on instant access or about 4% for a 5-year time deposit. Punjab National UK have the best rates as of now but Scottish Widows, Clydesdale, Triodos, Investec are all possibilities. There are others.

Select a bank that accepts form R105 for non-residents so that you can get your interest paid gross. You should declare it in your country of residence though. Or you can just claim the interest back from HMRC if you have no earned UK income.

And of course all the offshore banks in the CI and IOM will take you.

Thanks. Gives me a few things to consider