Proof of residency for foreign nationals?

seanorama

Howdy - I've been told by many agencies that I need to get on the electoral roll, but as a 'foreign national' (and not EU) I cannot.

The MoneySavingExpert credit page states:

/credit-cards/bad-credit-credit-cards wrote:

"If you aren't eligible to vote (mainly foreign nationals), send all the credit reference agencies proof of residency and ask them to add a note to your file."

Anyone know how that is done and what qualifies as proof of residency?


p.s. I've searched the forum and not seen a clear answer.

--
Sean R

InsideInsurance

It is simply proof of address covering 6 months - typically you are looking at:

1) Bank/ credit card statement
2) Utility bills
3) Tenancy Agreement/ mortgage
4) Any governmental agency - HMRC, DWP, HO etc

It would be much easier for you to say what you are trying to do and what problem you're having.

grumbler

Why 6 months?

The proofs are:
- proof of ID,
- proof of address,
- proof of entitlement for staying in UK (e.g. long-term visa if needed)

Some similar recent thread: Creating new Natwest with ILR Biometric

InsideInsurance

grumbler wrote: »

Why 6 months?

Normally to be considered "resident" you must have been here for 6 months or more

grumbler

It's for tax purposes only, not for getting a current account.
And it's 6 months in a year, not in a row.
And if you are allowed to stay and plan to stay for more than 6 months you become a resident and start paying taxes from the day 1, not after 6 months.

InsideInsurance

grumbler wrote: »

It's for tax purposes only, not for getting a current account.

Not just for tax purposes, its for many purposes including other financial services such as Insurance.

Ultimately each company makes up its own rules and definition, American Express want you to have a permanent UK home where as Capital One (online at least) do not allow you to apply if you have been here for less than 2 years

grumbler

InsideInsurance wrote: »

Ultimately each company makes up its own rules and definition,....

I agree - and this is exactly the reason why I am saying that your 'simply... 6 months' statement was incorrect.

Generally, any bank has no obligations to give an account to anybody and can have their own criteria, but formally, many people become UK residents from the day 1 after coming to UK.

zerog

seanorama wrote: »

Howdy - I've been told by many agencies that I need to get on the electoral roll, but as a 'foreign national' (and not EU) I cannot.

The MoneySavingExpert credit page states:

Anyone know how that is done and what qualifies as proof of residency?

Sean R

You posted in the credit card forum. What exactly do you want to do?

You need to go in person to a branch of a bank.