New to the UK.

Mikhail

Hi,

I have a Spanish friend moving in and he needs a bank account. He is on the electoral roll. Although, he has the NHS card, a letter from the city council (not council tax bill), letter from job centre plus (not a confirmation of his NI number), letter from American Express insurance, work contract, these are still not good enough for Nationwide to open a current account. They would accept a confirmation of tax code from HMRC, but he could only ask for it when he gets the NI number and he has just applied for it. He has Spanish passport, ID card and driving licence.

I don’t want to include him to my utility bill, as it is all online and obviously, he will need an original bill, which I can only get by loosing my online only discount.

I know he can open a basic account, but I would appreciate if you could advise me where he can open a current account with a debit card, not a cash card.

I went to Lloyds TSB and Halifax, they both told me that they don’t need a confirmation of home address, but they will only be able to see what they can offer after the application.

I’d personally prefer Halifax, but would really appreciate other opinions/advice.

olly300

He needs to wait until he gets to the UK.

In the past people from abroad I know have got bank accounts with debit cards either:
1. By asking their employer which bank they use, and getting them to open an account with that bank, or
2. If their partner who is already UK resident has an account using them to open one with the same bank, or
3. If one of their relations who is UK resident who they will live with in the UK for a few months, has an account opening one with that same bank.

Banks and building societies as a rule don't want foreign residents who come over here to work to open bank accounts with overdrafts regardless if they are EU or non-EU. So unless you are a student it's very difficult.

kerry87_2

Mikhail wrote: »

Hi,

I have a Spanish friend moving in and he needs a bank account. He is on the electoral roll. Although, he has the NHS card, a letter from the city council (not council tax bill), letter from job centre plus (not a confirmation of his NI number), letter from American Express insurance, work contract, these are still not good enough for Nationwide to open a current account. They would accept a confirmation of tax code from HMRC, but he could only ask for it when he gets the NI number and he has just applied for it. He has Spanish passport, ID card and driving licence.

I don’t want to include him to my utility bill, as it is all online and obviously, he will need an original bill, which I can only get by loosing my online only discount.

I know he can open a basic account, but I would appreciate if you could advise me where he can open a current account with a debit card, not a cash card.

I went to Lloyds TSB and Halifax, they both told me that they don’t need a confirmation of home address, but they will only be able to see what they can offer after the application.

I’d personally prefer Halifax, but would really appreciate other opinions/advice.

What about a pre-paid debit card

Mikhail

He's already in the UK, today is his 2nd day at work.

He has no relatives here.

grumbler

Nationwide are notorious for being very 'choosy'.
HSBC Passport account is often mentioned as a good account to start with, although it costs £8 p.m.

Mikhail

kerry87 wrote: »

What about a pre-paid debit card

Expensive to run in the long term, no direct debit facilities; a basic bank account will be much better.

macman

Mikhail wrote: »

Hi,

I have a Spanish friend moving in and he needs a bank account. He is on the electoral roll. Although, he has the NHS card, a letter from the city council (not council tax bill), letter from job centre plus (not a confirmation of his NI number), letter from American Express insurance, work contract, these are still not good enough for Nationwide to open a current account. They would accept a confirmation of tax code from HMRC, but he could only ask for it when he gets the NI number and he has just applied for it. He has Spanish passport, ID card and driving licence.

I don’t want to include him to my utility bill, as it is all online and obviously, he will need an original bill, which I can only get by loosing my online only discount.

I know he can open a basic account, but I would appreciate if you could advise me where he can open a current account with a debit card, not a cash card.

I went to Lloyds TSB and Halifax, they both told me that they don’t need a confirmation of home address, but they will only be able to see what they can offer after the application.

I’d personally prefer Halifax, but would really appreciate other opinions/advice.

But he will be liable to pay Council Tax (and you'll lose your 25% discount if you are currently the sole occupant).
Mobile phone bill showing his residential address?

Mikhail

macman wrote: »

But he will be liable to pay Council Tax (and you'll lose your 25% discount if you are currently the sole occupant).
Mobile phone bill showing his residential address?

Mobile phone bills are not accepted

I don't have the sole occupancy discount, so it is a standard rate for "two or more", isn't it?

innovate

Lloyds will accept a UK driving licence as proof of address.
http://www.lloydstsb.com/current_accounts/new_to_the_uk.asp

Exchanging an EU driving licence for a UK one should take just a couple of weeks and costs £50
https://www.gov.uk/exchange-a-foreign-driving-licence

However, the easiest by a long way seems to be registering for Council Tax, which he should be doing anyway.

Mikhail

innovate wrote: »

...However, the easiest by a long way seems to be registering for Council Tax, which he should be doing anyway.

Why should he register for Council Tax if he lives with me and I pay 'for two or more adults' rate?

http://www.brighton-hove.gov.uk/downloads/bhcc/counciltax/2013-14_Residents_Guide_to_Brighton_Hove_Services.pdf

innovate

It varies from council to council what they want to know - my council want to know the names of all the adults living in the property, regardless of the fact that the maximum tax is based on the band of the property. B&H might be different - call them to clarify their rules.

But anyway - your mate wants something to open a bank account. A council tax bill with his name will solve the problem. Or a UK driving licence. Just get him to do one of them.