UK Bank Account for Expat?

Moneymaker

I have a friend who moved to Europe 20 years ago. He has no UK pension and no UK bank account but he needs the latter.

He has no UK address of his own but he was born in England and lived and worked there for many years. Likewise his wife.

Question: how can he/they open a UK bank account?

mrsbee17

Have they been into a bank and had a chat with someone? I'd definitely consider doing that next time he is in the UK for a visit. Otherwise, give them a call if he's still in Europe and ask what is required.

agrinnall

Highly unlikely that he'll be able to open a UK bank account with no UK address and no significant presence in the UK for many years. Why does he need the account now?

Archi_Bald

An offshore account is probably the closest to a UK bank account they can hope to get

xylophone

Why does he need the account now?

I'm wondering whether he has reached State Pension Age and wants ( rather than needs) to have it credited to a UK bank account.

He might be a frequent visitor or perhaps is living in Greece.....

http://www.i-finance.co.uk/uk-bank-account-for-non-residents/

http://www.theguardian.com/money/2014/aug/22/canadian-uk-bank-account-open-refused

Anthorn

I previously replied to a similar thread and recommended going into a bank branch. What you're coming up against is not UK law but paranoia about money laundering which is why banks insist on residency. If that fails, Lloyds, HSBC and Barclays do expat bank accounts.


At Lloyds minimum annual income of £50K or minimum initial deposit of £25K.
https://international.lloydsbank.com/tool/?wt.ac=hpt_4

Paul_1977

If its for simple day to day stuff, you could ask someone else to set up an account in their name and use that.

Obviously it would require absolute trust, a very close family member maybe. Is that legal?

colsten

Paul_1977 wrote: »

Is that legal?

It is against T&Cs to give anyone else access to your sole account. You could try a joint account but bank have essentially the same requirements about residency on sole and joint accounts.

Paul_1977

colsten wrote: »

It is against T&Cs to give anyone else access to your sole account. You could try a joint account but bank have essentially the same requirements about residency on sole and joint accounts.

It must be possible without breaking T&Cs, or the bank staff turn a blind eye. I know elderly people that give their debit card to someone else to withdraw and deposit money on their behalf. Maybe they come to some arrangement with the bank.

colsten

The fact that some people do it doesn't mean they aren't breaking the T&Cs.

Paul_1977

It can be done.

http://www.hsbc.co.uk/1/2/contact-and-support/third-party-access

Not sure if it could be done with someone without a UK address.