UK National living abroad needing UK account

BritInGreece

Hi All,

After googling endlessly, I am struggling to come up with a solution so hoping someone can help me.

I've banked with Santander for over 10 years (since th days it was Alliance and Leicester), healthy account, never had an overdraft. Last September, I moved to Greece and did inform them I was going abroad at the time. At that point in time I still had a UK address, and was receiving wages from a UK company.

Things have now changed. I no longer have a UK address, and a few weeks ago I received notification from Santander that they were closing my account as no longer a UK resident. They were not very helpful as I don't have 10s of thousands in savings.

I no longer have valid proof of address in the UK. Even my HMRC documents are sent to me here. This, to all intents and purposes has left me without an account, unable to open a new one. I simply do not have the spare several tens of thousands required for expats to open an expat account, and cannot open an account in Greece due to existing capital controls that require individuals to have a business here.

I am due to start work imminently for a Greek company through a UK based agency via a UK based umbrella so need some way of receiving funds,

Has anyone got any ideas?

TIA

worried_jim

Lloyds bank offshore account. In Dollars or Euros.

BritInGreece

Thanks, unfortunately, they want an income of £50k plus which I'm not sure I'll meet.

After checking their eligibility calculator as well, they also want a deposit of 25k to offer me services

grumbler

https://www.hsbc.co.uk/1/2/current-accounts/basic-bank-account

Eligibility requirements

• You need to be 16 years or older
• Your residential address must be within the EU
• You must be able to provide us with certified proof of your identity and address (translated into English if appropriate)
• You must not continue to hold a bank (payment) account with another UK provider
• If you are resident in the UK, you are happy for us to undertake a credit register search (PDF)

- That's what they say. The reality can be different, especially with this bank suffering from severe paranoia.

simongregson

Nationwide

http://www.nationwide.co.uk/products/current-accounts-eea/our-current-accounts/overview

But you would need to visit a branch so would need to plan it to coincide with a visit to the UK.

GingerFurball_2

You should be able to open a basic bank account online.