Account for non-residents?

gillianbrux

Hi - my sister is British but lives permanently in Australia. She would like to have a UK savings account that she could leave sterling in and draw on when she visits the UK each year. The only international account I can find requires a minimum balance of £25K - not possible. Anything I am not seeing?

eskbanker

Some NS&I products are available to non-residents, such as https://www.nsandi.com/income-bonds, where the Ts & Cs explicitly cater for this at page 6 of https://www.nsandi.com/files/published_files/asset/pdf/income-bonds-brochure-print-friendly.pdf:

What if I live outside the UK?

Check the rules where you live

First you should check whether local regulations allow you to buy and hold Income Bonds, as some countries don’t allow this.

Applying from abroad

The first time you apply will have to be by post, as you’ll need to send us some documents to prove your identity and address. We’ll also need your Tax Identification Number and date and place of birth if you are resident for tax purposes outside the UK.

EdGasketTheSecond

..and other than NS&I she'll be lucky to find anyone who wants to open an account for a non-res.

badger09

eskbanker wrote: »

Some NS&I products are available to non-residents, such as https://www.nsandi.com/income-bonds, where the Ts & Cs explicitly cater for this at page 6 of https://www.nsandi.com/files/published_files/asset/pdf/income-bonds-brochure-print-friendly.pdf:

EdGasketTheSecond wrote: »

..and other than NS&I she'll be lucky to find anyone who wants to open an account for a non-res.

I was going to suggest NS&I products BUT to withdraw money OP's sister would need a UK bank account in her name, so I didn't bother;).

However, the sisters could consider a joint NS&I account, which I think would mean withdrawals could be made to the UK resident sister's bank account. Not ideal, but a possible work around:cool:

Jonbvn

OP,

Standard Bank offers an offshore account with a minimum balance of £4k.

https://www.expertsforexpats.com/products/best-offshore-bank-accounts/

badger09

Jonbvn wrote: »

OP,

Standard Bank offers an offshore account with a minimum balance of £4k.

https://www.expertsforexpats.com/products/best-offshore-bank-accounts/

An expensive option for OP's sister.

atush

She can open an account at HSBC there in Aus, then open a UK one too.


I have accounts in 3 different countries with them.

eskbanker

badger09 wrote: »

I was going to suggest NS&I products BUT to withdraw money OP's sister would need a UK bank account in her name, so I didn't bother;).

Their documentation seems contradictory to me - the Ts & Cs do indeed talk about UK bank accounts but also cross-refer to their International Payments Service, whose terms appear to suggest that payments, including withdrawals, can be made directly to overseas accounts:

The final step is to link your international account to an eligible NS&I account. Any withdrawals and other payments from your NS&I account will then be paid straight to your international account in the local currency.

badger09

eskbanker wrote: »

Their documentation seems contradictory to me - the Ts & Cs do indeed talk about UK bank accounts but also cross-refer to their International Payments Service, whose terms appear to suggest that payments, including withdrawals, can be made directly to overseas accounts:

Yes, but how does the facility to withdraw from NS&I to an Australian current account help OP's sister who wants to have GBP in a UK account to spend when she's in UK?

eskbanker

badger09 wrote: »

Yes, but how does the facility to withdraw from NS&I to an Australian current account help OP's sister who wants to have GBP in a UK account to spend when she's in UK?

Ah yes, I see what you mean now! I was focusing too much on the opening and saving from abroad aspects rather than the need to spend GBP when in the UK....

badger09

eskbanker wrote: »

Ah yes, I see what you mean now! I was focusing too much on the opening and saving from abroad aspects rather than the need to spend GBP when in the UK....

I've gone down that rabbit hole in the past when trying to advise my son on his UK savings strategy while he is resident in Hong Kong;).

In addition to the restricted choices he had, we have a useful informal arrangement which involves the occasional payment of UK bills & funding his UK accounts, in return for cash & meals out when we visit. Not a fee or exchange rate fiddle in sight:T