New Immigrant CC

Krisko

mustiuc wrote: »

With 3 months in uk you wont find anyone to offer you a cc.

That's an incorrect generalisation. I was accepted for a Capital One card with a £200 limit 3-4 months after moving to the UK in 2014.

Can't see why the OP shouldn't be able to get either a subprime card or possibly a mainstream card with lowish limit from his/her main bank.

shredfg

Thanks for details! I sadly paid £1600+ cash insurance as I didn't know bills, etc counts in as well:( What I really want with CC is to be able to pay by instalments as I moved in and want to move to a better unfurnished place with my appliances.

mustiuc

Your only way is to save or borrow from other "people".
I wont start an argument with Krisko or anyone else but few years ago was a bit better than today with cc's/loans/borrowing. I know people who came here in 2012-2014 and in less than a year their banks offered them loans of 10-15-20k. Credit cards with very high limits compared to their earnings/expenses,etc. What I can see around me, nowadays is much harder to get credit. If you have high income they will ask for long address history or employment and if you have these they will reject you due to affordability/expenses or "low income".
Anyways, I hope you will be accepted to a cc and be careful how you manage payments.
PS. I wish I could come here in 2012/2014 and have the knowledge I have right now about credit and how the system works.
Good luck

shredfg

Nope! I thought it was current account will look at it as well

shredfg

Thank you! Sadly you are right, when I listen stories of even people with relatively low salaries getting decent deals from banks, having easier migration process. Today it is even stressful to move to a new rental house as letting agents act like they are selling a palace.

PRAISETHESUN

I can appreciate the struggle of trying to settle into the UK, having had to do the same myself. I opened a basic bank account with Santander 2 weeks after I moved here, but it took me almost a year before I was able to get a credit card. A really important thing to do is to register on the electoral roll - most European and some Commonwealth citizens are eligible: https://www.gov.uk/register-to-vote

There are two problems in play here - the first is that your credit history is non-existent and lenders have absolutely no idea how you will act with credit so they factor that into their risk calculations. The second is that many of the forms and processes are simply just not set up to deal with foreign addresses. The number of times I've done an eligibility check and though "this looks like a good card to apply for" and then get stuck halfway through the actual application because it's asking for an address I simply cannot enter (the form requires a valid UK postcode or something) is beyond frustrating. You can sometimes get around this by giving someone a call, or talking to bank staff in person, but there's still the risk of a "computer says no" reaction.

The first credit card I applied for was the LUMA card by Capital One and that was basically because it was the only card I could physically complete the application for (Aqua, Marble, Vanquis and Tandem wouldn't let me complete the online forms). I still was knocked back the first time I applied (4 months into the UK) but I was accepted 6 months later. A bit down the track I then thought to try my luck getting a card with Lloyds, who I bank with, and was successful - so I'd recommend having a chat with your bank(s) to see what they can do for you.

Good luck!

shredfg

Did you get accepted with Lloyds after 6 months?

PRAISETHESUN

shredfg wrote: »

Did you get accepted with Lloyds after 6 months?

I didn't apply for a card with Lloyds until I'd been a customer with them for 12 months. I'd also been using my other credit card for a few months by that point, making a few monthly purchases and paying off the balance in full by the due date, so I'm not sure if it was my banking relationship or my improved credit history that was the key factor in Lloyds giving me a card.

radoslaff

I moved to the UK in March 2016 and it was crazy difficult to open my first current account without any UK history and no bills on my name. Finally at the end of April I got a Club Lloyds account. Just 3 months later I decided to make a joke and applied for a credit card and boom, at the end og July I got the Choice Rewards CC with £1500 limit which has been increased twice since then. A year and a half later I got a mortgage for 100s of thousands without ever leaving my home. Fast forward to the last month, I was approved for a new Amazon CC which I took only because of the £20 Amazon voucher and I was rejected for e new TSB current account. So basically I find it easier to obtain credit in this country than get a current account. Isn't it a paradox?

toshi

What I would also suggest you that to show your financial stability and affordably to your bank, the easiest way to do that to save money as much as you can to the bank(s)

A friend of mine had a similar situation, but she was not keen to obtain a credit card. When she had a problem of her debit card to take money out, her bank (HSBC) immediately offered a credit card as a backup, in addition to the debit card replacement. That was happened less than 9 months since she opened the bank account. As far as I know, her bank account had more than 5k -10k on that time.

You may want to build a solid actual credit history and credit worthiness through your main bank initially, which also help your solid financial position as well.