Moving back to UK from abroad

ignoramous

Hi, I am moving back to the UK in a couple of weeks (UK citizen been out of the country for almost 4 years) to start a new job. I have nowhere to live yet so I will be staying with friends. How do I open a bank account with no proof of address (utility bills etc)? My husband (who is not coming with me) has an N26 account and I'm wondering if I should open something similar, but you can't put cheques and cash into these accounts, so I would prefer a standard current account with branches. Has anyone been through this or have any suggestions. Your help very gratefully received.:D

agrinnall

The easiest option would have been to keep a UK bank account while you were abroad, but I presume you didn't do that. In which case you may need to start off with a Basic bank account once you do have an address, getting a letter showing your National Insurance Number is a quick way to have proof of address.


https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-insurance-get-your-national-insurance-number-in-writing-ca5403

xylophone

https://transferwise.com/gb/blog/how-to-open-a-bank-account-in-uk

may help.

PRAISETHESUN

I had this situation when I first moved to the UK a few years back. At the time I simply walked down my local high street with all the documentation I had and asked every bank I walked into if any of what I had would satisfy their account opening requirements - you might find that some of the bank's requirements are a bit less strict than others.

These days I usually recommend Monzo or Starling - they are app-based banks with full FSCS protection. You can open an account without formal proof of address, as long as you have a UK postal address they can send your card too - this would be my suggestion until you can open something else. Alternatively you could ask your old UK bank to re-open any account you may have had before you left the UK originally.

sheramber

If access to a bank branch is important check which banks have a branch where you are going to live.