Credit card without 3 years residency and good credit score

stdobrescu

I've been wondering if you can get a credit card without 3 years residency in the UK.
I've got a good credit score on Experian and Credit Karma. I've also did a soft check on an Ocean card on Amazon and got a 100% approval chance, but I was wondering if that's possible at all given I don't have the 3y residency. Do you think it's worth going through with the application? Or it's surely going to get rejected?
Thanks!

jonesMUFCforever

Where are you from? How long have you resided in UK? What was your credit rating like in your home country?

MEM62

stdobrescu said:

I've got a good credit score on Experian and Credit Karma.

Neither of which issue credit cards so their scores are useless.  What does your credit history look like?  

jet01

Aqua used to have a card called ‘start’ which was aimed at people in exactly this situation but I think that has been withdrawn now. Barclaycard card have a basic card called ‘forwards‘ which is available with 2 years address history in the UK. The OP says he hasn’t got three years residency but if he/she has been resident for 2 years it’s probably worth considering this one. 

cymruchris

We could do with a bit more information to know what's best to recommend.

How long have you actually been here?
Are you - and how long have you been - on the the electoral roll?
Do you have a regular current account with a mainstream bank?

Have you had a mobile phone/sim only contract paid monthly in your name?

MaryNB

I moved to the UK at the end of  2013 and opened up a current account with Halifax. In early 2015 they wouldn't give me a credit card because I had no credit history. I applied for one with Barclays and they gave me one with a measly £400 limit. I used it, paid it off every month, kept my finances in good condition. I was on the electoral roll from 2014 and had a phone contract from early 2015. In mid-2016 (less than 3 years after I moved) I applied for one with Halifax and they gave me one with a limit of £3,800.
It can be done, just find the right lender and put up with a tiny limit for a while.

PRAISETHESUN

Most lenders require 3 years address history but not all of them - the LUMA credit card by Capital One accepted me with a £250 limit after I'd been in the UK for about 18 months so its definitely doable.

The "100%" acceptance isn't guaranteed acceptance but it is a decent chance of getting the card provided you pass the follow up checks - if you've been honest on your application then they might just ask for proof of identity/residency. If you are rejected it's not the end of the world, as a hard search every 2-3 months isn't going to be affecting your files too much. Just wait and try again in a few months.

EDIT to add the obligatory reminder to ignore your credit score as in the UK they are basically meaningless as they are not seen by lenders. Focus instead on building up good credit history - you can demonstrate this by managing your credit facilities responsibly (stay within your limits, pay in full and on time, etc) as this is what lenders will actually see when you make an application.