British Non UK Tax Payer - Opening UK Bank Accounts

TojoRalph

I have a relative who has been living, working and paying taxes overseas for the past couple of years. They were born in the UK and lived and paid taxes in the UK until a couple of years ago. They therefore have various long standing UK bank and savings accounts. They are now back in the UK taking some time off and deciding what they wish to do with themselves and they are sorting out their finances to try and leverage the improved savings rates currently available. The question then came up with regards to the rules associated with having UK accounts if they are non resident and also the process with opening new accounts. After some reading I am not convinced I understand if as a non resident they should inform the banks holding their accounts, how that affects things if required to do so and if banks will entertain their opening new accounts now? Thanks in advance for any feedback. 

jumperabv3

Residency is subject to many aspects, for instance even if you visit the UK for one day in a year after leaving the UK in the previous year then you can still be regarded as a resident.

For new accounts they need to provide a proof of address, so if their current UK accounts send statements to a UK address they can use it for opening a new account - the banks will inform if other requirements are required.

Daliah

They need to examine the T&CS which relate to the accounts. Most of them will say that the account hold  xxx  er must notify the provider when moving abroad. Whether they can actually retain the account is also subject to T&Cs