Savings/accounts (overseas resident)

JayEl3

Hello, Im looking at some opinions on savings accounts (not current account) that will allow a fairly decent interest rate, but more importantly safe/secure, and perhaps short  notice period for withdrawls. Any suggestions? 

one potential hitch Im resident now abroad in the EU (Im a UK national though) so not sure if what rules apply for non UK residents. 
are there any names? any pointers? thank you very much. 

Band7

Only realistic chance is an offshore account. Have a look at Skipton International

Borisjake

Check the banks in Isle of Man, some decent rates there but minimum deposits necessary.

Maybe useful info here:
https://www.wallstreetmojo.com/top-banks-in-isle-of-man/

TheBanker

I agree the banks in the Isle of Man or the Channel Islands are probably your best option. Post Brexit most UK retail banks have decided not to deal with EU residents because they would require regulatory permissions in each EU country that they wish to operate in. 

However bear in mind that these bank accounts are not covered by the FSCS - even if they use a bank brand name that also operates in the UK. You will be covered by the local compensation arrangements, e.g. in the Isle of Man, you'd be covered by the Depositor Compensation Scheme which is limited to £50k for individuals. https://www.iomfsa.im/consumer-material/isle-of-man-depositors-compensation-scheme-dcs/

Also bear in mind that these banks/accounts tend to have high minimum balance requirements. For example Santander in Jersey require at least £75k to be deposited by International customers. 

wmb194

JayEl3 said:

Hello, Im looking at some opinions on savings accounts (not current account) that will allow a fairly decent interest rate, but more importantly safe/secure, and perhaps short  notice period for withdrawls. Any suggestions? 

one potential hitch Im resident now abroad in the EU (Im a UK national though) so not sure if what rules apply for non UK residents. 
are there any names? any pointers? thank you very much. 

You might be able to open something with NS&I but you will need a UK current account.

https://www.nsandi.com/help/join-nsandi/using-nsandi-outside-uk

Via a vis the weaker deposit protection in places like the IoM I'd feel relaxed with the big banks but don't get your hopes up that they'll offer decent interest rates, see the link below for Barclays IoM.

https://ciiom.barclays.com/important-information/payments-rates-and-tariffs/

PragueAddick

JayEl3 said:

Hello, Im looking at some opinions on savings accounts (not current account) that will allow a fairly decent interest rate, but more importantly safe/secure, and perhaps short  notice period for withdrawls. Any suggestions? 

one potential hitch Im resident now abroad in the EU (Im a UK national though) so not sure if what rules apply for non UK residents. 
are there any names? any pointers? thank you very much. 

You no longer have any UK bank account, even a dormant one? Do you no  longer have any residential address at all in the UK, or could you "get" one, e.g family member? If you could answer in the affirmative to both, you could re-activate a bank account, and then you'd have access to the high savings accounts mentioned here, that generally are linked to your normal current account. 

TheBanker

PragueAddick said:

JayEl3 said:

Hello, Im looking at some opinions on savings accounts (not current account) that will allow a fairly decent interest rate, but more importantly safe/secure, and perhaps short  notice period for withdrawls. Any suggestions? 

one potential hitch Im resident now abroad in the EU (Im a UK national though) so not sure if what rules apply for non UK residents. 
are there any names? any pointers? thank you very much. 

You no longer have any UK bank account, even a dormant one? Do you no  longer have any residential address at all in the UK, or could you "get" one, e.g family member? If you could answer in the affirmative to both, you could re-activate a bank account, and then you'd have access to the high savings accounts mentioned here, that generally are linked to your normal current account. 

You can't - most if not all UK banks now prohibit overseas residents from holding accounts. If you use a false address they will simply close the account down. 

MarcoM

TheBanker said:

PragueAddick said:

JayEl3 said:

Hello, Im looking at some opinions on savings accounts (not current account) that will allow a fairly decent interest rate, but more importantly safe/secure, and perhaps short  notice period for withdrawls. Any suggestions? 

one potential hitch Im resident now abroad in the EU (Im a UK national though) so not sure if what rules apply for non UK residents. 
are there any names? any pointers? thank you very much. 

You no longer have any UK bank account, even a dormant one? Do you no  longer have any residential address at all in the UK, or could you "get" one, e.g family member? If you could answer in the affirmative to both, you could re-activate a bank account, and then you'd have access to the high savings accounts mentioned here, that generally are linked to your normal current account. 

You can't - most if not all UK banks now prohibit overseas residents from holding accounts. If you use a false address they will simply close the account down. 

I asked santander if I could keep my accounts with them if resident overseas and they said I could. 
Same with brokers such as vanguard and HL. 

PragueAddick

TheBanker said:

PragueAddick said:

JayEl3 said:

Hello, Im looking at some opinions on savings accounts (not current account) that will allow a fairly decent interest rate, but more importantly safe/secure, and perhaps short  notice period for withdrawls. Any suggestions? 

one potential hitch Im resident now abroad in the EU (Im a UK national though) so not sure if what rules apply for non UK residents. 
are there any names? any pointers? thank you very much. 

You no longer have any UK bank account, even a dormant one? Do you no  longer have any residential address at all in the UK, or could you "get" one, e.g family member? If you could answer in the affirmative to both, you could re-activate a bank account, and then you'd have access to the high savings accounts mentioned here, that generally are linked to your normal current account. 

You can't - most if not all UK banks now prohibit overseas residents from holding accounts. If you use a false address they will simply close the account down. 

"False"? Going to live and work abroad for a period of time is not actually an act of treason, even if some sadly choose to have that sad attitude.  If you are a home-owner you may rent your house out, but it can still be your official home address. Or if you prefer you could move your official address to, e.g. your parents or  brother's/sister's address. 

I expect you will respond with the "ordinarily resident" line, the official bank line; the HMRC version defines that as being present in the UK for more than 186 days per year. But you can fail that test and still be liable for UK income tax. It seems to me manifestly unfair that you may be a UK taxpayer but denied access to UK banking facilities. 

All that said, the OP *sounds like* he has been away for quite a few years with no remaining property nor UK tax liabilities, so if that's the case then of course he's stuffed. But  he can also investigate savings options where he lives. In the eurozone rates are low, but here in the Czech Republic I get as much as 6% on instant access (with Unicredit, who also give me 3% cashback on all my debit card payments). 

Band7

Just stumbled across a couple of other options for British nationals living abroad.

TheBanker

PragueAddick said:

TheBanker said:

PragueAddick said:

JayEl3 said:

Hello, Im looking at some opinions on savings accounts (not current account) that will allow a fairly decent interest rate, but more importantly safe/secure, and perhaps short  notice period for withdrawls. Any suggestions? 

one potential hitch Im resident now abroad in the EU (Im a UK national though) so not sure if what rules apply for non UK residents. 
are there any names? any pointers? thank you very much. 

You no longer have any UK bank account, even a dormant one? Do you no  longer have any residential address at all in the UK, or could you "get" one, e.g family member? If you could answer in the affirmative to both, you could re-activate a bank account, and then you'd have access to the high savings accounts mentioned here, that generally are linked to your normal current account. 

You can't - most if not all UK banks now prohibit overseas residents from holding accounts. If you use a false address they will simply close the account down. 

"False"? Going to live and work abroad for a period of time is not actually an act of treason, even if some sadly choose to have that sad attitude.  If you are a home-owner you may rent your house out, but it can still be your official home address. Or if you prefer you could move your official address to, e.g. your parents or  brother's/sister's address. 

I expect you will respond with the "ordinarily resident" line, the official bank line; the HMRC version defines that as being present in the UK for more than 186 days per year. But you can fail that test and still be liable for UK income tax. It seems to me manifestly unfair that you may be a UK taxpayer but denied access to UK banking facilities. 

All that said, the OP *sounds like* he has been away for quite a few years with no remaining property nor UK tax liabilities, so if that's the case then of course he's stuffed. But  he can also investigate savings options where he lives. In the eurozone rates are low, but here in the Czech Republic I get as much as 6% on instant access (with Unicredit, who also give me 3% cashback on all my debit card payments). 

Just to clarify, the reason UK banks don't generally allow non-UK residents to hold accounts is nothing to do with tax rules. It's because to offer banking services to EU residents would require the bank to hold a license in each EU country where they had customers. This wasn't a problem in the past, because a UK banking license allowed banks to conduct business anywhere in the EU. Then something happened...

See here but note the table is out of date now: https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/news/2020/11/eu-bank-accounts-closed-brexit/