Dodl don't allow dual-citizens to open an ISA

peter_333

I decided to open a Lifetime ISA with Dodl, but right at the end of the application process it states you must be "Solely a UK citizen."  I am British, but hold dual-citizenship.  Apparently this means Dodl won't have me as a customer.

Has anyone seen this before?  Is it normal for financial institutions to disallow dual-citizens to open accounts?

I can understand the complexity of customers who are resident for tax purposes in multiple countries, but I don't understand how citizenship is an issue.  It must cut out a lot of potential customers!

MattMattMattUK

peter_333 said:

I decided to open a Lifetime ISA with Dodl, but right at the end of the application process it states you must be "Solely a UK citizen."  I am British, but hold dual-citizenship.  Apparently this means Dodl won't have me as a customer.

Has anyone seen this before?  Is it normal for financial institutions to disallow dual-citizens to open accounts?

I can understand the complexity of customers who are resident for tax purposes in multiple countries, but I don't understand how citizenship is an issue.  It must cut out a lot of potential customers!

It is completely allowable and likely does not cut out as many as you might think as it only restricts a few tax beneficial products to individuals who may well make regulatory compliance much more complicated for them, especially as they are primarily an investment platform not a bank.

r6mile

Usually US citizenship is an issue and most providers won’t allow you to open an ISA if you are American (basically because the US taxes on the basis of nationality not residency, and sees ISA gains as taxable so it can cause problems). 

But citizenship of other countries should not be an issue - this is unusual (I am also a dual national).

peter_333

Heard back from Dodl with an explanation. They were fairly upfront that not allowing dual-citizens or foreign nationals is simply a way for them to cut admin costs:

"as we are a low-cost provider, one of the ways we can keep our charges so competitive is to reduce the extra data reporting requirements that would be necessary for Dodl if we allowed non-UK citizens or dual citizens to open accounts with us."

DavidT67

Dodl also don't accept Gross employer contributions to their SIPP.

If you want a full functionality S&S ISA and / or SIPP then AJ Bell offers them to dual nationals, provided you aren't Canadian or American...