Leaving the UK, can I keep my bank account?

wmb194

heldrida said:

wmb194 said:

heldrida sair

This comes up fairly regularly. Have a look at the thread linked below: try a HSBC expat account and/or HSBC and Standard Chartered in Singapore. Otherwise, as suggested above, an account in the Channel Islands.

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/categories/budgeting-bank-accounts

Edit: In your thread on Reddit you say you have a 25+ year old account in Portugal - is this registered at your parents' address? You might also have a problem with this one if you're too honest.

https://www.reddit.com/r/UKPersonalFinance/comments/1i4cl2d/leaving_the_uk_where_would_i_pay_taxes_as_a/

First of all, thanks for the advice.

The thread link is not working, mind check?

Yes, the account in Portugal has my parents address. But recently I have updated the address with my British address they didn’t complain? Guess the rules there are different.

Just mentioned this to friends who live abroad who have regular accounts in the UK who are equally surprised. They seem to have their  parents addresses in their accounts.

I’ll talk to my legal advisor in Thailand and see if possible to open a bank account on a Dtv visa. That’d be the easiest solution 

A Portuguese bank (or Dutch, German, etc) might not have a problem with Britain but they might have a problem with Thailand. 

Using your parents’ address and fibbing about where you really live is a common tactic.

For my own sanity, I like to be transparent and do everything by the rules. Getting information as I am doing now is proving that there’s a lot that I wasn’t aware of and most of my friends neither. Who are honest hard working professionals.

It’s crazy to think that to have a basic bank account, an individual has to live in the country. Banks are regulated businesses but still businesses. So I’ll look to do my business elsewhere.

It’s all about licensing and money laundering worries. Banks face massive fines if they don’t play by the rules put in place by various countries but, as mentioned above, there are some expat options.

I think it was this thread I meant to link to earlier but there are a number of them:

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6505811/need-a-new-bank-santander-debanked-me/p1

ideas_aggressive

It’s all about licensing and money laundering worries. Banks face massive fines if they don’t play by the rules put in place by various countries but, as mentioned above, there are some expat options.

I think it was this thread I meant to link to earlier but there are a number of them:

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6505811/need-a-new-bank-santander-debanked-me/p1

Thank you! The fines worries make sense.

I’ll check which bank services are more appropriate for my circumstances.

eDicky

heldrida said:

eDicky said:

When I was residing in Thailand for many years I held bank accounts in Singapore, Hong Kong, Jersey (CI) and Thailand. A bank account in mainland UK would have had no purpose - will it have any for you..?

The purpose would be to facilitate getting paid into an account in GBP which is stable in a bank service provider I have a history and trust. Due to the news I’ll have to close it, which is very sad new

If you feel such attachment and loyalty to Lloyds there's Lloyds International in Jersey, but in reality they're nothing special and I think better options exist for your intended situation which offer full facilities including online access.

Recieving your pay from a US client in GBP is also not ideal, the conversion from dollars to a currency you no longer need presumably has a cost, Lloyds will be taking ~3% if they are doing it.

Have a look at HSBC Expat in Jersey, as suggested, and HSBC Singapore, closer to your new home. They provide accounts in various currencies and a multi-currency account with decent conversion rates (Global Money Account / Everyday Global Account), all with their own debit cards. Then receive your pay directly in USD.

A Thai Bank account will also be useful of course, but I don't think many expats keep all their eggs in one.

ideas_aggressive

If you feel such attachment and loyalty to Lloyds there's Lloyds International in Jersey, but in reality they're nothing special and I think better options exist for your intended situation which offer full facilities including online access.

Recieving your pay from a US client in GBP is also not ideal, the conversion from dollars to a currency you no longer need presumably has a cost, Lloyds will be taking ~3% if they are doing it.

Have a look at HSBC Expat in Jersey, as suggested, and HSBC Singapore, closer to your new home. They provide accounts in various currencies and a multi-currency account with decent conversion rates (Global Money Account / Everyday Global Account), all with their own debit cards. Then receive your pay directly in USD.

A Thai Bank account will also be useful of course, but I don't think many expats keep all their eggs in one.

Thanks! That's correct, I read about it https://www.lloydsbank.com/international.html 
I thought it'd facilitate transferring my current account to the international one; I'm probably wrong. Regarding Jersey; Do you think I can visit any Lloyds branch physically in the UK, or are they effectively different?

Would I have to travel to Singapore to open an account? I'll search online to understand what it means.

EarthBoy

wmb194 said: 

Using your parents’ address and fibbing about where you really live is a common tactic.

Yes, I believe it is quite common, but you run the risk of the bank closing the account if they find out the truth.

Nebulous2

EarthBoy said:

wmb194 said: 

Using your parents’ address and fibbing about where you really live is a common tactic.

Yes, I believe it is quite common, but you run the risk of the bank closing the account if they find out the truth.

It doesn't appear to be as black and white as that.

I know someone who moved away for an indeterminate period of time, and kept a number of bank accounts going in the UK, with a UK correspondence address. As time has dragged on the likelihood of a return has decreased and they have been using bank accounts in their new country.

They closed a few of their accounts in the UK, keeping Santander and Nationwide. I'm not sure about Nationwide, but Santander did a KYC request, and received full details, including foreign address, audited accounts and length of time they've been abroad. 

Santander seems quite happy with that, and have left the accounts alone.  Any mail is still sent to the UK contact address, and the foreign country is within the anglosphere, but given everything I have read about banks closing accounts, I've been surprised it didn't happen to them. 

wmb194

EarthBoy said:

wmb194 said: 

Using your parents’ address and fibbing about where you really live is a common tactic.

Yes, I believe it is quite common, but you run the risk of the bank closing the account if they find out the truth.

Yes, there have been a few threads where people have been found out and had their accounts closed. IIRC one guy was in the far east and to rub it in was told if he wanted his money he'd need to visit a branch in Britain with his ID and another in Spain was caught out when, IIRC, Santander sent a confirmation of address form to his UK address to return but cunningly hadn't made it accessible in his online documents so he missed it. There must come a time when the bank notices that you rarely log in with a UK IP address.

born_again

heldrida said:

This comes up fairly regularly. Have a look at the thread linked below: try a HSBC expat account and/or HSBC and Standard Chartered in Singapore. Otherwise, as suggested above, an account in the Channel Islands.

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/categories/budgeting-bank-accounts

Edit: In your thread on Reddit you say you have a 25+ year old account in Portugal - is this registered at your parents' address? You might also have a problem with this one if you're too honest.

https://www.reddit.com/r/UKPersonalFinance/comments/1i4cl2d/leaving_the_uk_where_would_i_pay_taxes_as_a/

First of all, thanks for the advice.

The thread link is not working, mind check?

Yes, the account in Portugal has my parents address. But recently I have updated the address with my British address they didn’t complain? Guess the rules there are different.

Just mentioned this to friends who live abroad who have regular accounts in the UK who are equally surprised. They seem to have their  parents addresses in their accounts.

I’ll talk to my legal advisor in Thailand and see if possible to open a bank account on a Dtv visa. That’d be the easiest solution 

While it may work, should anything happen & they need to attend branch to prove ID it is going to be fun. They have to remember that all their paperwork & cards go to that address & if using UK overseas for any length of time is going to flag up.

Also you can not open any UK account if not in the UK, although often not a problem. It is something to be aware of.

gt94sss2

born_again said:

heldrida said:

This comes up fairly regularly. Have a look at the thread linked below: try a HSBC expat account and/or HSBC and Standard Chartered in Singapore. Otherwise, as suggested above, an account in the Channel Islands.

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/categories/budgeting-bank-accounts

Edit: In your thread on Reddit you say you have a 25+ year old account in Portugal - is this registered at your parents' address? You might also have a problem with this one if you're too honest.

https://www.reddit.com/r/UKPersonalFinance/comments/1i4cl2d/leaving_the_uk_where_would_i_pay_taxes_as_a/

First of all, thanks for the advice.

The thread link is not working, mind check?

Yes, the account in Portugal has my parents address. But recently I have updated the address with my British address they didn’t complain? Guess the rules there are different.

Just mentioned this to friends who live abroad who have regular accounts in the UK who are equally surprised. They seem to have their  parents addresses in their accounts.

I’ll talk to my legal advisor in Thailand and see if possible to open a bank account on a Dtv visa. That’d be the easiest solution 

Also you can not open any UK account if not in the UK, although often not a problem. It is something to be aware of.

It is possible to open UK accounts when overseas.

For instance, https://www.hsbc.co.uk/international/apply-for-a-uk-account/

However, each bank has its own policy on this and can change their mind. If I recall, Barclays UK decided to close the accounts of those living overseas some years ago, even if their customers had held an account for decades.

DoboChopSueyBar

I moved to UAE 3 years ago and still hold my Nationwide and First Direct current accounts. I've even changed my correspondence address to an UAE address with both and no issues, cards/letters etc are sent internationally.