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UK bank account for ex-pats in the EU

Financial discussion for any financial queries for Expats
SeagoonN
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UK bank account for ex-pats in the EU

#28947

Postby SeagoonN » February 4th, 2017, 12:07 pm

For many years it has been virtually impossible for an ex-pat living outside the UK to open a bank account in the UK itself. The banks say "NO" and refer you to their international offshore branch, if they have one.

Happily, things are now changing and some of the major UK High Street banks are now offering accounts for ex-pats.

I have recently opened such an account with NatWest; the main requirement is that you be resident in an EU country (it's not clear if EEA countries are covered). The process was fairly painless and the customer service has been good - it took about two weeks for the account to be opened and for all paperwork to be received by me.

The account is a basic one (no cheque book, no overdraft facility) but does include a Visa debit card and online banking. There are no account fees and no fees for cash withdrawals from any ATM in the UK - this is very handy when visiting the UK.

Hope this information is helpful to any EU-resident expats out there.

Note: I have no connection with NatWest other than as a recent new customer. Their website link:

http://personal.natwest.com/personal/current-accounts/nonuk-eu-residents-hub.html

Regards,
Neddy

carioca
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Re: UK bank account for ex-pats in the EU

#29501

Postby carioca » February 6th, 2017, 10:43 pm

Thanks for the information.

I hope your assessment that things are changing is correct. I would love to have a few more options.

At a first glance, it seems that the NatWest account you described wouldn't do for me. The main stumbling block is having to be resident in the EU, but you also state that they are offering accounts for "ex-pats" which I am not. In this context I understand the term expat to mean a British citizen living in another country.

I'm not British but have lived and worked in the UK long enough to qualify for a UK pension, which I started receiving a few years ago. I left the UK in 1996 to move to Brazil, my wife's place of birth. Roughly three years before I moved, Citibank entered the retail banking market in the UK. They put a lot of emphasis on the international nature of their operation. I already knew that I would eventually move to Brazil and that Citibank had branches there. So I opened an account with them. The deal was that customers had to receive their salary paid into their Citibank account. If they didn't have a salary, they had to keep 30K pounds in a deposit account. (In those days one could still get a reasonable rate from an interest paying account.)

When I moved, I simply informed the bank of my new address. At a certain point cash withdrawals from the ATMs at Citibank branches in Brazil became available. Everything worked as planned. The only negative aspect I remember was that they used to occasionally block my card, because of "suspicious transactions" without making any effort to let me know. I had to call them to find out.
Roughly 3 years ago, Citibank informed me by letter that they were no longer interested in having me as a customer. Apparently it wasn't only me. There were comments from others on the respective TMF board that indicated that Citibank were trying to cut costs by closing non-profitable accounts, trimming the dead wood, so to speak. Citibank, in their letter, made it clear that they had the right to close my account without giving a reason - and they didn't.
At the time the only banks accepting non-residents, other than Citibank, were the Channel Islands branches of Lloyds and HSBC. Lloyds, afaik, have no connection with Brazil. HSBC have (or rather had) a Brazilian subsidiary. I first opened an account with HSBC do Brasil, and then, being already an existing account holder, applied for an account with HSBC in the Channel Islands. They were willing to open my account with a "relationship" of 30K pounds. There was still a lot of paperwork, but in the end, the account was opened. I also ended up with an extra Brazilian bank account that I didn't really need.

In 2015 HSBC conducted a review of its worldwide operations and decided to look for a buyer of the Brazilian retail banking. The buyer was found (Banco Bradesco, one of the major private banks in Brazil) and the switch-over happened in October 2016. Without the Brazilian connection, my Channel Island account would now require a "relationship" of 65K pounds. I looked around and found that the off-shore branch of Banco Santander had entered the competition. It would have meant going through all the account opening process again, and their minimum "relationship was 75K pounds. I managed to downgrade my account with HSBC to the 30K pounds that were already in the account, and for the time being, everything seems fine.

I guess, my story shows that it isn't easy for non-residents to open an account in the UK. It also shows, that any solution you find, may not last for as long as you want.

As an aside: In the meantime Citibank have also decided to close down their Brazilian retail operation. They buyer is Banco Itaú, the other major private Bank. The transition is still in process.

SeagoonN
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Re: UK bank account for ex-pats in the EU

#29568

Postby SeagoonN » February 7th, 2017, 11:12 am

Hi Carioca,

Your reply well indicates the problems that those outside the UK have had in opening UK-based bank accounts!

I only used the term "ex-pat" as that is part of this board's title. However, the NatWest offering does not insist that the applicant be a British citizen. The application form has a section "Nationality & Tax Details" which includes Country of Nationality plus provision for those with multiple citizenship/nationalities and for those who are tax-resident in more than one country.

Based on all that I would guess that anyone who is resident in the EU could apply, regardless of their nationality. Whether NatWest would actually offer to open an account is another matter..............

Hope that helps.

Regards,
Neddy

TahiPanas
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Re: UK bank account for ex-pats in the EU

#29788

Postby TahiPanas » February 8th, 2017, 7:56 am

HSBC Bank in Jersey is there to provide for expats and is acceptable for most purposes as a UK bank.

However, be warned, they may be one of the world's really inefficient banks if my experience is anything to go by.

Consider this:

1. They sent in error the entire cash content of my account to a university in Baguio , Philippines. I eventually got the money back only after arguing with the university that I was not a benevolent donor.

2. It took them 4 months to send me a new PIN despite several requests. I went on leave to the UK and was unable to withdraw money from an ATM. Fortunately my wife saved me. (not for the first time.)

3. I have been requesting account statements for the last 3 months but received only apologies for "a known problem" which has yet to be rectified.

4. They only selectively reply to online secure emails.

.

dickscovered
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Re: UK bank account for ex-pats in the EU

#30165

Postby dickscovered » February 9th, 2017, 3:14 pm

I think the changes are due to a new EU rule, obliging banks to open accounts for EU residents anywhere in the EU. Of course, the utility of being able to do this is for most people moot. And with the new automatic exchange of tax information, the country where you will be taxed will know. But certainly for people with UK outgoings or income, it would be helpful.

My wife kept her account at Lloyds open for 16 years without telling them, though periodically they would ask her what she was up to. Now we are moving back to the UK, so it no longer matters. It would have been nice not to have had to resort to subterfuge.

The EU have driven through some good stuff here - SEPA payments and direct debits. The roaming charges are a dream as well. We are paying 4p a minute to anywhere in Europe (overwintering in Spain) whereas when we get back my contract with Virgin is 25p a minute for UK calls. It will be binned tout de suite.

Lootman
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Re: UK bank account for ex-pats in the EU

#30208

Postby Lootman » February 9th, 2017, 5:40 pm

dickscovered wrote:My wife kept her account at Lloyds open for 16 years without telling them, though periodically they would ask her what she was up to. Now we are moving back to the UK, so it no longer matters. It would have been nice not to have had to resort to subterfuge.

Is it really subterfuge though? All the Bank is doing is asking for an address. If your wife maintained a UK address during the period she was overseas, then surely that is good enough. It might be a friend or relative who agrees to take in post, a private mailbox or "brass plate" office service etc.

As long as post can be sent there, then that is all that Lloyds need.

evilbungle
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Re: UK bank account for ex-pats in the EU

#31277

Postby evilbungle » February 13th, 2017, 4:55 pm

Are you sure you needed the subterfuge? before moving to Spain last year I spoke to Lloyds to close my account and they told me I could keep it open for when I get back. This is especially good as they also said I could leave my Lloyds Avios card open which has no FX Fees.

I also opened a LLoyds Gibralter account but this was just so I can transfer money from GBP to € easily (Sabadell wanted to charge a fee to take money from my UK account but not from my € account)

UncleEbenezer
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Re: UK bank account for ex-pats in the EU

#31676

Postby UncleEbenezer » February 15th, 2017, 11:26 am

Lootman wrote:
dickscovered wrote:My wife kept her account at Lloyds open for 16 years without telling them, though periodically they would ask her what she was up to. Now we are moving back to the UK, so it no longer matters. It would have been nice not to have had to resort to subterfuge.

Is it really subterfuge though? All the Bank is doing is asking for an address. If your wife maintained a UK address during the period she was overseas, then surely that is good enough. It might be a friend or relative who agrees to take in post, a private mailbox or "brass plate" office service etc.

As long as post can be sent there, then that is all that Lloyds need.

I held a Nationwide current account open through six years in Italy, during which I made no attempt to pretend to be in Blighty. Though it didn't see much activity during that time.

Earlier than that, when I first moved to Germany I had my salary paid direct into a creditcard account, so I could use it there without incurring tourist-grade exchange penalties and fees until I'd set up an account with a german bank.


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