UK banks that allow accounts for expatriates

Can anyone tell me which UK banks are willing to open new accounts for expats? My earlier post referred to my Natwest e-savings account, but I've since discovered that the likes of HSBC and Nationwide, whose e-savings rates are better, will only allow UK residents to open new accounts. I'm still with Natwest because I banked with them before moving to Germany.

When i closed my account at NatWest some years ago in a fit of pique at their manager i found it very difficult as an expat to open another account.

I ended up with Barclays, because their then manager asked if i wanted credit cards or a loan and when i replied in the negative to both questions, stated " Well i've never stopped people putting money in the bank "

Good luck though, you may have some difficulties, probably a net based bank may be your best bet.

@Cruiser,

You are always resident in the UK if you want to be!!! There is no residency test other than a utility bill with your name on it!!!

So have something sent to your parents address and wala...you can open a bank a/c. So just have your current Natwest send the letter to your knew address!!! Also put your self on the electoral registar as well - always look good when they are doing the credit scored checks...

If it makes you feel better make your self resident on your next trip home for a week...

The residency part often has to do with UK tax relief on savings etc...

When i was trying to open accounts, Midland and the rest said they had a policy of not accepting people who weren't on the Electoral Roll for precisely the point that you made, they can't do a credit check on you.

There are tax implications maybe but remember we are just talking about OPENing the a/c...if afterwards you decide to move abroad then so be it.

Really, guys the UK is such an easy place to play the rules...on these things since there is no real way of proving if you a resident or not...not official registration unlike Continental Europe...

@BlueDave,

I edited my last post between your point above and said "add yourself to the Electoral Registar as well" it helps with the credit scoring.

Extra Information:

Also there are Bank A/Cs which don't have credit scoring so are easier to open...inc. Bank A/C for the "Nesbit" Class (under orders from the Goverment the banks obliged so the said government can pay their dole straight into a bank a/cs - cuts down on fraud and admin costs).

Which would be illegal if you aren't genuinely resident in the UK on the day of registration.
That's slightly more naughty than bending the rules to open a bank account.

I'm not sure about the Electoral register (legal or not legal) but remember that many students and young people go travelling around the world and I'm pretty sure many of them do not deregistrar. The thing about many of these rules is no one really checks-up on them or has a full handle on the definition.

Anyhow, best of luck Cruiser on what ever you do...don't end up in on of the Queens Prisons whilst you go about it...

You don't need any credit rating to open a savings account. Only some photo ID (passport or driving license) and a bank or utility bill showing the address the account is to be registered in.

<rustles anorak>

You don't de-register from the UK Electoral Role, your entry expires after (generally) 1 year.
It is compulsory to re-register annually if you are elegible: All British, Commonewelath and Irish Citizens (all elections) and all EU Citizens (local elections only).

If you like nat west then stay with them, but as an expat you can also do things like move the account to channel Islands (with NW) if you wish, but this is a double edged sword, if you are expat you get the tax free bits, but you can also loose the tax beifits on pensions and long term savings, so needs thinking about

I think Stanford's information is more along the right lines. Just get a utility bill in your name for an address in the UK. You don't need to be on the electoral roll to open an account, you may not get a switch card but you will generally get a visa electron. When I first came here I opened a HSBC account and a TSB account and I wasn't on the electoral roll. All you need is proof of address and photo ID generally.

My understanding was that cruiser is looking for a savings account. He won't be getting Switch or Electron on such an account.

Btw : There is no requirement to join (or refresh your membership to) the electoral role.

Ref the account. It depends what you want to do with it. Maybe it's better to get an offshore account in the IoM or the Channel Islands.

Adi, you are legally obliged to register if you are eligible and live in the UK.
The chances of getting nicked for not doing so for 101 reasons are small, particuarly in rented accommodation in urban areas.

Hmmmm. This must be a change since I was last living in the UK. I never received a form each year to complete, though I had my own house there for many years...
Interesting, especially for those Brits who complain about having to register when you live in Germany. Exactly the same is required in the UK it seems.

I thought the electoral roll letters only came out before elections of any sort ?

It seems they get sent out every year now... I guess it's part of Tony's "War on Terror".
By law, you're supposed to return them with accurate information. another govt website i saw said that many people choose to opt themselves off the electoral role each year... which implies it is accepted practise.

Just get an offshore account. It's no big deal. You don't need to deal in nuclear missiles and own a London football club to get one.

http://www.moneysupermarket.com/savings/

Just click on zeee button that says "Offshore Savings" and take your choice from all the lovely banks who want to look after your money.

They have some nice looking fixed rates paying 5.6% which is making your 4.3% look a bit rubbish :-)

There used to be one fixed date UK wide but now local authorities can have a rolling register which allows registration at any time but no valid until 8 weeks later or summat. This is much better when people move quite a lot like young people in cities.

Local authorities are obliged to write to each address once per year to inform on electoral registration and then process the returned data. Some are good at it, some are crap.

People who object to voting or those who want to avoid the attentions of the local tax people <cough> forget to return the forms or return them incomplete which is tenically illegal.

It IS ironic that pepole complain about Anmeldung in Germany which is essentially the same.
The only difference being that in Britain non British, non Irish, non Commonwealth and non EU Citizens are not able/obliged to register.

*Silently moves a wad of cash into Alliance&Leicester's 12% account*

12%? Where'd you see that?

Not sure that:

"Maximum balance (over fixed 12 month period) £3,000"

is quite a wad.

http://www.alliance-leicester.co.uk/saving...t=premierhome06

Yes, but with a wife and 2 kids that's 12k... at 12% for 1 year = 1.44k interest in total.

Ah right. That was "only" 10% when I last looked. The catches are of course you can't pay in £3,000 in one go; you have to pay in monthly amounts of up to £250, so you won't be earning 12% of £3,000 except in the final month. You also have to open their Premier current account and use it as your main account. But it's a good account, so that's no bad thing.

OK, I did the sums (I think), firstly on paper and then using an online loan calculator in reverse. Basically, by paying in the maximum £250 a month into the account, at the end of the year you will have earned £195 in interest. Not a bad deal. But after one year the interest rate probably drops to nothing, so you will have to move it ASAP.

Of course if you are in the UK you will presumably have to pay tax on it, so it may be best just to stick the £3000 into an ISA straight away.

I am 35 years old and have lived in and out of the UK for years and I have, I repeat I have never been on the electoral register. Yet I have credit cards and loans and pay taxes...

I've even left a few bad debts at some addresses in the UK but yet I've never been prosecuted (for not being on the electoral register) and I'd luv to see the stats for prosecution on such things...

I checked quickly on the web and they said something about being legally bound to inform them...but eh...like I said 17 years and no one has coming knocking on my door...

I've even worked on government projects with high level clearance...says alot about efficiency of big brother in the UK...

Ah but the level and efficiency of the system (big Brother system) is much more efficient.

I forgot a transfer a debt in Frankfurt 3 years ago and they found me as soon as I registered in Munich and also my wife found her estranged father within 3 months in Germany...whilst my lost brothers and sister took 3 years to find my father in the UK!!!

Rules are (effectively) made to be broken in the UK!!! And so I like it...

I've never been on the UK electoral roll and have 3 bank accounts (one opened last year) and 4 building society accounts (also one opened last year). I have no credit record that I am aware of (although I am sure there is something somewhere) and 5 credit cards, 2 of which are gold and one is platinum. There were pretty scrupulous checks on my identity on the last account opening (and on others which are sometimes repeated), and all accounts are registered as non-resident, so there is no deduction of tax.

Now, what was the problem again?

YL6

These people seem to be set up to deal with expats. There are a number of hoops to jump through involving getting documentation certified, but if you can do that it looks OK.