UK non-resident childrens saving accounts

Okay,

Now that my son is 5 weeks old I thought that I should open a saving account in the UK for him for the UK family members to deposit some cash into. It is turning out to be a little bit more complicated than I had thought. Has anyone opened an account in the UK as a non resident for a child. Most accounts that I come across state that they are not open to UK non residents. Some of them are eg. Bank of Scotland Save4it childrens saving account. However it is extremely complicated when dealing with BOS on the phone as they seem to panic as soon as they hear that you are a UK non resident.

Does anyone have a suggestion for an account with a good rate of interest ? It would be also handy if I could access to the account via the internet as well. It is a bit hassly to pop into the local branch !! :-D

Yes, banks in the UK can be funny about dealing with non-residents.
Added to the problem is the fact that some types of account are ONLY available to UK residents for taxation reasons.

What I'd probably do is open an account when you are in the UK using a UK address.
Something from First Direct / HSBA might give you the availability combo you are looking for.

You could also try and invest in National Savings Premium Bonds.

My call to Bank of Scotland at the weekend went like this :

[*]Hallo I would like to open a Save4It account. I am already a BOS current account holder.
[*]That should be no problem what is your address
[*]I am a UK non resident and have an address is Germany
[*]Ah. You need to speak to the international department. I will give you their number.
[*]I ring the number - naturally they are closed on a Sunday.
[*]Monday I telephone the International Departament. Yes you can open a saving account with us. How old is the person applying for the account.
[*]He is 5 weeks old.
[*]Oh we can only open accounts for people over 18
[*]Sorry what do you mean
[*]We are based in Jersey and have different accounts
[*]I see then the person Ispoke to at the weekend gave me the wrong information
[*]It would seem so. However I can give you the UK number to call.
[*]Thanks that is very helpfull
[*]I ring the UK number - Halifax Bank Accounts
[*]Hallo I would like to open a savings account for my son
[*]Oh I am sorry we only deal with Current Account Applications you need to speak to another department. Shall I transfer you.
[*]Yes thankyou
[*]How can I help you.
[*]I would like to open a saving account for my son.
[*]That should not be a problem Could you confirm your address. Ah you have a german address. You will not be able to open account
[*]Sorry what do you mean.
[*]We only deal with people that are resident in the UK
[*]Well I sorry but that is not what your website says. Plus you are happy enough to have me as a current account customer with a german address.
[*]Okay I will have to ask someone if this is possible
[*]I get to listen to elevator music
[*]We shoud be able to open account for you however you will have to pop into a branch with some form of ID eg Birth Certificate or passport ...

And so the story goes. I am bak in the Uk in 2 weeks time. I fly from Munich to Edinburgh on Friday afternoon. I am spending Saturday at a wedding and then flying back on Sunday.

I think that I am going to have a very very busy Saturday morning before going to the wedding.

The joys of opening an account

• speak direct to the UK building society and not an offshore offshoot
• Ask what savings account are open to non-residents. They all have some, but they may be limited and not be the best paying. You can sometimes get this information directly from the BS website. Ironically, most internet-run accounts are not offered to non-residents.
• You can't open an account for an under 7, but you can open it yourself as a trustee for your child. This means you are simply looking after his/her money until they reach a specified age (with some accounts 7, others 18, yet others 21) and only you (or other named person such as your spouse) can have access to the account
• The BS will open a tentative account and send you details - you will then be required to prove your existence and address. This can be onerous. You will need to provide official paperwork in English proving you exist. They will at least ask for a copy of your passport (and your child) plus tax paperwork or bank statements with your given address on them. Once these are received by the BS (they may even ask for some originals and return them later) the account becomes active and will accept deposits- this normally needs to be done within one month of the account being opened. Some societies will not release the passbook (so you can't withdraw money) until you present yourself in person at a branch, but you usually have aup to a year to do this.
• Don't forget to complete and return HMRC form 105 to the building society so interest is paid without deduction of tax.
• Be persistent - this is not a common request the BS has to deal with, so be sure you find someone who understands your situation, what you want and if an account suits. Do not be fobbed off by offshore solutions.
• It's often easier to do the whole thing in person, face to face with someone you can strangle if they give you stupid answers. Saves the identity proof problem too.

A recommendation? The Yorkshire Building Society Children's One Day Account pays excellent interest and keeps your money in the county where it belongs. Some societies (e.g. Halifax) provide lists of accounts available (or not) to non-residents

Not a chance I'm afraid. My mother tried to take out Premium Bonds for my children for Christmas and got nowhere. Must be UK resident.

Really bizarre as I just changed my address to Munich and encountered no problems... Maybe have your mum buy them at her address in the UK, wait a few months and then say you've moved overseas...

Could be that my children are German though?

The trick is to have an account set up "normally" beforehand.
Even a hick branch (we get a mortgage adviser 3 mornings a week in Somerset) can deal with the "issues" ONCE an account is set up.

There is nothing wierder than ringing up a call centre in the UK:

What is your postcode?
80469.
Errrrrrrrr?

My mum is the trustee for my children's savings accounts and so we used her UK address. The children's address is not relevant as although the accounts are in their name, the trustee is responsible. My children have accounts with the Nationwide.

Good advice from YorkshireLad there. My parents opened up a children's savings account, as trustees, at the Portman Building Society very soon after our child was born. Because my parents opened the account, the official address was registered as their address but our German address was also noted on the form. I had to send over a translation of the wee one's birth certificate (if you don't have a multilingual one and need a translation, PM me) and I had to go to the building society in person with his passport and my passport to sign tax forms the next time I was over visiting. It was all very unproblematic. I would have your parents go if possible - it is quite common for grandparents to open accounts for their grandchildren.

There's some good advice on this thread. Perhaps I'd given up far too soon. I tried first with the HSBC and they were less than helpful but I'll try my other bank , Nationwide, and see how I get on.

Have managed to get BOS to agree to opening the account. They have posted out the appropriate forms with regards to tax relief. I need to pop into the local branch when I am back home in two weeks with my sons passport or birth certificate.

I decided that it was better not to tell them that he has dual nationality as i thought that it might confuse the matter even more. I will just have to remember to take the UK passport with me