# Opening a UK bank account



## Bridge1101 (Aug 29, 2012)

Hello!
Ive been looking into trying to get a bank account set up before i move to london in a few weeks. Most banks require proof of recent address. How do I go about doing this....as my name isnt on any of my fiance's bills or utilities or anything. Any recommendations?

Same applies with a cell phone as well


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## Leanna (Oct 22, 2012)

Bridge1101 said:


> Hello!
> Ive been looking into trying to get a bank account set up before i move to london in a few weeks. Most banks require proof of recent address. How do I go about doing this....as my name isnt on any of my fiance's bills or utilities or anything. Any recommendations?
> 
> Same applies with a cell phone as well


I'm afraid banks will require some form of proof of address. You will need to get some of the bills (or at least one!) changed to your name or have your name added when you arrive in London. Then you will have to wait for that bill to come before presenting it to the bank. 

Regarding cell phone contacts - if this is your first time in the UK, many cell phone providers will not give you a contact unless you pre-pay a certain number of months, owing to the fact that you have no established credit in your name. 

I'm afraid there's no way around it, best to arrive in London and get some bills set up in your name.


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## ohmy (Jul 19, 2012)

Bridge1101 said:


> Hello!
> Ive been looking into trying to get a bank account set up before i move to london in a few weeks. Most banks require proof of recent address. How do I go about doing this....as my name isnt on any of my fiance's bills or utilities or anything. Any recommendations?
> 
> Same applies with a cell phone as well


Ugh I remember worrying about this, It is a pain to be sure. Here's what I did. 
Within a couple of hours of landing I went and got a cheap nokia from carphone warehouse ( it's a chain store, and it's all over the place. there are others , providers like orange and 3g or whatever sell them too) I couldn't get a contract, so I got a some deal with a free phone when i put money on my sim card. I had to "top it up" all the time, but got ok rates home etc. once you get a bank you can often use a mac machine to top up which is easiest. easy peasy (if not the best financial option... ) 

Now the bank, every time i talk to someone who just moved here they're having this problem. I went to HSBC and opened a "passport account" which has an annoying monthly fee. It's crap but It's one of the only ones I'm aware of that lets you open an account without a UK address history. I think i also had to provide bank statements from my home bank and possibly a reference letter. It might be a good idea to google HSBC passport account and take a look at the sorts of things they require as evidence from someone coming to the UK and opening a new account. 

Don't get me wrong I'm not endorsing either of these options. They are small scale rip offs. I dodn't know anyone or have any connections in the UK, If you have some good friends or family who would be willing to take out a cheap phone contract for a limited period for you ( though this could get messy I guess...) Or If you have a Job or are attending a university that has some connections with a bank maybe that would work... But from what i've heard It's pretty much "nothing doing" and you'll be paying a few quid extra for the privilege of banking and phoning in the UK.


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## WestCoastCanadianGirl (Mar 17, 2012)

Another option, which will take about a week to complete but will get you a document with your address that the banks will recognise is this: 

The second you get off the plane and arrive at your fiancé's home, have your fiancé ring up the council (assuming that the council office is open) and have your name added to the council tax bill and request a new copy of the bill be sent out with both of your names on it. Hopefully the new statement will arrive within a week and then you'll be able to take the bill to the bank and open an account.

I did this in the City of Westminster (Central London) and it took just under a week for the statement to come.


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## Leanna (Oct 22, 2012)

I was fortunate in that I was bringing over a decent (£10,000+) amount of money, so I had little problem getting a bank account with Barclay's. However I did have to show proof of address, so that took me a few days to get from the local council (just called them and added my name to the house bill). 

I have heard of others having issues getting UK bank accounts even with proof of address, and many people that I know did use HSBC passport accounts, but I agree, they feel a bit rip-offish. 

Either way, get to London and get your name on a bill. Go from there  Good luck!


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## ohmy (Jul 19, 2012)

WestCoastCanadianGirl said:


> Another option, which will take about a week to complete but will get you a document with your address that the banks will recognise is this:
> 
> The second you get off the plane and arrive at your fiancé's home, have your fiancé ring up the council (assuming that the council office is open) and have your name added to the council tax bill and request a new copy of the bill be sent out with both of your names on it. Hopefully the new statement will arrive within a week and then you'll be able to take the bill to the bank and open an account.
> 
> I did this in the City of Westminster (Central London) and it took just under a week for the statement to come.


Man, Westminster sounds great, Tower Hamlets still refuse to add me to the council tax bill and I've been living in this flat for two years.


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## Bridge1101 (Aug 29, 2012)

WestCoastCanadianGirl said:


> Another option, which will take about a week to complete but will get you a document with your address that the banks will recognise is this:
> 
> The second you get off the plane and arrive at your fiancé's home, have your fiancé ring up the council (assuming that the council office is open) and have your name added to the council tax bill and request a new copy of the bill be sent out with both of your names on it. Hopefully the new statement will arrive within a week and then you'll be able to take the bill to the bank and open an account.
> 
> I did this in the City of Westminster (Central London) and it took just under a week for the statement to come.


ahhh..this may work!...i remember seeing that in the stack of documents we submitted.

@ohmy..I have looked into the hsbc passport account, and they only require that i am of age (16) and that I have, or will have a UK address within three months of my arrival. What kind of reference letter are we talking about?

Would it be possible for my fiance to open a separate account and just add me to it?
Thanks for the responses


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## ohmy (Jul 19, 2012)

Bridge1101 said:


> ahhh..this may work!...i remember seeing that in the stack of documents we submitted.
> 
> @ohmy..I have looked into the hsbc passport account, and they only require that i am of age (16) and that I have, or will have a UK address within three months of my arrival. What kind of reference letter are we talking about?
> 
> ...



Granted it was almost 5 years ago, but I vaguely remember either getting a letter from my bank or bringing statements as well as supplying some proof of my old address and it still took them hours to set up. I guess I'm saying bring some stuff. The joint account may work depending on the bank (i've heard lloyds is a bit easier with the joint thing) and your partner's history with the bank. still you'd need three years worth of addresses and i'm not sure they would count US addresses. Worth a try, and might work better if she just added you to her current longer-standing account. Maybe have her phone and ask? Better than charges and couldn't hurt if you're looking to apply for FLR later.


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## ddang (Jun 21, 2012)

Bridge1101 said:


> Hello!
> Ive been looking into trying to get a bank account set up before i move to london in a few weeks. Most banks require proof of recent address. How do I go about doing this....as my name isnt on any of my fiance's bills or utilities or anything. Any recommendations?
> 
> Same applies with a cell phone as well


Getting on council tax or getting your NI number or NHS number are 3 easy things to get proof of address... I just opened up a joint account with my husband took me about a month because of proof of address... Some people can get it within a week if your lucky.. 

With the phone carrier I used Three. I had my husband get the contract for me then after a month I was able to switch it over in my name. You can always have your fiancé open the account contract for your phone then switch it to your name later on. 

One thing I've learned is everything takes time here... Lol


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## Bridge1101 (Aug 29, 2012)

ddang said:


> Getting on council tax or getting your NI number or NHS number are 3 easy things to get proof of address... I just opened up a joint account with my husband took me about a month because of proof of address... Some people can get it within a week if your lucky..
> 
> With the phone carrier I used Three. I had my husband get the contract for me then after a month I was able to switch it over in my name. You can always have your fiancé open the account contract for your phone then switch it to your name later on.
> 
> One thing I've learned is everything takes time here... Lol


how were you able to switch it to your name, if you dont have established credit?

it just seems like one thing is dependent on the other. is having an open bank account for say...a month or two enough to establish an identity.

As far as the NHS number, this is something im given once i register with a GP, correct?


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## ddang (Jun 21, 2012)

Bridge1101 said:


> how were you able to switch it to your name, if you dont have established credit?
> 
> it just seems like one thing is dependent on the other. is having an open bank account for say...a month or two enough to establish an identity.
> 
> As far as the NHS number, this is something im given once i register with a GP, correct?


Well I opened the joint account with my husband and he had been banking with them for years. We waited a month after opening the account and called up three on the phone to see if we could transfer it into my name. The said they had to do a credit check so I thought well I guess this wont happen but ill try any way and well it worked. I think it worked only because of us having the joint account. I guess it helped build small enough amount to approve me. 

Yes one is dependent on the other. I had to apply for my NI number first which took altogether 2 weeks. This gave me proof of address for the bank. I had to have 2 proofs of address for my NHS. Yes you'll get your NHS # when you register with the GP. Some people transferred to the UK easily and quickly.. It took me altogether roughly 3 months to get all my proofs of address and registering and everything.. 

If you can get on council tax and/ or utility bill this might help you faster.


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## WestCoastCanadianGirl (Mar 17, 2012)

Bridge1101 said:


> how were you able to switch it to your name, if you dont have established credit?
> 
> it just seems like one thing is dependent on the other. is having an open bank account for say...a month or two enough to establish an identity.
> 
> As far as the NHS number, this is something im given once i register with a GP, correct?


1) The cell phone providers here are a lot more generous than they tend to be in North America. My husband (a Three customer) was able to get me a post-paid phone plan in early December in spite of the fact that I had only been in country for less than 12 weeks and have no employment. 

2) It took me providing proof of address, passport, and fiancee visa and going to two different banks to get a savings account. Husband took me to his Lloyds branch first and they refused to give me an account, so we had to go to the NatWest branch he banks at and ask them if they'd let me have an account. I haven't been 100% happy with that branch... they took my name change information back in early December but have yet to action on the request. Am moving addresses in a few weeks, so will wait until then to put of a stink about the name change business.

3) Yes, you need find a GP surgery that is accepting new patients, register with them and you should be issued an NHS number. You won't necessarily get a card, but you should get a letter confirming your registration number in the mail within a couple of weeks.


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## ohmy (Jul 19, 2012)

Bridge1101 said:


> As far as the NHS number, this is something im given once i register with a GP, correct?


yeah call the GP in your catchment area (i'm guessing your fiance already has one), make an appointment to register and they will send you your card in the mail.... 

As an american you will be amazed at being able to walk in and out of doc's without insurance negotiation, bills etc. it's incredible.


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## Bridge1101 (Aug 29, 2012)

ddang said:


> Well I opened the joint account with my husband and he had been banking with them for years. We waited a month after opening the account and called up three on the phone to see if we could transfer it into my name. The said they had to do a credit check so I thought well I guess this wont happen but ill try any way and well it worked. I think it worked only because of us having the joint account. I guess it helped build small enough amount to approve me.
> 
> Yes one is dependent on the other. I had to apply for my NI number first which took altogether 2 weeks. This gave me proof of address for the bank. I had to have 2 proofs of address for my NHS. Yes you'll get your NHS # when you register with the GP. Some people transferred to the UK easily and quickly.. It took me altogether roughly 3 months to get all my proofs of address and registering and everything..
> 
> If you can get on council tax and/ or utility bill this might help you faster.


thanks! Ill see if I can get him to start looking into this, maybe we can get this done before I even get there...which would be totally awesome!


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## Bridge1101 (Aug 29, 2012)

ohmy said:


> yeah call the GP in your catchment area (i'm guessing your fiance already has one), make an appointment to register and they will send you your card in the mail....
> 
> As an american you will be amazed at being able to walk in and out of doc's without insurance negotiation, bills etc. it's incredible.


totally looking forward to no dealing co-pays..hmo's etc...
..though i've gotten mixed reviews about the quality health care..and as a woman our doctors visits tend to be more frequent, so i may go the private route, if its affordable.


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## 2farapart (Aug 18, 2011)

On bank account issues, settling up a joint account with your UK partner is an option. I managed to add my US partner's name to my accounts before she was even living here. We had to make an appointment to do this and it must have taken an hour with all the form-filling, but they were happy with her US proof of address driving license/passport as photo ID - and we did this during her last visit here before she finally came across to live - no credit checks or anything like that because she was still in the US). Then it was just a matter of changing her address to her UK address on arrival.


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## Joppa (Sep 7, 2009)

2farapart said:


> On bank account issues, settling up a joint account with your UK partner is an option. I managed to add my US partner's name to my accounts before she was even living here. We had to make an appointment to do this and it must have taken an hour with all the form-filling, but they were happy with her US proof of address driving license/passport as photo ID - and we did this during her last visit here before she finally came across to live - no credit checks or anything like that because she was still in the US). Then it was just a matter of changing her address to her UK address on arrival.


This depends on banks and financial institutions. Some insist to seeing a long-stay visa (such as spouse settlement) and often proof of income (such as payslip) before agreeing to add your spouse/partner as joint account holder.


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## 2farapart (Aug 18, 2011)

HSBC seemed very relaxed about it. We weren't wed or anything like that at that point either. Maybe if we were opening a brand new account they would have been, but I've held the same accounts for many years and they were quite happy to add her to them (with copious forms etc). Perhaps they figured it would be my loss if anything went wrong!


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## lovestravel (Apr 9, 2012)

When we called HSBC they said if we opened a us account with them then we could open a uk account when we arrived but there was not a location close to us and we didn't have forever to wait for everything to be set up. We ended up opening an offshore account with Lloyd's TSB. It took about 2 months to get everything set up and it was a pain but we were at least able to start getting things set up in the uk with our debit cards. We had to get notarized copies of our passports and sign a bunch of forms to prove our identities and send everything snail mail. We opened a sterling account plus a us dollar account and a euro account so we could handle all of our financial needs in one place. They are like banking with the flintstones and can't do a lot of things with the account since its offshore like mobile banking but it did what we needed to do at the time. Now that we are here we will probably change banks at some point to find something that uses technology from this century.


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## JulietSoul (Aug 10, 2012)

*Some advice*

Hi! I'm in a similar situation and recently moved to England with my husband so I can provide some advice 

Regarding opening a bank account: if your fiance or a family member holds an account with Lloyds TSB/Halifax/Bank of Scotland they can 'introduce' you - they would fill out a form vouching for you basically, and that would replace the second proof of ID necessary. You may only be able to open a basic account, not a current account, due to not having UK credit history and thus failing their credit checks, but it doesn't seem to majorly matter, you would still get a debit card, it just limits the ATMs where you can take out money.

Re: mobile phone - the best option in my opinion (and I am quite savvy re: money saving!) is to go for GiffGaff. Make sure you have an unlocked/sim free phone, and order a giffgaff simcard. If you get one sent out from a existing member you would get 5 pounds of credit on it, PM me if you need one, it's totally free 
The way it works is, you top up with a 'goodie bag' each month - you can get for example, for 10 pounds, 250 minutes, unlimited text and 1GB of data, or same with unlimited data for 12 pounds. The great thing about it is that you don't need a contract, you could top it up with paypal or your fiance's debit card online, so that once you arrive the sim is ready to go. That's what I did 
They have the same coverage as O2 so they are pretty reliable. Not only is it easy it's also the cheapest deal out there if you already have a phone and you don't have to commit to any period of time beyond a month.

Let me know if you have any other questions. In any case I recommend the website moneysavingexpert (Googe it, I can't post links...) for all issues involving saving money, it's a really great site, I use it for vouchers for dining out, etc... 

good luck


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## Bridge1101 (Aug 29, 2012)

So, he's having trouble getting me on his utility bill.. They say u can only have one person on the bill at a time.. He seems to getting different responses..

Any experience with this???


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## 2farapart (Aug 18, 2011)

Bridge1101 said:


> So, he's having trouble getting me on his utility bill.. They say u can only have one person on the bill at a time.. He seems to getting different responses..
> 
> Any experience with this???


Sadly yes, plenty of experience!!! It's maddening. TV license only allows one name (won't even allow two initials and a surname), my electricity bill is the same. I had most luck with water bills and council tax (that one was easiest). BT (for phone) can simply not get names right and I think I've lost the will to keep fighting with them. To add her to the mortgage will involve impossible credit checks (she has no credit history yet and is not employed), plus there's a horrendous fee for doing this.

So yes, you have my sympathy! Change what you can, and in the meantime keep every official letter or bill even if it's only addressed to one of you. If you both have sufficent number of individually addressed official mail, they can still count towards the requirement. The ILR visa requests 6 pieces of documentation in joint names currently, but any one of the six could be met by two letters (even if from different sources) addressed individually to each of you. For example: my partner could provide her NHS letter in her name only, and I could add the TV license stubbornly in MY name only - that would count as one of the six.


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## Bridge1101 (Aug 29, 2012)

2farapart said:


> Sadly yes, plenty of experience!!! It's maddening. TV license only allows one name (won't even allow two initials and a surname), my electricity bill is the same. I had most luck with water bills and council tax (that one was easiest). BT (for phone) can simply not get names right and I think I've lost the will to keep fighting with them. To add her to the mortgage will involve impossible credit checks (she has no credit history yet and is not employed), plus there's a horrendous fee for doing this.
> 
> So yes, you have my sympathy! Change what you can, and in the meantime keep every official letter or bill even if it's only addressed to one of you. If you both have sufficent number of individually addressed official mail, they can still count towards the requirement. The ILR visa requests 6 pieces of documentation in joint names currently, but any one of the six could be met by two letters (even if from different sources) addressed individually to each of you. For example: my partner could provide her NHS letter in her name only, and I could add the TV license stubbornly in MY name only - that would count as one of the six.


i haven't even gotten to the point where i need this evidence for a FLR..but i will keep this in mind. We plan to get married in April and will apply shortly thereafter.
The good people on the forum suggested that i get my name on my fiance's bill in order to expedite opening a bank account, but turns out its not as easy as we thought...He wanted to hold off on adding me to the council bill, but this may be our only option. Thanks for the feedback!

I wish i could send a universal hug to everyone on this forum. The information and feedback is monumental, and I literally dont know what i would have done without this.


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## Sickmont (Jan 31, 2012)

Just get an Orange Cash card prepaid debut card when you get there and when it gets sent to your house just use the letter that comes with it for proof of address. Nationwide accepted mine when i was in England last year.


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## JulietSoul (Aug 10, 2012)

Sickmont said:


> Just get an Orange Cash card prepaid debut card when you get there and when it gets sent to your house just use the letter that comes with it for proof of address. Nationwide accepted mine when i was in England last year.


I have been to all the main banks, they are quite strict with what they accept as proof of ID. For example, they will take a bank statement by post, but not a letter from another bank in which they post you a debit card or a pincode.
There is no way they will accept a phone bill/letter/anything not official, from my experience.

Birdge, did you see my earlier post? Does your fiance or one of his relatives/friends have an account with Lloyds TSB or Halifax? They could introduce you.
Also if you look it up online, for 35/40 pounds there are companies that will introduce you to banks. Sounds dodgy but a friend of mine did it and it worked fine, no issues, no scams.


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## WestCoastCanadianGirl (Mar 17, 2012)

Juliet... going the "introduction" route with Lloyds won't necessarily work. My Husband tried to get me an account at his branch but they more or less refused to offer anything other than a restrictive use Savings account that didn't come with a Card... needless to say, we said "thanks, but no." 

We then went down the street to NatWest where Husband also has accounts, and while they were more or less of the same opinion as Lloyds, they were at least generous enough to offer me a bank account that has a Visa debit card - but even then, I could only get the account upon submission of ID from _their specific list of "acceptable" forms of ID_... i.e. I had come with my passport and visa, but they refused me without proof of id - we returned less than a week later with a Council Tax bill and that was somehow acceptable.


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## JulietSoul (Aug 10, 2012)

WestCoastCanadianGirl said:


> Juliet... going the "introduction" route with Lloyds won't necessarily work. My Husband tried to get me an account at his branch but they more or less refused to offer anything other than a restrictive use Savings account that didn't come with a Card... needless to say, we said "thanks, but no."
> 
> We then went down the street to NatWest where Husband also has accounts, and while they were more or less of the same opinion as Lloyds, they were at least generous enough to offer me a bank account that has a Visa debit card - but even then, I could only get the account upon submission of ID from _their specific list of "acceptable" forms of ID_... i.e. I had come with my passport and visa, but they refused me without proof of id - we returned less than a week later with a Council Tax bill and that was somehow acceptable.


That's strange... I opened mine less than two weeks ago, my husband's father introduced me, it's a basic cash account which comes with a debit card, the only limitation on it is that I can only withdraw money at Lloyds/Halifax/Post office ATMs. I guess policies vary from branch to branch...


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