# Non-resident Brit getting joint account with US spouse - possible?



## v15ben (Feb 19, 2014)

Hi folks,

First post in this forum.
My wife (a US citizen) is moving to the UK to join me (a British citizen) in the UK on a spouse visa.
We're currently looking at banking arrangements and have a couple questions.

a. Is it possible for a UK citizen to be a joint account holder on a US account? I don't have an SSN and am only going to visit on tourist visas. Citibank said to call into branch with my passport but there are no branches within 500 miles of where we are (WA/OR border.)

b.) What is the best value option to transfer money from the US to the UK? We'd be looking at sending my wife's savings (about $10-15k) across to the UK for her to use and leaving a little in the US for vacations/emergencies etc. Do people use their banks? Transfer companies? There seems to be a minefield of options out there.

Thanks in advance


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## BBCWatcher (Dec 28, 2012)

v15ben said:


> a. Is it possible for a UK citizen to be a joint account holder on a US account? I don't have an SSN and am only going to visit on tourist visas. Citibank said to call into branch with my passport but there are no branches within 500 miles of where we are (WA/OR border.)


It's possible, but you may need an ITIN (alternative to a SSN) to do it. Have you investigated getting an ITIN?

Also, why do you need a joint account? If the purpose is for easier estate/probate claims, there's another, simpler, easier option: a Payable on Death (POD) account. Many/most banks offer POD accounts where the POD beneficiary (you, presumably) inherits the account when the account holder dies. I don't think the POD beneficiary needs a SSN or ITIN.



> b.) What is the best value option to transfer money from the US to the UK? We'd be looking at sending my wife's savings (about $10-15k) across to the UK for her to use and leaving a little in the US for vacations/emergencies etc. Do people use their banks? Transfer companies? There seems to be a minefield of options out there.


OK, the first rule here is you don't move money unless you actually need it. If your wife transfers _all_ (or nearly all) her savings then what she immediately accomplishes is paying some sort of commissions, fees, and/or other costs. For what? So she can have the "security" of an electronic record in a computer located in the U.K. instead of an electronic record located in the United States? It doesn't make sense, at least not in those terms.

Sure, she may want to spend some of her savings in the U.K. No problem. The best way to do that is to get a low cost U.S. credit card and to pay that balance off every month, automatically, from her U.S. bank account. Whenever she wants to tap into those funds she'd just use that credit card in the U.K. (or elsewhere) to pay for whatever it is she wants. If she's doing that, the credit card company will actually pay her a modest net commission (if she picks the right card), not the other way around. One example is Capital One's Quicksilver card -- my current favorite in this role -- but there are a couple other options.

On the few occasions when she wants to tap those funds in ways other than paying for something with a credit card, there are low cost ATM/debit cards. If she's a Citibank customer then she can use her card at a Citibank ATM in the U.K. to withdraw cash, and that's pretty cheap. Has to be a Citibank ATM, though, and there are only a few of those in the U.K. If she's willing to find another U.S. bank there are other options that provide low cost access to more ATMs in the U.K. Charles Schwab Bank (not the brokerage, the bank) in the U.S. is one example.

Anyway, $10K to $15K is simply not worth moving in any large amount in my opinion. Those U.S. dollars will be useful and valuable for those trips to the U.S., paying the odd fee in the U.S., whatever. If she can earn a bit of interest on that money in the U.S., great.


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## Davis1 (Feb 20, 2009)

You can open a bank account on a visa waiver ..just need a passport 
I have arraged 4 this last month ...its not complicated


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## Bellthorpe (Jun 23, 2013)

As Davis1 says, it's quite possible. My only suggestion is to use a major bank. The US has many more banks than you're used to, and the 27th national bank of the street near Starbucks might not have any procedures in place for creating an account for a foreigner.


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## Bevdeforges (Nov 16, 2007)

Normally, in order to open an account and/or add a second signer to the account, the account holder and the signer have to visit the bank in person to arrange the transaction. (Part of the banks' "know your customer" regulations.) You do not need a SSN or ITIN, other than for the "primary" account holder (i.e. the US citizen, who should already have an SSN).

As already mentioned, there really is no need to make the US account a joint account if she will ultimately be settling in the UK. It is very handy to have a stash of $10K or so in the US to draw on when visiting or if you want to buy something from a US vendor online. (It goes remarkably quickly on holiday...)

My experience has been that using a local bank (in the area where your financé lives or the area you are most likely to return to on a regular basis) is better than using one of the big, impersonal banks looking to cover their butts with the Federal authorities. Maybe I've just hit on a really good bank in the area I visit (New England) but I've had excellent service and cooperation from them in all my dealings, including some tweaking of their online banking system to meet my "overseas" needs.
Cheers,
Bev


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## v15ben (Feb 19, 2014)

Thanks for the detailed replies everyone.
I'd be looking to add my name to my wife's US account / when she opens a new one, purely in case anything happened to her.
Having read up on POD, it seems that making joint accounts when I won't even be living in the US is a bit unnecessary.

We are thinking about using Citibank and a good free US credit card as our banking solution.
I'll have 2 UK Citibank accounts (1x GBP and 1x USD)
My wife will have a US Citibank account + a free credit card (probably Capital One.)
When my wife moves to the UK, she will then open a UK Citibank account (1 x GBP and 1x USD like mine).

Does that sound practical/workable and better than trying to open a US joint account?


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## twostep (Apr 3, 2008)

W8 for you
Name the account in A or B and both of you have access even in a worst case scenario it will be either A or B.


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## BBCWatcher (Dec 28, 2012)

dIt's not better or worse necessarily. It depends on what you're trying to accomplish.

Note that joint accounts (versus POD accounts) are your assets and vice versa. For example, if your U.S. citizen-wife is a joint account holder with you on a U.K. account, and assuming her total foreign (non-U.S.) financial accounts total at least $10,000, she is required to report them in U.S. financial disclosures (FBARs). Is that a problem? I don't think so, but some people object to that. Joint accounts are also individual assets for purposes of things like individual bankruptcies and judgment claims, too.

Note also that she can obtain for you what's called a supplementary credit card in the U.S. (Though again you may or may not need an ITIN to get one.) If she has set up the credit card for full balance autopayment from her account, that credit card issued in your name lets you tap into those funds for purchases, e.g. an emergency plane ticket or whatever. POD arrangements mean you inherit the account if she predeceases you. A standard joint account must be amended by both account holders if there's any change in ownership, e.g. adding a third joint holder or taking off one joint holder.

If all that information is not enough, there's also the option of a limited power of attorney, and that's a very reasonable thing to do between spouses. If your intention is that either of you be able to manage the household's finances if the other becomes incapacitated (not only deceased), then, yes, joint accounts are one way, but limited powers of attorney are another, more targeted way that can apply to more than bank accounts. A limited power of attorney does not trigger the financial reporting I just described, nor does it mean that asset is your asset (and vice versa). But it means if something bad happens and the other party (your spouse in this case) is unable to manage her own affairs, you can step in (or vice versa) up to the limits the power of attorney provides. No, you don't need a SSN or ITIN for a limited power of attorney.

Anyway, there are many options here: joint accounts, POD accounts, supplemental credit cards (linked via automatic full balance payment to a bank account), limited powers of attorney, or some combination. You just have to decide which option(s) make sense for what you're both trying to accomplish and depending on the pros and cons.


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## Bellthorpe (Jun 23, 2013)

You don't need an ITIN for a supplementary cardholder.


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## BBCWatcher (Dec 28, 2012)

I can't agree with that blanket statement. It depends on the U.S. card issuer. Some issuers insist on a SSN/ITIN, and some don't. It's not a legal requirement to demand one, but it's also not illegal to require one.


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## twostep (Apr 3, 2008)

BBCWatcher said:


> I can't agree with that blanket statement. It depends on the U.S. card issuer. Some issuers insist on a SSN/ITIN, and some don't. It's not a legal requirement to demand one, but it's also not illegal to require one.


OP's question is "Non-resident Brit getting joint account with US spouse - possible?" The answer is yes.


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## Bellthorpe (Jun 23, 2013)

I was going to add 'although some banks might want one' but for some reason didn't. You're quite correct.


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## v15ben (Feb 19, 2014)

Thanks again for your great advice.
I think the limited power of attorney sounds like the most practical/straight forward option.
Will do some more research into it


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## Meritorious-MasoMenos (Apr 17, 2014)

That's not a whole lot of money, actually. And the advice to leave a good amount in the US is a good one. Is your wife an AAA member? I don't know if still true, but they use to issue free traveler's checks. That's a secure way to move under $10,000 legally.


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## v15ben (Feb 19, 2014)

My wife is not an AAA member so far as I know.
I think our plan is to leave the money in the US for now and live off her credit card and my UK account at least initially when she moves to the UK.


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## ForeignBody (Oct 20, 2011)

v15ben said:


> b.) What is the best value option to transfer money from the US to the UK? We'd be looking at sending my wife's savings (about $10-15k) across to the UK for her to use and leaving a little in the US for vacations/emergencies etc. Do people use their banks? Transfer companies? There seems to be a minefield of options out there.
> 
> Thanks in advance


Never use a main bank for money transfers. There are many reputable/reliable money transfer organizations which will give you a much better deal. I use TorFx, xe.com is widely used and others include TransferWise and WorldFirst.


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