UK bank account for expats

[Cleared ILS approach]

Dear all,
I'll start to work with EZY soon and need to open a bank account in the UK in order to get paid. Could anybody share any infos about what to do? I know how to open a bank account :} but I'm looking for infos regarding the best deal for expats. I will remain a NON-UK resident so please take that into account. I would like to be able to use my money outside the UK and be able to transfer some money into a european bank account with minimum charges. I had a look at the "Passport account" at HSBC but I understood that the fee to transfer money is around 15 pounds for each transfer and 2 pounds everytime you take cash money which is quite expensive. Any FR (UK-based) or EZY pilot willing to give some infos?
Thanks a lot for your help.
Best regards

[despegue]

I had major problems when starting for a UK Airline last year.
Being Belgian, I assumed that EU rules applied also to the UK, but alas...

I was not able to get any bank account by any of the Scottish/ British Banks unless I had an adress in the UK (being resident), and could show a bill to them from BT or British/Scottish Gas.
But I couldn't become a customer to any of these companies without a UK bank-account. It was an impossible solution.
Then, The "Royal" Bank of Scotland refused to accept my Belgian Identity card, the only official proof of ID in my country, as, and I quote: " one can buy this little card for 5 pounds on the internet".
After 2 months, I did manage to get a "junior" account, where I couldn't have overdrafts, where it took more than one week for any transfer to appear on my account, and where they charged 39£ penalty if a direct debit was taken with unsufficient funds on the account to pay for it.
I have lived in almost all EU countries over the last years, the UK is by FAR the worst country to have a bank account.

I have never seen such xenophobic, unflexible and in general incompetent people then in the UK banks.
I'd rather fly in Irak then having to deal with these idiots again.I'm almost glad that I'm resigning from my current employer. (for urgent family reasons, not for living in a nanny-state)

[James 1077]

If you use your account abroad lots then I would suggest Nationwide Building Society; they have low charges for most things and also have no charge for using your debit card from any cash machine in the world.

[Scottie]

I have never seen such xenophobic, unflexible and in general incompetent people then in the UK banks.
I'd rather fly in Irak then having to deal with these idiots again.I'm almost glad that I'm resigning from my current employer. (for urgent family reasons, not for living in a nanny-state)

Gee that sound just like our experience of Brussels :}

Citibank is the way to go. Excellent exchange rates, great online banking, presence back in mainland Europe.

[BusterHot]

Have you tried one of the banks in the Channel Islands? When I was overseas I had one in Jersey and it worked quite well. Maybe your current bank has an office there.

[Caractacus]

Cleared ILS approach, If you are non UK resident why do you want an account in the UK?

Look offshore at Jersey, Guernsey or the Isle of Man. You will be able to manage your affairs in sterling as if it was the UK.

[F4F]

Cleared, why don't you open an account with a bank, in your home country (chips and mussels, love 'em :ok: ), that has a branch in the UK?

P.S.
let us know of your solution as there are more folks in the same situation as yours, cheers!

[maxy101]

I understood it is more to do with the U.K rabid enactment of money laundering laws than individual banks being obtuse. Meanwhile, over here in Spain, my mother in law opened my bank account for me with a photocopy of my UK passport. Nice to see that international law is being interpreted equally everywhere.

[Bokkenrijder]

I can second despegue´s story. The UK is a 3rd world country when it comes to banks! :mad:

Opening an account is indeed a nightmare as it´s a chicken or the egg story as despegue described.
You don´t have an apartment yet, because you´re new in the UK and you haven´t gotten paid yet (because you don´t have a bank account, duh!) so you don´t have a ´fraudproof´ utility bill to show the banks who you are! Instead of accepting a European ID card (or as in my case a European member state passport) as proof of identity, all UK banks want to see that famous utility bill (which any teenager can easily fake!) as "proof of identity." All this because of ´the war on terror´ and fears of money laundering! Hahahaha! Laughable and totally pathetic! :ugh:

Once you have your bank account sorted out, expect high fees and 3rd world service! Sending some money to Europe (the real Europe, i.e. the mainland!) takes ages, is impossible to set up over the internet (unless Citibank UK--> Citibank EU) and is very expensive! IBAN and SWIFT numbers are not recognised as banking standards, instead UK banks operate with an outdated system of ´sort codes´ which is incompatible with the rest of the world.

Caractacus, IOM or Jerey accounts generally require a minimum balance of ₤10.000,- and are not suitable for us underpaid pilots. The same ridiculous restrictions apply for opening an account in the first place, you need a utility bill!

Scottie, Citibank is not too bad, but you can only send money online from your UK Citibank to a European Citibank. Besides, you get ripped off with the exchange rates, so it´s not free!

F4F, that doesn´t work. You need to open an account in the UK, plain and simple. For example, Citibank Belgium will not/can not open an account for you with Citibank UK. Same for HSBC France and HSBC UK etc...

To end my post on a more constructive/positive note: try to obtain a letter of employment/reference from your employer and see if a local branch accepts this. In my case the HSBC in Luton was able (after about 4 different visits and dealings back and forth) to open an account for me. PM me for more info!

Welcome to the UK! :8

[sikeano]

Opening Bank accounts in uk is peice of pi** Unless of course you are from outside uk living in a country where there is an ID card and believe we in uk should bend over backwards to accomodate you cos you are from EU.
get a passport,driving license from your country,go to the nearest post office pay a fee and get an UK driving license and approach any high street bank
and Voila you can open an bank account, subject to credit score you will get an overdraft or credit card
But since the folks who come from eu can't do these simple things they blame us for third world banking industry
Enough of my rant I am off to my local for a nice pint

[Bokkenrijder]

Great idea sikeano! Or perhaps an even easier solution would be to apply for British citizenship (change my current passport for a UK passport) and get my bank account sorted out that way... :rolleyes:

You´re obviously British and therefore have no idea about the nightmare foreigners have to go through to open a UK bank account. All in the name of ´fighting crime and terrorism.´ As if Osama-the-terrorist can´t fake a BT phone bill before building a complex explosive device! :hmm:

Third world? Yes! Have a look on the European mainland and Switzerland! Internet banking is still in it´s infancy in the UK, same goes for international transfers and standardization. Desperately clinging to an outdated system and charging hefty fees for the privilege!

Cheers! ;)

p.s. There´s no longer a need to change a EU drivers license to a UK one. Just like you don´t need to change a EU JAR license for a UK JAR license anymore. (except if you work for EZY! :{ )

[Bokkenrijder]

Sikeano, just walk into any high street bank and see if you can open a bank account without a utility bill!

Give it a try on your way to the pub!

[Coppi]

I quote from the easyJet Quick Reference Checklist for new employees: "Non-UK based crew who need to open a UK bank account please bring with you a copy of the signature page of your passport and also a current bank statement with your overseas address".
Hope this helps.

[PGA]

I used to be in the same boat but have to say Lloyds did a great job to get me started. I found them very helpfull in setting up an account, when it turned out it could nt provide them with a utility bill they just set up and offshore account in the Isle of Man. This account works exaclty as any other UK bank account and I don`t pay any fees for transferring money etc either. Their online banking system is also pretty good because it also shows your credit card bills. Having said that, transferring money to the "Real Europe" does cost 9 pounds at a time, but if you just wire something across every 3 months instead of every month you earn the same amount in interest :)

All in all, give them a try! :D

[Seat1APlease]

as others have mentioned Nationwide is very good for drawing money overseas as there is no charge for using a debit card and their exchange rates are very competitive with no commission.



If your only problem is ID though, have a look at this



http://www.investorrelations.lloydstsb.com/media/pdf_irmc/mc/press_releases/2006/Dec/150.06polish.pdf



I know it refers to Poland but they must offer similar facilities for Belgian and other EU nationals.

[Dualbleed]

Totally agree Bokkenrijder. It is a real hassle to get an account in the UK. And what an outdated system :ugh:
I even got issued with a check book. Last time I saw one of those was with my grandad in the end of the 1970'
I have HSBC and I can't even transfer money to anyone's account. Let's say I owe £10 to a friend that has another bank. I can't just tap in his account and voila, he's got the money in his account in less than 10 seconds.:confused:
Try to change all your spare coins here in the UK. In the rest of the world you go in to the bank and pour them in to a machine and it goes directly to your account. Here you have to sort them and put them in plastic bags. Take them to the bank and they weigh them. You could go to a supermarket which have a machine. But they charge a fee.:{

[Scottie]

I can second despegue´s story. The UK is a 3rd world country when it comes to banks! :mad:
Instead of accepting a European ID card (or as in my case a European member state passport) as proof of identity, all UK banks want to see that famous utility bill (which any teenager can easily fake!) as "proof of identity." All this because of ´the war on terror´ and fears of money laundering! Hahahaha! Laughable and totally pathetic! :ugh:
Once you have your bank account sorted out, expect high fees and 3rd world service! Sending some money to Europe (the real Europe, i.e. the mainland!) takes ages, is impossible to set up over the internet (unless Citibank UK--> Citibank EU) and is very expensive! IBAN and SWIFT numbers are not recognised as banking standards, instead UK banks operate with an outdated system of ´sort codes´ which is incompatible with the rest of the world.
Welcome to the UK! :8
Indeed welcome to the 3rd world country that is offering you a job. The country that is sooo bad it's providing you with employment, cos let's face it you're here cos you don't like living in your own country......the fact that you can't get a job in your own country is neither here nor there...... :=
I have a suggestion, poke off back to your own country in Europe and leave us be as this is just the way we like it. Hopefully we'll find someone who isn't a malcontent to fill you shoes.... :ok:
Mostly said tongue-in-cheek ;)

[Dualbleed]

Constructive critisism is always good. If you can't deal with that there will never be a change for the better.:)

[sikeano]

Well said scottie
And to that person who suggested to me
quote:Sikeano, just walk into any high street bank and see if you can open a bank account without a utility bill!
Please read my rant again I know it is in english which is not your first language My applogies
To open a bank account you need one ID (passport if you are an non uk national ) One copy of address verifcation
Now, A driving license works as an proof of address as long as it is UK Driving License .
There fore my suggestion was to convert your Non UK driving license to an UK one and you got what you need to open an bank account
You Try to be helpfull but all you get is a bucket load of mouth from these europeans :D
It could be they know better than us After all they work here and pay taxes ;)

[Bokkenrijder]

Constructive critisism is always good. If you can't deal with that there will never be a change for the better.:)
Nuf said! ;)

[NG708]

Third world? Yes! Have a look on the European mainland and Switzerland! Internet banking is still in it´s infancy in the UK, same goes for international transfers and standardization.SIZE]
So the rest of Europe doesn't require a passport and an address?
Funny, because when I opened my account in Spain recently I required an address, a passport and a Spanish National Insurance number. Now I'm sure Spain's in Europe...
As for internet banking, I have accounts with three UK banks and all have excellent internet sites that allow me transfer money any which way I choose. At the touch of a key I can also transfer it abroad. Hardly 'in it's infancy'.

[GWYN]

Don't get me started on banks..............................

Agree 100% Bokkenrijder! As for Scottie and sikeano I AM English and have experienced exactly the same problems as described when returning from a period overseas; you two are just xenophobic, inflammatory bigots. I have just walked out of banks on at least four occasions because they were simply refusing to open an account. That is for someone who has already continuously held a UK bank account for at least 30 years.

By the way sikeano, I say again, I AM English and English is my first language. In English we spell proper nouns, such as names (even pseudonyms) with a capital letter.

[Cleared ILS approach]

Dear all,
Thanks for your replies and your suggestions but I spent a lot of time on the subject and it's really complicated. I just would like to add that I don't want to open an account in the UK, I have to. It's an EZY requirement. Here are my conclusions.
- Citibank: Really good system but..... believe it or not the problem is in Belgium, not in the UK and I'm a Belgian citizen living in Belgium. I tried to go yesterday to the major citibank branch in Belgium to open my Belgian citibank account in order to be able to transfer some money from my potential UK citibank account and they refuse me as I will not earn any money in Belgium. I said to the guy: "You open account for poeple without a job and any income, so why do you refuse me?". He said to me: "No, they will always receive some money from somewhere in Belgium even if jobless, you won't !!" I still have to try to go to a local branch where they deal almost only with expats and see what they can do but .... nothing confirmed yet.
- Opening an account in a bank who has offices in UK and Belgium : I didn't find any.
- Opening an account off-shore: I don't know anything about that. Is it considered as normal British bank account? And do you really need to make a quite big deposit when opening it? If yes, I can't.
- Transfering money every 3 months : Sorry but I prefer not to use this option. Almost all my expense are in Belgium (mortgage, car, ...) not in the UK and I need some income every month on my actual bank account in Belgium in order to keep them happy.
So as you can see, a difficult situation.
Thanks again for your help and keep posting.
I'll let you know as soon as I find the best deal.
Regards

[Caractacus]

Caractacus, IOM or Jerey accounts generally require a minimum balance of ₤10.000,- and are not suitable for us underpaid pilots.

Cobblers. In the Isle of Man I opened an account with Barclays with £1000.00 Anglo Irish have a minimum balance of £5000. The place is setup for expat banking.

[Scottie]

Don't get me started on banks..............................
Agree 100% Bokkenrijder! As for Scottie and sikeano I AM English and have experienced exactly the same problems as described when returning from a period overseas; you two are just xenophobic, inflammatory bigots. I have just walked out of banks on at least four occasions because they were simply refusing to open an account. That is for someone who has already continuously held a UK bank account for at least 30 years.
By the way sikeano, I say again, I AM English and English is my first language. In English we spell proper nouns, such as names (even pseudonyms) with a capital letter.

Gwyn, you really shouldn't throw big words that you don't know the meaning of into your posts :rolleyes:

Bigot eh? := What precisely is a bigot then Gwyn? Personally I thought a bigot involved religious or political intolerance? Perhaps you could enlighten us as to where there was political or religious intolerance in my post? :ugh:
Your forthcoming apology is accepted.

I wouldn't say I'm xenophobic. I don't hate "foreigners", in fact nothing could be further from the truth, I work with them all the time and enjoy it immensely. However when Sabena went bust I worked with an awful lot of them, very pleasant they were too. Most were very diplomatic when it came to discussing "third world" issues (banking/housing etc in the UK).

Some were not and I quite rightly pointed out if it's sooo bad they could return to Belgium for a job, they got the message.

I wouldn't dream of going to Belgium, taking a job and then rudely criticising the country in front of Belgians. It's downright rude and tactless.

Lastly the bottom of the post you may have read mostly said tongue in cheek. Since you're English I won't bother explaining what it means seeing as you have such a great grasp of the English language which you sought to lecture sikeano on (nouns and vocab, well maybe not vocab eh? :D ;) )

I'll quite happily take constructive criticism on board. However "3rd world country when it comes to banks, 3rd world service, " and the other tripe posted is hardly constructive!

Our banking system has got along so far without need for SWIFT etc and I'm sure when there's a need it'll be introduced. Just because the banking situation doesn't suit an individual doesn't mean to say it doesn't suit the other 63 million people on the island.

[crjlover]

HSBC has an account called passport, that is created for this reasons. As last advise: go directly to the bank instead of the net.

[neil armstrong]

what ever you do dont let the UK bank do the exchange.
if i get the sterlng into my Dutch account i get aprox 5 euro cent extra per pound in comparison to my UK bank

Neil

ps
i agree Uk banking methods are outdate compared to most european countries

[Bokkenrijder]

Cleared ILS approach, check your Personal Messages!


Oh, and for as far as some people (Scottie etc) getting insulted and start reverting to this xenophobic ´love it or leave it´ mentality; perhaps you should take things a bit more with a grain of salt...just like the great people of Kazachstan have to put up with Borat! :p

[flying_saucepan]

people people cool down, no need for all this drama. Just get a letter form Easy stating that you are employed and are living at a specific adress,go to Barclay's bank, job's done. Must say that also in my home country it can be quite a hassle for foreigners to open up a bank account, unless you know the right ways of course . Let's face it; Banks are after our money in the most convenient way(for them) ;)
Flying Saucepan

[Toolman101]

Lucky you PGA

My experience with Lloyds offshore is a nightmare.

Try closing an offshore streling account and they want certified copies of your passport. They must think I'm Osama Bin Laden

[GA, Flaps 20]

Wow, reading this thread is comical. I am a non-EU, non-UK person who had no real problem opening a UK bank account. I just followed their relatively simple requests for identification, etc. Yeah, I know the utility bill is a bit of a joke (but it's not really necessary). To bad-mouth UK banking regulations because they are not "just like home" begs the the question "why are you here"? So just suck it up and get on with it.:ugh: The new anti-money-laundering regs are making life a little more complicated but if it keeps Osama from even one hot meal, it's worth it to me.

Best bet if you don't live in the UK is to just open up 'offshore'. I have used HSBC in the Channel Islands. You can have several different currency accounts if you like and they correspond nicely with HSBC's in other parts of the world, maybe even your home country. There are others like Citbank but I have only personally used HSBC. Easy access online, decent exchange rates if you use your head. It can get kind of expensive to transfer small amounts of money to non-HSBC accounts but then 'there's no free lunch'.....

good luck.

[GA, Flaps 20]

[quote=despegue;3089685]

Then, The "Royal" Bank of Scotland refused to accept my Belgian Identity card, the only official proof of ID in my country, as, and I quote: " one can buy this little card for 5 pounds on the internet".

If that is the "only official proof of Id" in your country, then it must be very diffucult to cross international borders for you......
Is your passport just for "special ocassions" and not for use in third world countries?
Sorry, I couldn't resist the sarcasm.

This whole international banking thing doesn't have to be this complicated. I do it with very little hassle. Somethings I'm not crazy about, but if it's really a bother I take my business elsewhere. Don't get too caught up in the "that's not the way they do it at home" syndrome. You are just asking for the "then go back home" comments.....

lighten up, Francis. :rolleyes:

[Dualbleed]

GA, flaps 20.
Can you transfer money abroad to any bank account. With just some push of the buttons from your home PC. ? If so I'm changing bank. :D

[wiggy]

Chuffing heck guys, you need to get out more, if you think the UK Banking system is outdated try opening an account in France........or for that manner closing one ( they charge for the pleasure of doing that). However where I would agree is the paranoia the UK banks now display with regard to any transfer of funds offshore.

[Coffee Black None]

Goodevening.

The UK has one of the most mature Aviation Industries in Europe. This draws a lot of Continental European pilots who are actively being employed by UK Airlines. UK Airlines happy, pilots happy and hopefully everybody has a job.

Because so many Continentals are pouring in they sometimes look around in amazement at what "Natives" consider normal. Carpets in a bathroom might be such a thing. One other thing is banking. It seems that banking on the continent is just a little further advanced than in the UK. In holland local branches are next to none existent because everything is done On-Line, with a little PIN card identifier which everybody has. Introduced last year is biometrics, in this case voice recognition. Call the service number, say you name and you are identified (even when having a cold). Good for the elderly who don't know how to operate a computer. But alas, none of that in the UK. This, together with the conversion to € is a major headache.
On-Line services are cumbersome to use, Swift codes are not used and international payments in € a rip off. So everybody has developed his own little way to sent his money home and pay the mortgage. Writing out checks to oneself and cashing them on the continent or using currency traders like www.xetrade.com
I use XETrade. Costs me 8 pounds per transfer but the rates are a lot better than the banks are offering. From HSBC to the traders UK account takes 3 days (don't know why. It's from pound UK to pound UK account and on the continent it would take all of 1,5 seconds but there you go), from the traders UK pound account to my Dutch € account takes 2 days. This is sofar the fastest and cheapest way I have found. I hope others take the time to write down there little route.
For what it's worth, the UK has many nice things as well. If only the UK would joint the € but I might be hitting a nerve here...

[UP and Down Operator]

As for internet banking, I have accounts with three UK banks and all have excellent internet sites that allow me transfer money any which way I choose. At the touch of a key I can also transfer it abroad. Hardly 'in it's infancy'.

You are the first one I have heard having been able to transfer money out of UK via internetbanking.

Can you please be so kind to share with us, what banks you use to do that? I have Lloyds with a normal ok internet bank, but whenever i need to transfer money back home to pay off my loans, I have to humble queue in the bank with a form from the 18th century :ugh:
The formular works, but it costs me 20£ each time and it takes half a world war.

Scottie: I feel sorry for you mate. Maybe you should get out of the pub more, and start to see the open-border-international-world that the rest of us live in :ok:

[Bokkenrijder]

As for internet banking, I have accounts with three UK banks and all have excellent internet sites that allow me transfer money any which way I choose. At the touch of a key I can also transfer it abroad. Hardly 'in it's infancy'. Really..? :hmm: Please share this info then with the rest of the class as I´m sure many ex-pat pilots have bills/student loans to pay in their home country! If this true then I will immediately change banks. Three UK banks you say...so let´s hear it! :ok:

p.s. I´m talking about transfering money from the UK to any ("any which way I choose") bank account Europe/world wide with a couple of mouse clicks. (So please: Citibank does not qualify as they won´t allow me to transfer "any which way I choose," but only allow transfers to other Citibanks)

[152wiseguy]

This is a funny thread. I'm a Brit but on this occasion I have to stand up for the krauts, cloggies, frogs etc. I moved to europe three years ago and whilst I miss old blighty, one thing I'm glad to be rid of are british banks. The banking system here in Scandinavia is literally light years ahead of what I used to tolerate in the UK. Of course banks everywhere are just as ruthless and only really want your cash but at least european banks are fairly user friendly whilst they rip you off.:}

[Dualbleed]

I want to know too. If this is a fact I rest my case and salute the 3 banks in the UK where it can be done. One of them will have a new customer in their portofolio as soon as I know. :D

[Hassan Mesto]

I use smile Internet Bank (http://smile.co.uk), and they let you transfer money abroad. You just send a secure e-mail when you're logged in. They actually use SWIFT and IBAN! A SWIFT-transfer to my Scandinavian home country takes about 3-4 working days. They charge 0.25% of the transferred amount (minimum charge £13, maximum charge £35). The internet interface is pretty basic though, but it's better than Barclays for instance.

Good luck

[anybodyatall]

You might want to check out offshore banking (http://www.offshorecash.net) I found it on another forum. It's got a huge list of banks broken down by country. It had a lot of information I found useful, maybe it will help you.