Bank Account overseas

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Mypro-D

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Afternoon Everyone

I want to open a bank account in England, I have searched and searched but I really do not seem to be coming right.
Have any of you done this?
I have a British Passport but it seems you need more.
I have quite a considerable amount of money that I would like to transfer there.

Thanks everyone, any help in the right direction would be great.

Cheers
 
You'd probably have to fly over there & do so in person. Should be doable somehow w/ passport.
 
Last I lived in the UK you needed proof of residence to open a bank account, no matter what type of account...
 
I think they require proof that you live at a specific address in the UK, even for the most basic account. Else you might want to speak to an SA bank that has subsidiaries overseas, maybe they can advise you. I think the only one is FNB (UK Barclays)
 
TheHiveMind said:
I think they require proof that you live at a specific address in the UK, even for the most basic account. Else you might want to speak to an SA bank that has subsidiaries overseas, maybe they can advise you. I think the only one is FNB (UK Barclays)
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They large banks all have UK operations to some extent, but none have subsidiary retail banking operations, per say. And Barclays and ABSA are in bed, not FNB - that ended years ago.

Investec (for HNW), SB & Absa have the most 'direct' retail banking links to the UK iirc...
 
DJ... said:
They large banks all have UK operations to some extent, but none have subsidiary retail banking operations, per say. And Barclays and ABSA are in bed, not FNB - that ended years ago.

Investec (for HNW), SB & Absa have the most 'direct' retail banking links to the UK iirc...
Click to expand...

But FNB used to be called Barclays!?
 
Go look at banks in places like the isle of man. They will require some paperwork, if you live in SA for example you can get an attorney to draft you a letter confirming your SA residence, they might also want a letter from your local bank which is not so cool. I'm sure once you contact them they will tell you exactly what you need.
 
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Remember that there is a limit on how much money you can legally move overseas annually...
 
You get very little interest (from your money) in UK banks.

But then again, get it out before the government steal it. :D
 
Thanks Guys.
Seems the proof of address thing is the issue.
Ill see what I can do :/

Thanks again! !
 
Mypro-D said:
Thanks Guys.
Seems the proof of address thing is the issue.
Ill see what I can do :/

Thanks again! !
Click to expand...

If you know someone there, then they can open the account on your behalf and they can provide you with power of attorney over the account. You'd have to have the trust of a baby to do that though. Or you could go with the offshore account options that your local bank offer - they take care of the tax clearance certificates on your behalf as well. Depending on the amount they might need to structure something more, er, "unique" for you though, due to exchange control laws...
 
When I came to the UK, I used 1st Contact to open an account. They provide this service specifically for people who recently arrive. Didn't need a utility bill for that, just an address, and i gave a friends address where we staying. But I think the trick here is that they need to see you in person with your passport to validate identity. It's possible you can use this route, but it means you have to travel to London.

I doubt you will be able to open a UK account from SA.
 
To OP .. contact some banks in Isle of Man, or the Channel Islands ... e-mail them detailing your needs, see what they say.
I had an account, Alliance & Leicester, on Isle of Man some years back, and it was easy to open the account even though I was resident in SA.
Foreign Exchange Rules may have changed now though, and you should investigate a legal way. But SA has fairly liberal forex / investment regulations nowadays. Or speak to a major bank in SA re: overseas cash investments
 
atomcrusher said:
To OP .. contact some banks in Isle of Man, or the Channel Islands ... e-mail them detailing your needs, see what they say.
I had an account, Alliance & Leicester, on Isle of Man some years back, and it was easy to open the account even though I was resident in SA.
Click to expand...

People seem to think it's harder than it actually is. I have not opened an account there but I know people that have and it's not the same as 'mainland uk' if I can put it that way from the research I have done. Some banks will straight out ignore you as they only deal with business accounts while a few do personal accounts.
 
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