Immigrating to the UK

Is it possible to open a bank account now before I get to UK or do I need my BRP, first?

Any recommendation on banks? I have a very old dormant account with HSBC that they will reactivate once I give proof of UK address. But thinking maybe there are better options.
 
Priapus said:
Is it possible to open a bank account now before I get to UK or do I need my BRP, first?

Any recommendation on banks? I have a very old dormant account with HSBC that they will reactivate once I give proof of UK address. But thinking maybe there are better options.
Click to expand...
No, you need your BRP.

Any bank that's FSCS protected is fine.

Monzo is probably your easiest bet in terms of no fuss, and they offer a great savings rate too.
 
Priapus said:
Is it possible to open a bank account now before I get to UK or do I need my BRP, first?

Any recommendation on banks? I have a very old dormant account with HSBC that they will reactivate once I give proof of UK address. But thinking maybe there are better options.
Click to expand...
I doubt they'll reactivate a dormant account (my natwest account from 2005 was unrecoverable when I moved over).

I don't think you need your BRP, you will need proof of address, your lease agreement should suffice I think. Different rules for different banks here. There's no loyalty to banks, switching is a trivial task and banks will often run offers where they give you money if you switch to them.
 
Sinbad said:
I doubt they'll reactivate a dormant account (my natwest account from 2005 was unrecoverable when I moved over).

I don't think you need your BRP, you will need proof of address, your lease agreement should suffice I think. Different rules for different banks here. There's no loyalty to banks, switching is a trivial task and banks will often run offers where they give you money if you switch to them.
Click to expand...

Unfortunately the rental is in Wife's name as I did not have right to rent at the time. I'll wait until I get my BRP to open an account no rush now I guess. Just excited to get things going now.

It's a surreal feeling that we are now 100% definitely moving to the UK. Booking flights later this morning - one way. :D for 20th July.

Can I apply for British Driving license as as soon as I get there?
 
Priapus said:
Unfortunately the rental is in Wife's name as I did not have right to rent at the time. I'll wait until I get my BRP to open an account no rush now I guess. Just excited to get things going now.

It's a surreal feeling that we are now 100% definitely moving to the UK. Booking flights later this morning - one way. :D for 20th July.

Can I apply for British Driving license as as soon as I get there?
Click to expand...
Yeah you can as soon as you have your BRP, you need to send it with your SA license to swap.
Enjoy the feeling of terror as you consign all your identification to the postal service.....
 
Sinbad said:
Yeah you can as soon as you have your BRP, you need to send it with your SA license to swap.
Enjoy the feeling of terror as you consign all your identification to the postal service.....
Click to expand...

Well it's not SAPO so I guess thats OK!

I assume I can't drive whilst I am waiting for the card to come back?
 
Priapus said:
Well it's not SAPO so I guess thats OK!

I assume I can't drive whilst I am waiting for the card to come back?
Click to expand...
You can.

No need to carry license around with you when you drive. If you need to produce it you can take it to a police station when you get it back
 
Priapus said:
Received a letter from UKVI this morning. Visa was approved! :love:

They never send you a letter for visitor visa. So I was surprised. But I guess they need to give you extra info on pre-settlement visas. Like where to get BRP etc from.

Have 90 days to enter and need to collect my BRP within 10 days of getting there.

Huge relief! And the wife also has two job interviews lined up. One with an old company she used to work for before leaving the UK and it’s with an ex colleague she worked with there. So seems positive.

It’s all coming together now.
Click to expand...

Grats, you’re finally coming over!
 
Priapus said:
Unfortunately the rental is in Wife's name as I did not have right to rent at the time. I'll wait until I get my BRP to open an account no rush now I guess. Just excited to get things going now.

It's a surreal feeling that we are now 100% definitely moving to the UK. Booking flights later this morning - one way. :D for 20th July.

Can I apply for British Driving license as as soon as I get there?
Click to expand...
You can open a Wise account. I use it day to day. Has a great savings option and trade option as well.
 
The Voice said:
Grats, you’re finally coming over!
Click to expand...

Yeah its taken some time but its all happening now lol

Paul Kemp said:
Congrats. Please bring about 4 degrees of heat with you.
Click to expand...

No heat here. Its cold!

Picked up the passport now; they gave me a Lebara sim with 30GB of data on for a month. Nice of them.
 
Priapus said:
Yeah its taken some time but its all happening now lol



No heat here. Its cold!

Picked up the passport now; they gave me a Lebara sim with 30GB of data on for a month. Nice of them.
Click to expand...
Ah nice, up from 20GB they were doing earlier in the year.
Labara's network quality is rubbish though so switch as soon as you can.

I only needed a bank account and proof of identity (UK drivers license) to apply for a sim contract from Sky.
 
PsYTraNc3 said:
Ah nice, up from 20GB they were doing earlier in the year.
Labara's network quality is rubbish though so switch as soon as you can.

I only needed a bank account and proof of identity (UK drivers license) to apply for a sim contract from Sky.
Click to expand...

Yeah it was horrible when I last used it during our visit to UK in October. But at least it will give me some data until I get switched to my preferred network.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top
Sign up to the MyBroadband newsletter
X