Last week, I showed you how to get a visa or work permit to work in the UK. I also showed you how to get a cheap flight to the UK. This week, I’ll focus on money, money, money.
Getting a bank account is as hard if not harder than getting a visa to work in the UK. Seems strange right?
A lot of people make the assumption that once they move to the UK, they can just walk into a bank and apply for a UK bank account. Sadly, it doesn’t work this way.
The UK banks require you to have proof of your UK address when you apply, which you won’t have when you first move there. You’re likely going to be staying at a hostel or hotel, so getting a bank account becomes more difficult.
Also, you can’t get a lease for an apartment without having a bank account. And you can’t get an apartment without having an address. It’s a catch-22.
So what do you do? You sign up for an “offshore” bank account, which means you use your current address abroad to get your UK bank account. Easy-peasy.
The only issue with this is that it takes as long to get a UK bank account as it takes to get a visa, and often longer! So, you should apply for your UK bank account around the same time that you apply for your visa to move to the UK. Many people mess this up! They wait til the last possible minute, and find themselves unable to get a flat because they’re still waiting on their banking. I was one of those people when I first moved to London in 2004. It was a real pain!
Because I own Classroom Canada and Classroom America, which are teaching agencies that help teachers move to the UK, I can share the same information with you, dear readers, regardless of what work or study you intend to do in the UK.
Click on this link, and see the 3 documents I’ve provided for you to open your UK bank account with Lloyd’s.
I personally use Lloyd’s because they are in no danger of going under in these trying times. They also act quickly, and don’t charge enormous fees to open up an offshore UK bank account.
Once you have a UK bank account and have actually moved to live in the UK, you can then walk into any bank and open up a new account with a different bank. So if you’re not a fan of Lloyd’s, don’t stress! Just open up a new account elsewhere.
HSBC also has a similar account, but their fees are higher. Also, people often assume that if they have a US or Canadian HSBC account that they should get an HSBC UK bank account as well. It doesn’t make a difference in the end though, as the accounts are completely separate, so you won’t be able to transfer money from your US/Canadian account to your UK account any easier than you would if you just use another bank like Lloyd’s.
Helpful links & websites:
Any questions, comments, thoughts or confusions? Please share below! Also, if you have a UK bank account, please let us know how you went about getting it & any tips for others to follow. Thanks!
Victoria Westcott
kikimoo
I called to HSBC about setting up a UK Great British Pounds bank account (because they have a branch in Fredericton) and they told me that had a 200 CAD fee for opening the account. That's riduculous!
Great to hear that Lloyd's has followed through. I like dealing with the guys in Vancouver as well. So refreshing for a bank!
And Kirbie, thanks for letting us know that about the HSBC. That's a whole lotta money for a bank account! I have heard about their "passport" accounts, which cost a lot, but didn't realize it was that much. Crazy!
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Love all the tips on this blog! I’ve read on other message boards that the off-shore bank account won’t help you get a day-to-day account with Lloyds (or other banks). I’m wondering if you can provide a bit more detail on your experience!
Thanks!
Hi Allison,
Thanks so much!
Once you have an off-shore account, it’s much easier to get an account with any other bank in the UK, so that’s really the best first step you can take. I’ve never had a problem with my offshore account, and manage to receive direct deposits and make bill payments, and take money out daily, so I don’t see why others complain…but it might have to do with their employers making direct deposits? Maybe they won’t allow offshore payments? For me, and all my clients, it works just fine.
Financially though, you might want to save that 7.50 every month and get a UK account with no fees, but besides that, I can’t see why you would switch. It’s really easy!
Hope this helps!
Victoria
PS) keep those questions & comments coming
If I had a dollar for every time I came to canadiansintheuk.com… Incredible read.
I guess it is all relative. My husband and I were thrilled that HSBC would not only transfer our Canadian Accounts but also transfer our credit with HSBC. For $200.00 this is a bargin ant a rip-off.
Not a rip off. Sorry Fat Fingers
Hi Victoria,
Can you please confirm that this is still valid? I have prepared the paper work, but have recently spoken to the international Lloyd’s, small group, here in Vancouver, and they said Lloyd’s changed some of their banking rules last year. I just want to make sure before just mailing off money and all.
Thank you for all your help!
Hi Kally – sorry, I’ve been away! Please see my reply to Franck above, and yes, talk with the Vancouver Lloyds over me as they know the most up-to-date info, especially for the new account changes. I’ll post more soon I promise!
Hey hey! I just wanted to know, do you need to have a huge minimum like 5000£ or something to have this offshore account? I’m a student who will move there under the youth mobility scheme and I’m trying to find a way to open an account there without having to put much more than 2000£. So, on another website I read you could open an offshore account with Lloyds as long as you put 1500£ in the first 6 weeks, is that all that’s required? Thank you!
Hi Franck! Thanks for your comment. Lloyd’s has just recently made a few changes to their offshore accounts & I will be posting more about this soon. I’m just on holidays now but will get right back to blogging soon, I promise! In the meantime, if you’re in Canada, just call Tony &/or Michael in the Vancouver Lloyd’s office (604-639-3151) and tell them I sent you and they will do everything they can to help clear up any confusions. Seriously, if all bankers were like these two…well, then the banks would seriously rock.
Hi Victoria,
I spoke with the gentlemen at Lloyds here and they told me that option is no longer available as Lloyds has recently changed their offshore account rules and to open an offshore account you would need a £25000 deposit. He prepared an “Introducer scheme – referral form” and said I need to take it into a Lloyds branch in London with all my travel documents and they would set me up the the most basic account they have and it would have a monthly fee…I’m going to look into this when I get there because it would mean I have an account, but once I open the account I’ll try and get one at another location I think, as I would like to avoid fees and am trying to get a Visa Debit card as well.
Hi Victoria,
One last update. Now that I’m in London I have set up an account with Lloyds TSB but the “Introducer Scheme-Referral Form” was of no good. The folks at Lloyds in the UK had no idea what it was and it definitely did not further me along. I chatted with them and they were quite nice, in the Lloyds Islington branch, and basically I couldn’t get an account until I had a signed contract for work, so after I signed up with a recruitment agency I took the contract in with my passport and cash, and they sorted me out.
Hi Kally,
I wondered what that form was all about, as I’ve never heard of my teachers having to deal with that. I think the issue there is that Lloyd’s here sets up an “offshore” account, which does involve some hoop-jumping but means you will have a British account offshore – meaning, not with the local Lloyds branches in London. So, when you went to Lloyds in London they had no way to help you except to set you up with one of their accounts, which yes – meant you needed a contract and I would think a lease on a flat (which is the normal approach of banks in the UK).
So, all of this is to say, your experience is exactly why it’s easier to get an offshore account from here, and if you don’t have a way to say that you make 50 000 pounds (ie a job that pays you that much, or parents/partner to co-sign your account which is what our teachers do) then…you’re in a jam. Or you could go to HSBC and get their passport account which is a bit more costly, but one of our readers above was really happy with them.
Thanks for sharing all of your experiences with us. It helps everyone who will go through their move own to the UK see all of the issues surrounding bank accounts, and why it’s so important to sort them quickly.
Good luck with everything else!
One last thing – you don’t need to deposit 25000 pounds into the offshore account. There must have been some miscommunication there, as I have that account & there’s so way I’ve ever put that kind of money in there. Maybe they said or meant to say 25 000 pound deposit if you want no fees? That makes more sense…
Anyway, for all those other people reading – call Tony or Michael at Lloyd’s – they can explain the bank stuff so much better than I can! Michael is Canadian & Tony’s from London so either way, you’re in good hands. 604-639-3151 – that’s who I call when I’m confused about my own banking in the UK. Tell them I sent you and they really will do their best to help!
PLEASE READ THIS-about Banking in the UK:
Please note that with all new bank accounts here in the UK mail your debit card and PIN separately-this is their way even with their own British citizens.******
This is crucial to know-cause it was a shock to me that in the Western world, they still rely on the post office to send things “securely”.
If you are looking to set up wtih HSBC and the PASSPORT ACCOUNT-
I would highly discourage it.
Basically they misrepresent themselves on the Canadian portion of the website regarding this account.
They don’t tell you it will take up to 5 or more days to get a debit card and that the PIN will be mailed separately. Mine got lost in the mail and I’m was going for at least 2.5 weeks without a debit card. This is bad because tellers close at 5pm, so when I did get to one, I had to take out a large sum of cash to stash in my room to avoid taking out cash by Visa and dealing with the exchange rate.
Also don’t tell you that you’re sort of signed into a contract of 8 pounds a month for 12 months.
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