Canadians & Americans in the UK » banking in the UK

How to Get a UK Bank Account From Abroad – Part 2

Victoria Westcott — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 00:06:23 +0000

I posted before about how to apply for a UK bank account from abroad and I’d like to add on to the discussion. First, please read this post.

Here’s a recent question asked by a Canadian teacher about to move to the United Kingdom:

Is there a hope that there is any other bank with less fees? Lloyds seems to gouge ya for everything, but then I’m a credit union user and we don’t have fees at all. Still, £7.5 a month? Just for holding an account. That’s like, £90 a year!!! Yikes.

Great question! Here’s my answer in a nutshell:

Yes. There are 2 options for you right now. You can open an account with Llloyds or HSBC from Canada, but HSBC charges you 100 pounds (plus monthly fees) and you don’t get that back. Lloyds is the cheaper option, and honestly, once you have an account in the UK, you can then walk into any UK bank (there are loads) and get a no fee account. But right now, you can’t get an account in the UK without proof of your UK address, which you won’t have until you actually move to the UK, so the Lloyds account is the best option. But once you are there and have some bills in your name, then get on down to another bank and get a different account. Keep in mind that banks don’t charge you ATM fees like we do here – so that 7.50 will be the only charge you have. And you can take $ out of any bank machine (except those little ones in pubs -they charge you).

That’s my two cents anyway.

If you want to open up a Lloyd’s Account from abroad, just click on this link and start your application that way. You don’t have to work with my company (Classroom Canada), so just ignore the teaching bit if you’re not a teacher, but you can still use this form. Your application will be dealt with quickly by my contacts in the Vancouver Lloyd’s office. They’re great.

Questions, Comments? Please share your thoughts below!

First Things First: Moving to the United Kingdom from Canada or the USA

Victoria Westcott — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 19:13:12 +0000

Since I’ve been writing this blog for a few months, I figure it’s time to review the steps you need to take to move to the United Kingdom from Canada or America.

Step One: Legalities

Can you legally make the move to the UK? It’s not enough to have a Canadian or American passport!

Check out this blog post:

How to Get a Visa or Work Permit to Work or Study in the UK

Step Two: Bank Accounts, Accommodations and Flights

Once you know you can legally move to the UK, you’ll want to start getting everything in order to make the actual move.

How to Set Up a UK Bank Account From Abroad
How to Get a Cheap Flight to the UK from Canada or America
How to Find a Flat in the UK - watch this space for more details about my arrangement with London Relocation Services. They help you get a flat within 24 hours, and I’m working with them to get you a great deal on their services. Watch this space!

Step Three: The Job Hunt

Depending on your profession, this might actually be step 1 or 2. In any case, here are my two cents:

How to Get a Job in the UK

Step 4: Network with other Canadians and Americans in the UK

Make new friends! You are not the first American or Canadian to move to the United Kingdom, so why not make some new friends with others in the same boat as you across the pond?

How to Network with Other Canadians & Americans in the UK

Step 5: The Nitty Gritty – Health Care, Packing, Electricals, Shopping, Flights, Send Money “Home”…

Wow! That’s a whole lotta information that I wish I had when I moved to the United Kingdom from Canada. I hope it helps you.

I am currently looking for more ideas for this blog. Please help! What would you like to see on here? Any ideas? Please share your thoughts below.

How To Send Money From Your UK Account to Your Canadian or US Account & Vice Versa

Victoria Westcott — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 20:26:00 +0000

On Tuesday, I wrote a post about how to open a UK bank account from abroad. Now, let’s see how you can send money from Canada or the USA (or anywhere else for that matter) to your bank account in the UK.

You have a few options. You can do “wire transfers” which are done by your bank. You pay a fee (anywhere from $20-$50) and your bank sends the money for you. It usually takes 30 business days, and their exchange rate might not be ideal.

More often than not, the banks take forever, charge an arm and a leg and have lower exchange rates. So most people avoid this route.

Speaking from experience, I tried to wire money from my UK Natwest account to my Canadian RBC account. I had student loans and needed to pay these on time every month. It took about 6 months for me to learn that the money I had been sending through the banks was not actually reaching my Canadian account so my student loans went into the red. It’s been 5 years since this happened, and I’m still trying to repair the damage done to my credit in 2004!

Luckily, I found a company called CanadianForex, which specialize in sending money from the UK to Canada and America (as well as other countries) and vice versa.

I’ve dealt with them since 2005 for all of my personal transfers, and most of my teachers use them as well. They haven’t messed up once in all that time, and they actually get the money into my account within 6 days every time.

So my loans are paid on time, and I am happy to recommend that you use them as well. You pay $15 for each transfer under 3000 GBP, and if you are lucky enough to send tranfsers that are more than 3000 GBP, you don’t pay any fees.

Their exchange rates are good, and very transparent on their website. So you know what you’re getting as soon as you go online.

The way it works is this:

You sign up online and provide your bank details.
You set up the amount you want to transfer & pay that amount into the bank account they give you using online banking.
CanadianForex receives that money and does a transfer from their account to your account abroad.
You check your account online within 6 days and ta’da! You should have your transferred money.

This all goes smoothly and should be fairly stress-free. If you know how to use a computer and do online banking, then you can do this very easily.

CanadianForex is also offering your 2 first transfers free if you register with them through this link.

Any questions, comments, confusions? Please leave your thoughts below.

How to Set Up a UK Bank Account From Abroad

Victoria Westcott — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 14:28:00 +0000

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:

Lloyd’s International Account

HSBC International Account

The 3 Documents You Need to Open a UK Bank Account

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!