UK Bank Account for EU residents
UK Bank Account for EU residents
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sunbeam alpine

Original Poster:

7,249 posts

217 months

Monday 23rd November 2020
quotequote all
Received a telephone call this afternoon from Barclays in the UK that WEF 1st January they can't offer banking services to anyone with an address in the EU. The reason that they've phoned is that I hadn't replied to their letters (which I genuinely have not received) to advise me that post Brexit they can no longer provide banking services to UK nationals in the EU. My correspondence address is correct as I receive statements for my various accounts every month.

My options are either to close my accounts, or nominate a UK address for correspondence. I have a valid UK address, but I'm not there very often (not at all now with the Covid situation).

Are there any UK banks who are able to offer accounts to UK nationals who are EU residents? And - more importantly, any who can do everything on-line or over the phone as travel under the current circumstances is difficult.

InitialDave

15,085 posts

148 months

Monday 23rd November 2020
quotequote all
Not my field at all, but I suspect none of them know precisely what the state of play will be right now?

rdjohn

7,163 posts

224 months

Tuesday 24th November 2020
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The FT deal being negotiated is for goods only, so services know what is about to happen.

ellroy

7,834 posts

254 months

Tuesday 24th November 2020
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Maybe Handelsbanken, Swedish Bank with U.K. operations so home base is still in the E.U?

HootersGsy

738 posts

165 months

Wednesday 25th November 2020
quotequote all
sunbeam alpine said:
Received a telephone call this afternoon from Barclays in the UK that WEF 1st January they can't offer banking services to anyone with an address in the EU. The reason that they've phoned is that I hadn't replied to their letters (which I genuinely have not received) to advise me that post Brexit they can no longer provide banking services to UK nationals in the EU. My correspondence address is correct as I receive statements for my various accounts every month.

My options are either to close my accounts, or nominate a UK address for correspondence. I have a valid UK address, but I'm not there very often (not at all now with the Covid situation).

Are there any UK banks who are able to offer accounts to UK nationals who are EU residents? And - more importantly, any who can do everything on-line or over the phone as travel under the current circumstances is difficult.
Have you tried contacting the offshore branches of the likes of HSBC or Barclays?

Smurfsarepeopletoo

1,012 posts

86 months

Wednesday 25th November 2020
quotequote all
The bank I work for is only closing accounts for residents of the Netherlands at the moment, however, the issue you will have is that most banks require you to be a UK resident to open a bank account, so youd have to open it and say you lived in the UK at your UK address, and then later change to overseas, but you may run the risk of them closing it again.

RizzoTheRat

28,861 posts

221 months

Wednesday 25th November 2020
quotequote all
Lloyds have also been closing accounts on expats so don't bother trying them.

So far Santander are saying you can't open new accounts or access some services, but you can keep existing accounts https://www.santander.co.uk/personal/support/custo...

For some reason the Netherlands and one other country (Slovakia or Slovenia I think) seem to be more of an issue than other countries for several banks

sunbeam alpine

Original Poster:

7,249 posts

217 months

Wednesday 25th November 2020
quotequote all
HootersGsy said:
sunbeam alpine said:
Received a telephone call this afternoon from Barclays in the UK that WEF 1st January they can't offer banking services to anyone with an address in the EU. The reason that they've phoned is that I hadn't replied to their letters (which I genuinely have not received) to advise me that post Brexit they can no longer provide banking services to UK nationals in the EU. My correspondence address is correct as I receive statements for my various accounts every month.

My options are either to close my accounts, or nominate a UK address for correspondence. I have a valid UK address, but I'm not there very often (not at all now with the Covid situation).

Are there any UK banks who are able to offer accounts to UK nationals who are EU residents? And - more importantly, any who can do everything on-line or over the phone as travel under the current circumstances is difficult.
Have you tried contacting the offshore branches of the likes of HSBC or Barclays?
Google has not been very helpful on this front. Are you able to give me any more details?

LeoSayer

7,819 posts

273 months

Wednesday 25th November 2020
quotequote all
There's still the possibility that some kind of Brexit deal could be done for financial services but the reality is that banks and other FS companies in the UK have already implemented their hard Brexit plans - which you have been caught in based on your address. This EU business will probably never come back to the UK - and vice-versa.

Your nationality is not relevant - it's where you live. Without a deal, there's no agreement on reciprocal things like regulatory protection. Eg. why should the UK offer the FSCS to French residents if the French don't offer the equivalent to UK residents?

Have Barclays not at least offered you the services of their EU entity?

Maybe you could work around this by changing to your UK address and then get your post forwarded.

rdjohn

7,163 posts

224 months

Saturday 28th November 2020
quotequote all
On a similar basis, perhaps something offshore, jersey, guernsey or IOM.

You will need to declare of your EU tax return.

mikeiow

8,150 posts

159 months

Saturday 28th November 2020
quotequote all
sunbeam alpine said:
My options are either to close my accounts, or nominate a UK address for correspondence. I have a valid UK address, but I'm not there very often (not at all now with the Covid situation).
Just on that point: you could redirect all post for perhaps £60 a year (“perhaps” ‘cos I haven’t checked they will redirect abroad!!)

rdjohn

7,163 posts

224 months

Sunday 29th November 2020
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Just after I wrote yesterday my mate who worked in Paris for RBS said that they were continuing to use his current French address to pay his RBS pension into his old account.

Just in case, he has also opened an account in Jersey, they required a deposit of £25k to make the account worth their while.

sunbeam alpine

Original Poster:

7,249 posts

217 months

Friday 16th April 2021
quotequote all
Revisiting this thread, the lack of a UK bank account is causing me quite a few problems. My Barclays accounts are now closed (my accountant suggested that nominating a UK address wouldn't be a good idea) and I'm getting charged €18 per transaction, even though I have a sterling account over here.

Bloody Hamptons wanted to charge me £36 per property per month to transfer rental income over here, but I've managed to get that seriously reduced. Even so, it's costing me up to €500 extra per month.

Anyone have any new suggestions?

CharlesdeGaulle

26,882 posts

209 months

Friday 16th April 2021
quotequote all
I've gone paperless and use my brother's address in the UK. Anyone that could do that for you?

sunbeam alpine

Original Poster:

7,249 posts

217 months

Friday 16th April 2021
quotequote all
CharlesdeGaulle said:
I've gone paperless and use my brother's address in the UK. Anyone that could do that for you?
I have a UK address, it's just that I don't spend a lot of time there. In the small print that Barclays wanted me to sign, it stated that I was signing to confirm that I was resident in the UK for tax purposes, which I'm not.

What I need is a UK bank account. I'm in a position to deposit a reasonable sum if this is required or makes it easier.

LeoSayer

7,819 posts

273 months

Friday 16th April 2021
quotequote all
Perhaps you could set up a company or trust in the UK to handle everything? I don't know but hopefully someone on this forum will.

RizzoTheRat

28,861 posts

221 months

Friday 16th April 2021
quotequote all
Santander aren't letting people open standard accounts from abroad, but they do have an expat account that you can open from abroad, you need to keep a balance of 75k in it though.

1878

824 posts

192 months

Friday 16th April 2021
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I'm pretty sure my parents still have the smile.co.uk current account that they opened before moving to France.

rdjohn

7,163 posts

224 months

Friday 16th April 2021
quotequote all
sunbeam alpine said:
I have a UK address, it's just that I don't spend a lot of time there. In the small print that Barclays wanted me to sign, it stated that I was signing to confirm that I was resident in the UK for tax purposes, which I'm not.
I have a home in the UK and still pay a lot of tax there. QED, I answer yes.

On top of the tax that i pay in the UK, I pay another tranche to France as i live here more than 183days

CharlesdeGaulle

26,882 posts

209 months

Friday 16th April 2021
quotequote all
rdjohn said:
sunbeam alpine said:
I have a UK address, it's just that I don't spend a lot of time there. In the small print that Barclays wanted me to sign, it stated that I was signing to confirm that I was resident in the UK for tax purposes, which I'm not.
I have a home in the UK and still pay a lot of tax there. QED, I answer yes.

On top of the tax that i pay in the UK, I pay another tranche to France as i live here more than 183days
I take the same approach. You potentially pay tax on income or pension or shares or something. Or maybe you will in future. Just tick yes and carry on with life.