Bank Accounts in London and Accomodation/Rentals

[texasdude]

Hi,

I have my EC stamped in passport and plan to come to UK next month. I have been following up with various posts on here. Thanks for the great job guys. This is very useful piece of information, especially for someone who doesn't know anyone in UK.

Based on information in the posts, it is my understanding that it is very difficult to open a Bank Account in UK and to get a place for rent without having a valid UK Bank Account. Based on the experience of folks on here, I'd like to get some feedback.

I plan to bring the following to UK (to open a bank account and for apartment rental purposes). Do you think this is sufficient, or will UK folks give me hard time for additional info/documents?

1. Copy of my first lease (three years ago) and last apartment rental lease in US.
2. Letter from my apartment complex administration stating that I have been staying with them for almost three years and have a good standing.
3. Letter from local US banks stating that I have been banking with them for almost three years and have a good standing.
4. Copy of my US Credit history/score report and FICO credit rating. I got this from all three credit rating agencies in US. (I have a pretty good score)
5. Copy of electricity bill for past 12 months and a letter from Electricity company stating that I have paid my bills on time.
6. Copy of telephone bills for past 12 months and a letter from Phone company stating that I have paid my bills on time.
7. Letter from major credit card companies (Master Card, Amex) stating that I have had account with them for 2-3 years, and have been in good standing.
8. Letter from my current employer in US stating my 3 years of service with them.
9. Job offer letter from a local employer in UK. I plan on taking up the job offer.

I have opened a bank account with Citibank in US and plan to transfer my funds to that account before coming to UK. Hopefully, I'd be able to withdraw money using Citibank ATM in UK. Is that a good idea?

Does having a good US Credit history help me in any way in opening a UK Bank Account? Will they consider my US Credit History at all?

What other documents, if any, should I bring to the UK? Which bank is considered to be "more lenient" as far as opening a bank account is concerned?

Based on the experience of individuals here, should I go get myself an apartment first, and then try to open a bank account or vice versa?

I look forward to your precious feedback.

[texasdude]

Any suggestions guys? I'd really appreciate your help.

[marr1a]

texasdude

I came to the UK from the US almost 4 years ago with impecible US credit. The majority of those things you list mean absolutely nothing here. You pretty much start from square one.

My suggestion...find an HSBC branch in Texas and open an account there. Tell them you will need access to your funds in the UK. They should be able to set it all up for you but dont bet on it. However, when you get over here, the people in an HSBC branch here may be able to just do some fancy stuff to give you access. Thats what they claim they can do.

I made the mistake of going to Barclays to open my account and I regretted it ever since. They were the most unhelpful people especially when I needed to bring money over for a downpayment on a house. Turns out a nice woman in NYC in their one and only US nonbranch office told me what I had to do.

Good luck but anticipate getting veeery frustrated.

[Chess]

Check out this website - it has everything that a 'Yankee' migrating to the UK will require


http://www.americanexpats.co.uk/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB.pl

[MWazir]

texasdude,

This may have been more of an exception than a norm but one of my friends told me that he did not have any problems opening one and didnt understand the fuss. (My myself struggled to get one, but I will save you the sob story). He said he approached HSBC, showed them his employment letter, passport, work permit and then said he would like to continue banking with them as they were his bankers in India. He then showed them his latest credit card statement from HSBC, India. That also served the purpose of proof of local address in home country. Thereafter they mailed him his account details, debit card, cheque book and saving slips.

[ND]

As u said u have city bank account in US.It should not be a problem for u to open account in UK as long as you show them those bank statements,employer letter,work permit,passport .

And for renting a apartment employer reference ,bank statements should be enough initially some agencies may not be satified with this but then u can tell them that u will pay more deposit instead if you are okay with that.

[MWazir]

Also have a look at this link

http://www.immigrationboards.com/viewtopic.php?t=2239

Its a sticky topic on this forum for life after HSMP approval and issues people face after coming to the UK

[texasdude]

Thanks a lot for your help guys. This has been very helpful. Keep up the good work!

[bani]

hi i've been in the uk for a week. if you have an employer already, they can write you a letter of introduction for the bank confirming your current address and employment. natwest also asked me for my last 3 months bank statement of my foreign bank account. since i didn't have this with me, i went to barclays (my employer's bank), they just needed my employer's letter of introduction as well as my passport.