Opening a New Bank Account
Any visitor coming to the UK from abroad should be eligible to a ‘basic bank account’. A basic bank account will give you a cash machine card and facilities to transfer money in to your account. To gain access to other services such as cheque books, credit and debit cards, you would need to open a current account.
The process of opening a bank account in the UK should take around two weeks if you have all the required documents available. When opening a UK bank account, it is best to take as many original documents as probably but remember to take the originals because banks will not accept copies.
When opening a bank account you will usually be required to provide the following documentation:
- Proof of Identity (Passport, driving license, any other form of ID)
- A letter from your employer in the UK confirming your address, salary, etc
- Proof of UK address (utility bill , etc)
- Proof of your previous or permanent address in the country you came from
- Work visa/ document stating you have the right to reside in the UK
- A letter from your previous bank or your agreement that they may contact them
You may also be required to fill in an application form and deposit money into your account. Once this process has been completed you should be able to order debit cards, credit cards, and cheque books that correspond to your account. These should arrive within a week.