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Comment by threesixandnine | Hacker News Reader

I came to the UK in June this year. Both me and my wife moved because of the job. We are from another EU country.

What's interesting is that I signed us up for Tesco bank account but we were both rejected. Probably because we didn't have any history in UK yet but it still kind of sucked - now I am glad they rejected us. Ultimately the next day we went to red and blue US bank on the high street and got it all sorted within half an hour. We showed them contracts, documents and bills to our names (real estate agency through which we rent already sorted that out for us before we came) and we were done. Got our cards made at the spot as well.

So it was kind of the opposite for us. We could't get the bank account with Tesco because of their "security check" but could at the high street bank.

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Luckily EU regulation now requires most banks to open a (basic) bank account. Just need an ID and a proof of address.

Some banks even allow opening the bank account over the internet if you are a EU resident.

(I know your pain though, opened a UK bank account a year ago, from the EU as well. The most difficult thing for me was actually the proof of address. Metro Bank required 2 plus 2 proofs of ID, a different bank was fine with just one proof of identity and even googled my post code when I forgot a letter :) )

> The most difficult thing for me was actually the proof of address.

You don't need to prove a UK address, just an address. Depending on the bank, you can open a UK bank account with an overseas address, and change it after you move.

If you haven't planned ahead, then anecdotally Barclays will open an account in branch with only a passport.

I wrote what I-hope-is-the-most-comprehensive StackExchange answer about this, just in case anyone else is battling:

http://expatriates.stackexchange.com/questions/85/how-to-ope...

UK banks will also tend to be a lot easier to deal with if your employer is willing to write a letter and/or call their business banking contact to arrange for it.

That's how I got my first UK account.

Same thing, tho when I brought the letter they were meh about it said that the letter head did not look real enough....

I told them to sod off and to look up the company in the company house.

Passport Accounts in the UK are pretty limited with what you can do with them, so I don't advise opening one up front if you planning to immigrate.

Just ask your employer for a cash advance and either use cash for the first 2-4 weeks or use your debit/credit card from your previous country of residence.

When I relocated initially I've arranged that the employer will cover the hotel upto 6 weeks, provide everything needed for a bank account, provide/cover the accountant needed to sort any tax liabilities when moving funds, cover the deposit for the first rental and the agent fees.

If you are hired by a large corp which does relocation all the time they'll have a standard and even a better package, if they company doesn't do relocation on a regular basis make sure all your sides are covered.

Otherwise you can land in a limbo state where you need a bank account to rent a flat, and you need an address (a hotel won't do) to open a bank account (they ask for a utility bill).

The UK seems to have pretty stringent "know your customer" regulation. Or maybe the banks are copper-bottoming the regulation.

UK financial policies are very weird, and in some cases I'd argue they go against the right for freedom of movement as granted by EU. I guess that doesn't mean much with Brexit, but still...

I've been working in a variety of EU countries, with no issues at all. In Denmark, I was even able to secure a mortgage within my second week in the country.

I always work for very reputable employers, with long-term contracts. And I have some savings. Well, here in the UK I have had enormous trouble to lease a £100 / month car after 2 years in the country because I did not reach 3 years of credit history.

Most of the heuristics they use are a joke. And illegal. If you have a chat with the Financial Ombudsman, he can probably sort you out.

Few months ago I was denied a 10£/month mobile contract (SIM-only) from Carphone Warehouse because of inexistent issues with my credit score.

I escalated this to the Ombudsman, just to piss them off for the poor treatment... magically they offered me a SIM and an (half-)apology.

I got denied an upgrade by O2 because Equifax doesn't like the fact that I am not registered to vote and I make a 6 figure salary in the UK. I asked why the hell can't I upgrade after I had no problems getting the phone on contract a year ago, got a stupid reply ordered an iPhone 7 from the Apple store and moved to EE. I called Equifax to complain and they told me to send a letter of correction, I told them Amex gave me a credit limit higher than the average take home salary in the UK and they can sod off, I can't believe I've wasted 15 GBP on that fucking report.

The UK rules are a side effect of a system where there is no national ID number that is considered acceptable for identification purposes, and no national register of where people live, which makes it very easy for people to run away from debts etc..

The various id requirements and 3-year credit history expectation are basically workarounds for this.

Yet a utility bill is a valid form of ID in this country, something you can pick up from the trash....

A recent utility bill is only part of a package of documentation that is valid ID.

I think you're talking about Metro bank? I know they're literally on the high street but they're meant to be a bit more innovative/useful when you actually go into a branch.

I normally use the phrase 'High Street bank' to mean those that have a branch on most high streets and range from unhelpful to really unhelpful. That's useful to know that Metro bank are living up to a different reputation.

Note that Metro Bank is a British bank, though there is an American bank with the same name and the better Internet domain.

As far as I know, they're not related.

Although the founder of Metro Bank, Vernon Hill is also the CEO of an American bank - Commerce Bancorp https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commerce_Bancorp

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