Look here first -> Banking in the UK

when going to the uk, u'll need to bring a plastic card showing a visa, plus or cirrus symbol, so that u can withdraw cash from ur canadian account using an atm. moderately expensive, but essential.

without sight of ur passport, most uk banks will refuse to open a bank account in ur name because of money-laundering regulations. even if u do it in person, many will insist on seeing a uk utility bill plus proof of ur previous canadian address.

it has been reported that hsbc has an account that costs £12 per month that is easy to open.

http://www.canuckabroad.com/forums/stud ... t5120.html

if u don't want to pay for ur uk banking (most uk chequing accounts - called current accounts here - do not have day-to-day transaction charges if ur account is constantly at least £1 in credit and also have no monthly fee), then the easiest type of account to open at any bank is a basic bank account (no cheque book, no debit card and no overdraft). the uk government does not compel banks to ask for proof of address on basic bank accounts, though some will put obstacles in ur way for commercial reasons, especially if this type of business is deemed to be unprofitable. basic bank accounts usually pay less than 1% interest and current accounts 0.1% or less.

http://www.moneymadeclear.fsa.gov.uk/pd ... counts.pdf

with the value of the gbp currently dropping like a stone, it'll probably be sensible to delay opening a gbp account for as long as u can!

ian.

I used Lloyds TSB and the account was set up straight away. from what i gaather, as long as you take in 2 photo id's reference letter from your bank back home and reference from your employer you shouldnt have a problem. I have an english mate that lived abroad for a long time and it took him almost 2 weeks to set up the same account...go figure!!

I was told by someone that Halifax was quite easy to open an account at, and it was. But when my BF and I wanted to open up a joint account with his bank, that was a nightmare. Dispite the fact that he had banked with Lloyds for at least a decade, we came up with some pretty silly and frustrating problems; the most silly being questions about his personal details - and he's a British national. After a phone call which the bank officer tried to procure yet more information from my BF or else they were going to close the as yet to be opened account:

Bank Officer: "Our policy is to make our customers happy"

My BF: "Do I SOUND like I'm happy??"

Bank Officer: "No, you don't."

We got our account.

Sorry, if this doesn't give anyone any helpful info, but it was sort of funny to look back on this.

i dont recomend halifax. i find them to be very foreigner unfriendly. they let you apply online for a basic account, but you will have to follow up with some very strict proof. most of the proof they require, only locals will have. in addition to passport, they will ask for these things - uk driving licence (obviously none of us will have this as we are new to the country), benefit book (why would a newcomer have this), grant from local authority, hm revenue tax notification, council tax, council housing, utility bills. i don't want to see anyone waste their time with halifax, thinking they have a chance at getting an account. if you apply online, it will take a week for them to reply to you. during that week, you can be doing other things, like trying other banks.

My experience with this was a breeze, I walked into a Lloyds TSB branch, showed them my passport with my WHM visa and they gave me an account. A lot of people have said negative things about Lloyds but I have been using my Lloyds account for nearly a year now and have never had a problem.

With regards to withdrawing money in the UK from your Canadian account, my saving grace was that my Canadian account is with Scotia Bank. If you have a Scotia account then you can withdraw money from any Barclays machine free of charge.

MW/Jeff

Hey all - Just wanted to let you all know that we've now got an exclusive deal with Lloyds TSB to setup a bank account in the UK before you even leave Canada!

Get the details in this thread:
Setting up a UK Bank Account - Exclusive!

Is Lloyds TSB cheaper and better than HSBC and Barclays?

for over-the-counter banking, hsbc and barclays are good only in england and wales. they have a very limited branch network in scotland (hsbc has 5 branches and barclays over 10). another bank that's worth considering is halifax bank of scotland (hbos), which has branches throughout the uk and assured me that it was willing to consider opening a current (chequing) account for those who had a savings account with another uk bank opened at least 6 months ago.

it's normal for uk current accounts to have no monthly fee if the account is not overdrawn, so £7.50 per month is much higher than average. however, this might be worth it for the convenience, at least till u're eligible for a normal current account. ask around, since banks' policies do differ from each other.

ian.

I've been to Nat West and Barclays 7 times to try to open a bank account - both kept telling me there were problems with my proof of address (the address was written wrong... a letter was insufficient, I had to have an actual bill... has to have my full name on it as opposed to my first initial and last name... bills printed from my online account weren't allowed... had to be less than 3 months old...), and both kept telling me their hands were tied because it was the law that I had to provide this as well as my ID before they could do anything for me.

FUNNY, because I went into Lloyds TSB today and opened an account with just my passport and visa - no proof of address required.

Nat West and Barclays can SUCK IT!

Canadians - Bank with Lloyds TSB!!!!

Hi all,
I wrote a blog post explaining how to transfer $ between your British bank & your Canadian one - http://canadiansintheuk.wordpress.com/2 ... ice-versa/

It's a new blog to help Canadians & Americans understand all they need to move to the UK, so I hope it helps you too.

Please let me know your thoughts & any feedback.
Thanks & happy travels,
Victoria