On 8/18/2024 at 7:10 AM, slappy said:

Has anybody on this forum had the same problem with Santander or another bank and how did you rectify it.

 

Here's one from last year.  See Page 3 for the OP's workaround.

 

https://aseannow.com/topic/1335827-banking-been-stopped/

 

8 minutes ago, treetops said:

 

Here's one from last year.  See Page 3 for the OP's workaround.

 

https://aseannow.com/topic/1335827-banking-been-stopped/

 

 

The link you quoted is to this thread! Presumably you meant this one?

 

https://aseannow.com/topic/1308010-santander-is-closing-my-uk-current-account/page/3

 

Just now, OJAS said:

 

The link you quoted is to this thread! Presumably you meant this one?

 

https://aseannow.com/topic/1308010-santander-is-closing-my-uk-current-account/page/3

 

 

Oops - yes.  Thanks.

On 8/18/2024 at 1:15 PM, Celsius said:

 

I received the letter from my Canadian bank to prove my tax residency or they will terminate my account.

 

This won't help the OP (as his issue is UK specific) but since 'Canada' was mentioned, I note that I was faced with a 'frozen trading account' by Bank of Montreal (BMO) [ a Canadian Bank ] when they noted my residence change to Thailand.

 

After some phone calls, paperwork, and them unfreezing my account,they gave me these choices for my trading accounts I had with them:

1. Maintain my registered account(s) at BMO InvestorLine with no further purchases (liquidation transactions only)
2. Transfer my account(s) to another institution
3. Deregister and close my account (registered account only)
4. Register my securities in my name and accept delivery of them (non-registered account only)
5. Withdraw and close my accounts (non-registered account only)

 

Maintaining an account with no further equity positions means that ultimately I will have my account in only cash (after all liquidations complete) and my money will deflate with inflation.

 

I elected to transfer my trading accounts to another institution.

 

The complexity here is actually finding a Canadian institution that will allow a Canadian citizen who is a non-resident to Canada to open a new account. Most institutions do not want to do this, as they will have extra paperwork to do for such an account.

 

Initially I had read the Canadian CI-Direct financial institution would allow a non-resident to Canada (who is a Canadian citizen) to transfer both registered and non-registered trading accounts to them.  But while I was in the process of opening an account with them, they changed their policy and decided to no longer offer such a full service to non-residents to Canada (who are Canadian citzens).

 

I ended going with the Canadian financial organisation Questrade, and I am in the process of transferring both my Registered Retirement Savings Plan (RRSP) - sort of an equivalent to a US 401k, and also transferring a non-registered margin trading account, from BMO to Questrade.

 

For Canadians, not resident to Canada, Questrade is the only Canadian financial institution that I could find, that was willing to provide such a service to Canadians who are non-resident to Canada.  If anyone knows of any other, I would be curious - as its always good to have a backup plan if policy in a financial institution changes.

 

For certain, as an expatriate, having one's account frozen, or being forced to close one's account in their original 'home country' is not a pleasant experience, if the options are limited.

 

Good luck to the OP (and also to any Canadians who encountered the problem I did) in coming up with a solution.

 

Edited August 20, 20241 yr by oldcpu

On 8/18/2024 at 3:06 PM, IvorBiggun2 said:

Has the OP been evading paying tax?

No they generally freeze accounts for EDD these days alone... (KYC updating).

On 8/19/2024 at 2:28 PM, ericbj said:

The UK Government recently specifically authorised UK banks to close, without providing justification, the accounts of depositors who are no longer resident in the UK. 

Where on Earth did you garner that nonsense from? 

On 8/18/2024 at 1:23 PM, scubascuba3 said:

It was a mistake to tell them you live in Thailand. The first account closure from Santander I've heard about

Closed mine in 2023.

 

<deleted> knows what happend to the funds in there.