Is it possible to have a UK Bank account while being tax resident in Thailand?

[MrMuddle]

Apparently Nationwide are now asking account holders to confirm their personal details, such as home address, phone number etc. Will they / any other UK Bank allow British citizens who live in Thailand to have accounts with them? Any recommendations for UK Banks that accept Brits who live in Thailand?
Thanks for any replies.

[stubuzz]

2 minutes ago, MrMuddle said:

Any recommendations for UK Banks that accept Brits who live in Thailand?

Barclays International account.

 

[3NUMBAS]

First direct is all online .cheques included

[3NUMBAS]

And vanquis bank for deposits only

[OJAS]

1 hour ago, MrMuddle said:

Apparently Nationwide are now asking account holders to confirm their personal details, such as home address, phone number etc.

 

Link confirming this assertion, please.

 

[sometimewoodworker]

1 hour ago, MrMuddle said:

Apparently Nationwide are now asking account holders to confirm their personal details, such as home address, phone number etc. Will they / any other UK Bank allow British citizens who live in Thailand to have accounts with them? Any recommendations for UK Banks that accept Brits who live in Thailand?
Thanks for any replies.

I am tax resident in Thailand. I still have my active RBS account, they have my Thai address.

 

Your question could be “is it possible to open a U.K. account while not being a U.K. resident” the answer to that is technically yes, but in practice virtually impossible unless you are a high net worth individual, so in reality no it is not usually possible.

[MrMuddle]

5 hours ago, OJAS said:

 

Link confirming this assertion, please.

 

Can't supply one, it came up when my friend accessed his account.

[MrMuddle]

5 hours ago, sometimewoodworker said:

I am tax resident in Thailand. I still have my active RBS account, they have my Thai address.

 

Your question could be “is it possible to open a U.K. account while not being a U.K. resident” the answer to that is technically yes, but in practice virtually impossible unless you are a high net worth individual, so in reality no it is not usually possible.

Were you with RBS before you left the UK? Or did you open an account with them from Thailand?

[Mutt Daeng]

7 hours ago, sometimewoodworker said:

I am tax resident in Thailand. I still have my active RBS account, they have my Thai address.

 

Your question could be “is it possible to open a U.K. account while not being a U.K. resident” the answer to that is technically yes, but in practice virtually impossible unless you are a high net worth individual, so in reality no it is not usually possible.

Same for me with HSBC.

[KhunLA]

Google may be your friend ... link

 

[BenCrew]

9 hours ago, sometimewoodworker said:

I am tax resident in Thailand. I still have my active RBS account, they have my Thai address.

 

Your question could be “is it possible to open a U.K. account while not being a U.K. resident” the answer to that is technically yes, but in practice virtually impossible unless you are a high net worth individual, so in reality no it is not usually possible.

 

 I have been with the Halifax for years. They now have my Thai address, no problem with that, though I cannot open any other savings accounts with them as a non-resident. I did look for alternatives as a back up, but very difficult to find and apply whilst out of the country.. An offshore account was my best option.

[sometimewoodworker]

5 hours ago, MrMuddle said:

Were you with RBS before you left the UK? Or did you open an account with them from Thailand?

I opened the account with their predecessor (Williams and Glyn’s) in the mid 1970’s. I have only been a U.K. non-resident since the 1990’s.

 

You will find that virtually everyone (over 99%) who has an active U.K. bank account without being a legal U.K. resident has maintained an existing account. See my post above, also added under for information 

11 hours ago, sometimewoodworker said:

Your question could be “is it possible to open a U.K. account while not being a U.K. resident” the answer to that is technically yes, but in practice virtually impossible unless you are a high net worth individual, so in reality no it is not usually possible.

At the present time Bank of England and HMRC controls over the U.K. banking system while technically not stopping banks from allowing non U.K. residents from opening a U.K. account make it so difficult that only those with high net worth find it possible. So unless you have a few, to many, millions of pounds in cash and assets or are U.K. resident, you cannot open a U.K. account 

[sometimewoodworker]

FWIW if you have an active U.K. bank account some banks will not require that you close it.

So far they include RBS and HSBC that allow overseas addresses.

Some banks have closed accounts, I don’t know that the accounts were actively being used at the time. These include Barclays.

 

Anecdotal evidence  could be useful. This would need to include the activity in the accounts, along with the bank name, possibly original opening location.

as a starter

For reference my Royal Bank of Scotland account was opened in Watford in the 1970’s, it had 12 transactions in October, sometimes more sometimes a few less, my address is in Thailand. I also have an RBS credit card, it has a U.K. accommodation address, it has less than 10 monthly transactions. I have not updated to my Thai address as I suspect it is likely to be closed if I do, I have no evidence, just a suspicion.

 

[Letseng]

15 hours ago, stubuzz said:

Barclays International account.

 

Barclays IoM cancelled ours.

[BenCrew]

2 hours ago, sometimewoodworker said:

 

 

For reference my Royal Bank of Scotland account was opened in Watford in the 1970’s, it had 12 transactions in October, sometimes more sometimes a few less, my address is in Thailand. I also have an RBS credit card, it has a U.K. accommodation address, it has less than 10 monthly transactions. I have not updated to my Thai address as I suspect it is likely to be closed if I do, I have no evidence, just a suspicion.

 

Royal Bank of Scotland

Can I keep my bank of Scotland account if I move abroad?

As this falls outside our policy for customers living outside the UK, we will close the account and return any balance to you by sterling cheque.

[John mozley]

I am thinking of retiring to Thailand next year I have checked with my bank (Lloyds) and they said I could keep my accounts open.

[leonard beaven]

Yes you can have a UK bank account,BUT,they will not send documents or replacement cards to Thailand,for security reasons.

[CFCol]

3 hours ago, sometimewoodworker said:

FWIW if you have an active U.K. bank account some banks will not require that you close it.

So far they include RBS and HSBC that allow overseas addresses.

Some banks have closed accounts, I don’t know that the accounts were actively being used at the time. These include Barclays.

 

Anecdotal evidence  could be useful. This would need to include the activity in the accounts, along with the bank name, possibly original opening location.

as a starter

For reference my Royal Bank of Scotland account was opened in Watford in the 1970’s, it had 12 transactions in October, sometimes more sometimes a few less, my address is in Thailand. I also have an RBS credit card, it has a U.K. accommodation address, it has less than 10 monthly transactions. I have not updated to my Thai address as I suspect it is likely to be closed if I do, I have no evidence, just a suspicion.

 

If you had the rbs account before you moved to Thailand and it is still active they will not close it. Only problem is Natwest issue the RBS debit cards and they will only send new ones to a UK address. Ps, they have known I live in Thailand since I moved here ten years ago

 

[CFCol]

1 hour ago, BenCrew said:

Royal Bank of Scotland

Can I keep my bank of Scotland account if I move abroad?

As this falls outside our policy for customers living outside the UK, we will close the account and return any balance to you by sterling cheque.

Do you mean B of S or RBS. Two different banks.

[Surasak]

17 hours ago, MrMuddle said:

Apparently Nationwide are now asking account holders to confirm their personal details, such as home address, phone number etc. Will they / any other UK Bank allow British citizens who live in Thailand to have accounts with them? Any recommendations for UK Banks that accept Brits who live in Thailand?
Thanks for any replies.

If you have an address in the UK it is possible to have an A/C with Nationwide, mobile number also required. However, they will ask if you are registered for Tax in any other country. It is then up to you what you tell them, whether they can check or not I am not sure.

[Andycoops]

I have been a Nationwide customer for decades.

 

When I retired to Thailand I informed them of my new official address that was 16 years ago and that I was a non UK resident.

 

I have received my new debit card the month the old one is expiring on time.

 

I bank online with them using a card reader.

 

My understanding is that if you are a non UK resident you can't open a bank account.

 

Nationwide is not a bank it is a Mutual Society that to some extent is controlled by it's members.

 

I have not had any messages from them requesting any confirmation of my contact address or other contact details, either through the online message service in the online banking app or any other channels.

[nglodnig]

18 hours ago, stubuzz said:

Barclays International account.

 

AFAIK they require 100k quid in your account to open a new one.

 

Barclays kicked me out as expats were too much trouble. I did the rounds and found only Lloyds International (IoM) were reasonable - need to prove an INCOME of 50k in the first year, after that no minimum balance or annual income required.

[sometimewoodworker]

2 hours ago, BenCrew said:

Royal Bank of Scotland

Can I keep my bank of Scotland account if I move abroad?

As this falls outside our policy for customers living outside the UK, we will close the account and return any balance to you by sterling cheque.

That may well be on the website, however I have owned my account for over 50 years and my change of address for my account has been notified to RBS over a year ago, I have received mail from them to my Thai address so like many things you read on the internet it is not always true.

[sometimewoodworker]

2 hours ago, leonard beaven said:

Yes you can have a UK bank account,BUT,they will not send documents or replacement cards to Thailand,for security reasons.

That may be the Lloyds policy. It is not true for RBS though I don’t remember if my last debit card was sent to Thailand.

[sometimewoodworker]

The rules for offshore accounts while of some slight academic interest are totally irrelevant to U.K. onshore accounts.

 

There are three of Crown Dependencies along with a number of British Overseas Territories that are mostly totally independent of the U.K. onshore banking system. These have nothing to do with U.K. bank accounts that are located in one of the 4 countries of the U.K. 

[quake]

18 hours ago, stubuzz said:

Barclays International account.

 

 

Not in the uk.

 

[quake]

39 minutes ago, nglodnig said:

AFAIK they require 100k quid in your account to open a new one.

 

Barclays kicked me out as expats were too much trouble. I did the rounds and found only Lloyds International (IoM) were reasonable - need to prove an INCOME of 50k in the first year, after that no minimum balance or annual income required.

 

Santander is 70K opening and to maintain the account.

[quake]

Not looked into this yet.

but maybe a cheap solution.   only need 5k GBP. thinks its in IOM.

https://international.standardbank.com/international/personal

[stubuzz]

1 hour ago, nglodnig said:

I did the rounds and found only Lloyds International (IoM) were reasonable - need to prove an INCOME of 50k in the first year, after that no minimum balance or annual income required.

I have just applied to Lloyds International and they have asked for certified ID and Proof of address that would be be very difficult to complete in my current location. By the way it is a Jersey based account.

[quake]

6 minutes ago, stubuzz said:

I have just applied to Lloyds International and they have asked for certified ID and Proof of address that would be be very difficult to complete in my current location. By the way it is a Jersey based account.

 

That's totally normal.