My wife and I will be taking a Christmas Holiday in the UK shortly, her first tourist Visa for the UK. I have read that for the first time it is wise to keep within your planned travel dates as in future is shows you are a reliable person etc. Although we have no intention to live in the UK it seems wise to me to use this oppotunity to lay a foundation of evidence that could be called upon at a later date if there was the need to apply for ILR or similar status etc.

I was thinking about attemptingto set up a UK based bank account, something international with HSBC maybe (although I do not hold an account there myself.). I guess it would be easier with another bank that I have a 20 year relationship with. Untill we both have wills in place I don't want to convert my bank account to one with joint names. Maybe that is the solution, a new account in our joint names?

I don't want to have her placed on the electoral roll (probably can not do so anyway?) for my UK house, but are there any other things that could be set up to establish a small UK footprint for her. The most useful that springs to mind is a Tesco Clubcard!

Maybe apply for a credit card - knowing that it will be turned down, but when a fresh application is made in a few years it won't be the first time and the second would benifit from a few years of a joint bank account history.

Thinking about arrival at my UK house - I think I will set up some junk marketing post requests - should mean that she has some physical post to open when we arrive.

Edit:

Also, considering any tax angle. Is there any benifit to transfering any of my share holdings into her name? As a non-resident she will avoid any tax, but might need to claim the 20% withholding tax - if that still happens?

She will only gain ILR if you are in a relationship for 4 years outside the UK and you need to prove this , and she will have to pass the KOL test to gain ILR . And this can only be taken in the UK so this will be a hurdle for you both. I really don't understand your logic in setting up a footprint for her in the UK you are married in a subsisting relationship and she has an immigration record travelling with you. If you want to settle in the UK in the future apply for a 2 year settlement visa i cannot see any issues with your application.