Settlement Visa, banking in UK

[paulklee]

If my wife's settlement visa application is successful, when she is in UK, what kind of bank account(s) is she allowed to open?

 

Also, can she easily transfer her own funds from Thailand to UK to help buy a house? Any links to information on that process would be great.

 

Thanks for any input

[theoldgit]

Once she's legally resident in the UK she will legally be able to apply for a full current account in her own right, though she would  be subject to the normal credit checks as anybody else would.

She would probably only qualify for a basic account in the first instance, though as your spouse she maybe able to apply by piggy backing on the back of yours.

 

As to transferring funds from Thailand, the short answer is I don't know, but if she was emigrating and can show the source of her funds I suspect she might not have too much of a problem, there will, I imagine, be a number of hoops to jump. 

[HauptmannUK]

My wife did exactly this earlier this year.

Got HSBC Basic account at a local branch.  Just needed to show passport, BRP card and council tax bill (as proof of address).

Received cheque book, online banking 'securekey' and ATM card about a week later.

No problem transferring funds from Bangkok Bank directly into her HSBC account.

[magicroundabout]

Much to our surprise my wife managed to open a current account with the Nationwide - There was no overdraft but we managed to get one after a year (in order to improve her credit rating).

[7by7]

Glad things seem to have changed.

 

When my wife arrived in 2001 Nationwide, with whom I'd been banking for years, wouldn't open an account in her name as she had no credit history in the UK; but they would let her open a joint account with me, which we did.

 

When I asked them how British people who had no previous bank account or credit history were able to open their first account they waffled something about it being different as they could check the person's parents!

[Trevor1809]

My experience with Nationwide was worse than that. I have saved with them and had a mortgage since before they were Nationwide as they used to be the Co-op. I was about 3 or 4 years into paying off the mortgage and still they wouldn't even give my first wife a joint account. So much for loyalty. Nat West who I also had an account with were only too pleased to give her her own account.

Makes you wonder how so many accounts could be opened in fictitious names.