Opening a bank account, but I'm a British citizen, American too

After reading about banking hell, I wanted to pose a question/scenario to all here since you are the best resource I have found.

I am moving to England in 5 weeks (yeh, excitement!) and have been trying to sort out a bank account for awhile. I've got the paperwork to open an account with HSBC in the UK via mail, but with how little time I have till I move, I'm not sure that's the best option. I also feel a bit weird mailing all my personal info (ss number, passport info, etc.) and like opening accounts in person.

To further complicate (or maybe simplify) the situation, I'm actually a dual British-American citizen (have the British citizenship because of my mum). I've never lived in England, so I'm not on the electoral roll, haven't had a bank account, etc. Would it be easier for me to just go into HSBC or Natwest when I'm in England and open an account?

I won't have any bills in my name for awhile since I'm living with my boyfriend's family, but I can provide tons of proof of identity and am getting a letter from my bank here just in case that helps. Will it be easy enough to get an account? My boyfriend and I have discussed having a joint account, but I like having my own as well and would prefer to do this if at all possible.

Any advice or feedback is awesome. I just want a bank account so when I get a job I can have direct debit and feel like I properly live there. Thanks!

Liberty

Hi liberty-

I was in a very similar situation to yours...dual citizen but not on the electoral rolls.  Best advice anyone gave me (thanks Q-G!) was to get a statement from my current bank account mailed to me at the address where I was going to be staying in Scotland.  Then when I arrived I had both proof of identity (passport) and proof of address (bank statement).  I opened my account at RBS with very little bother.  It was their most basic account as I did not yet have proof of my income in the UK, but it was a place where I could get my paycheck deposited and set up standing orders, direct debits, etc.

I was in a very similar situation to yours...dual citizen but not on the electoral rolls.  Best advice anyone gave me (thanks Q-G!) was to get a statement from my current bank account mailed to me at the address where I was going to be staying in Scotland.  Then when I arrived I had both proof of identity (passport) and proof of address (bank statement).  I opened my account at RBS with very little bother.  It was their most basic account as I did not yet have proof of my income in the UK, but it was a place where I could get my paycheck deposited and set up standing orders, direct debits, etc.

Thanks so much. I'll have to see if Bank of America can mail a statement to the UK, that sounds like it'd help a lot.

Yeah, for everyone proof of residence is key...  The council tax route worked for me.  My partner put me on the council tax bill and it was actually waiting for me when I arrived and three days later I was off at the bank and had opened my account.

Well I was able to change my address with Bank of America to my UK address, so I'm excited about that. They did seem very confused with the UK address. The girl I spoke with said they didn't need the county or post code and I said if you don't put either one of those in nothing will arrive. She said they only had 2 lines in which to put a foreign address. Eventually we got the whole address in there, which makes me feel better knowing any correspondence should arrive nicely.

Don't forget to take some statements with you that are from your US address though--utility and bank statements.  I was surprised when I went to set up my account that I was required to bring proof of my former address since I had just moved.  I had to dig a lot since my paperwork is yet to arrive with all my shipped boxes (any day now . . .).  Luckily a friend of mine sent me a care package and included a pile of old mail I had left at her home.

Good luck, I suspect that as I try other banks my problem won't be my residence like it was at the first bank I went to, but my lower income proof.  I have some income, but I'm self-employed and don't have much proof of income as a result. 

Don't forget to take some statements with you that are from your US address though--utility and bank statements.  I was surprised when I went to set up my account that I was required to bring proof of my former address since I had just moved.   

Now that's interesting, as I didn't need any of that to open my account.  Nor did I need proof of income.  In fact, they let me open an account with nothing in it... 

Yeah, when the bank found out I had moved from the States, they only cared about proof of my UK address, though they recorded my address for the past 3 years, but I didn't have to prove it.

I'll make sure to bring a few past statements and other correspondence with my US address on them too. I plan on taking more than I need to prove identity and residence, might as well be over prepared.

Yeah, I thought it was pretty funny too, but that's what they had me do.  I was just telling you to bring one just in case.  I'm guessing most wouldn't require it, but mine did.  Luckily I had lived there for nearly six years, so I didn't have to dig up multiple things.