Proof of housing if living with relatives

I've been reading over all the subjects regarding getting a bank account and they most banks require you to have proof of residence/housing (excluding those banks which have locations in the US and UK and can be set up in advance with large deposits).

So it got me thinking: My husbands family all live in Newcastle. I was wondering (if they agreed to it) if we could use their address and say we will be living with them when we move. Has anyone else moved over in-laws houses when they moved to the UK and been able to use it as proof of residence? If so, was there anything the bank required as proof that you were actually living with your in-laws? IE: Mail coming to that address or something?

You need to have something from the post in your name.  A utility bill or council tax.  Ask the bank what they'll accept.

They would also want to see your proof (visa) that you are allowed to live in the UK. The part of the Immigration Act 2016 that means banks now close accounts of those that have no lawful status in the UK, came in last year.
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/immigration-bill-2015-16

When our son returned last year and needed to open a bank account he was living with us and did not have a Nat Insurance number. The bank accepted his UK passport plus a signed letter from us saying that he was living with us. We also had to provide a utility bill in our name to our address even though we were also customers of the bank.

Opening an account from the USA ahead of time without actually living at an address in the UK would be very problematic.

I see that you live in Seattle and HSBC has a branch in Seattle according to a quick web search. You could open an account with them and then open an account in the UK. Our son opened an account in the USA with HSBC a few months before he moved back and they would have opened a UK account for him but he needed to go into a branch to sign documents and have his id verified by an HSBC agent. Unfortunately he lived in Houston and the best HSBC could offer was for him to turn up to their branch in LA to do the paperwork while he was visiting his sister, but they told him it would take 2 trips to the office, so he declined and waited until he got over here. Being an existing US customer helped, I think.

Based on my experiences, if you have an HSBC account - pay the $100 to have their international banking center set up the account. It's worth it. They have slightly different requirements than the branches, I don't remember all of them, but you would have to go and physically have an HSBC staff member verify your ID. I'm not sure if other international banks offer a similar service.


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