UK HSBC account from US - not primier/offshore

My husband and I applied for a joint account - on the application it said not to fill out both sets of addresses if they were the same.  So we didn't.  Apparently they wanted both filled out anyway.  It's been two weeks since we sent everything back - they emailed us last week to ask which branch we wanted to open the account with (it was included in the intro letter we had to write).  So I'm really not sure what is going on.  It has been about four weeks now.

My wife and I applied for an HSBC checking and savings account in the UK at the beginning of March.  We presently live in the US and have no UK address.  We are planning to move to the UK during the last quarter of this year.

The HSBC International Banking Centre in Buffalo, New York sent us all the paperwork and processed the documentation for us.  The HSBC International Banking Centre informed us last week that our accounts are approved.  We are awaiting the paperwork that should arrive any day now.

We expect to make our initial deposit by personal cheque from our HSBC US account and future deposits on a regular basis thereafter by cheque in a similar manner.  For business reasons I intend to keep the US account active for the purpose of receiving payments from my US clients.

The "Application for not ordinarily resident saver to receive interest without tax taken off" is optional.  Even though we are not yet residents, we chose not to submit it.  We should be residents before the end of the year, and in any case we have no objection to paying UK tax on money earned in the UK by way of bank interest.

Stephen - how very, very bizarre!  I filed my paperwork with the HSBC International Banking Center in Buffalo, New York at the beginning of March.  Our account opening packet arrived with our pins from the UK today!  Since my husband also left today he's just going to deposit some money from his UK account. 

Be aware - they opened a Bank Account Plus for us - it comes with a subscription fee (I think £14.95 per month  ).  The benefits aren't that great, in my opinion.  Since we wouldn't use the travel insurance that comes with it.  You have 14 days to decline the 12 month "subscription" and drop down to a standard checking account.

My debit card and cheque books should be here soon!!!!  And I won't even get there until September!!!!

Our account packet arrived today.  It also is set up as Bank Account Plus.  Thanks for the tip about this.  I have to review the advantages, but it hardly seems worth the £12.95 per month fee on the face of it.  We also received our PINs, but are awaiting chequebooks and debit cards, which are supposed to follow in short order.

So far we are very pleased with HSBC.

My husband made it to the bank today - they told him that we don't have a Plus account.  I guess if you read the letter very carefully (?) they are just trying to get you to upgrade.  Anyway, she promised him that we would not be charged for it.

I realised the same thing went I read the letter of introduction very carefully.  I was confused because the packet of information was for a Bank Account Plus and included travel insurance cards that are part of the programme.

I opened my HSBC account from the US. I never received my welcome packet due to the fact that they were mailing it to the wrong address, but when I went to the (UK) branch this past week, it was a regular current account that was opened. My cheques and ATM card have been ordered to the branch and there were no hassles.

We received our debit cards and chequebooks yesterday for our HSBC UK account.  Now all I have to do is set up an internet savings account that is linked to the current account.

We now have our Online Saver account established as well.  The timing was perfect, as HSBC had an Easter Weekend £20.00 Cash Back offer for establishing an Online Saver account between 14-17 April.

We are very pleased to be able to establish our UK accounts with HSBC Bank plc well in advance of our move.

I went into HSBC in Washington DC on April 5th to ask about opening a UK account. The guy just printed the application forms off their intranet like it was something he does every day. I took the application back the following day. Monday of this week I received a debit card from the UK! No account number or cheque book yet, just the debit card! Obviously the account must exist though otherwise they would not have sent this. I'm amazed at how quickly it arrived.

Just to remind everyone that most Americans living in the UK should should NOT have bank accounts onshore in the UK at all but instead offshore in Jersey, Guernsey or the Isle of Man. 

Depending on how long you'll stay, work patterns and levels of income you could be in a position to save heaps of UK taxes so long as you are in the UK.  Taking UK tax advice before arriving is a safe way of saving money.

Just to remind everyone that most Americans living in the UK should should NOT have bank accounts onshore in the UK at all but instead offshore in Jersey, Guernsey or the Isle of Man. 

Depending on how long you'll stay, work patterns and levels of income you could be in a position to save heaps of UK taxes so long as you are in the UK.  Taking UK tax advice before arriving is a safe way of saving money.

Assuming I am planning on moving there permenantly (will be going over on ILE) and will be earning under £40k bracket - would it still make sense to use offshore accounts?  I don't really have spare money to pay for UK tax advice right now, do you have any online references to recommend?

Thanks.

Likewise, my wife and I intend to settle permanently in the UK.  We shall probably buy a house next year after we figure out exactly where my wife shall be assigned.

Almost all US persons moving to the UK will not be domiciled within the UK for UK tax purposes.  As a consequence, UK tax (at rates of up to 40%) is payable on income and gains arising in the UK (and Republic of Ireland), or remitted to the UK.

The Channel Islands & Isle of Man are offshore for UK tax purposes, but part of the British bank clearing system.  Therefore, an account held there is for every purpose identical to an onshore UK account EXCEPT that the interest credited will remain free of UK tax (unless the interest is brought to the UK).  This is a standard tax planning technique for everyone moving to the UK.  It is not tax evasion, illegal or unusual.  HSBC, Barclays, NatWest and HBOS (indeed all major UK banks) all have branches in the Channel Islands & Isle of Man precisely to service this kind of customer.

Now of course there is nothing to stop everyone volunteering to paying more tax than they need, but with my helpful cap on this is always worth saying. 

Those coming for shorter periods, such as less than 3 years, can get even larger tax savings by banking offshore.

Cheque book arrived on Monday! I am so impressed how quick it was to get this set up.

I am a returning UK citizen, although I also have citizenship. My wife is a US citizen. Still not sure where our domicile will be; waiting to get professional advice.