[alevar]

I have a confirmation letter for a place at uni in London from September.

I'm planning to move to London(from Italy) at the end of July.

I'll have around 4000€ of savings to carry and I'd like to open a bank account as soon as possible.

Do you know which bank have the best student account?and which one has the easiest "burocracy" to open a student bank account?

Basically,I need to change € to £ as soon as possible..

any advice?

Is there any way for an EU student to open an english bank account,online,right now,here in Italy?

[canŵio]

(Original post by alevar)
I have a confirmation letter for a place at uni in London from September.

I'm planning to move to London(from Italy) at the end of July.

I'll have around 4000€ of savings to carry and I'd like to open a bank account as soon as possible.

Do you know which bank have the best student account?and which one has the easiest "burocracy" to open a student bank account?

Basically,I need to change € to £ as soon as possible..

any advice?

Is there any way for an EU student to open an english bank account,online,right now,here in Italy?

this has some good information. http://www.bba.org.uk/publications/e...ount/leaflets/

i don't think you can get a student bank account in the UK (with a free overdraft etc) but you can get a regular bank account. you have to provide evidence that you'll be in the uk and everything so you probably won't be able to open an account instantly.

you could think about getting an e-saver account or something, then you can put your savings in, still have access to them, and get good interest! i don't know if you're eligible.

[Shomberlon]

This is probably considered the best around at the moment for overdraft
http://www.co-operativebank.co.uk/se...urrentAccounts


This was posted from The Student Room's iPhone/iPad App

[MancStudent098]

The banks tend to refuse foreign nationals (even EU ones) the student bank accounts that come with perks. But you shouldn't have any trouble opening a normal current account - just bear in mind that it will take a little while to set up and have cards/pin numbers etc posted to your address.

You may be able to do the initial set up on the account online, but you will still need to go to a bank in person to present identity documents (i.e. a passport) and proof of address (probably best to get a copy of your tenancy agreement).

When you say that you have €4000 in savings to 'carry', I assume that you're not going to physically bring the money with you as banknotes, because that would be rather silly.

[alevar]

Anyway,if I want to open a student bank account as soon as I arrive in London(not now that I'm still in Italy),there will be any problems?
I don't think so,I'll be a student in the UK!

However,responding to MancStudent:

When you say : "The banks tend to refuse foreign nationals (even EU ones) the student bank accounts that come with perks."
You're talking if I ask to open it now that I'm in Italy,right? Why should they refuse me a student account if I'll be a student in UK?

However,I have around 4000€ of savings and "phisically" I have to bring with me the money I need for bond and first month rent(and living expenses until I have a bank account).

The remaining part(say 3000€)will be transferred from Italy(by my parents)when I'll have a UK bank account.

[cbuchwa1]

(Original post by canŵio)
i don't think you can get a student bank account in the UK (with a free overdraft etc) but you can get a regular bank account. you have to provide evidence that you'll be in the uk and everything so you probably won't be able to open an account instantly.

you could think about getting an e-saver account or something, then you can put your savings in, still have access to them, and get good interest! i don't know if you're eligible.

I was in international student in Wales and I was able to open a student account, but I had to wait until I arrived and had to go to the bank in person to open it, with a letter from my uni. I think the co-op banks require you to be a UK citizen, but most of the larger banks are okay with it provided you have a letter confirming you're studying at the uni.

What's an e-saver account?

[jumpingjesusholycow]

(Original post by Shomberlon)
This is probably considered the best around at the moment for overdraft
http://www.co-operativebank.co.uk/se...urrentAccounts


This was posted from The Student Room's iPhone/iPad App

Bloody hell, anyone planning on maxing out their overdraft to the tune of £2,000 should probably rely less on their choice of bank account and work at getting a form of income of some kind

[Shomberlon]

(Original post by jumpingjesusholycow)
Bloody hell, anyone planning on maxing out their overdraft to the tune of £2,000 should probably rely less on their choice of bank account and work at getting a form of income of some kind

I find it mildly amusing that I got rejected for a student account with them even though I bank with them lol


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[jumpingjesusholycow]

(Original post by Shomberlon)
I find it mildly amusing that I got rejected for a student account with them even though I bank with them lol


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Metrobank, which is a new bank in the UK started as a venture by some American bloke, gave me a "16+ Cash Account" after they ran a credit check on me :/ Slightly worrying, but luckily I already had a Student Account with NatWest and joined Metrobank just to see what they're like.

[Shomberlon]

(Original post by jumpingjesusholycow)
Metrobank, which is a new bank in the UK started as a venture by some American bloke, gave me a "16+ Cash Account" after they ran a credit check on me :/ Slightly worrying, but luckily I already had a Student Account with NatWest and joined Metrobank just to see what they're like.

What's natwest like


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[jumpingjesusholycow]

(Original post by Shomberlon)
What's natwest like


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Pretty good. Very competent, a huge overdraft at £1,500 and use of the NatWest smartphone app which allows you to send money through the app to people on your phone book or get cash out from an ATM without a card.

EDIT: And of course the 16-25 railcard.

[alevar]

"A letter from your uni" can be the UCAS Course Confirmation Letter or a letter made on purpose by the university?

[MillyPixie]

I'm in a similar boat to you - I hope to move to London from Ireland and am puzzled regarding bank accounts. I was thinking of opening a student account with Ulster Bank here (when they fix their effing computers!!) and then using Natwest in the UK as it's thier sister bank. Do any of you lot have any advice on Natwest or experience with them? :P

[ohdrama]

i was under the impression that you can't get one of those so-called "student accounts" as a non-uk resident (3 yr rule or whatever applies to most banks). i've looked at natwest, lloyds, hsbc and barclays and they all refuse giving out student accounts to non-uk residents via their terms and conditions... or have i missed anything?

i'm an eu student as well and therefore familiarised myself with the idea of just opening a regular current/classic account in england... i'd love to get a free railcard, though. gutted.

[Shomberlon]

(Original post by ohdrama)
i was under the impression that you can't get one of those so-called "student accounts" as a non-uk resident (3 yr rule or whatever applies to most banks). i've looked at natwest, lloyds, hsbc and barclays and they all refuse giving out student accounts to non-uk residents via their terms and conditions... or have i missed anything?

i'm an eu student as well and therefore familiarised myself with the idea of just opening a regular current/classic account in england... i'd love to get a free railcard, though. gutted.

The main reason was a lot of international students would max out their overdraft and then disappear home so the banks couldn't reclaim the money back


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[ohdrama]

(Original post by Shomberlon)
The main reason was a lot of international students would max out their overdraft and then disappear home so the banks couldn't reclaim the money back


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ah i see, haven't actually thought about that but it makes perfect sense.