how long will it take me to open a Santander current account?
Hello,
I'm moving to the UK on September 3rd, and I will be in London for about 8 days, and then I will be in Bedford for about 10 days until I can finally move into my university accomodation at the Uni of York on the 20th. I'm wanting to know, if I open a santander current account on the day I get off the plane, will I be able to use my debit card on the same day? I have permanent accomodation payed for, but I am not allowed to move in until the 20th, so I do not really want to use my American debit card for a whole month, paying conversion fees.
The santander 123 account also offers a student railcard for free..will I receive that on the same day or is there a wait period to open UK current accounts?
Thank you
I'm moving to the UK on September 3rd, and I will be in London for about 8 days, and then I will be in Bedford for about 10 days until I can finally move into my university accomodation at the Uni of York on the 20th. I'm wanting to know, if I open a santander current account on the day I get off the plane, will I be able to use my debit card on the same day? I have permanent accomodation payed for, but I am not allowed to move in until the 20th, so I do not really want to use my American debit card for a whole month, paying conversion fees.
The santander 123 account also offers a student railcard for free..will I receive that on the same day or is there a wait period to open UK current accounts?
Thank you
Original post by Unknown Nerd
Hello,
I'm moving to the UK on September 3rd, and I will be in London for about 8 days, and then I will be in Bedford for about 10 days until I can finally move into my university accomodation at the Uni of York on the 20th. I'm wanting to know, if I open a santander current account on the day I get off the plane, will I be able to use my debit card on the same day? I have permanent accomodation payed for, but I am not allowed to move in until the 20th, so I do not really want to use my American debit card for a whole month, paying conversion fees.
The santander 123 account also offers a student railcard for free..will I receive that on the same day or is there a wait period to open UK current accounts?
Thank you
I'm moving to the UK on September 3rd, and I will be in London for about 8 days, and then I will be in Bedford for about 10 days until I can finally move into my university accomodation at the Uni of York on the 20th. I'm wanting to know, if I open a santander current account on the day I get off the plane, will I be able to use my debit card on the same day? I have permanent accomodation payed for, but I am not allowed to move in until the 20th, so I do not really want to use my American debit card for a whole month, paying conversion fees.
The santander 123 account also offers a student railcard for free..will I receive that on the same day or is there a wait period to open UK current accounts?
Thank you
When you open an account they would usually send your new debit card in the post, same with the rail card, so i doubt you'd be able to use either on the same day
took me around 10 days to receive everything and then another few more days to receive rail card
I'm in a similar situation. What I was planning to do is to finish the application online a day before I leave maybe it will speed the process a bit.
Apart from that, It says that you need to be a permanent UK resident and that you will need a minimum of 3 years address history. Since I will be moving to UK this year and will have a permanent address will I still be eligible to apply for this student account ?
Apart from that, It says that you need to be a permanent UK resident and that you will need a minimum of 3 years address history. Since I will be moving to UK this year and will have a permanent address will I still be eligible to apply for this student account ?
There student current account and international student current account. I hope that European students are able to open the first one, even if they were not living in the UK before 
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Original post by Aviator
Apart from that, It says that you need to be a permanent UK resident and that you will need a minimum of 3 years address history. Since I will be moving to UK this year and will have a permanent address will I still be eligible to apply for this student account ?
Are you talking about the 123 student account from santander? I don't remember seeing the part about 3 years address history. If so I'm screwed and I'll be paying a premium on everything I buy for a year through conversion fees...
edit*: just looked at the international student account and it looks like crap. You want to charge me 60 GBP a year just to put my money in YOUR bank where you lend it and make interest off it?? And you only give me interest up to 500 GBP which doesn't even make up for the fees? what a rip off. I hope I can qualify for the normal student account otherwise I may be better off just using my US debit card...
(edited 9 years ago)
can I be called permanent resident if I came to study from Europe? 
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Great! Thanks
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You need to have a credit score in the UK. I wasn't able to open an account since I don't have one. The guy told me that after 6 months I can apply for the students account so now I'll open one with another bank and then apply after 6 months.
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Original post by Aviator
You need to have a credit score in the UK. I wasn't able to open an account since I don't have one. The guy told me that after 6 months I can apply for the students account so now I'll open one with another bank and then apply after 6 months.
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Thanks for the update. I am in London now actually, and I checked Lloyd's bank. They said if I can bring in a letter of acceptance and proof of my permanent address from the university, I can open a basic cash account that has no monthly fee.
I applied with the royal bank of Scotland since I'm staying in Scotland. They do offer an international students account without any charges. They even give you free tastecard discount card. Which isn't bad at all.
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Original post by Aviator
I applied with the royal bank of Scotland since I'm staying in Scotland. They do offer an international students account without any charges. They even give you free tastecard discount card. Which isn't bad at all.
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Aww, I went to RBS in London too, but they said I could not open an account :/.
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