Bank account?

hey, EU student here!

I'll have to open a bank account in the UK this month so I can receive my PG Loan. Which bank/account type should I choose? And what evidence do banks request to open an account?

I also wanted to know if it'd be possible to open the account online...

thanks,

marta

Banks are quite hesitant when it comes to opening accounts for EU/non-British people; out of all the banks I've tried, only HSBC gave me an account and here's what you need to know:

You'll need a proof of address, which has to be preferably a utility bill BUT you can argue with them by giving them a proof of study, a letter from your university which comes to your address with the following information:
Name, date of birth, course start/finish date, course name, your address, and preferably signed by an authority.

You'll need to state how long you've been living in the UK;
Remember this now, if you don't have a utility bill or a driver's license as a proof of address, you're gonna have to tell them you haven't been living in the UK for longer than 6 months, otherwise they won't give you an account. What they'll give you is a basic bank account which you'll be able to upgrade after 6 months to a standard (this is to build up some credit history).

You cannot open a bank account online, because they'll need to verify your information face-to-face so you'll need an appointment. Bring in any information you have - passport, driver's license, any bill or a bank statement that can verify your identity AND address. They're very picky about the latter.

You will receive your debit card by post in 1-3 weeks after the appointment, usually the person let's you know if your interview was successful or not straight away.

Hope that helps any further questions are always welcome!

Thank you!
The appointment can be arranged online?And do you recommend any bank?

I'm not sure if you can get an appointment online, maybe it depends on each bank, but normally you can just ring up their hotline and set up an appointment like that, they will ask you some questions and let you know which dates are available

You can try any local bank, but like I said I was only able to get an account from HSBC and I'm still building up the credit history to upgrade to a 'normal' bank account.