in thinking that you cannot step off a plane in England after not having lived here for nearly 50 years and then open a bank account the same afternoon?

[Alliwantisaroomsomewhere]

My father is coming to live in England again after not having lived here since he was a teenager. He says he wants to - er..... MUST - open a bank account the very afternoon that he arrives at Heathrow.

I must post in Relationships about him and his partner and my situation, but cannot summon up the energy to do so at the moment.

So, for the time being, I would like to know if IABU in tellling my father that without proof of address in England, he will not be able to open a bank account the day he arrives in England. No, he does not have millions that have to be banked immediately. On the contrary, in fact.

Am I wrong in telling him that?

Absolutely not. He needs proof of address in the UK - a driving licence, a utility bill etc, etc.

He is free to try but the bank won't be able to help him.

tell him that one or two things have changed...

I was able to - very weirdly. Although I was only away for 6 years......

Agree, they will need evidence of who he is, so passport or driving licence plus proof of address, utility bill, bank statement (ironically) etc.

He has a British passport and a South African driving license. I am most definitely outing myself here.

EllaEllaElla, was this some time ago that you did this or fairly recently?

They will accept international identification. Where is he stayin?

They may allow it depending on the type of account, but is he aware that he can probably use his own SA bank while over here too?

He will be spending the first night at his partner's daughter's house outside of London and then heading off the next morning to a house in another county that his partner had purchased. He and his partner will be together - sorry if I overlooked that.

It would have been 8-10 years ago, but I helped a friend open a bank account with passport (not British) and a letter from work confirming he was working for them an earning.

No-one batted an eyelid.

Squeakytoy, I have emailed him about using his SA account while here but not heard back yet. I would rather not phone him about it at the moment.

Nextphase, my father is almost 80.

Well it depends who he banks with now. If they are a global bank they may have branches where he's been & branches here making things very straight forward.

He's an adult so its his problem isn't it? If you have told him he can't ghen what else can you do? Dies he want to use your address?

Thanks, everyone. It seems that it is possible, then.

Does your father have a HSBC account in the country he lives in now? HSBC might be able to accommodate him with a basic account until he is established, if he is an existing customer.

I found it extremely difficult eight years ago, even with my passport and letter from my British employer. It tends to be a bit easier with a building society than with a bank, so you may try that first. Once you have an account somewhere it is very easy to open an account an your preferred bank and transfer all funds. This is what I ended up doing, but my landlords (who banked at the building society) also wrote a letter on my behalf to accompany my passport, employer letter and tenancy agreement. It was over a month from my arrival that I finally was successful in opening an account (consequently, I had to cash my first paycheck!). So no, YANBU!

He'd be better of waiting a few days, signing up with the doctor first and then opening a bank account. If I remember right we got something in the post from the NHS after signing up with the doc, all he needs for that is his passport. And tell them he's moved back for good.
Thats what my son did this summer.

I am just asking my friend who is an account manager at one of the UKs biggest banks.

He could go and apply for his NIN too at the job centre and use the letter they send him with his number on as proof of address

answer. yes he can. if he goes to the Halifax, and says it is an ex-pat application. all he needs is a british passport.

It probably is possible - I opened a bank account in Australia without ever having set foot there, and then activated it by showing them my migrant worker visa and UK passport, which I did within a day or two of landing. I had no permanent address in Australia at that point either, and Australia is just as strict on migration and money laundering.

I agree with the person who said register with the GP to get some proof of address and show British passport. I think I know someone who did this in the late nineties.

Can't he do it online ?

I presume you don't want to be subbing him meanwhile ?

Thanks so much, Squeaky! And also thanks to everyone else for their replies.

Cumfy, the main issue is not really about me subbing him, but rather why he is in such a hurry to open a bank account the very day he arrives. I have not seen him for 5 years, but he can only stop at the airport for an hour to see me, my DS and DH because his partner's daughter has to take him to open an account. As I said earlier, a lot of this needs to be in relationships but the main question was whether a bank account could be opened without proof of address and it seems that it can be.

I really appreciate everyone's input. Thanks.