Your first UK bank account
Lesson 12 of 14 in our free Banking & Payments guide: a 5-minute money game with the key points below.
This lesson is in the full version.
Free with a code from your uni, college, council, landlord or employer (worth £600/year). Lesson 1 of Banking & Payments is free for everyone.
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Questions you'll answer
Someone in a freshers' group chat offers to open an account for you 'in their name, you just use the card'. What's the problem?
Quick facts
- Your passport → Proves who you are. Photo ID is the starting point for any account.
- A share code for your eVisa → Proves your right to be in the UK. Your eVisa is your online proof of immigration status. You make a share code at gov.uk and the bank checks it online.
- A letter from your university confirming your term-time address → Proves your UK address. Many banks accept a university letter while you wait for bills in your name. Ask student services what's available.
- Your tenancy agreement for your room → Proves your UK address. A signed tenancy with your name and address can help show where you live.
- Your national ID card from home → Proves who you are. Some banks accept other photo ID too, but a passport is the safest bet.
- Fact: “Biometric residence permits (BRPs) have been replaced by eVisas.” — All BRPs have now expired. You prove your status online with your eVisa and a share code.
- Myth: “A share code lasts for ever, so you only ever need one.” — A share code lasts 90 days. Make a fresh one when a bank, landlord or employer asks.
- Fact: “A basic bank account usually has no monthly fee and no overdraft.” — Basic accounts have fewer features, but you can get paid, pay bills and use a debit card. Large banks have to offer them.
- Fact: “Banks have to check that you have permission to be in the UK before they open a current account.” — That's the law, which is why they ask for your eVisa. It's not personal.
- Myth: “If a bank says no, you can't apply anywhere else for six months.” — There's no such rule. Ask why, try another bank, or ask about a basic account.