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I had the same problem with Barclays (a long time ago...) when moving to the UK, they wouldn't accept a letter from my employer and they wouldn't accept a renta
by haspok 4y ago
I had the same problem with Barclays (a long time ago...) when moving to the UK, they wouldn't accept a letter from my employer and they wouldn't accept a rental agreement either as proof of address. Solution: the confirmation letter that I received from the NI people was finally good enough, so I could open an account only a month after I'd moved to the UK!
Btw. the NI number is a must anyway, so it's just that it takes some time until you get it.
This is a direct consequence of there being no official central registration of one's address in the UK, unlike in many other countries. You might call Austria bureaucratic for example, because you have to register within 3 days of moving (and another registration is necessary within 4 months), but then you get official papers that prove your address, so this never becomes an issue here, unlike in the UK.
- sfriedr 4y agoIs the NI really a must in UK? I have heard of people working there that are working only for a few years in academia who don't have an NI - or at least so they claim.
- throw748383818 4y agoI lived there just fine without one. I wasn't working, but rented a house and opened a bank account, I don't remember ever being asked for one.
- haspok 4y agoYes, of course, if you have the "money-honey", you don't work or expect maternity or jobseekers allowance, and you are not interested in state pension, you can get by without one :) I just checked, and for healthcare you don't actually need it in the UK. In other EU countries you usually have to pay health insurance for yourself if you are not working (sometimes a LOT of money), but not in the UK.
- Beltalowda 4y agoI got a letter threatening me with a fine if I didn't register to vote, and I needed a NI number to register.
- ricardobayes 4y agoyes but you're taxed at some 'emergency tax' rate which is really high.