International and EU Students
Opening an account
It is unlikely that an international student will be able to open a UK bank account before they arrive in the UK and have registered at the University.
It can take several weeks to open an account so we would advise that international students make sure that they can access enough money to cover their living costs when they first arrive in the UK. It might be possible to open an international account from your home country. If you can, make sure that you will be able to withdraw cash from cash machines in the UK.
In order to open UK bank account you will usually be asked to provide:
- your passport
- confirmation of your local address
- an original copy of your letter of acceptance from the University
- proof of your address in your home country (not all banks will ask for this)
Shop around
Many of the UK major banks have local branches close to the University campus. While most UK banks usually offer a very basic service to international students it is best to shop around and compare what each bank can offer.
More information
For more detailed information about banking in the UK see:
- International students opening a bank account in the UK (British Bankers Association) (PDF:1.61KB)
- British Council - Managing your finances
For reasons of personal safety we do not recommend that students carry large sums of money around or that they keep large sums of money in their home.
