Bank account blues

[resolute]

Hi,

My wife came to the UK a few months ago on a spousal settlement visa. In Manila, we thought it was better to get the visa in her maiden name, to avoid problems such as with air tickets already booked in that name. After coming to UK, she went to the Philippine Embassy and got a new passport with her married name. So, she has:

1. Cancelled passport containing visa in maiden name
2. New passport in married name, without visa

This is fine for UKBA purposes, but we have had difficulty opening a bank account with Nat West, who want the valid visa in the latest (current) passport, and the visa to also be in the married name. As far as I know, this is impossible to do.

Has anyone else had a similar problem, or can you advise what to do about this? Do you think all banks have similar inflexible policies?

Thanks!

[stevewool]

never heard that before, i know my Em had to have a tempory account with nat west, surley if you have letters with her name and address , council tax and so on that may help, what about opening a joint account for now also, or try another bank, building society

[Dedworth]

Try Nationwide............... NatWest are a bunch of cowboys

[resolute]

We finally got a call from Nat West to say that they will add my wife's name to my account. They took quite a long time checking with the UKBA, though.

I also phoned UKBA and it seems this problem does come up quite frequently, especially with certain banks. I suppose they have to check to their satisfaction that proof of identity is sufficient, and they can't be too familiar with visa rules. I am just relieved as my wife needs a bank account for any salary she earns to be paid into, and even to register with a GP...

[Terpe]

Generally speaking it's better not to mess around with passports just for the sake of changing to married name. Keep it simple. There's less issues.

HSBC do offer a bank account for new migrants without hassles, except for the monthly fee. Horses for courses.

[sars_notd_virus]

Hi,

My wife came to the UK a few months ago on a spousal settlement visa. In Manila, we thought it was better to get the visa in her maiden name, to avoid problems such as with air tickets already booked in that name. After coming to UK, she went to the Philippine Embassy and got a new passport with her married name. So, she has:

1. Cancelled passport containing visa in maiden name
2. New passport in married name, without visa

This is fine for UKBA purposes, but we have had difficulty opening a bank account with Nat West, who want the valid visa in the latest (current) passport, and the visa to also be in the married name. As far as I know, this is impossible to do.

Has anyone else had a similar problem, or can you advise what to do about this? Do you think all banks have similar inflexible policies?

Thanks!

my husband has been banking with barcalys about three decades ago..he's been a valuable client and we didnt have a hard time opening my own single and joint account with my husband.
try lloyds and hsbc and bring passport or national insurance number.