📖 Reading time: 8 minutes  |  🗓️ Last reviewed: 2026  |  ✍️ ExpatWiki Editorial Team ⚡ Key Takeaways Opening a bank account in the UK as an expat is easiest with Monzo or Starling first — no proof of UK address needed Traditional banks (Barclays, HSBC, NatWest) require UK address proof — harder on arrival Your sort code and account number are your UK banking identity — know the difference from IBAN UK credit history starts at zero — begin building immediately with a credit card Wise is the best option for international transfers from the UK O pening a bank account in the UK as an expat used to be genuinely painful — and for a surprisingly long time, it remained one of those circular bureaucratic nightmares where you needed a bank account to get an address and an address to get a bank account. I arrived in London with six weeks of hotel bookings, a new work visa and precisely zero proof of a permanent UK address, and the traditional banks made it cr...