Opening a bank account as non-residents

Looked into the hsbc route and went to my local branch here in uk. If you have a uk hsbc account ( which i dont) their  international division can open a maltesse account in approx 6 weeks. ( at a cost of £100 )

Hello,
We opened an HSBC account as non-residents but it took an awful long time, was very frustrating and took lots of faxes between our bank in the UK and HSBC Malta. This was due to a discrepancy in the way our UK bank wrote our address on the reference and the way HSBC wanted to see it! (It's an East Yorkshire/North Humberside issue!!)

Once it was all sorted it was worth it. I find HSBC Malta very efficient. They answer your queries and ring you back exactly when they say they will and are very helpful.

Helen.

Helen

How long did HSBC take to give you a fully functioning account?

I take it also that you were not an HSBC customer already.

Hello,
You are quite right, we were not HSBC customers already which didn't help! It took just under a month to sort out.
We opened the account in St Julian's in person, but before we were allowed to use it had to get a letter of reference sent from our UK bank.
As long as your UK bank sends the reference letter accurately it shouldn't take too long. Better still, get a letter of reference now and take it with you.
It was free to set up so I wouldn't go the International banking division route!
Hope that helps.
Helen

PS (I keep remembering things)
As long as you take: Passport, utility bill, bank statements and letter of reference, (with your address shown identically on those items with it on) I think it will be a very quick process.
And best of all you get a lovely card with a picture of Valletta on
Helen

Thanks

From what I found speaking to the bank here and now with your experience I think I will go in person to the bank in malta.

Flying out for a bit of a look around on Sunday so will see how we get on.

Paul

Thanks for the info, Helen,

Which utility bill did you mean? One from Malta or one from the UK? I will be leaving my flat in the UK so I won't have an address there any longer.

You should use HSBC in the UK to help you set it up.  It is a very long, tedious, and difficult process from here.

We took a UK Council Tax bill as we hadn't received any Maltese bills at that time. Had we also remembered the reference letter it would have been sorted on the day!
We enquired about setting it up in UK first and it would have taken six weeks and cost money.

Indeed ... the Reference Letter is the key to open that door.  Your old bank needs to say that you are a customer in good standing who they are happy to recommend, and that's it.  You are set.

PoshPB wrote:

Thanks

From what I found speaking to the bank here and now with your experience I think I will go in person to the bank in malta.

Flying out for a bit of a look around on Sunday so will see how we get on.

Paul

Went to local HSBC in uk as a non customer and was told that I would have to open an account with them and put in £500 a month. They would then 'pass' me onto their international department who would for a 'mere'£100 contact malta hsbc and open an account for me.

I declined their kind offer

Arrived in malta on Sunday, went to BOV SLiema yesterday and 20 mins later have ( subject to references from uk ) a Euro and a sterling bank accounts.

Seems doing it in country is the best option ..it has been for me so far

"... subject to the reference letter ..."

And the long wait begins...

I made a duplicate post and don't know how to delete the 2nd one, so apologies.  I can only edit it, so this is my edit.  ;-)

hopefully not too long I had contacted my UK bank and had an email from them with all the details,address etc . gave that to BOV then emailed uk bank again to warn of incoming request.

Hope it works 

got email from BOV today saying accounts open and cards etc are in the post, so holding breath for next week

Sucess - have today received details of our BOV bank accounts. Only taken since 20th Jan.

.

We opened an account with banif was no hassle what so ever. My only knark was thqt we had to give a 200 euro deposit for a debit card.

Hi,

I am also looking at bank accounts in Malta. I am not in Malta as yet but wish to be prepared. I am living abroad away from my home country, UK.

I have a bank account with Barclays and have discovered they may have a branch in Malta. Do you think I would still have to open a separate account in Malta? Would it be easier to have an account in Malta by opening one with Barclays in Malta?

Please advise.

Many thanks,

I believe that Barclays closed their Malta branch some years ago. It was nationalised and renamed Mid Med Bank and that became part of HSBC.

Please try to resist copying and pasting the same question into 3 different threads as that may cause confusion when trying to help you, thank you.

Hi,

Thank you so much for the information.

I have heard that Banif will open an account without references and it takes 20 minutes, but is this also true for non-residents?

Thanks,

People's experiences seem to be different depending upon their circumstances, the bank, the branch of the bank and who they speak with! But, yes it is possible to open an account without officially informing the authorities of your intention to take up residence but you will have to provide proof of income and intention to stay apart from other identity documents etc.

We opened an account with HSBC within a month and as others have said the delay is caused by the reference needed from your old bank.
However if you have online banking with a bank outside of Malta then its not such  a problem as you still have access to funds and can deposit and withdraw on line.

Terry

Hi,

That's good to know, I will ensure I have a reference beforehand to take with me.

The funds are not an issue, it is more an issue about opening up the account in the first place. Sometimes seems like a catch 22. I will have a copy of a utility bill, a reference from my bank, passport and an online bank statement if required. Hope all of this will be enough.

Once have employment and residency (because of employment), I guess it would be easier.

Regards,

It may be useful to also take a copy of a tenancy agreement of whatever you rent on Malta.

Hi,

I have phoned my bank in UK. I am currently abroad and then travelling to Malta.

My bank have advised that I write in to them and ask for a status inquiry costing me £10. They will then send a letter to my home address in the UK. Not an issue because I can get it forwarded to me however, if I was to send a letter from where I am and send it to my bank the whole process will take over a month!

Has anyone had to follow the above process? or have you just rocked up at the bank in Malta and the bank in Malta makes this request on your behalf? The reason I ask is that my bank says a third party is requesting the information such as myself or a landlord, but another bank can make the request for it. The impression I got is that it is common for another bank to request this information but not myself, the customer.

Please advise what process you followed?

Thanks to all in advance.

I've been told by HSBC here, that they can't accept a bank reference if you bring it with you. They wish to request it themselves. Might be different with other banks though.

Hi,

I have since read some more posts and I agree, this seems to be a common process.

Let the banks do it.

Regards,

BOV did references for me - in that they contacted my uk bank for the reference, who then contacted me for permission to give one to BOV. This all takes time!!