Indeed.
A UK tax resident person, who travels frequently (for any reason) and still spends the required number of days in the UK per year would qualify for an account.
They would also need a “permanent” UK address, of course, which could be registered with banks.
PS: @Dan5 Thanks, it wasn’t really my intention to not post but I’ve been busy with family stuff so haven’t had the same level of free time. I’m hoping to be back a bit more soon.
I’ve been looking into exactly the same thing. From my research:
HSBC (& First Direct) - You can keep an existing UK account “You can keep your UK bank account if you move abroad. Make sure you use it from time to time to prevent it from becoming dormant. Some account features may not be available while you’re living outside the UK.” How To Open A Bank Account Abroad | Moving Abroad - HSBC UK
Nationwide - you can keep an existing account, but can’t make any changes Living and working abroad | Nationwide
Virgin Money - Couldn’t find anything on their site, but the lady on the phone said they allow it.
Santander - Can keep an existing account open. Moving abroad | Santander UK
Barclays - Will normally close an account Living or moving outside of the UK | Barclays
Lloyds (Halifax and BoS) - Will normally close an account according to the livechat
Monzo, Starling - you can’t keep your account permenantly. Starling say you “Need a UK address associated with the account”
Revolut - you need to close your account and open a new one in the country you are moving to
Wise - you can keep your account.
Lloyds, HSBC, Barclays Natwest etc all have international accounts, these wern’t what I was after so I didn’t look into them too much.
CoOp let me keep my account when I moved to France. That might change as Coventry don’t let you keep the account.
If you have a packaged account, you need to downgrade it before you move as 1) the insurance won’t be valid and 2) you generally can’t make changes after you move.
Credit cards can generally also be kept, but don’t depend on the limit remaining the same. Two exceptions are Amex who will let you open a nice new card in your new country if they operate there and you have an existing UK card i.e. open Amex now, well before your move. Second, HSBC in your new country will give you a card on the basis of your UK credit record, in countries in which they operate.
Don’t be tempted to ‘tidy up’ your existing accounts by closing them before you move because you may find you need them later and won’t (apart from HSBC) be able to open them from abroad.
Lloyds will let you keep an account but I gather that you may need to change it to the international one. I imagine that Barclays and RBS/NatWest would be similar. That said, I was able to keep my Barclays account and NatWest credit card on moving to France.
HSBC Australia are the only Australian bank who will let you fully open an Australian account before you move or get an Australian residence permit i.e. they’ll post the debit card to the UK and the account is fully functional. All the other Australian banks won’t open the account fully without you turning up with a residence permit and proof of Australian address.
Although you can keep an ISA, you can’t add to it from abroad.
You can keep T212 and just change the address, but you might want to open a local T212 account.
You can keep your NS&I accounts (including premium bonds) but they require a UK account to be linked.
You can keep AJ Bell accounts but need a linked UK account.