Opening a UK Bank Account with Foreign Identity Documents: What Banks Accept and When a Translation Helps

Barclays will not accept a statement from a digital bank as proof of address. For a newcomer whose first UK account lives in an app, that one line can mean going home to wait for a gas bill.

The passport is rarely the problem. Banks must verify your identity under the Money Laundering Regulations 2017, but each writes its own list of documents, and the lists differ in ways that matter to recent arrivals.

Below: what six large banks publish, your right to a basic account, and where translations come in.

What ID do UK banks accept from foreign nationals?

A valid passport, almost everywhere. Beyond that, each bank's published list decides. As of October 2026:

Two patterns stand out. National identity cards from outside Europe are mostly missing, though HSBC takes some, including Indian, Philippine and US cards, as proof of address in branch. And several banks want an eVisa share code, which expires after 90 days; HSBC says the "name and date of birth on your eVisa must match" your ID document.

The law also bars banks from opening a current account for someone in the UK without the immigration permission they need, unless a status check shows they are not a "disqualified person" flagged by the Home Office (section 40 of the Immigration Act 2014).

Do you need to translate your passport or ID card for a UK bank?

Usually not. None of the six banks above asks for a passport translation, and the data page already gives your name in Latin letters. Our passport and ID translation guide explains which pages ever need translating.

A translation also cannot add a document to a bank's list. If a bank accepts only EU or EEA identity cards, a translated card from Kazakhstan or Nigeria is still not on it; use your passport instead.

Two banks put the exceptions in writing:

• Applying from abroad. HSBC says: "Any documents uploaded online that are in a language other than English must be translated and certified", and documents sent by post must be certified too. The certifier must be a bank in a country of equivalent jurisdiction, a UK embassy or consulate that offers the service, or a lawyer in your country listed on the Legal 500 or the UK government's list of lawyers abroad. Official Translations cannot provide that certification, and our certified translation does not replace it.
• Foreign equivalents. Santander's ID guide accepts "equivalent documents from a non-UK country to update details on existing accounts" but adds: "ensure all documents are written in English." It does not say whether a translation will do, so ask first.

How do you prove your address when you have just arrived?

With official post from your bank's list. The options that suit newcomers:

1. A letter from your employer. HSBC accepts one confirming your address and current job, in branch; Barclays takes a "UK Visas and Immigration licensed sponsor letter" dated within three months.
2. A university letter. HSBC accepts one confirming a place on a course, and Nationwide one from a college or university in England confirming enrolment.
3. HMRC post. NatWest accepts the original National Insurance confirmation letter, dated or not.
4. A tenancy agreement, if it comes from a council, housing association or letting agency, as Lloyds and Nationwide require.
5. Your overseas documents. Nationwide takes a non-UK bank statement from the last three months in branch; HSBC accepts an overseas driving licence that states your address.

MoneyHelper, the government-backed guidance service, adds that registering to vote, if you are eligible, helps "as some banks use this as part of their checks", and suggests a prepaid card if you lack the documents, or a credit union account if you still cannot open one.

What is a basic bank account, and can a bank refuse you one?

It is a fee-free sterling account with a debit card, direct debits, standing orders, transfers and cash withdrawals at counters and cash machines, and no overdraft (regulations 19 and 20 of the Payment Accounts Regulations 2015). HM Treasury designated nine providers to offer it in 2016: Barclays, Clydesdale and Yorkshire Bank, the Co-operative Bank, HSBC, Lloyds Banking Group (with Halifax and Bank of Scotland), Nationwide, the Royal Bank of Scotland group (with NatWest and Ulster Bank), Santander and TSB.

A designated bank must offer one to any consumer who is "legally resident" in the UK and either has no UK account with basic features or is ineligible for the bank's other accounts (regulation 23). Legally resident expressly includes people with no fixed address, asylum seekers, and people without a residence permit "whose expulsion is impossible for legal or practical reasons".

The rest of the regulations protect applicants:

• No discrimination by nationality. Banks "must not discriminate against consumers legally resident in the United Kingdom by reason of their nationality or place of residence" when they apply for any payment account (regulation 18).
• A decision within 10 business days of the completed application (regulation 24).
• Reasons in writing. A bank must refuse where opening would be unlawful, for example under the Money Laundering Regulations. Whatever the reason, it must explain a refusal in writing, free of charge, where it lawfully can, and tell you how to complain and about your right to go to the Financial Ombudsman Service. Since 28 April 2026, the reason must also be "sufficiently detailed and specific" for you to understand why (regulation 25).

The FCA expects flexibility too: its Financial Crime Guide lists as good practice that "the firm can cater for customers who lack common forms of ID".

When does a UK bank want a translation?

When a person, not a machine, has to read a foreign document to make a decision. In practice:

• Name differences. Santander asks for "the relevant supporting documents" if your name has changed since your ID was issued; a marriage certificate from abroad is the usual one. See marriage certificate translation.
• Children's accounts. NatWest asks for "a proof of relationship document" when a teenager's surname differs from the parent's. HSBC accepts a child's birth certificate only if "issued in the UK or Channel Islands, or Isle of Man", so use the child's passport.
• Money from abroad. Banks must scrutinise transactions, "including, where necessary, the source of funds" (regulation 28(11) of the Money Laundering Regulations 2017). A large transfer from a property sale or inheritance may prompt a request for the contract, statements or estate papers. See bank statement translation.
• Someone acting for you. A power of attorney made abroad, or a death certificate when a relative's account is closed.

GOV.UK's guidance on certifying documents for "a bank account or mortgage" sets the usual standard: the translator confirms in writing on the translation that it is a "true and accurate translation of the original document", with the date and their full name and contact details. Our certificate is signed and dated, confirms accuracy and gives the certifying official's full name, our contact details and our membership of the Association of Translation Companies (ATC).

A certified translation is not a certified copy. If HSBC also wants a copy of your document certified by a bank, embassy or lawyer on its list, that is a separate step; see who can certify a translation.

Why bank account applications get refused or delayed

• A statement from a digital bank offered as proof of address at Barclays, or a Nationwide statement at Nationwide.
• The same document used for identity and address, which Barclays and Santander do not allow.
• A visitor visa offered as right to remain at Santander.
• An expired share code, or an eVisa showing a different name from the passport.
• A non-European ID card at a bank that lists only EU or EEA cards.
• A missing middle name, or a transliteration that differs from the passport.
• A foreign document in another language with no translation, when the bank must read it.

Checklist: before you apply for a UK bank account

Questions people ask