Comments on: Opening an Australian Bank account from the UK

By: Mark

Mark — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 01:12:17 +0000

I’m afraid not mate, you can open an account from the UK however you’d need to be a resident before you could use it.

I do wonder If I could take out a mortgage in the UK though

Mark

By: pozz

pozz — Sun, 10 Jan 2010 13:47:24 +0000

Have just returned from Australia and note their bank savings rates
are much better that the UK. Can I as a UK citizen open an account
there? I’m thinking of opening a Westpac 5 year deposit account offering an 8% p.a. interest return.
Thanks

By: Ronald

Ronald — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 17:33:28 +0000

I’ve read that Citibank have a special ‘backpackers account’. It’s especially designed for people on working holiday visas (e.g. me!) so might be useful to someone out there.

By: Ken

Ken — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 15:20:02 +0000

I’ve just opened an account with ANZ and want to tell you that it was extremely easy to do so. All I had to do was fill out the form and post it to their London office. The form’s available on their website but I had several copies of it already as they hand them out at every emigration show.
The account I’ve chosen (V2 Plus) requires a minimum initial deposit of $5,000 (but that then means there are no monthly account charges and it pays interest). Although it is described as an “initial deposit” ANZ are pragmatic and so set up the account and then give you time to make the deposit afterwards via an FX specialist (I’m using Halo Financial). Note that I won’t be able to make any withdrawals until I’ve visited an ANZ branch in Australia to “identify” myself. I have to visit Australia next month to validate my visa anyway so that’s not an issue for me. As I’ll definitely have been in Australia for less than six weeks all I’ll need for identity is my (entry stamped) passport. I e-mailed ANZ before opening the account and they confirmed that I don’t need an Australian address.
Note that although I have permanent residency and do intend to move in the future there’s been no mention of a need for this from ANZ so as long as Cameron is going to visit Australia I don’t see why he can’t open an account with them.

By: Mark

Mark — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 10:02:25 +0000

I don’t think this would be possible Cameron.

Think of the benefits if you were into a little thing called tax evasion. Folks would have a field day

By: Cameron

Cameron — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 11:30:19 +0000

Does anyone have any information on opening a bank account in Australia from the UK if I have no intention of moving there.
I have family members there that I would like to give access to money without having to keep making transfers to them from here.

I live in London and would like to simply “stock pile” some reserves so that when they do need the money it is easily transferrable from my Aus account into theirs via online banking.

Thanks

Cameron

By: Tony Loeckenhoff

Tony Loeckenhoff — Fri, 15 May 2009 02:30:58 +0000

I work for NAB (National Australia Bank) and we have a dedicated Migrant Banking solution for people planning the move to Australia. With NAB you can open an account 12 months before you are planning to get here and you receive a dedicated migrant banker to assist you in Australia irrespective of the amount of money you are bringing with you. There is no charge to set up the account and fees are waived until you arrive in Australia and meet your new bank manager. You can apply online at the website listed and you will receive your account in 24 – 48 hours.

Hope this assists some of you.

By: Frank

Frank — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 13:41:57 +0000

I tried to open an account with HSBC Australia from the UK. However I was told in an HSBC London branch that this service would cost me Â£150.00!

Will therefore go with an Australian bank.

By: Mark

Mark — Sat, 26 Apr 2008 02:18:13 +0000

Excellent! Thanks so much for the info Marilyn. We have many Americans visiting us here at Getting Down under so details on how to open an Australian bank account from the United States will prove very useful to quite a few people I’m sure

Regards

Mark

By: Marilyn

Marilyn — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 10:48:47 +0000

I used HSBC to open my Australian account. I had an HSBC daily checking account, high yield savings account, and several credit cards, all through American branches. I simply walked into my local HSBC branch, explained that I was moving to Australia in April and needed to open an Account with HSBC in Melbourne (they have offices in other capital cities too). They did all the paperwork for me, I made the initial transfer through OzForex (gave me a better rate than HSBC) and then received a letter at my US address confirming the account had been set up. A few days before I left the US, I called HSBC in Melbourne and confirmed that they had indeed received my initial transfer. I arrived in Melbourne on Thursday, on Friday I went into the HSBC branch on Collins Street, signed one form, showed them my passport, and collected my ATM card, pin number, and online bank code. It was SO easy!!!

I hope this helps someone with this critical dilemma.

Marilyn