Spanish bank account

[Crungmungus]

Hi,

I've not yet got residency and my new employer are asking me for a bank account. They tell me that I can get an account without residency but I was wondering how long it takes to get an account because I start on the 4th of August, leaving me only 1 day to get something sorted.

Any help appreciated,

James

[Pepino]

Hi James,

It´s really easy, and once opened you can use it immediately.

But it´s true that, in order to classify it as a residents account, they´ll want to see your NIE so maybe it´s best left until you´ve got that. If you just show them your passport as ID, then they´ll open the account just the same, but it will be a non-residents account. That´s no big deal at the end of the day, but they probably will charge you a higher maintenance fee on it.

Banks are supposed to ask their non-resident account holders every two years to re-confirm their status. So the way I see it, if you want to open the account before you get your NIE, then go ahead with a non-residents account, and then as soon as you have the NIE, tell the bank to switch you over rather than waiting for 2 years for them to ask you officially.

But re-reading your post, it sounds like you just want to know how long it takes for the account to become "useable". In which case, in my experience, the answer is immediately.

[allan]

Originally Posted by Pepino

Hi James,

It´s really easy, and once opened you can use it immediately.

But it´s true that, in order to classify it as a residents account, they´ll want to see your NIE so maybe it´s best left until you´ve got that. If you just show them your passport as ID, then they´ll open the account just the same, but it will be a non-residents account. That´s no big deal at the end of the day, but they probably will charge you a higher maintenance fee on it.

Banks are supposed to ask their non-resident account holders every two years to re-confirm their status. So the way I see it, if you want to open the account before you get your NIE, then go ahead with a non-residents account, and then as soon as you have the NIE, tell the bank to switch you over rather than waiting for 2 years for them to ask you officially.

But re-reading your post, it sounds like you just want to know how long it takes for the account to become "useable". In which case, in my experience, the answer is immediately.

I can confirm this. I've had a non-resident account for 4 years or so
with Santander. Bank charges are higher than resident accounts and I'd
guess other Spanish banks are the similar. I didn't have NIE at the time ( I do now) but haven't passed it on to the bank yet, but they don't seem
concerned.
Opening the account was a doddle - all that was needed was a
passport number and an address. The account was available for use
immediately.

Allan

[allan]

It's occurred to me that it might be more difficult opening a non-resident
account if you're not a EU citizen. I don't know the answer to that one.

Allan

[kronos]

Absolutely not a problem! You just use your passport and say you want to open an account as a "no residente". If you plan on getting residency, they just tell you to come back in and change it to a resident's account once you have everything sorted. If you plan on staying "sin papeles", still not an issue -- but you have to give them some sort of proof of NOT being a resident in Spain. For me, I gave them a copy of my freelancing arrangement with a company back in the States, and that was sufficient.

I used Open Bank (twice) and can't speak highly enough of them. No questions asked, no hefty fees (for anything really), and you can use all Santander and Banesto cash machinese for free. You can also do most teller-based transactions (such as withdrawing money via check) at Banestos and Santanders as well.