Recently, many people have been facing delays in getting their BRPs and it has been a cause of concern amongst all IMGs. Here is, post by Muhammad Khattab,MRCS-MSc Surgery, a doctor from Egypt on how to go about opening a bank account without a BRP. A heartfelt thank you for allowing me to share your experience on my blog!
After landing in UK, I decided to get a bank account so that
I can put all my bank notes (cash) in it and get my salary transferred there as well.
I got a letter from my HR mentioning my address, place of work and my annual salary so that I can open a bank account.
I went to Natwest , HSBC,
Lloyds and Barclays. All of them asked for my BRP in order to open a bank account for
me.
My BRP was due to arrive on the 15th of
September, however, I was still without one by 1st of October. It was delayed! It was apparently due to a large number of students migrating to UK during this time.
The pay roll team had told me that if you don’t get a bank account before the end
of the first week of October, I won't be getting my pay this month end.However they
would pay me for the successive two
months at the end of November.
I was really frustrated at not being able to get a bank account and was afraid to miss out my first salary. Additionally, it was really difficult to walk down the street without a
debit cards because literally all the transactions are done via contactless
cards.
So I had to make a bank
account as soon as possible .
A friend of mine talked me through creating an online bank account; it's
pretty easy and fast.
The well known names are: Starling , Monzo and Revoult. You don’t need to go to a bank or a BRP to create it. All you need is your address and a valid ID.
Here are the steps:
1. Download the app from Google play store.( I opened my account with Starling bank) and just follow the instructions in the app.
2. Have a valid ID ready next to you
3. Take a video of yourself saying
"Hello, My name is (Your name )
and I would like to have an account in your bank."
4. Take a picture of your ID(passport) and send it to them.
5. With a couple of days, you will receive a debit master card at the address provided by you.
6. Once you receive it, all you have to do is activate your bank account on your mobile! You are now free to add and transfer money as well as use your contactless card!
I gave my bank account and sort code number to my HR and they were happy with it.
NOTE: After you get your BRP, you need to let your HR know your National Insurance number in order for them to approve transfer of your salary.
One month later, my BRP still did not arrive. Had I waited for it to arrive, I would have been without a bank account all this while.