I am a British expatriate and thus not resident in the UK. I used to have a largish sum deposited with the Isle of Man branch of the Bank of Scotland International. As the IofM deposit insurance scheme is very weak and given the troubles at HBOS I withdrew that money at the beginning of October. I would now like to divide it into two or three and place the resulting sums in onshore banks or building societies probably in instant access or 7 days notice saving accounts. Despite searching Moneysupermarket I am having a problem locating an onshore bank that would accept such a deposit and pay a reasonable (5.5%+) gross interest. They all seem to specify UK residents only.

Anyone have any suggestions?

You will need a UK address and/or current account to open most if not all UK savings accounts. You get to keep the account open if you move abroad but you must be here when you open the account. Often a utility bill or similar document will be required to verify the address..

Max is probably right. Can anyone cite an example where residency is not required?

HK Paul,

I would agree with Max on this too, I was lucky enough to have 3 accounts open before leaving the UK, I don't know if HSBC international can do anything for you as I know from HSBC Premier in the UK, they can help open accounts in other counties that you are going to live in. This advice was only from Feb 2008, if you are in Hong Kong as I assume then try HSBC there.

HSBC International are based on Jersey. Unless they can sort something out with another subsidiary, you may as well stay put.

Maxsteam,

Sorry, I meant that if he was based in Hong Kong, then HSBC could assist with opening an acount for him in the UK or any other country.

HSBC International offered me this option before I left the UK earlier this year as I intended to live part of the year in the USA and part of the year in Asia. HSBC International don't actually hold the accounts for you, they are still held and operated in the country that you wish to use them. In this case Paul could possibly get an account opened in the UK and it would be covered by the UK FSCS.

When HSBC International told me about this, it was dependent on being a HSBC Premier customer too, which I think this means holding a combined balance across your HSBC accounts. I didn' actually take this option myself at the time as I managed to get an account opened in the USA with Citibank and wasn't enthralled with opening an account in Asia where the guarantee was only around £3000 if the bank failed.

I can't be sure that this will be possible to get the UK account but a phone call or visit to a HSBC branch in Hong Kong would help determine if it can be done.