Banking – at home
You will require a substantial amount of money in the UK to cover your expenses until your first assignment; see ”Into Caring/Essentials/Money”.
You will need a bank account into which you can pay your Client’s/Agency’s cheques and from which you can draw cash but, because of strict anti-money laundering regulations, opening an account in the UK is, at best, time consuming and, if you do not have a UK address, impossible. Before you leave home you should consider either:
- Opening an offshore account, ideally with a bank that has a counterpart in the UK. The downside is that not only will the bank probably require a substantial opening balance and apply charges to the account but your tax situation may become more complicated.
- Opening a UK account with a UK bank which has branches in your home country. You can then use your home address, together with readily-available supporting documentation when applying. This type of account will also attract charges.