cyrian

A few years ago (I forget exactly when) the EU passed a new EU-wide law regarding banks and money laundering.
This laid out parameters for the EU banks regarding the opening of new accounts and limits on cash transactions etc. - nothing to do with Brexit.
However, some banks including my French bank decided to have tighter restrictions than those prescribed - as I found out.
Different banks have different criteria and you need to ask what a particular bank will require from you once you are UK resident.
The documents required usually fall into two categories - those that identify you as the person that you say you are and those that confirm your address.
HTH
You asked about Scottish bank accounts:
Clydesdale Bank has been renamed Virgin Money.
They have a 3 stage application process.
1. They need to identify you.
2. They need to identify where you stay.
3. They need to identify your income. (State Pension.)
If you don't qualify for their normal current account then they may offer you their M account.
This is a basic bank account if, for example, you have a bad credit history.
Once you have established your residency then you could change to their normal account or switch to another bank.
Virgin Money

Beraider

Pardon my ignorance but is there any difference in law between a Scottish, English or Welsh Bank account? As far as I'm aware one could move from Edinburgh to Manchester and keep the same bank account.

Pulaski

None whatsoever. Several banks in the UK have their HQ in Scotland, but operate identically throughout the UK. Scotland has a couple of largely regional banks, but there is nothing special about them.

dougal03

No there is no difference between Banks throughout the UK,I was asking about Banks in Scotland as that is where I shall be.As Scot57 has said,he found it most difficult to open a Bank account when he returned.I shall have to organise my Spanish pension which will only be paid in Euros,not converted at source as my British pension is.So transferwise or similar is what I must use & convert every so often.I doubt if I shall have a rental agreement ready as,at present I have no opportunity to take a trip to Scotland to organise that part.Anyway I am not familiar with the area I have picked. I am on a Spanish based forum & getting some good pointers.Like myself these posters are ex-pats.& in Spain so can add some useful advice from this end.That made me aware of the closure of British Bank accounts I live in a small multi-cultural town with about 100 different nationalities resident &.there have always been a lot of comings & goings particularly between EU countries.I don´t know about French Banks but one time my Swedish Bank manager accepting my funds from Gibraltar & being told that my account there had been closed,offered to set me up with an account in Sweden there & then standing in his office. .Perhaps his say so as to my credit worthiness was enough but I wonder if that would suffice right now with a British Bank.I did hope that I would have funds ready to use once I arrive back but perhaps it will be a case of carrying enough on my person.And yes I have found out the amount I can take in cash legally through customs.

Pulaski

There is no limit on how much "can take in cash legally through customs".

There is a limit above which you have to declare it to customs, but there are no fees levies or charges on it, no matter how much. At that point it would be prudent to carry documentation as to [1] where you got it from, [2] why you're carrying cash as opposed, for example, to carrying a draft or transferring it using a wire, and [3] what you're going to do with it,

durham_lad

When we first moved back to England in 2016 I made sure we had a no foreign transaction credit and debit card. Carrying a load of cash is not my thing, and getting it in the first place carries foreign transaction fees equal to or greater than using a credit card to make purchases. There is an article in this month’s Which? about a number of folks who tried to buy stuff in some stores that are not taking cash because of the pandemic.

https://www.which.co.uk/news/2020/10...-and-medicine/