hedley_01

Hi,

I am planning to move to Granada, Spain before 2021 to apply for residency. I have read some cities don't require you to open a Spanish bank account and your UK one will suffice. Does anyone know about Granada?

Cheers,

Hannah

snikpoh

Surely you will need one to pay utility bills at least?

tebo53

I'm not sure about Granada but here in the Alicante region the authorities want to see a Spanish bank account with regular income being paid into said account for the last three months. They also want the statements stamped and signed by the bank personal. I also had to have a letter from the bank to prove that those statements were in fact true statements from my account!! I do understand that some areas will accept a UK bank account but I would imagine that they will want the 3 months statements translated into Spanish and legalised by a Notary.

One reason for the Spanish bank account is that the authorities may want proof by way of everyday payments going in and out of said account to actually prove you are living in Spain.

Steve

spainrico

Why would you not open a Spanish bank account?

bolton wanderer

How do you currently pay your utility bills in Spain? We have a Spanish online account which is fee free but unsuitable for a residency application in alicante, it may be different in Granada. I don't know of any areas that will accept UK bank statements alone that only show that you're currently resident in the UK.

Loafing Along

The Spanish tax authorities will need a Spanish bank account

bfg69bug

ditto this. yes, it will cost you €20 or €30 a year, but you´ll have a spanish card to use over here to pay for stuff, in the local currency?

Joppa

Try online bank account, such as N26, BBVA, Bankia etc.

scrubbedexpat077

Does it have to be Spanish or just in Euro? Would a Transferwise account be enough? Or a Euro account from any other EU-based bank. I thought all Euro accounts would be valid anywhere in EU.

Joppa

All you need is Spanish IBAN.

hedley_01

So I could set up a Spanish bank account online before arriving in Spain?

snikpoh

Yes.

Look at OpenBank, Wefferent, Imigin, BBVA etc.

hedley_01

What is an IBAN? Don't you need a Spanish bank account to get this number?

Thanks

Joppa

You need Spanish residential address to which your debit card is sent, and you normally need Spanish phone number - landline or mobile with +34 prefix. So it may be difficult to set one up before arriving in Spain.

hedley_01

So, in theory, I could give the address of a friend set up the bank account from the UK and change the address once I am in Spain at my own address?