Gilly63

Hi, is there a bank chain in Spain that offers an English speaker to help with opening an account? I’m looking for suggestions in Rute, Cordoba

spainrico

AS nobody else has replied....I think the short answer is no.

But the banks located in areas with a high rate of English-speaking clients will have English speakers - although even this is 'hit and miss'

Never heard of Rute and I would hazard a guess not many English speakers there so good luck - if you are going to live there I would think learning Spanish is a priority.

https://www.expatica.com/es/finance/...ccount-103392/

By the way if you are going to be transferring money then it is worth checking out Wise - great value when moving money

https://wise.com/gb/blog/opening-a-b...count-in-spain

Gilly63

Thanks for the info, it’s pretty much what I’m anticipating! Am learning Spanish, doing ok, but certainly not at communicating business transactions level ha ha. Guess it’ll all add to the adventure of the trip. Thanks again

spainrico

Yes its all about adventure.....just prepare a few basic phrases ie Quiero abrir una cuenta corriente de residentes/no residentes

and make sure you have ALL the relevant paperwork/photocopies with you.

Good luck.

ps please check out using Wise, could save you a fortune.

tebo53

Hi,

For any official business whether it be banks, doctors or government agencies I always employ a translator.
I never expect any official to speak English. You wouldn't have a problem, assuming you have all the requirements, to open a bank account using a translator which will probably cost you €20

Job sorted.....

Steve

Londonuck

Is there a way of opening a Spanish account without a Spanish address? We're looking around different areas and using Airbnb etc. Thanks in advance.

spainrico

read this

https://www.expatica.com/es/finance/.../#Open-Account

tebo53

Yes you can open a non residents account. You will need to be at the bank to sign all the documents etc. You will need to take identification.
Non residents accounts are notoriously expensive at Spanish banks and many people are closing their non residents accounts and moving over to internet based banks such as Wise internet Banking which is far cheaper.

www.wise.com

Steve

Londonuck

Thanks Steve.

UKMS

I will echo what others have said about Wise and the situation you describe is a perfect use case, also consider Revolut as an option or even both ! Everything is very easy to manage online or via the app.

dave7777

If you are buying a property there, and have an english speaking lawyer, they will help with that (although you have to be there to sign the documents etc) ours did that for us and arranged our NIE's all included in the price of the completion.

mikelincs

When we bought in Spain we signed a POA for the lawyers to open a bank account for us, in fact they opened one for the mortgage and a second one as a checking account, which also was the one the mortgage was paid from. Please ensure that as soo as you become resident you go to the bank and change the details, will certainly save you money.

CrunchyFr0g

Does anyone have any experience of opening a Spanish bank account if you're resident (you live in Spain and have received residency), but not tax-resident (because you spent more than 183 days this year in the UK)?

I'm finding that the banks conflate the two and want to consider me non-resident, but I am in fact resident.

Anyone else hit this?

Thanks

Ronnyone

The problem is that if you have Spanish residency you are by definition a Spanish tax resident. I know you are going to say that you don't spend more than 180 days in spain but it doesn't work like that. By registering as a Spanish resident you are effectively declaring that you spend the majority of your time in spain and ....this your your financial base. So you lose your residency status if you are absent for more than 6 months in a year or 10 months accumulated over 5 years . If permanent residency status you can be absent for 5 uears. Now you can argue all day about it but I can tell you the bank will not grant you a resident account without you having to notify them of your Spanish tax dealings. All that will happen is they will block the account until you provide your tax details. Now I know this because my ex works for a Spanish law firm and deals with Swedes who often try and get resident bank accounts as they pay less and can try and get round non resident taxes on their properties. It simply doesn't wash. In fact as a resident you will be contacted by the hacienda if you open a resident bank account as that information immediately goes to them through bank - you will then be asked for a tax declaration.
It all makes sense- if you could get residency but live somewhere else then that means that UK national could have got TIE cards before Brexit and then just lived in uk until they are ready to retire to Spain. In the meantime they would open resident Spanish accounts and avoid non- resident taxes and non resident bank charges.

CrunchyFr0g

Thanks for that. It does make sense.

I don't have a problem paying tax in Spain for this financial year. But I won't have lived here for 183 days so I think the UK are going to expect me to pay tax there.
Sounds like I need a gestor.

So, to open a bank account here, I need more than just a TIE. I need some record that I'm registered with Hacienda?