Can I Keep My UK HSBC Account After Becoming a Non-Resident?

Hsbc yuk. The worse bank on this planet

I still have a First Direct account, never had any issues in 8 years since leaving the UK

I have a UK Natwest account with a Thai address and phone number pension money goes in there and I transfer monthly through Wise (formally Transferwise) into my Bangkok Bank account..no problems and have been doing this for 6 years. I use online banking from start to finish and usually get my money same day and within 6 hours.

Yes. I have HSBC in UK. Not lived there since 2002 and only opened account in 2016. Opened it from Singapore as thought I was relocating to UK.

Oh and if you go into your local branch asking questions about overseas accounts/transactions you'll be met with a wall and a fob off of we don't deal with that here you'll have to ring in. Back in July/August and I'm not sure how it is currently but they shut the international department down in the UK (Covid/staffing blah blah), but they still try to put you through to the number which of course nobody answers 🤷‍♂️

So if you ring up do ask the question - is the international dept open or you'll be on hold for a very long time like I was.

You can send you state pension direct to you thai bank if needed.

The DWP told me they do good exchange rates too

I've just made the move and have kept my UK HSBC account for pension/rental income/UK bills. I've just updated my address and phone number to Thai with no real issues, except a message telling me it affects investments/ISA as you aren't a UK resident.

If you don't already I'd suggest you start using/getting familiar with the online application rather than just a phone app as some things you can't do on the app.

As regards transfers, if you use Wise I'd suggest sending a transfer to the 'holding' account within Wise if you think you might use it. I usually transferred straight into my Thai bank account but the first time I tried to send to my holding account HSBC stopped the payment and suspended my account as they viewed it as fraudulent activity. This required a phone call to unlock it again which would be a pain from Thailand.

Of course but youl have to have money go into Thai bank

Yes, but in another foreign country. Our experience is, if you have a U.K. address (friend or family member?) and have a few transactions in and out, you don’t have a problem. It’s the people who have severed most links with the U.K. that the banks are are clamping down on.