Can I open French bank account if I have no French address?

[cassie]

I am in the process of trying to buy a house in France but I do NOT think this will go ahead , for various reasons.

 I have made a forward exchange  contract at a  better rate than is currently available and,  on maturity date,  I would like to retain the euros rather than convert it back to sterling and bring it back to the U.K......in the hope of finding another French property in the future.

But  .... how can I open a French bank account, in which to deposit the money, as I will NOT have a Frech address?

Any advice would be appreciated

Dennis

[Âme]

Yes you can.

It's a long time ago now so I don't recall all of the details, but I opened an account before I owned/rented a residence in France. I went into a local branch (local to the area where I was househunting) during a trip to France. Deposited a small amount of cash (20€) et voila. Statements were sent to my UK address.

I have heard from many people that the Britline branch of Credit Agricole (in Caen) is a convenient place to open an account at a distance. http://www.britline.com/

[Will]

You want a compte etranger. You will need evidence of identity (passport) and address (utility bill for your home, i.e. non-French, address). No personal experience of Britline, but from what I have heard, if an English-speaking service is not imperative and you can actually get to a bank in your bit of France, the compte etranger is much easier to open.

[fromage]

We opened a CA Britline account.  Have had no problems at all with it but they do have an English Help Line if needed.

[mint]

Same experience as âme's.  Opened an account with Credit Mutuel in Brittany because that's where we were househunting in those days.

No probs but we did say we were recommended to go there by the estate agent (prominent in the town) to go there to have our account ready to receive funds from the UK! 

[Sprogster]

Much easier, if your British bank can open a Euro account for you, which most can do these days. If not within branch, through their Channel Islands or Isle of Man operations. Also saves a mountain of know your customer paper work, if you are an existing customer.

Not a good idea to have material amounts of cash sitting in a French bank account, if you are non French resident, as if you fall under the proverbial bus your executors will have the complexity and expense of dealing with your French Estate and all the forced heirship issues and potential taxes that go with it.

[Sprogster]

An additional more recent requirement of the French banks Will, are a copy of your last income tax asessment from your home country. 

[Jo]

I opened a Euro account with my Uk bank, wouldn't recommend it, they wouldn't supply both a cheque book and a card, it was either/or, my husband's bank was the same. It was VERY expensive to run, bank staff had little or no experience of them so something as simple as getting a french cheque paid in took 3 months and 3 visits! Despite managing all my other accounts on-line I was unable to access this one and could only find the balance by making an appointment to see a advisor!! I closed it as soon as possible and opened one with my local CA. They have been brilliant![:D]

[Andyphilpott]

We too had no problem in opening an account in France before we purchased. I must say we did not consider the falling under a bus scenario and agree that in that event there could be problems. Depending on the interest return on the deposit there might be tax considerations too but I am no expert in that field.

One thing to remember if you put the money into an English bank in Euros is that I am fairly sure they will make significant charges to then transfer it to a French Bank when/if you do buy somewhere in France.

Andy

[Hagar]

If you bank with HSBC in the UK they can open an account for you in one of their French branches. You still have to provide a fair amount of paperwork but this will all be handled by your local UK branch. Movement of funds between France/UK are then very straightforward.

I believe Barclays offer a similar service - there may be others.

Failing that there is nothing wrong with Britline (at least in our experience).

rgds

Hagar

 

[Sprogster]

Most of the posters like myself have French bank accounts because we already own French properties and that is the most practical way of paying the bills. However, if you are going to have a large capital sum parked in the account and you are French non resident, you need to understand what French tax issues arise and what the French probate requirements would be if you died, for which you should obtain professional advice. (This Forum does not qualify as such!) 

If it is going to be some time until you are likely to be in a position to buy a house in France, it might be a lot less complicated to keep it on a euro deposit in the UK/C.I and then open a French bank account and move the euros to France, once you have found a house and definitely know you are going to proceed. After all plans change and you might decide to buy in another country.

[AnOther]

Dennis, I can save you all the trouble. I will be more than happy to look after your money for you and have PM'd you the details of my Credit Agricole bank A/C [;-)]