opening non residents account in Lanzarote

Posted: Fri Dec 8, 2023 9:49am

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Joined: 1 Aug 2022

Hi all - i'm living in PDC/Lanzarote with residencia appt on 18 December. I'm looking to open a non residents account to 'park' requisite funds in advance of the appointment and then upgrade to residents account once I have paperwork etc. However, a lady in Sabadell yesterday informed me that in order to open a non residents account with them I have to take out private healthcare insurance with them. Surely not, that's outrageous. i told her I already have medical coverage and I have a right to choose a provider and not be told by a bank!

is anyone aware of this as a policy by Sabadell or other banks here? I need to open a non resident account soon but if this is a general policy then I find it totally discriminatory. Any advice on where best to open an account for residencia purposes would be appreciated

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Posted: Sun Dec 17, 2023 2:30am

ginny23

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Location: Conil

Joined: 14 Jul 2019

Posted: Sun Dec 17, 2023 2:30am

Hi, I expect she meant that in order for the account to be free of charge then you’d need to take out a ‘banking product’ such as an insurance policy- health, house etc - this is quite normal in Spain. BBVA do an on-line account that is free of charges, they also have a bank in PDC. Take a look on-line to see if it’s suitable. For exchanging UK pounds to Euros we use Wise and Revolute or other currency exchange companies in order to get the best rate. Hope this helps. Good luck

Posted: Sun Dec 17, 2023 10:07am

oweney

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Posts: 22

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Location: Puerto del Carmen

Joined: 1 Aug 2022

Posted: Sun Dec 17, 2023 10:07am

ginny23 wrote on Sun Dec 17, 2023 2:30am:
Hi, I expect she meant that in order for the account to be free of charge then you’d need to take out a ‘banking product’ such as an insurance policy- health, house etc - this is quite normal in Spain. BBVA do an on-line account that is free of charges, they also have a bank in ...

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...PDC. Take a look on-line to see if it’s suitable. For exchanging UK pounds to Euros we use Wise and Revolute or other currency exchange companies in order to get the best rate. Hope this helps. Good luck

Hi - thanks for reply, much appreciated. She didn't mean that at all. I went back for clarification with a Sabadell account holder. We both received exactly the same message from her with an implication that she was told to do this with a shrug... (no doubt under pressure from line management to meet targets etc) . Sabadell HQ and client services confirmed that this was not policy but declined to investigate further. I ended up getting a Caixa non resident account in less than 20 mins with a card there and then so all good to go thankfully in advance of my residencia meeting.

This/these forums are great in sharing stories and all down to people like you and others willing to chip in with a bit of advice/steer when needed. Thanks again...