Opening a Spanish Bank Account
Updated - Monday 29th September 2014
When purchasing a Spanish property it is necessary to have a Spanish bank account. This is not difficult to open but as from 7th October 2014 it has to be done in person at the bank and they will need to scan a copy of your passport, NIE or Residencia. Although this can be done with your passport you will still need an NIE number to carry out the actual house purchase.
In the past it may have been possible for your solicitor together with a copy of your passport to open an account on your behalf but due to increasing Anti-Money Laundering regulations we are finding that the banks are becoming far more strict and now require the account holder(s) to personally sign the necessary forms in front of bank staff before they will open the account. They are also likely to be asking for further supporting documentation and are already asking for copies of P60s so I suggest you bring these along too. We are investigating what else they will accept should you not get a P60.
For joint accounts, all account holders must be present in the bank with their respective documents.
As such we now recommend all committed buyers to open their bank accounts whilst out in Spain viewing properties rather than leaving this for their solicitor to do when they get back home as they may have done in the past.
So when planning your viewing trip please set aside some time one morning to pop along to your preferred bank to open the account. We normally recommend Banco Popular in Huercal Overa which is the bank most of our clients use - they speak English and if necessary we can make the introduction for you.
Peter
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