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What is a proof of address?

A proof of address is any original document which features the full name of the individual together with his residential address. A utility services bill, bank statement, credit card statement, mortgage or credit union statement, local authority tax bill, local council rent card, statement of the residential address issued by the local municipality, notary or banker can all serve as proof of address. A national identity card or drivers licence can also serve as proof of addres, if it contains the residential address and if such document is provided in addition to the passport of the same individual. For Due Diligence purposes, a proof of address document must be in original form (no photocopies!), and not older than 3 months. The logic behind requiring the proof of address is to have a reasonably accurate information of what is the the real, actual residence address of an individual.

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(Part 4 of 7)

Many offshore banks require a positive proof of address for new account holders, so get those utility bills ready. Or don’t.
OFFSHORE-FOX.COM
with Alex Hanson

Bank references are not the only paperwork you’ve got to get ready in order to open an offshore bank account. Utility bills — such as gas or electricity bills in your name — are routinely requested as a positive confirmation of your actual residential address.

And again, the practice has its roots in common law. To a Frenchman, the idea of providing a gas bill to open a bank account may seem absurd — but not so for his English cousin across the Channel.

Where civil law jurisdictions typically maintain centralised population registers — and in many it is an offence not to inform the bureaucrats of your change of address — common law administrations seem to be less concerned about their citizens’ whereabouts. As a result, banks in, say the UK, cannot refer to any “official” database to confirm the address of new account holders. And just as they rely on references to compensate for the lack of any reliable mechanisms to confirm identity, they rely on utility bills to confirm residential address — the thinking being that if you are paying electricity bills at a given address, you are probably living there.

It is easy to understand why this practice spilled over to a substantial number of offshore banking havens, particularly those in the Caribbean: many are English-speaking, common-law based ex-colonies of the United Kingdom.

If you live in a common law country, you probably think nothing of letting your local bank have one of your utility bills — you have probably done it at least once. But you may not be so happy about doing the same to open a private offshore bank account.

Proof of address in the UK

Proof of Address is often required in the UK if you are applying for and trying to open a UK bank account or obtain a mortgage or loan.

Commonly used items as proof of one’s address in the UK include:

Utility Bills (Electricity, Gas, Water, Sewage, Telephone or Mobile phone bill)

Council Tax Bill

Bank Account Statement

Credit Card Account Statement

Tenancy Agreement

Mail Order Statement

Hire Purchase Statement of Account

Pension Book

Driving License

Medical card / NHS Card

Some banks and building society will not accept mobile phone bills.

You may be required to simultaneously provide a Proof of Identity. This is a document showing your details, as well as a photographic representation of you.

You could use your driving license or International Passport as proof of identity. Unfortunately, you are not often allowed to use the same material on a single occasion as both proof of identity and proof of your address even though they should do, like your driving license.

There are two ways you can legally get proof of address in your name to enable you open a bank account, get job and work.

The first and by far the easiest way is to go to the post office and apply for a provisional driving license if you qualify.

You will need a fee of about £45.00 and a passport sized photograph. Send this off to the DVLA, and usually within two weeks you should get your provisional driving license and this can be used as a valid proof of your address.

The second way you can get proof of address in the UK is to speak to the person you are living with.

They may be able to call one of their utility companies (the telephone companies happen to be easier to approach) and explain that from that moment, the bills should be in your name. You do not need to do anything else.

Unfortunately, the draw back with this strategy is that it may take at least one month to get this change show ion the bill as oppose to two weeks in the above case.

Once the bill comes showing your name, you can use that to present to the bank, G.P or Loan Company as proof of address.

If you are a company or sole trader and needs a proof of address, there are companies that could provide you with a virtual address for a fee.