[Squiggle]

Hi I am new to this site, but am wondering if anyone can answer this question definitively? My husband is an American citizen who has retained his US citizenship but is now a permanent resident in the UK with Indefinite leave to remain. He tried to upgrade his bank account today but was told his credit report had stopped the application basically. We looked it up tonight and found that one of the negative factors on his credit report is that he is not on the electoral roll. We tried to register him on the electoral roll tonight but was prevented from doing so as he is not a British, commonwealth or EU citizen.
We need to build up his credit profile here and it seems without being on the electoral roll this is going to be somewhat of a hindrance? My question is; do they make any special concessions for people like my husband who has indefinite leave to remain? Seems preposterous to me. Can anyone give us advice please?

 

[Water Dragon]

Hi I am new to this site, but am wondering if anyone can answer this question definitively? My husband is an American citizen who has retained his US citizenship but is now a permanent resident in the UK with Indefinite leave to remain. He tried to upgrade his bank account today but was told his credit report had stopped the application basically. We looked it up tonight and found that one of the negative factors on his credit report is that he is not on the electoral roll. We tried to register him on the electoral roll tonight but was prevented from doing so as he is not a British, commonwealth or EU citizen.
We need to build up his credit profile here and it seems without being on the electoral roll this is going to be somewhat of a hindrance? My question is; do they make any special concessions for people like my husband who has indefinite leave to remain? Seems preposterous to me. Can anyone give us advice please?

I intend to go for citizenship once I have ILR. I do know that is a requirement for being able to vote. I don't know if the electoral roll is a requirement for credit though.

He might want to consider UK citizenship. It would allow him to come and go from the UK without limitations (he could lose ILR if out of the country too long) and having a second passport is a very good idea. Americans don't have to give up their US passport/citizenship unless they choose to.

 

[Joppa]

Because you’re not eligible to vote in UK and EU elections, you can’t register on the electoral roll here. This is a problem because in the UK credit reference agencies like Experian include electoral roll information on credit reports to help banks and lenders check your name and address when you apply for credit. As a result, if you’re not registered your credit rating may suffer and any credit applications you make may be delayed while the lenders confirm your details some other way. What you can do to help is to add a short note to your credit report explaining why you’re not registered to vote here. You could also offer other proof of name and address. The presence of a note will force any credit application you make to be referred out of the lender’s credit scoring system. Instead, an underwriter will assess your application, reading your note in the process.

How can I build a credit history in the UK? - Experian UK

 

[ericksoe]

I just had this issue with Experian. I called them and they told me to add a "Notice of Correction" explaining why I cannot be on the electoral roll. It's in the link posted by Joppa.