While its’ easy to open a company in the UK, opening a bank account is very difficult if you are non resident. The strict money laundering laws, fraud risks and additional administration costs has led banks to impose stringent requirements when opening a bank account.
Actually, you do not require a UK bank account by law to operate a Limited company but it maybe pragmatic to have one as UK transactions need to be separately identifiable for tax reasons otherwise these costs may be disallowed.
Non Residents can open a business bank account but virtually all banks require a face to face meeting and will require ID (passport, proof of address etc). Some international banks maybe a little more flexible but can take a long time to open a bank accounts.
It is possible to open an offshore bank account with Barclays but may take a month and will require have to show annual turnover or gross annual income of £5,000,000.00 (or currency equivalent) or a cash balance / investable assets of £2,500,000.00 (or currency equivalent).
We have connections with banks in the UK and we can help to open UK bank account even if you are non resident and based overseas.