Conditions for opening a bank account for war refugees holding Ukrainian citizenship
In Estonia, there are several banks offering opening of a bank account and money transfers free of charge (mostly for a period of 3-12 months) for Ukrainian citizens fleeing the war. The banks to approach are LHV Pank, Luminor, Coop Pank, SEB Pank, Swedbank and TBB Pank
When wishing to open a bank account one needs to know that:
- There could be queues at the bank offices
- There could be a need to visit the bank office twice (expectations might differ in different banks)
- There is a need to prove one’s identity
- A contract needs to be signed after the bank has made a positive decision
- Opening a bank account might take up to 14 working days
- The bank card will be delivered by post, so one needs a local postal address. If that is not possible, one more visit to the bank office is needed.
Specific circumstances depend on the documents a person has and might differ in the different banks.
The banks accept the following documents to prove one’s identity
|
Document (document examples) | Coop Pank | LHV Pank | Luminor | SEB Pank | Swedbank | TBB pank |
| Temporary Estonian resident permit card (ID card) | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| PASSPORT OF THE CITIZEN OF UKRAINE (travel document) | Yes | Yes | Yes, together with temporary protection or resident permit card or the copy of the decision to issue that | Yes | Yes |
Yes, together with temporary protection or resident permit card or the copy of the decision to issue that |
| Passport | Yes, together with temporary protection or the copy of the decision to issue resident permit |
Yes, together with temporary protection or the copy of the decision to issue resident permit
| Yes, together with temporary protection or the copy of the decision to issue resident permit |
Yes, together with temporary protection or the copy of the decision to issue resident permit or the Ukrainian driver’s license
|
Yes (the document needs to contain: a photo, first and last name, identity code, date of birth, citizenship, period of validity of the document)
| Yes, together with temporary protection or the copy of the decision to issue resident permit or the Ukrainian ID-card
|
| Ukranian ID-card | Yes, together with temporary protection or the copy of the decision to issue resident permit |
Yes, together with temporary protection or the copy of the decision to issue resident permit | Yes, together with temporary protection or the copy of the decision to issue resident permi |
Yes, together with temporary protection or resident permit card or the copy of the decision to issue that or the Ukrainian driver’s license
|
Yes, together with temporary protection or resident permit card or the copy of the decision to issue that |
Yes, together with temporary protection or the copy of the decision to issue resident permit
|
|
Ukrainian driver’s license
| Yes, together with temporary protection or the copy of the decision to issue resident permit |
Yes, together with temporary protection or the
copy of the decision to issue resident permit
|
Yes, together with temporary protection or the copy of the decision to issue resident permit |
Yes, together with Ukrainian passport or Ukrainian ID-card
|
- At LHV Pank and TBB pank one can open a bank account without visiting a bank office when in possession of a resident permit.
- Luminor allows to fill in the application for opening a bank account on the bank’s website. In this case, one only needs to visit the bank office once. If the customer wishes to get the bank card from the bank office, two vists are needed.
- To visit Swedbank’s offices, we kindly ask you to book a visiting time on Swedbank’s web page. In Tallinn, Swedbank offers group counselling at Liivalaia, Rävala and Lasnamäe Centrum offices, one can book a group visit at the branches.
- To visit SEB Pank’s office in Tallinn, Tornimäe street, we kindly ask you to book a visiting time at SEB web page.
- A visit to TBB pank’s Estonia pst office should be booked in advance by calling +372 6688066. One can also book a visit by sending an e-mail to helpdesk@tbb.ee or by sending a message using this form: “Võta meiega ühendust”.
- For people who have not applied for temporary protection, a usual procedure of opening a bank account for non-residents might be applied. In this case, additional documents are needed (also proving one’s connection to Estonia) and opening a bank account is not free of charge.
- Opening a bank account for a child is not a precondition to receive family allowances from the state. The allowance is transferred to the parent’s bank account.
