Open a Student bank account

To open our account for students, you'll need:

• UK Passport or Driver's Licence (full or provisional)
• Proof of address - Driver's Licence, Utility Bill or Bank Statement. If you don’t have one of these,  you can use one of the documents we ask for to verify your UK student status.

To confirm you're a student and eligible for this account, we require your unique 16 digit UCAS status code. Courses without a UCAS code are not eligible for our student account. If you can't find your code, log into your UCAS hub or contact UCAS on 03714 680 468, before starting the application.

Once your account is open, we'll send your tastecard redemption code to your email address. We will use the email address you provided to us during your application process to contact you about your tastecard.

To confirm you're a student and eligible for this account, we require your unique 16 digit UCAS status code. Courses without a UCAS code are not eligible for our student account. If you can't find your code, log into your UCAS Hub (opens in new tab) or contact UCAS on 0371 468 0468, before starting the application. 

After you graduate your Student account will switch to a Graduate account. We’ll notify you about 60 days in advance, so there are no unexpected surprises. 

You can apply for an overdraft once your Student account is open. If your course has started or is about to start, you might be able to apply for an overdraft while opening your Student account. You’ll need to be 18+years, Subject to lending criteria.

If you’re approved, your interest-free overdraft limit is £500 in year one, term one. You can apply to increase the overdraft up to £2,000 from term two, year one.  Students from year three onwards can apply for up to £3,250.

You can apply for an overdraft on your account at any time once your course has started, with an instant online decision.

You can only have one Student account with NatWest Group (NatWest/Royal Bank/Ulster Bank) at a time. If you try to open more than one student account in the UK you will only receive the benefits of the account once. 

Banking My Way is a free service that allows you to record information about the support or adjustments you need to make banking easier. You can also let us know any additional support you may need to ensure all of our colleagues are aware of this. The information will be shared on our internal systems and therefore you will not need to repeat these requirements every time you interact with us.

Once your account is open, you can record this through Online Banking or with our colleagues in branches or over the phone.

Learn more about Banking My Way

If you’ve lived in the UK for more than three years, you can apply for our Student bank account.

If not, we’ll recognise you as an international student. And that means you won’t be eligible for our Student account.

The good news? We have plenty of other current account options. So long as you’re classed as a UK resident, you could apply for a Select everyday account or a Reward account.