Opening a European Bank Account Took Us 4 Months and 6 Rejections

You don’t really understand “moving to Europe” until a bank tells you no with a smile, in a language you half-speak, and you still have to pay rent next week.

Americans show up thinking a bank account is a basic adult thing. You have an address, a passport, money in the bank. You’re not trying to do anything weird. You just want to receive transfers, pay bills, and stop living off a US debit card like it’s 2009.

Then Europe reminds you: banks are regulated, compliance is strict, and “I’m new here” is not a sympathetic category. It’s a risk category.

So yes, four months and six rejections is completely plausible. Not because every bank is evil. Because the system has multiple choke points and you often hit more than one at the same time:

• you don’t yet have local residency documentation
• you don’t yet have a stable address in the bank’s preferred format
• you’re from the US, and FATCA makes you more expensive to onboard
• your income story is “foreign,” “remote,” or “mixed,” which triggers questions
• the branch staff doesn’t want the compliance headache

The good news is that once you understand why it’s happening, you can usually fix it. The bad news is that you will not fix it by being more polite.

You fix it by bringing the right documents and choosing the right bank strategy.

Why Americans get rejected more often than they expect

Let’s start with the uncomfortable truth: US citizens are a compliance burden in many banking systems because of FATCA.

FATCA (the US Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act) requires foreign financial institutions to identify and report information about US account holders or face serious consequences. That’s not a conspiracy. It’s the law. And it increases operational cost and risk for banks.

Many banks still accept Americans. Some don’t want to. Some accept them only in specific branches. Some accept them only for certain account types. Some accept them but make it slow and document-heavy.

So rejection is not always “you’re suspicious.” Sometimes it’s just “we don’t want the paperwork.”

The 6 rejection patterns that produce the four-month timeline

These are the most common reasons you get told no, or you get stuck in limbo, especially in Spain, Portugal, France, Germany, and Italy.

Rejection 1: “Come back when you have your residence card”

This is the classic loop.

You need a bank account to:

• pay rent properly
• pay deposits
• set up utilities
• sometimes even prove solvency

But you also need banking proof for parts of residency paperwork.

So you end up trapped in a circular dependency:

• The bank wants your residency card.
• Residency processes can be slow.
• Meanwhile you’re stuck using a US card and paying fees and looking unstable.

This is one reason newcomers lose months. It’s not personal. It’s systemic.

Rejection 2: “We need proof of address, not that kind of proof”

In many places, the bank doesn’t accept “a lease” as proof of address. Or they accept it only if it’s a specific type of lease. Or they want a utility bill, but you can’t get a utility bill without a bank account.

So you show:

• your Airbnb booking
• a temporary rental contract
• a letter from your landlord
  and they say no.

Banks often want something like:

• a padrón certificate (Spain)
• a formal residency registration document
• a utility bill in your name
• a government-issued address confirmation

If you don’t have it, you can get rejected even if you have money.

Rejection 3: “Your income is foreign, so we can’t classify you”

This is common for Americans who:

• are retired with foreign income
• live off investments
• work remotely for a US company
• have multiple income streams

In a compliance-heavy system, “foreign income” can trigger:

• additional documentation requirements
• source-of-funds and source-of-wealth questions
• hesitation about ongoing account monitoring obligations

You’re not being accused of crime. You’re being classified as “work for compliance.”

Rejection 4: “The branch doesn’t want to onboard an American”

This is the one that makes people furious because it feels arbitrary.

It can be.

Some branches have staff who know how to onboard Americans. Others don’t. Some managers don’t want the headaches. Some will say “we don’t do that here,” even if the bank technically can.

That’s why two people can walk into the same bank in different neighborhoods and have totally different experiences.

Rejection 5: “We need your tax number first”

Many European countries have a local tax ID or registration number that is used everywhere.

Examples:

• Spain: NIE is foundational for many processes.
• Portugal: NIF is similarly central.

If you don’t have that number, or you have it but the system can’t validate it yet, some banks will not proceed.

Rejection 6: “Your paperwork is correct, but our compliance review will take weeks”

This is the slow rejection. The bank doesn’t say no. It says:

• “We’ll contact you.”
• “Compliance will review.”
• “We need one more document.”
• “Can you come back next week?”

This is where four months happens. It’s not one big refusal. It’s endless limbo.

And yes, Americans get caught here more often because FATCA and foreign-source funds trigger more review.

The “we got rejected six times” timeline, realistically

Here’s what a four-month, six-rejection story looks like in real life.

Month 1: You try the obvious banks

You walk into the big national banks and ask for a basic account.

They ask for:

• passport
• proof of address
• local tax number
• residency documentation
• sometimes proof of income

You have half of this.

You get rejected three times.

Month 2: You try again with more documents

You get your local tax number. You print a lease. You bring bank statements.

Two banks still say no because:

• lease isn’t enough
• you don’t have your card yet
• compliance doesn’t want to onboard you

You get rejected twice more.

Month 3: You go through a different path

You try:

• a branch in a different neighborhood
• a bank known to take Americans
• or a digital bank or fintech option

This time you don’t get rejected. You get “review pending.”

Month 4: Compliance resolves it

You provide one more document:

• source of funds letter
• proof of residency application
• a stamped registration
• a tax form

Account opens. You feel like you won a war. You didn’t. You just found the right combination of documents and a bank willing to process them.

The practical fix: stop trying to open a “normal” account when you are not a “normal” customer yet

Banks are not judging your character. They are judging your category.

As a new American resident in Europe, you are not a low-friction category. So the strategy is:

• choose banks that are used to onboarding foreigners
• choose account types designed for non-residents or newcomers
• bring documents that remove ambiguity

This is how you shorten the process.

What to bring: the document stack that gets you approved faster

A good onboarding folder usually includes:

• Passport
• Local tax number (NIE/NIF equivalent depending on country)
• Proof of address in an accepted form (registration certificate if possible)
• Proof of residency process status if you don’t have the card yet
• Proof of income or savings (bank statements, pension letters, brokerage statements)
• A simple one-paragraph “source of funds” explanation if you have foreign income
• US tax identifier (SSN) sometimes requested for FATCA forms
• A local phone number can help, depending on the bank

The point is not to overwhelm them. The point is to remove reasons to say no.

The “Americans miss this” part: banks are not one system in Europe

A European bank account story depends on:

• the country
• the bank
• the branch
• your residency status
• the exact staff member
• and what phase of onboarding policy they’re living under that month

That’s why expat advice is so chaotic online. People are describing different versions of the system.

But FATCA is the consistent thread for Americans. It makes you higher friction. That’s the reality you plan around.

A sane plan that usually gets it done in under a month

If you want to avoid the four-month saga, do this instead.

Step 1: get the local tax number first

In many countries, this is the key that unlocks everything else.

Step 2: open a “bridge” account immediately

This can be:

• a local-friendly digital bank
• a fintech account that provides local IBAN and card access
• or a non-resident bank account if available

This isn’t your forever bank. It’s your life-support while you finish residency.

Step 3: once you have local registration and stable address proof, open the long-term bank

That’s when the big banks become easier.

The goal is not “one perfect bank.” The goal is two-phase banking:

• bridge account
• long-term account

Most Americans fail because they try to open the long-term account before they have the long-term documents.

Seven days to stop living off your US card

Day 1: Get the tax number appointment

Whatever your country calls it, treat it as mission critical.

Day 2: Build the onboarding folder

Print and organize. Banks still love paper in ways Americans find insulting.

Day 3: Choose two banks with a reputation for onboarding foreigners

Don’t randomly shop five banks. Pick two likely wins.

Day 4: Book a branch appointment if possible

Walk-ins can be a waste of time depending on the country and bank.

Day 5: Open a bridge account if your long-term bank won’t move yet

This stops the financial bleeding and gives you local payment tools.

Day 6: Return with one extra document you think you don’t need

Proof of residency application, source-of-funds letter, extra statements. Bring it anyway.

Day 7: Stop taking rejections personally

Treat it as a logistics problem. The solution is almost always “right documents + right bank + right category.”

Bottom line

A four-month, six-rejection bank account story is not rare for Americans in Europe because of:

• incomplete residency documents during the first months
• strict proof-of-address requirements
• foreign income classification problems
• and FATCA making Americans expensive to onboard

The fix is not charm. It’s strategy: get your local tax number early, open a bridge account, bring a clean document stack, and target banks and branches that are used to onboarding foreigners.

Once you’re fully documented, banking becomes boring again. That’s the goal.