The bank account problem | The Attaché Desk

For information only. This article is an editorial orientation resource. It does not constitute legal or financial advice. Banking requirements vary by institution and change; always confirm current requirements directly with the bank and with your mission’s administrative office.

A posting often begins with a timing problem rather than an eligibility problem. Rent is due, a school deposit may be requested, and a salary or allowance needs somewhere to land, but the document that would make a bank comfortable, the titre de séjour spécial, the legitimation card, the diplomatic pass, has not arrived yet. As covered in an earlier Brief, that gap commonly runs four to eight weeks. The question is what a bank will accept in the meantime, and the practical answer differs by country and by institution. France offers a useful worked example, because the differences between banks there are well documented and instructive regardless of where you are posted.

In France, the answer varies genuinely by bank, and the difference is worth knowing before you walk into a branch. BNP Paribas markets an international client service and, in some cases, allows account opening to begin before arrival in France. Société Générale offers English-language support for international professionals but is consistently described, including by relocation professionals, as the most document-heavy of the major French banks. Crédit Agricole’s stated requirement is comparatively narrow: proof of identity and proof of address, without the layered documentation some other banks request.

One bank deserves specific mention. La Banque Postale, as a public-sector institution, carries a legal obligation to open an account for any resident in France regardless of financial history or the completeness of their file. If a traditional bank declines or stalls on a case pending final status documentation, La Banque Postale is the most likely to say yes. This is not a workaround; it is the bank’s actual legal position, and it is worth knowing before a first appointment rather than after a rejection.

Across all traditional French banks, the practical timeline from appointment to a working card and PIN in hand runs one to three weeks, since the card and PIN are sent separately by post after the account itself is opened. This detail catches people out: an account can technically exist while the means to access it are still in the mail.

What a bank in France will typically accept before the titre de séjour spécial arrives: a valid passport, an assignment or posting letter, an employment or accreditation confirmation from the mission, proof of income, and an address in France, even a temporary one. A written attestation from the mission confirming accreditation is underway carries real weight in this conversation; it is worth asking your mission’s administrative office for one before the first bank appointment rather than assuming the passport and posting letter will be sufficient alone.

The specifics above are France’s, but the underlying pattern is likely to repeat, with local variation, in any posting city where the official status document takes weeks rather than days to issue. The two questions worth asking before you arrive are the same regardless of country: which document does the bank actually require to open the account, as opposed to which document is merely convenient for them, and does the mission have a working relationship with a specific bank or branch that already understands cases like yours. Missions that have posted staff in the same city before often know exactly which bank, and sometimes which branch, handles this well. That knowledge is more useful than a general search for the best bank in the city.

Official and reference sources

Last published 22 July 2026.