Can Non-US Citizens open bank or brokerage accounts?
Yes, they can. Even if they don’t live in the US. They can do it from home. For free. This article has been updated in July 2021. A new paragraph was added for international students.
In the United States, once you open the first bank account, is much easier to open other bank accounts. The easiest way to open it, for those who are not in the US, is by opening a brokerage account that comes with a bank account.
Here is the list of brokers that open accounts to Non-resident aliens:
1. TD Ameritrade opens accounts to residents of over 100 countries. The few exceptions include the European Union, Canada, and Australia, but “there are lots of buts and ifs on it”.
2. Interactive Brokers opens accounts to residents anywhere. Their list includes 220 countries, detailed below.
3. Charles Schwab opens accounts to citizens/residents of over 100 countries, including the European Union.
4. Fidelity Investments has kept open legacy accounts from Non-resident aliens. New clients are referred to Fidelity International.
5. JP Morgan Chase has a Sapphire product for international investors, but only those who reside in the US. They do not open accounts to non-resident aliens any longer.
To note, it’s also fairly open an account in the name of a company. You can register an LLC online yourself (directly with the state, it takes 5–7 minutes and costs around $100 plus $25 for a registered agent. The best state is Wyoming). You will then need an EIN from the IRS. The best way is to contact the IRS directly (do not pay for it). Download form SS4, attach the certificate of formation from the State and fax it to 304–707–9471. If you don’t have access to a fax machine, you can use one of the free services to send a fax from the US. In that case, send the fax to 855–215–1627.
International Students
We tested helping international students, who are here in the US, open brokerage and bank accounts (again, I do all this for free, to foster financial education).
The easiest one was with Fidelity Investments. We were unable to do it online, but they emailed an application that we could fill in on a PC, sign electronically, and fax it back. The application doesn’t list their fax number. Fidelity Investments fax number for new applications is 877–236–8113. By faxing it, we saved a stamp, an envelope, we were able to trace it, and they processed it faster.
It took Fidelity three days to open the account after we sent the fax. After a week we received the debit card and then the checkbook (all free). With that information, we also opened a bank account at Marcus by Goldman Sachs. This was faster. Because we already had a bank account at Fidelity, the account was opened on the spot, and the deposit from Fidelity to Marcus was received in 12 hours. Tip: when you link bank accounts that you opened at a broker (TD Ameritrade, Fidelity), you need to enter the information manually to link the account. The first time it won’t work automatically because the routing number is with a third-party bank, not with the broker itself. Then it’s all automated.
See also my post on What Broker is best for International Investors
George Benaroya
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Interactive Brokers opens accounts to Non-resident aliens residing in these countries:
Aland Islands
Albania
Algeria
American Samoa
Andorra
Anguilla
Antarctica
Antigua and Barbuda
Argentina
Armenia
Aruba
Australia
Austria
Azerbaijan
Bahamas
Bahrain
Bangladesh
Barbados
Belgium
Belize
Benin
Bermuda
Bhutan
Bolivia
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Botswana
Brazil
British Indian Ocean Territory
British Virgin Islands
Brunei Darussalam
Bulgaria
Burkina Faso
Burundi
Cambodia
Cameroon
Canada
Cape Verde
Cayman Islands
Chad
Channel Islands and Jersey
Chile
China
Colombia
Comoros
Cook Islands
Costa Rica
Croatia
Curacao
Cyprus
Czech Republic
Denmark
Djibouti
Dominica
Dominican Republic
East Timor
Ecuador
Egypt
El Salvador
Equatorial Guinea
Eritrea
Estonia
Ethiopia
Faeroe Islands
Falkland Islands (Malvinas)
Fiji
Finland
France
French Guiana
French Polynesia
Gabon
Gambia
Georgia
Germany
Ghana
Gibraltar
Greece
Greenland
Grenada
Guadeloupe
Guam
Guatemala
Guernsey
Guinea
Guinea-Bissau
Guyana
Haiti
Holy See
Honduras
Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of China
Hungary
Iceland
India
Indonesia
Ireland
Isle of Man
Israel
Italy
Jamaica
Japan
Jordan
Kazakhstan
Kenya
Kiribati
Korea
Kuwait
Kyrgyzstan
Lao People`s Democratic Republic
Latvia
Lebanon
Lesotho
Liberia
Liechtenstein
Lithuania
Luxembourg
Macao Special Administrative Region of China
Madagascar
Malawi
Malaysia
Maldives
Mali
Malta
Marshall Islands
Martinique
Mauritania
Mauritius
Mayotte
Mexico
Micronesia, Federated States of
Monaco
Mongolia
Montenegro
Montserrat
Morocco
Mozambique
Namibia
Nepal
Netherlands
Netherlands Antilles
New Caledonia
New Zealand
Nicaragua
Niger
Niue
Norfolk Island
Northern Mariana Islands
Norway
Occupied Palestinian Territory
Oman
Pakistan
Palau
Panama
Papua New Guinea
Paraguay
Peru
Philippines
Pitcairn
Poland
Portugal
Puerto Rico
Qatar
Republic of Moldova
Reunion
Romania
Russian Federation
Rwanda
Saint Helena
Saint Kitts and Nevis
Saint Lucia
Saint Pierre and Miquelon
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
Samoa
San Marino
Sao Tome and Principe
Saudi Arabia
Senegal
Serbia
Seychelles
Singapore
Slovakia
Slovenia
Solomon Islands
South Africa
Spain
Sri Lanka
Suriname
Svalbard and Jan Mayen Islands
Swaziland
Sweden
Switzerland
Taiwan (Republic of China)
Tajikistan
Thailand
The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia
Togo
Tokelau
Tonga
Trinidad and Tobago
Tunisia
Turkey
Turkmenistan
Turks and Caicos Islands
Tuvalu
Uganda
Ukraine
United Arab Emirates
United Kingdom
United Republic of Tanzania
United States
United States Virgin Islands
Uruguay
Uzbekistan
Vanuatu
Venezuela
Viet Nam
Wallis and Futuna Islands
Western Sahara
Zambia
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Learn how to open a bank account in over 26 countries and make sense of Bitcoin in Chapter 7of my book “How to Make Money” available on Amazon. Proceeds go to donate copies to foster financial education.