Opening an account abroad despite a SCHUFA entry in 2026

SCHUFA is a German credit bureau. The right to a basic account in France and Germany does not depend on entries in credit registers, and anyone legally resident in the European Union has it. Where and how it works.

In detail

Does SCHUFA matter for a bank abroad

SCHUFA is a German credit bureau: German banks and lenders report accounts, loans and payment problems to it and ask it for a score. A bank in another country looks at your passport, your address and the reason you need an account in that country, and the right to a basic account in France and Germany does not depend on entries in credit registers.

In the European Union the account itself is a right: anyone legally resident in the Union can open a basic account, in Germany under the Payment Accounts Act and in France through the Banque de France. Below: what a bank abroad asks for, how the right to an account works in France and Germany and where a full account opens outside the Union.

What a bank abroad checks instead of SCHUFA

The bank asks for 5 documents, and the list is nearly the same in every country:

• a passport or residence permit;
• proof of address no older than 3 months: a utility bill, a lease or a bank statement;
• proof of income: an employment contract, payslips, a tax return;
• your tax number and a tax residence form;
• the purpose of the account with documents, such as a preliminary contract for buying a home or an employment contract in that country.

The bank also asks what amounts will come in, from which countries and where you will send money. The answers must match the documents: a complete file at the first step is the fastest route to an open account.

France: the right to an account for residents of any European Union country

France gives the right to an account to 3 groups: those who live in France, those who legally live in another European Union country and open the account for personal needs, and French citizens abroad. A person living in Germany, Austria or another Union country is in the second group. The procedure looks at 2 things: legal residence in the Union and no other personal account in France. Even an entry in the Banque de France registers of credit and cheque incidents keeps the right.

1. Application to a bank. You apply to a French bank with your passport and proof of address; the bank may also ask for proof of income. The bank gives a written answer; no reply within 15 days counts as a no as well.
2. Application to the Banque de France. You send the form, your identity document, proof of address no older than 3 months and the bank's letter: at a branch, online or by post. You can name a preferred bank.
3. A designated bank. Within 1 business day of a complete file, the Banque de France designates a bank. You have 6 months to contact it.
4. Opening. The designated bank opens the account within 3 business days of receiving the documents.

The basic services are free: a debit card for payments and cash withdrawals in the European Union, incoming transfers and cheques, direct debits and euro transfers, balance checks online, a monthly statement, cash at the branch counter and 2 bank cheques a month. Deposits are insured up to $120,000 (€100,000) per depositor in one bank. More on the country: personal account in France.

Germany: a basic account despite SCHUFA

At home the same right applies. Every bank in Germany that offers payment accounts to consumers opens a basic account for anyone legally resident in the European Union, including people without a fixed address. The bank offers the account within 10 business days of a complete application on the standard form, which a bank with a website also publishes there.

The Payment Accounts Act names only a few narrow reasons to turn an application down, such as an existing usable account in Germany, and a SCHUFA entry is not among them. If a bank does not open the account, the Federal Financial Supervisory Authority can order it to; this procedure is free.

Outside the European Union: residence first

Outside the Union a full account opens most easily with local status: a residence permit or a local identity card answers the bank's main question, why here, and moves you into the regular client flow.

The residence permit comes first and the bank second: the options are in our residence catalogue, and the full picture of banks in 2026 is in our guide to opening a foreign bank account.

The account abroad and the German tax office

When you open the account, you sign a tax residence form. Once a year the bank reports the account to its tax authority, which passes the data to the country where you are tax resident; for a resident of Germany, to the German tax authorities. Interest and other income from the account go into your German tax return.

After a move abroad the account follows the tax rules of the new country of residence; the steps are in our checklist for leaving Germany.

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