Please don't think of open international student bank account with HSBC I am an internationals student who arrived UK in Sept 2015. I need to wait for 3 weeks only able to make my appointment with HSBC bank. HOWEVER, the lady told me I need 9-10 weeks if I plan to open a bank account when I went to the appointment! I'm like r u kidding me, I' m only applying a student account. It mean I only able to get my account maybe next year! Who will wait till 3 months to get an account when other bank able to provide me an account by 1 weeks times! Beside that, the lady ask me to get my parent's bank statement as I'm a self funded student. However, HSBC bank do not state they need this documents in their bank website. And when I go to make an appointment, the person just told me it will be sufficient with my bank introduction letter from university. But, it turn out it was not sufficient when i meet the lady. I decide to go to Barclay and i able to make my appointment within 1 weeks. I able to get my account number and code by the day I went for the appointment . However, the long waiting time in HSBC had made my life become suffer! As u know sometimes it can be hard to survive in UK without a card. I might even passed the due date for me to complete my student registration with university if I wait for the bank card to arrive. This was my personal experience with HSBC! Anyone can still go for HSBC if they prefer it.