The British PayPal application last week has been successfully approved.
This time, the overall process from registration to final review was smoother than expected. During this period, passport identity verification and address proof were mainly supplemented once, and then they were pending review and finally passed normally.
Below is a record of the steps encountered during the actual application process, the environment used, and several places where it is easy to step on, for reference by people with similar needs.
Description: The following content only records the personal application experience and does not mean that PayPal will adopt the same review process for all accounts. PayPal's regional policies, verification requirements and risk control rules may be adjusted at any time, based on the actual display on the page at the time of application.
1. Why choose PayPal in the UK?
This time I chose PayPal in the UK mainly because of the current attractive set of rights in the UK:PayPal+ + PayPal Debit Card。
Compared with simply using it for payment and payment, I personally pay more attention to PayPal+'s points system and the consumer rights brought by Debit Card.
Currently, PayPal+ can accumulate points through eligible purchases, and you can earn up to the maximum under certain circumstances when combined with a Debit Card. 10x points。Points can be used for PayPal consumption deductions, and also involve different levels and additional rewards.
If you compare it with PayPal in the United States, the focus of the two is also different:
- PayPal in the US: They prefer Cashback, credit cards and the U.S. payment ecosystem;
- British PayPal: They prefer PayPal+ Points, Debit Card and tiered benefits.
Therefore, if we just simply collect and make payments, the gap in PayPal's experience in different regions is not as big as imagined.
But if the account can be obtained normally PayPal+ and Debit Card Regarding relevant qualifications, I personally think that the current playability of PayPal in the UK is relatively high.
What needs to be particularly emphasized is:
Registering for PayPal in the UK does not mean you can get a PayPal+ or Debit Card.
These functions all have corresponding qualifications, regions and account requirements. Whether they can be finally activated will depend on the actual display of your PayPal account.
2. The actual application environment used this time
During this application process, the environment I actually used was as follows:
- Network: Conscience Cloud Airport UK node, global model
- Mobile phone number: +49 Germany Vodafone
- Address: UK residential address
- ID: China passport
There are two points worth noting here.
First, I am not using the British mobile phone number, but the German mobile phone number. +49 Number, the entire registration and follow-up review process can proceed normally.
Second, just because the registered area is the United Kingdom does not mean that tax resident status must also be filled in the United Kingdom. Tax resident information needs to be filled in based on your actual situation, rather than simply judging by the PayPal registration area.
3. PayPal registration process in the UK
1. Select a personal account and fill in the email address
After entering the PayPal UK registration page, select the account type:
Personal (personal account)
If the main purpose is daily payment, collection and personal consumption, you can generally choose a personal account directly.
Then enter the email address used to register for PayPal and click Next Continue.
It is recommended to use the address that you use normally for a long time, because this mailbox may be used for subsequent login, security verification, and audit-related notifications.
2. Fill in tax residency and UK address
During the registration process, PayPal will ask questions similar to:
Are you only a tax resident in the UK?
Special attention is needed here:
Register for British PayPal ≠ You are a UK tax resident.
If you are also a tax resident in another country or region, you should make your choice based on the real situation.
For example, if you have tax resident status in another country or region, choose:
"No, you are also a tax resident or residents in another country."
Then continue to fill in the UK address required for the account.
If you already have a real UK residential address and corresponding address proof, it is recommended to directly use the address you can prove.
It is not recommended to fill in an address that you cannot prove at all for registration, because if KYC or address verification is triggered in the future, PayPal may require the submission of corresponding supporting materials.
3. Add China tax resident status
After completing basic registration, PayPal may further request additional tax resident information.
Enter:
Add tax residence
Then select the corresponding country or region based on the actual situation.
If China belongs to its own tax residence, choose:
China
And fill in the corresponding tax identification information according to the page requirements.
The most important things here are:
Tax resident information should be filled in according to actual conditions. Don't fill in tax resident status directly as the UK just because you are registered with PayPal in the UK.
Submit it when completed.
4. Complete tax information confirmation
Sign in to PayPal again after completing registration.
If something similar appears at the top of the home page:
We need some additional info
Add your tax residency info to start making payments.
Explain that the tax information has not been fully confirmed.
Click on the tip at the top to enter the relevant page.
Then check the added tax resident country and tax identification number, confirm that there are no errors, and click:
the next
When completed, the page will display something similar to:
Your taxpayer identity has been confirmed.
At this point, the tax information part is basically completed.
4. What information do I need to add after triggering KYC?
During this application process, I subsequently triggered an additional verification.
PayPal requires a re-check of personally identifiable information, including:
- legal name
- Legal surname
- date of birth
- nationality
- Main residential address
This part of the advice should be filled in according to your true identity information from the beginning.
In particular:
Information such as name, date of birth, and nationality should be filled in strictly according to the information on the passport.
In this way, when subsequent authentication is performed, additional audits caused by inconsistent data can be reduced.
5. Upload passport for identity verification
After entering the ID upload page, I chose this time:
Passport
Then upload your passport photo as required by the PayPal page.
Recommended check before uploading:
- Whether the name is consistent with the account information;
- Whether the dates of birth are consistent;
- Whether the nationality information is consistent;
- Whether the passport photo is clear;
- Whether the personal information required on the page is complete.
Submit it for review after completing the upload.
6. Supplementary address certificate
After submitting the passport, I was asked to add further this time:
Proof of address.
This link is also a relatively important step in the entire application process.
Generally speaking, the address certificate:
Name + Address
It needs to be able to correspond to the information filled in the PayPal account.
If the account is filled in with a UK address, then when subsequent address proof is required, it will be necessary to provide supporting materials that match the address.
Therefore, when filling in the address when registering, you cannot only consider whether it can be filled in, but also consider:
If PayPal asks for verification later, can I prove this address?
This is also what I think is worth noting in the whole process.
5. Waiting for review after submitting information
After completing the submission of passport and address certificates, you enter the waiting review stage.
After the submission is completed, the page will appear similar to:
Thanks for sending your info
Check back in 3 to 5 working days when our review is complete.
In other words, the next step is mainly to wait for PayPal to complete the review.
My actual process this time is roughly:
Registered last week → Supplementary passport → Supplementary address certificate → Pending review → Final review.
The entire process did not encounter any particularly complicated problems.
Also note that email notifications may not be received in time during the audit period.
Therefore, if the account is always in review status, you can check the account page regularly as PayPal requires, rather than relying entirely on email notifications.
VI. Several important experiences in this application process
1. Network environment as stable as possible
I basically kept using the UK node for this registration, updating information and subsequent login.
Personally, I suggest that if you apply for a British account, try to maintain a relatively stable British Internet environment.
Don't appear frequently:
UK → USA → Germany → UK
Such cross-regional switching.
A stable usage environment can at least reduce unnecessary variables caused by frequent changes in login areas.
2. The mobile phone number does not have to be a British number
This is what surprised me this time.
My mobile phone number actually uses:
+49 Germany Vodafone
It is not a UK +44 mobile phone number.
But this time, from registration to follow-up review can be completed normally.
So at least from my actual test:
PayPal in the UK does not necessarily require a +44 UK mobile phone number.
Of course, this is just a personal measurement and cannot be understood to mean that PayPal will allow the same combination for all accounts.
Requirements may vary under different accounts, different times and different risk control strategies.
3. British PayPal does not equal UK tax resident
This is very easy to confuse.
Account registration areaandtax residenceare two different concepts.
Registering for PayPal in the UK only means that you are using PayPal services in the UK. It does not mean that your tax resident status will automatically change to the UK.
Therefore, tax-related information should still be filled in according to your true situation.
4. Keep the identity as consistent as possible
From the beginning of registration, it is best to fill in information such as name, birthday, nationality, etc. according to the information on the passport.
Especially during the subsequent KYC stage, if there are significant differences between account information and identification documents, further verification may be triggered.
Therefore, instead of making subsequent modifications, it is better to fill in the information accurately from the beginning.
5. Address is a critical part of the entire process
If you use a UK address to register, it is best to consider subsequent address verification in advance.
Because PayPal may require:
Account address Address certificate
Make a match.
Therefore, the address is not simply "as long as it can be filled in when registering."
If KYC is needed in the future, whether corresponding supporting materials can be provided is equally important.
7. Are PayPal+ and Debit Card worth it?
The biggest motivation for applying for PayPal in the UK this time is actually PayPal+ and Debit Card.
If it's just ordinary PayPal payments, the difference between accounts in the UK and other regions is not as obvious.
But if the account can qualify for PayPal+ and Debit Card, the usage scenarios will be significantly richer.
Especially with PayPal+'s points system, if you use PayPal frequently to spend, points, levels and extra rewards will be more attractive than the simple payment function.
However, it should be emphasized here:
Functions such as PayPal+ and Debit Card have qualifications and regional restrictions, and are not always available after successfully registering for PayPal in the UK.
Therefore, it is not recommended to default to "registration successful = all rights automatically unlocked" for a certain function.
In the end, the actual display of the account and the official PayPal rules will govern.
8. The final result of this application
Overall, the application process for PayPal in the UK was smoother than I expected.
My actual process is:
Register for UK Internet Environment → fill in personal information → add tax resident information → complete tax confirmation → trigger KYC → upload China passport → supplement address certificate → wait for review → pass review.
Some of the points worth recording are:
① Use British network nodes;
② The mobile phone number uses Germany +49 Vodafone;
③ Use a China passport for ID card;
④ The account address is the UK address;
③ Later, they were required to supplement their passport and address certificates;
④ The final review passed normally.
So judging from my actual experience this time, what really needs to be paid attention to is not a certain "special skill", but to maintain reasonable and consistent between the entire account data and verification information, and to be able to cope with subsequent KYCs.
last
This time, the overall experience of PayPal in the UK was relatively smooth from registration to final approval.
At first, I was worried about having to use a British mobile phone number, but in practice,Germany's Vodafone's +49 number also completed the entire process.
During the entire application process, I think there are three aspects that are most noteworthy:
The network environment is as stable as possible, identity data remains consistent, and account addresses need to be considered for subsequent verification.
As for rights such as PayPal+ and Debit Card, they need to be judged based on the actual qualifications of the account and cannot be simply understood as "registering a British account will definitely be opened."
Finally, I remind you again:
This article is only a record of this individual's application experience and does not constitute PayPal's official process or operational guarantee.
PayPal's regional policies, account qualifications, and risk control rules may change, and the verification steps encountered by different users may be completely different.
Therefore, the actual application should still be based on the requirements displayed on PayPal's page at that time.
For people with similar needs, this actual measurement can provide at least one reference:An application for PayPal in the UK does not necessarily require a British mobile phone number. Identity verification may also be completed using a China passport. However, whether you need address proof and whether you can obtain functions such as PayPal+ or Debit Card ultimately depends on the actual situation of the account.