Bank account

I managed to get a bank account yesterday.

Brought my passport, a signed and stamped letter from my employer (who has a deal with this bank) and..... they couldn't find the address of my hotel in their system. So I had to go back to the office, get a new letter with the right address signed and stamped, and go back. In the end it took about 3h at the bank to open the account, plus two trips back and forth between the office and the bank.

My girlfriend will not have a letter from an employer but has gotten a letter from her Swedish bank signed and stamped. Hopefully this will convince the bank that she exists. When I asked at the bank they asked if she has an ID card with her address on it. She doesn't. They asked if she has a drivers license to prove her address. When I informed them that Swedish ID cards don't have your home address on them she seemed surprised. To me it's more like "why would it be there? My home has nothing to do with my identity".

I find it strange that the UK government trusts my passport that I exist enough so that I can enter the country, but the bank won't let me be a customer unless I have utility bills and an employer. What does proving my home address add? It's bizarre.

I got my Internet banking set up as well. No two-factor authentication, and it seems to have design and features that are from about 1995 compared to Sweden, but it seems to be working. But if this is all I can get I'll be sure to hold on to my Swedish SEB account.