Can a person living in UK less than three years succeed at getting a credit card issued?

[ESCENA]

Hi,

My name is Maria, i come from Greece , currently living and working in UK as au pair for a year and planning to stay for at least 3 years more. Whats 'the easiest' company or bank in UK offering credit cards with low requirements? I am interested in getting a credit card with a limit of 500GBP for days of big need.

[gingerflaps]

i think u would have major problems gettin a credit card. 1-ur not english (yes that does have a lot to do with it) and 2- u havnt been here long enough.  to get a credit card u need to build ur credit rating up. it took me yrs to get anything. ur best off, if u have an english bank account then ask for an overdraft!

[vicars]

Hi Maria, I would definitely get a bank account first and try to get the bank to give you a credit card as soon as you prove you are a good customer. However you could try a bank that is Europe-wide - perhaps Citi Bank or somehting like that - even American Express. You will hopefully have some history in Greece that will be useful. I would ask each bank you can find however to tell you if they have a policy as to when they can give you a card as one bank may say after 3 years, another after 3 months. Hope you have fun in the UK.

[ESCENA]

How about Virgin Card or generally speaking student credit cards or student loans?

How do they check your credit history , via somebody's annual income statement for example?