The Right Is Keyed to Domicile, and the Bank That Says No Has to Say It in Writing
Answer
The general rule applies to you
No exception is recorded for citizens of Trinidad and Tobago on this topic. That is the answer, not a gap - everything below is the rule you get, unchanged.
147 exceptions recorded across 54 countries · none match Trinidad and Tobago to France · Opening a bank account
France does not leave a bank account to the bank. Article L. 312-1 of the monetary and financial code gives a right to open a deposit account at the credit institution of your choice to any natural or legal person domiciled in France, on the single condition of not already having one - and the word it uses is domiciled, not resident and not lawfully resident, which is a different test from the one the immigration code applies to the same person. Two more classes are named beside it: a natural person lawfully resident in another member state who is not acting for professional purposes, and a French national living outside France. The institution has six working days from receiving the papers. If it refuses it must hand over the reasons, free, on paper, with a certificate of refusal, and tell the applicant that the Banque de France will name a bank instead - which it does within one working day, and the bank it names has three working days to open the account and must provide basic banking services whose content and price are set by decree. Closing such an account is possible on six listed grounds and nothing else, with two months' notice except where the account was used for suspected illegal purposes or the customer gave false information.
At a glance
- Who has the right
- Any natural or legal person domiciled in France
The article says domiciliée, not résidant régulièrement. A reader whose residence status is in doubt should notice that the test here is not the test the CESEDA applies.
- The only condition attached to it
- Being without a deposit account in France
Holding a joint account does not count against the right to an individual one; the article says so in terms.
- Time to open
- Six working days from receiving all the necessary documents
- If the bank refuses
- Reasons in writing, free, on paper, plus a certificate of refusal
The institution must also tell the applicant that the Banque de France can designate a bank, and offer to send the request on their behalf.
- Who designates a bank instead
- The Banque de France, within one working day of the required documents
It takes the banks' market shares into account and names one near the applicant's home or another place of their choosing.
- What the designated bank must do
- Open within three working days and provide basic banking services
The content and the tariff of those services are set by decree, which is not quoted here.
- Grounds for closing the account
- Six, and no others
Suspected illegal use, false information, no longer meeting the domicile or residence test, a second French account with basic services, repeated incivility towards staff, and the institution being in one of the anti-money-laundering situations of article L. 561-8.
- Notice before closure
- Two months minimum
Except on the first two grounds. The decision goes to the customer on paper, free, and a copy to the Banque de France.
- Whether a banking incident bars you
- No - the article applies to people on the Banque de France's own files
Requirements
- Not already holding a deposit account in France
- Domicile in France, or lawful residence in another member state and no professional purpose, or French nationality and residence abroad
- The documents the institution needs, which start the six working days
What applies to you
Nothing changes for a citizen of Trinidad and Tobago
We have no rule recorded that treats your citizenship differently here, so the general rule above is the one that applies to you. That is an answer, not a gap.
What the law says
«I. – A droit à l'ouverture d'un compte de dépôt dans l'établissement de crédit de son choix, sous réserve d'être dépourvu d'un tel compte en France : 1° Toute personne physique ou morale domiciliée en France ; 2° Toute personne physique résidant légalement sur le territoire d'un autre Etat membre de l'Union européenne n'agissant pas pour des besoins professionnels ainsi que toute personne physique de nationalité française résidant hors de France.»Our translation - not official
I. - The following have a right to the opening of a deposit account at the credit institution of their choice, provided they have no such account in France: 1. Any natural or legal person domiciled in France; 2. Any natural person lawfully resident in the territory of another member state of the European Union not acting for professional purposes, as well as any natural person of French nationality resident outside France.
The right itself, and the three classes it reaches. Domicile rather than lawful residence is what the first class turns on. The page prints this article as in force since 2021-12-27.
Read it at the sourceAbout this source
The official consolidated text of French codes and statutes. Each code has a stable address built from a LEGITEXT identifier, and the page offers the whole code as a PDF under 'Telecharger le code', which is the only form that carries the text of the articles.
Standing: Maintains the text in force
Cannot be cited for: The domain is behind a bot challenge and answers 403 to every request this project makes, including to the PDF endpoint its own page links to - so every reading here was downloaded by a person in a browser and stored as `manual-read`, and cannot be refreshed by running a command. A browser is not reliable either: one page saved by hand came back as the challenge itself, 5,883 bytes titled 'Just a moment...'. The code page at /codes/texte_lc/ carries only the plan, article numbers in a list with no text, so a reader following a citation to it will not find the quoted words there and has to take the PDF. The PDF states its own two dates on the last line, the last modification and the day it was generated, and the cut-off recorded against a quotation is the first of those. What is not here at all is practice: French immigration decisions rest heavily on circulaires and on prefectural discretion, and neither is published in the code.
We re-read it every 90 days. More about this source
«l'établissement procède à l'ouverture du compte de dépôt demandée par les personnes mentionnées au premier alinéa du présent II au plus tard dans les six jours ouvrés à compter de la réception de l'ensemble des pièces qui lui sont nécessaires à cet effet.»Our translation - not official
the institution proceeds to open the deposit account requested by the persons mentioned in the first paragraph of this II at the latest within six working days of receiving all the documents it needs for that purpose.
The page prints this article as in force since 2021-12-27.
Read it at the sourceAbout this source
The official consolidated text of French codes and statutes. Each code has a stable address built from a LEGITEXT identifier, and the page offers the whole code as a PDF under 'Telecharger le code', which is the only form that carries the text of the articles.
Standing: Maintains the text in force
Cannot be cited for: The domain is behind a bot challenge and answers 403 to every request this project makes, including to the PDF endpoint its own page links to - so every reading here was downloaded by a person in a browser and stored as `manual-read`, and cannot be refreshed by running a command. A browser is not reliable either: one page saved by hand came back as the challenge itself, 5,883 bytes titled 'Just a moment...'. The code page at /codes/texte_lc/ carries only the plan, article numbers in a list with no text, so a reader following a citation to it will not find the quoted words there and has to take the PDF. The PDF states its own two dates on the last line, the last modification and the day it was generated, and the cut-off recorded against a quotation is the first of those. What is not here at all is practice: French immigration decisions rest heavily on circulaires and on prefectural discretion, and neither is published in the code.
We re-read it every 90 days. More about this source
«III. – En cas de refus de la part de l'établissement choisi d'ouvrir un tel compte à l'une des personnes mentionnées au I, celle-ci peut saisir la Banque de France afin qu'elle lui désigne un établissement de crédit situé à proximité de son domicile ou d'un autre lieu de son choix, en prenant en considération les parts de marché de chaque établissement concerné, dans un délai d'un jour ouvré à compter de la réception des pièces requises définies par arrêté.»Our translation - not official
III. - Where the chosen institution refuses to open such an account to one of the persons mentioned in I, that person may apply to the Banque de France so that it designates a credit institution near their home or another place of their choosing, taking into account the market shares of each institution concerned, within one working day of receiving the required documents defined by order.
The part a reader is least likely to know exists: the refusal is not the end of the procedure, it is the start of a different one. The page prints this article as in force since 2021-12-27.
Read it at the sourceAbout this source
The official consolidated text of French codes and statutes. Each code has a stable address built from a LEGITEXT identifier, and the page offers the whole code as a PDF under 'Telecharger le code', which is the only form that carries the text of the articles.
Standing: Maintains the text in force
Cannot be cited for: The domain is behind a bot challenge and answers 403 to every request this project makes, including to the PDF endpoint its own page links to - so every reading here was downloaded by a person in a browser and stored as `manual-read`, and cannot be refreshed by running a command. A browser is not reliable either: one page saved by hand came back as the challenge itself, 5,883 bytes titled 'Just a moment...'. The code page at /codes/texte_lc/ carries only the plan, article numbers in a list with no text, so a reader following a citation to it will not find the quoted words there and has to take the PDF. The PDF states its own two dates on the last line, the last modification and the day it was generated, and the cut-off recorded against a quotation is the first of those. What is not here at all is practice: French immigration decisions rest heavily on circulaires and on prefectural discretion, and neither is published in the code.
We re-read it every 90 days. More about this source
«Les établissements de crédit ainsi désignés par la Banque de France sont tenus d'offrir au titulaire du compte des services bancaires de base dont le contenu et les conditions tarifaires sont précisés par décret. Ils procèdent à l'ouverture du compte de dépôt dans les trois jours ouvrés à compter de la réception de l'ensemble des pièces qui lui sont nécessaires à cet effet.»Our translation - not official
The credit institutions so designated by the Banque de France are bound to offer the account holder basic banking services whose content and tariff conditions are set by decree. They proceed to open the deposit account within three working days of receiving all the documents needed for that purpose.
The page prints this article as in force since 2021-12-27.
Read it at the sourceAbout this source
The official consolidated text of French codes and statutes. Each code has a stable address built from a LEGITEXT identifier, and the page offers the whole code as a PDF under 'Telecharger le code', which is the only form that carries the text of the articles.
Standing: Maintains the text in force
Cannot be cited for: The domain is behind a bot challenge and answers 403 to every request this project makes, including to the PDF endpoint its own page links to - so every reading here was downloaded by a person in a browser and stored as `manual-read`, and cannot be refreshed by running a command. A browser is not reliable either: one page saved by hand came back as the challenge itself, 5,883 bytes titled 'Just a moment...'. The code page at /codes/texte_lc/ carries only the plan, article numbers in a list with no text, so a reader following a citation to it will not find the quoted words there and has to take the PDF. The PDF states its own two dates on the last line, the last modification and the day it was generated, and the cut-off recorded against a quotation is the first of those. What is not here at all is practice: French immigration decisions rest heavily on circulaires and on prefectural discretion, and neither is published in the code.
We re-read it every 90 days. More about this source
«IV. – L'établissement de crédit ne peut résilier unilatéralement la convention de compte de dépôt assorti des services bancaires de base, ouvert en application du III, que si l'une au moins des conditions suivantes est remplie : 1° Le client a délibérément utilisé son compte de dépôt pour des opérations que l'organisme a des raisons de soupçonner comme poursuivant des fins illégales ; 2° Le client a fourni des informations inexactes ; 3° Le client ne répond plus aux conditions de domicile ou de résidence définies au I ; 4° Le client a ultérieurement ouvert un deuxième compte de dépôt en France qui lui permet d'utiliser les services bancaires de base ; 5° Le client a fait preuve d'incivilités répétées envers le personnel de l'établissement de crédit ;»The grounds are a closed list. Five of the six are about the customer; the sixth is about the institution's own anti-money-laundering position. The page prints this article as in force since 2021-12-27.
Read it at the sourceAbout this source
The official consolidated text of French codes and statutes. Each code has a stable address built from a LEGITEXT identifier, and the page offers the whole code as a PDF under 'Telecharger le code', which is the only form that carries the text of the articles.
Standing: Maintains the text in force
Cannot be cited for: The domain is behind a bot challenge and answers 403 to every request this project makes, including to the PDF endpoint its own page links to - so every reading here was downloaded by a person in a browser and stored as `manual-read`, and cannot be refreshed by running a command. A browser is not reliable either: one page saved by hand came back as the challenge itself, 5,883 bytes titled 'Just a moment...'. The code page at /codes/texte_lc/ carries only the plan, article numbers in a list with no text, so a reader following a citation to it will not find the quoted words there and has to take the PDF. The PDF states its own two dates on the last line, the last modification and the day it was generated, and the cut-off recorded against a quotation is the first of those. What is not here at all is practice: French immigration decisions rest heavily on circulaires and on prefectural discretion, and neither is published in the code.
We re-read it every 90 days. More about this source
«Un délai minimum de deux mois de préavis est octroyé au titulaire du compte, sauf dans les cas mentionnés au 1° et au 2°.»Our translation - not official
A minimum period of two months' notice is given to the account holder, except in the cases mentioned in 1 and 2.
The page prints this article as in force since 2021-12-27.
Read it at the sourceAbout this source
The official consolidated text of French codes and statutes. Each code has a stable address built from a LEGITEXT identifier, and the page offers the whole code as a PDF under 'Telecharger le code', which is the only form that carries the text of the articles.
Standing: Maintains the text in force
Cannot be cited for: The domain is behind a bot challenge and answers 403 to every request this project makes, including to the PDF endpoint its own page links to - so every reading here was downloaded by a person in a browser and stored as `manual-read`, and cannot be refreshed by running a command. A browser is not reliable either: one page saved by hand came back as the challenge itself, 5,883 bytes titled 'Just a moment...'. The code page at /codes/texte_lc/ carries only the plan, article numbers in a list with no text, so a reader following a citation to it will not find the quoted words there and has to take the PDF. The PDF states its own two dates on the last line, the last modification and the day it was generated, and the cut-off recorded against a quotation is the first of those. What is not here at all is practice: French immigration decisions rest heavily on circulaires and on prefectural discretion, and neither is published in the code.
We re-read it every 90 days. More about this source
Practical notes
What the basic banking services actually are, and what they may cost, is set by decree and the decree is not quoted here. The right, the deadlines and the grounds for closure are in the statute; the contents of the service are not.
The article was reached at its section address because Legifrance refuses this project at the code's own address and at the PDF download its page offers. The reading behind these quotations is the section the article sits in, and the cut-off is the in-force date printed against the article itself.
- consolidatesCode monétaire et financier, chapter on the right to an account
Legifrance, Direction de l'information legale et administrative · consolidated to 2021-12-27
Known to be out of date. Legifrance refuses this project's fetcher at the code's own address and at the whole-code PDF download its page offers, and answers the extraction service at the section address without trouble. So the text quoted here is a section of the code rather than the whole of it, and the cut-off recorded is the in-force date the page prints against the article itself - which is the better of the two anyway, because a code has one consolidation date and an article has its own.
About this source
The official consolidated text of French codes and statutes. Each code has a stable address built from a LEGITEXT identifier, and the page offers the whole code as a PDF under 'Telecharger le code', which is the only form that carries the text of the articles.
Standing: Maintains the text in force
Cannot be cited for: The domain is behind a bot challenge and answers 403 to every request this project makes, including to the PDF endpoint its own page links to - so every reading here was downloaded by a person in a browser and stored as `manual-read`, and cannot be refreshed by running a command. A browser is not reliable either: one page saved by hand came back as the challenge itself, 5,883 bytes titled 'Just a moment...'. The code page at /codes/texte_lc/ carries only the plan, article numbers in a list with no text, so a reader following a citation to it will not find the quoted words there and has to take the PDF. The PDF states its own two dates on the last line, the last modification and the day it was generated, and the cut-off recorded against a quotation is the first of those. What is not here at all is practice: French immigration decisions rest heavily on circulaires and on prefectural discretion, and neither is published in the code.
We re-read it every 90 days. More about this source