Fidelity for non-US Citizens
If you’re not a US citizen but still want to open a brokerage account with a US-based investment firm, you’re in luck. Fidelity Investments accepts applications from citizens of most countries around the world. For more information, keep reading.
Applying for a Fidelity Brokerage Account
Although Fidelity opens accounts for citizens of most countries, it will only accept applications from legal residents of the United States (see an alternative below). Essentially, you can be a Tunisian citizen, but you have to legally reside in the US.
If you do have legal residence in America, opening an account is quite easy. You simply need to head over to Fidelity’s website and click on the Open an Account link that appears at the top of the site.
On the application page, you’ll need to choose your country of citizenship from a drop-down menu and specify your US address. There are many foreign countries available. We counted over 200 of them. They include:
- Vatican City
- Australia
- Canada
- China
- Egypt
- Cuba
- North Korea
- Liechtenstein
Although generally speaking account applicants must reside in America, persons serving in the US Armed Forces overseas can open brokerage accounts with Fidelity. There is a selection for this status in the drop-down menu for the US state of residence.
Fidelity Alternatives
Besides Fidelity International, ZacksTrade is another option for investors outside the United
States. Unlike Fidelity Investments, ZacksTrade opens accounts for non-US citizens who live outside the United States. Currently, there are over 200 countries that are on ZacksTrade’s list.
To get started, investors simply need
to visit the ZacksTrade application page and click on the Open an Account link. The next page will require a name and email address, and the page after that will require country of residency. There are many countries available, including most European countries and some exotics like the Pitcairn Islands.
The downsides of ZacksTrade are that there are no commission-free trades (even US trades have commissions), and a $250 minimum deposit is required to open an account. But if Fidelity and Fidelity International don’t have what you’re looking for, ZacksTrade is worth a shot.
Free ZacksTrade Account
Visit ZacksTrade Website
Fidelity Requirements of Foreign Accounts
Fidelity does require additional documentation from foreign applicants. These documents may include a passport, bank statement, or other records. In all cases, Fidelity will require the submission of Form W-8BEN. This IRS form will be kept by Fidelity. It establishes tax status and determines the amount of taxes withheld from dividends and capital gains. A new Form W-8BEN must be filled out every 3 years.
Due to the additional paperwork of a non-US account, Fidelity requires several business days to open a foreign account.
Global Trading Service
All Fidelity non-retirement brokerage accounts, including those opened by non-US citizens, are eligible to add global trading. This service opens up 25 foreign exchanges using 16 different currencies. Real-time market data from the various international exchanges is available. Some of the available markets include the London and Tokyo Stock Exchanges. Currencies include the Norwegian krone and the Polish zloty.
The downside of Fidelity’s international trading service is that commissions on global assets tend to be rather steep. For example, a stock trade on the Australian Securities Exchange costs AUD$32.
Moving Out of the United States
If you open a Fidelity account and then later move to a foreign country, you can expect several restrictions on your brokerage account. First, purchases of mutual fund shares will be automatically prohibited. This means that any cash added to an account will not be held in a money market fund.
Some brokerage account features, such as options trading, margin, debit cards, and check writing could be suspended in some countries.
Lastly, Fidelity’s servers do check for IP address from anyone trying to access its site. If it detects an IP address from a foreign country, the user must sign an International Usage Agreement before gaining access to Fidelity’s site.
Fidelity International as an Alternative
Although it’s not possible to open a brokerage account with Fidelity Investments without US residency, it is possible to open an account with Fidelity International, an affiliated but independent company, using an address in one of 6 countries. They are:
- Bermuda
- Germany
- Hong Kong
- Japan
- Taiwan
- United Kingdom
Trading Tools
Important trading technology is available to Fidelity's customers. First is the website. It has a lot of information on it, but it is easy to navigate nonetheless. Drop-down menus do a good job of displaying information in intuitive categories.
Trades for all securities can be placed on the website. Besides stocks and ETFs, bonds, options, and mutual funds have their own trading tools. All of them are simple to use and make buying and selling straightforward.
The options trading area provides many criteria by which to search. Besides puts and calls, derivative strategies can be selected, along with a variety of strike prices and expiration dates.
Trading a stock, ETF, or mutual fund produces a pop-up trading ticket that appears in the left-hand side of the screen. There are a variety of order types available for stocks and ETFs, including stop loss and trailing stop limit. Nevertheless, the order ticket isn't as useful as Merrill Edge's, which sits at the bottom of the browsing window and is capable of producing a small chart.
Besides the website, Fidelity also offers a more sophisticated desktop platform called Active Trader Pro.
The broker has removed a previous trading requirement, and so now anyone can use it. It offers advanced charting, alerts, options research,
customization, multi-order trading, and many other features.
In addition to these tools, Fidelity is one of the few brokers to provide an app for Apple TV. The broker also provides skills for Amazon Echo and Echo Show. With a Fidelity skill, Alexa is able to return stock quotes and market movers. Fidelity doesn't have an elementary browser-based platform, which TradeStation customers can use.
Mobile App
Fidelity traders have access to a mobile app that can be used on Apple and Android phones and tablets. There is also an app for Kindle Fire. There is no charge to download any of the broker's software.
The broker's app boasts many great features. For instance, Bloomberg TV streams in high definition free of charge for all traders. Other brokers either charge for streaming video news, don't offer it, or only provide it in standard definition.
Market indices are shown on the front screen. After logging in, account balances are available, along with positions and activity. Watchlists are shown with analyst ratings on specific equities. Market movers are available for the trading day. Articles from Reuters, Dow Jones, and MarketWatch can be accessed as well. The app offers bill pay, check deposit, and funds transfer, all at no cost.
Trading on the mobile platform is straightforward. Buying and selling stocks, ETFs, options, and mutual funds is quite simple. Besides market and limit orders, complex orders are available, including trailing stop loss orders, both in dollar terms and percentage terms.
Information on global markets is available on Fidelity's app. Details on the world's major stock indexes can be accessed. This information includes a chart and 52-week highs and lows.
Charts on the app can accessed in either basic or advanced format. The latter incorporates several graph styles and a few technical indicators. Stock information on Fidelity's app includes analyst ratings and recent news.
For Apple users, Fidelity provides a platform for Apple Watch, which is also free of charge.
Updated on 8/8/2026.
Chad Morris has been analyzing investment firms for Brokerage-Review.com since 2015. Backed by FINRA Series 65, 66, and SIE credentials, his work reflects a deep knowledge of the retail brokerage industry and digital trading tools.
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