Help me come home with as little trouble as possible!
March 24, 2010 8:56 AM
How to reintegrate as quickly as possible after having lived abroad? Both socially and with regards the "systems" in place in England.
I'll be moving back to southern England after three years in Norway. I am a British national currently living in Oslo, Norway. I intend to move back to England in July after three years of living here as an ex-pat...
I was wondering if anyone has any tips on how to begin the process of reintegration so that it goes as smoothly as possible. For example:
Dentists. I guess I'll have dropped off my dentist's register and will have to go private?
Doctor. I won't be registered but I don't suppose it will be any problem to re-register but is there anything specific I need to do?
Taxes. Wow. Scary. Norway is in the EEA so I've always been unsure about whether my national insurance contributions have been made all the while under a reciprocal arrangement. The online documentation isn't very clear under what circumstances this happens. Otherwise, what happens if Norway decides I owe money in 2011 from the 2010 tax year? They send me a bill?
Credit rating: Will this be the same as when I left, or lower due to inactivity?
Anything else I haven't thought of? Any systems it's difficult to reintegrate into? Any that you don't realise are going to be a problem until they rear their head? Posting anonymously because friends don't know of my decision yet.
I was wondering if anyone has any tips on how to begin the process of reintegration so that it goes as smoothly as possible. For example:
Dentists. I guess I'll have dropped off my dentist's register and will have to go private?
Doctor. I won't be registered but I don't suppose it will be any problem to re-register but is there anything specific I need to do?
Taxes. Wow. Scary. Norway is in the EEA so I've always been unsure about whether my national insurance contributions have been made all the while under a reciprocal arrangement. The online documentation isn't very clear under what circumstances this happens. Otherwise, what happens if Norway decides I owe money in 2011 from the 2010 tax year? They send me a bill?
Credit rating: Will this be the same as when I left, or lower due to inactivity?
Anything else I haven't thought of? Any systems it's difficult to reintegrate into? Any that you don't realise are going to be a problem until they rear their head? Posting anonymously because friends don't know of my decision yet.
There isn't a particular problem finding an NHS dentist in the south, you may have to ring a few to see if they're accepting new patients, the same for a GP. Here is a search engine for all NHS services by postcode/area.
If you still have a UK bank, they will be able to tell you whether anything would have changed with your credit rating, as for the tax questions, search here for your local tax office and ask them direct.
posted by ellieBOA at 9:24 AM on March 24, 2010
If you still have a UK bank, they will be able to tell you whether anything would have changed with your credit rating, as for the tax questions, search here for your local tax office and ask them direct.
posted by ellieBOA at 9:24 AM on March 24, 2010
Systems - a vast amount of really useful information can be found on the Citizen's Advice Bureau Website . Having a click around those categories on the left might remind you of things that you haven't clicked about yet.
posted by Coobeastie at 9:37 AM on March 24, 2010
posted by Coobeastie at 9:37 AM on March 24, 2010
I was out of the UK for four years. On return I found the rental market to be a significant stumbling block. I needed recent utility bills from my 'current/previous' address, and I encountered some estate agents who were unwilling to accept paperwork that deviated in some way from their expectations. I got around this by walking round the corner to a mobile phone shop, switching my long-held pay-as-you-go UK mobile phone (that I'd kept hold of for when I was visiting the UK) to a monthly contract, using my passport & driver's licence to acquire the new mobile contract, getting that paperwork with the temporary address I was using whilst house-hunting, and then returning to the estate agents with that in hand, which allowed them to tick off 'current utility bill' and set me up with the housing contract. It was a real effort in lateral thinking. I don't know if the estate agency I was dealing with was unusually strict in this regard, but they seemed to be unused to the idea of returning ex-pats who might not have exactly the right UK paperwork from past addresses.
And, yeah, for whatever wider social and political reasons, getting a dentist on the NHS did not seem to be a significant issue for me. I registered on line with the local health authority, and I waited maybe two to three weeks before they found me a dentist.
No problem with the doctor: you just use the online forms to find something nearby, and then you register, maybe see a nurse to weigh you, find out about pre-existing standing prescriptions, and of course ask you how much you drink, and then that's that.
posted by hydatius at 9:38 AM on March 24, 2010
And, yeah, for whatever wider social and political reasons, getting a dentist on the NHS did not seem to be a significant issue for me. I registered on line with the local health authority, and I waited maybe two to three weeks before they found me a dentist.
No problem with the doctor: you just use the online forms to find something nearby, and then you register, maybe see a nurse to weigh you, find out about pre-existing standing prescriptions, and of course ask you how much you drink, and then that's that.
posted by hydatius at 9:38 AM on March 24, 2010
Having moved back last year after 29 years abroad, I know a bit how this works. To my surprise, it was all relatively easy, except getting things like credit cards and mobile phone contracts where they want you to have lived the last three years in the UK. Fortunately, I had kept my UK bank account but, if I hadn't, it might have been more difficult. On your specifics:
You can get dentists on the NHS and doctors as well. Contact your local NHS Trust (http://www.nhs.uk/Pages/HomePage.aspx, to find out who that is), both to get an NHS card and to find local providers accepting new patients. You will need a card but once you have got that you should find a provider but how near depends where you are going to live.
Taxes. You will almost certainly owe Norway taxes till the day you leave (i.e. you will have to pay after you leave if you have not paid in advance). I know for the US, where I was, you had to get a sailing permit, i.e. a document proving you had paid your taxes up to date and would pay outstanding ones. It will be up to you to make a declaration to the Norwegian tax authorities. Similarly let HMRC know once you are in England as they will want their pound of flesh and it is better, I think, if you tell them rather than they come after you.
I am not sure how long your credit rating will last but it may be screwed and that is where you might have a problem, e.g. with credit cards, etc. You can always check with a credit rating agency, e.g. Experian (http://www.experian.co.uk/) or Equifax (http://www.equifax.co.uk/) to see if a three year gap is OK.
People told me it would take at least a year to reintegrate. Apart from the credit issue, it took me about three days but then I expected higher prices and was aware of problems with electrical/electronic goods and similar things.
posted by TheRaven at 9:39 AM on March 24, 2010
You can get dentists on the NHS and doctors as well. Contact your local NHS Trust (http://www.nhs.uk/Pages/HomePage.aspx, to find out who that is), both to get an NHS card and to find local providers accepting new patients. You will need a card but once you have got that you should find a provider but how near depends where you are going to live.
Taxes. You will almost certainly owe Norway taxes till the day you leave (i.e. you will have to pay after you leave if you have not paid in advance). I know for the US, where I was, you had to get a sailing permit, i.e. a document proving you had paid your taxes up to date and would pay outstanding ones. It will be up to you to make a declaration to the Norwegian tax authorities. Similarly let HMRC know once you are in England as they will want their pound of flesh and it is better, I think, if you tell them rather than they come after you.
I am not sure how long your credit rating will last but it may be screwed and that is where you might have a problem, e.g. with credit cards, etc. You can always check with a credit rating agency, e.g. Experian (http://www.experian.co.uk/) or Equifax (http://www.equifax.co.uk/) to see if a three year gap is OK.
People told me it would take at least a year to reintegrate. Apart from the credit issue, it took me about three days but then I expected higher prices and was aware of problems with electrical/electronic goods and similar things.
posted by TheRaven at 9:39 AM on March 24, 2010
Ive just moved to the UK from overseas, and have been dealing with exactly these issues over the last month. So I can give you a wee bit of perspective.
The other thing I've picked up is that it might be slightly easier to get certain things done now in the UK than it historically has been. There certainly seems to be more of an awareness of global mobility, and that people, you know, move here from elsewhere. I, for instance, was surprised at how straightforward setting up a bank account was, compared with the horror stories I'd been told before I got here.
posted by Sonny Jim at 4:54 AM on March 25, 2010
Doctor. I won't be registered but I don't suppose it will be any problem to re-register but is there anything specific I need to do?You may need to phone around, because not every clinic will be taking on new patients. You will need to fill out a couple of forms (see, for instance, these ones) and bring along current ID and proof of your address. Obviously, doing all this in advance will save you time.
I got around this by walking round the corner to a mobile phone shop, switching my long-held pay-as-you-go UK mobile phone (that I'd kept hold of for when I was visiting the UK) to a monthly contract, using my passport & driver's licence to acquire the new mobile contract, getting that paperwork with the temporary address I was using whilst house-hunting, and then returning to the estate agents with that in hand, which allowed them to tick off 'current utility bill' and set me up with the housing contract.This is good advice, though it's worth bearing in mind that certain letting companies will specifically exclude mobile phone statements from this category. It's irritating, but you need to know that it happens. Bringing along a variety of paperwork always helps. I went through this with my bank—they wouldn't accept the utility bill I'd brought from New Zealand as proof of my former address(!), but they would accept my last credit card statement. Having a dossier of likely documents will help you cut down on repeat trips.
The other thing I've picked up is that it might be slightly easier to get certain things done now in the UK than it historically has been. There certainly seems to be more of an awareness of global mobility, and that people, you know, move here from elsewhere. I, for instance, was surprised at how straightforward setting up a bank account was, compared with the horror stories I'd been told before I got here.
posted by Sonny Jim at 4:54 AM on March 25, 2010
This thread is closed to new comments.
Not sure I can help with the other queries, except to recommend that you ring your doctor and HMRC, perhaps before you leave, to try to get answers to your questions. HMRC are usually quite helpful.
posted by altolinguistic at 9:12 AM on March 24, 2010