Moving back to the UK

[sunshinegirl]

I'm not sure which section to put this in, so sorry if I've got it wrong.

I'm moving back to the UK and finding it difficult to find out information about things like reregistering the car, signing back on with a doctor, tax etc etc -there's so much help available for people moving here, via a site like this, but does anyone know of anything to help with going the other way?

Thanks

[AnOther]

As far as registering the car goes there is a sticky at the top of the Driving section. You will have to be a little careful because technically you can't drive it until it is UK registered, insured, MOT'd and taxed. THIS is the DVLA site which describes the process.

For the doctor when you arrive back you just go to your nearest doctors surgery and register, as a UK resident it is your right from the moment you arrive back in UK with the intention of staying.

Good luck

[sunshinegirl]

Thanks for the that about the car.

Someone told me that returning expats don't have an automatic right to NHS treatment?

[Sunday Driver]

Your automatic right to NHS treatment according to the Department of Health:

Under the current Regulations, anyone who is taking up or resuming permanent residence in the UK is entitled to free National Health Service (NHS) hospital treatment in England.  If your intention is to live permanently in the UK you will be exempt from hospital charges from the date of your arrival in the country but you should expect to be asked to prove your intention and that you are legally entitled to live here. This exemption applies to your spouse, civil partner and children (under the age of 16, or 19 if in further education) if they are living here with you on a permanent basis.

Any person living here lawfully and on a settled basis is regarded as resident in the UK and therefore entitled to free primary medical services. On taking up residence in the UK it is advisable to approach a GP practice and apply to register onto its list of NHS patients. The practice may choose to accept or decline your application. An application may be refused if the practice has reasonable grounds for doing so, such as if you are living outside their practice area. A practice would not be able to refuse your application on the grounds of race, gender, social class, age, religion, sexual orientation, appearance, disability or medical condition.

 

 

[AnOther]

Then they are wrong.

If you are a Brirtish citizen returning to UK with the intention of residing there then you are entitled to rejoin the NHS from the moment you arrive.

EDIT: Crossed precisely with SD [:D]

 

 

[sunshinegirl]

Thank you to both of you, am hugely relieved!!!

[bubbles]

One downside - you might miss the sunshine, girl.

[sunshinegirl]

LOL!!

I'll have to choose another name, something watery and cold, I guess!

[AnOther]

How about 'dampsquib' ?

Or maybe 'knackeredoldlady', referring to the UK of course not you personally [:D]

[Sprogster]

I think we should have a section on this forum for questions on selling and or moving back, as there increasing numbers of posts that fall into this category.

I know there has been resistance to this in the past, but I don't see any negative to this, it would just reflect the realities of life that many people do return to the UK or wherever, for whatever reasons!

[Panda]

[quote user="AnOther"]How about 'dampsquib' ?

Or maybe 'knackeredoldlady', referring to the UK of course not you personally [:D]


[/quote]

Well it's sunny today and has been for 3 days now!  That's summer gone then.  I've just booked a break in France for September so it better still be sunny there then.

To confirm the point above the doctors are not concerned about your return and will sign you back up no problem. 

Panda

[sunshinegirl]

I agree, Sprogster, I don't feel that it's at all negative to be  moving back -our time here has been great, but now it's time to move on, doesn't mean I don't like France or anything, just that circumstances change. But I'm surprised at how (relatively) difficult it is to find out stuff. If I have a question about soemthing in France, I'm certain to find the answer (or an answer) here, and so think a section in a similar vein could be both useful and interesting, and certainly positive.

Sunshinegirl, (who is definitely keeping her name!)

[mint]

I can understand how there aren't many posts about moving back to the UK.

Many posters have indeed moved back but then, once back there, they tend not to visit the Forum anymore and we don't often get to hear about their experiences.

[Sprogster]

sweet 17, the other forum a lot of the members on this forum also frequent, has a section for selling up and moving back, which is very active. Most of the questions being asked are prior to the move and involve questions about the best way to sell a French property, the tax implications of doing so, closing down French businesses and rejoining the NHS, to name but a few.

[britgirl]

I've been back in the U.K. since last November, and I still like to keep in touch with 'french' life, however it would have been useful to have had an 'idiots' list.

I contacted all the usual utilities etc, but I forget one which cost me nearly 100euros. At one time (before broadband connection) we had an account with ex-pat for cheaper telephone calls. As I didn't inform them of my return I had to pay a penalty. Luckily I had enough money in my French bank account  for unforseen problems.

 

 

[AnOther]

I can imagine that moving back to UK and divorcing yourself from France can be even more fraught than moving over in the first place. More so if your language skills never really got up to scratch and you have to deal with things from afar by mail or phone and no more popping down to your fluent French speaking friend or neighbour to phone on your behalf.

I'm sure there must be a temptation to just cut and run but doing so could have undesirable consequences although without a French property or a bank account not sure how far anybody in France would pursue you for the odd €100 or so.

How do you extricate yourself from the taxman I wonder. It was easy leaving UK where if you weren't filling in an annual self assessment form you basically had to do nothing, but in France where a tax declaration it is mandatory for all, once you're in the system you can't just not send it in and disappear.

[Pommier]

I wonder how people such as TeamedUp are enjoying life back in the UK? Also people such as Coco or Jean Claude who don't post any more. Are they still in France or have they moved on?

[zeb]

[quote user="Pommier"]I wonder how people such as TeamedUp are enjoying life back in the UK? Also people such as Coco or Jean Claude who don't post any more. Are they still in France or have they moved on?[/quote]

And Mazan? I think he/she was planning a move to Asia.

[Russethouse]

 I suspect JC still posts here......for the others, you should ask Will, I believe he's in contact with the people in question.

[ChezShells]

After 5 years in France and several attempts at 'going back' I took advantage of the exchange rate earlier this year and have just moved into a house in England

Been here 4 months and just returned from a week at our place in France and didnt want to come back!

Weather was good, neighbours were great (have been here as well).

What gets me here though, you can spend so much money, so much choice of everything you can't help yourself.

Hopîng to keep our place over there, it really is getting away from it all.

And the way some estate agents and solicitors (amongst others) treat you here is unbelievable.

Oh yeah, when I say goodbye here nobody says it back!

[valB]

We came here from Cornwall as well. Where abouts are you in Cornwall if you don't mind me asking. I do get very homesick at times as all the kids and Grandchildren are still in England and we do spend a lot of our time going back for various family events. I am struggling with the language but OH is a lot better than me and also a lot of French people around us do speak some English, we want to practise our French but they want to talk English to us. I do love the weather here though and I was swimming again yesterday but it is wet today but the first rain we have had for months.

[Panda]

[quote user="ChezShells"]
And the way some estate agents and solicitors (amongst others) treat you here is unbelievable.

[/quote]

It's funny how different people see things, well differently!  I had a nightmare with estate agents, rental agents and notaires during my time in France but find the Brit equivalent treat me as a customer with the required service element thrown in, not to mention, they reply to phone calls and even emails.  In France I always feel like I am asking them to do me a favour for which I should be eternally grateful and you may as well email the wall as email anyone in France, if it's not avis de reception they pretend it does not exist.

[mint]

[quote user="valB"]We came here from Cornwall as well. Where abouts are you in Cornwall if you don't mind me asking. I do get very homesick at times as all the kids and Grandchildren are still in England and we do spend a lot of our time going back for various family events. I am struggling with the language but OH is a lot better than me and also a lot of French people around us do speak some English, we want to practise our French but they want to talk English to us. I do love the weather here though and I was swimming again yesterday but it is wet today but the first rain we have had for months.[/quote]

Very simple, Val:  what I do is I listen to their English and I answer in French.

Have some lovely long conversations that way; especially when I am out on a rando and there is this one French guy who has spent time in the UK and in Canada and we have these conversations that might last an hour or two with him speaking fractured English and me speaking even more fractured French.............wonderful fun![:D]

[ChezShells]

[quote user="Panda"]

[quote user="ChezShells"]

And the way some estate agents and solicitors (amongst others) treat you here is unbelievable.

[/quote]

It's funny how different people see things, well differently!  I had a nightmare with estate agents, rental agents and notaires during my time in France but find the Brit equivalent treat me as a customer with the required service element thrown in, not to mention, they reply to phone calls and even emails.  In France I always feel like I am asking them to do me a favour for which I should be eternally grateful and you may as well email the wall as email anyone in France, if it's not avis de reception they pretend it does not exist.

[/quote]

Can't say we had any problems with agents in France or notaires, they were all pretty good.

Here, we have had our offers laughed at then got back to us, auctioneers not putting offers forward and solicitors refusing to act for us after a chat with the auctioneer!

Not ruling out a return, have another plan if we do get back there permanently.

[Panda]

Hello ChezShells

It's a bit odd in every property market at the moment which is leading to some equally odd behavour.  For my part I'm about to complete on a house at a really good price so I'm not complaining, the agent nearly bit my hand off! 

I've kept my places in France on long term rental so still have to deal with incompetent agents, I've resorted to doing everything by registered post now after having 5 emails, 2 faxes and numerous phone calls ignored!  It really annoys me that they are saying unless you can prove we have read something we can ignore you, drives me mad.  I think the current dreadful state of the market will sort out the bad french agents from the good (as it will in the UK too). 

Panda