Merlin1969

Hi All,
My name is Lee, I moved to Canada in 1993 during a bad time in the UK, I had been unemployed for over a year so I decided to move to Canada, well as you can guess at 23 I thought it was going to be a big bunch of roses lollipops and sunshine, boy was I wrong, it has been a tough 22 years, but being stubborn I have waded through it all but after 22 years of bad luck I now have the overwhelming desire to move home, the only problem I think is fear of the unexpected, as you know when away you hear a constant barrage of negative things about the UK, regarding gangs, chavs and violence too many immigrants committing crime and so on. So here are a few questions for those who have made the move,

1) I keep hearing about this three year thing, three years before you can get this or three years before you can do that etc… what’s this all about? Will I get the same treatment I left the UK when I was 23

2) I have a daughter, who wants to come live with me in the UK, but she was born here in Canada, what do I need to do to bring her with me, she is 16 and now wants to live with daddy,
3) any other info to help me along would be great, I’m moving back to Stoke on Trent, and plan to run my own market stall god willing, so any help will be much apreatappreciatedT>
4) Now for the crazy question what’s a poo tree? I’ve seen it in some of your threads to the extent of
“I still haven’t found a Poo tree!”
Anyway thanks for listening
Lee
British Columbia Canada

fulwood

Lee, Have you checked some of the many threads on those who have returned to UK some for good and then some ping pongers. The 3 year rule applies to paying for uni. A poo tree is where Winnie lives Good luck. I've been in US for 31 years in October and been good times but very lonely times as well..

Justcol

Can't see it being a problem taking your daughter, as she has a pommy
parent she would be eligible for a UK passport and I think at 16 you wouldn't
need permission from her mother for her to leave Canada.
I'm not sure the market scene will be as you remembered it, markets
were closing/downscaling all over the place when I left 7 years ago.

Pistolpete2

I do an awful - actually wonderful - lot of walking where I am and I see poo 'trees' all over the place. Not literally trees festooned with poo but plastic bags left by dog walkers who are too lazy to dispose of them properly so park them on some tree branch. The problem is that they then stay where they are deposited forever as the wind and rain can't degrade them.

Weymouth Council have their 'hands full' LOL just dealing with dog soil and numerous related complaints in the town proper so I guess they can't spare resources to clean up or police Dorset County Council designated and other local footpaths.

For me this demonstrated lack of responsibility on the part of certain citizenry was initially a big turn-off but I have had to get past it.

Sally Redux

Brits love to run their own country down and have little urban legends like packs of Romanians, scary youth and people throwing bags of dog poo into trees.

My concern would be the employment angle if God doesn't come through on the market stall.

Edit: oh OK apparently poo trees do exist. Have not personally seen this phenomenon.

robin1234

Well you live in that lah-di-dah, Farrow & Ball metropolis Birmingham don't you. Visit Norfolk or Sussex, where hoi-polloi live, you'll see poo bags festooning trees and in the gutter etc.

I don't understand why people would buy the bags, bag up the poo, and then just leave it. My sister's theory is some people leave the bags, intending to pick them up when retracing their steps on the way home, but end up coming home a different route. However I pooh pooh this as a bit of a weak rationalization.

themajor

Instaed of Market Stalls it is all about Car Boots now. But in reality it is the same thin g. There are proffesional stall hplders who go from one car boot to the next and they make a living.

If you get a UK state pension you can immediately get free health care. If not then you have to be resident for a lenght of time befor getting it (do not know how long that is)

Never ever heard of a POO TREE.

Good luck

M3lah8l

For your Q3: beware of the proliferation in the UK of zero-hour contracts in last 5 years.

And best of luck whichever way to go

Pistolpete2

Nope, present ID and address info ("just about anything with your address on it will do!") to verify that you are in the correct surgery catchment area and you can register with a GP right away. You might need more evidence regarding the fact that you are ordinarily resident in order to get hospital treatment. I checked this at my surgery a couple weeks ago for future BE queries on this. A UK passport is simply ID and is not used to prove that you have right of abode - again I specifically asked about a UK passport being asked for.

UK State pensioners (and their dependents) who do not live in the UK get free full NHS treatment for issues that arise while they are in the UK, assuming that they have lived in the UK continuously for ten years at some time in the past - goodness knows how you would always be able to prove that.

robin1234

There are still plenty of markets with traditional market stalls though. Possibly fewer than in bygone decades, but they are present in many towns and cities.

themajor

Very easy to check as you will be asked for a National Insurance number. From this it is easy to check on contributions and addresses.

Pistolpete2

I suppose, but I, for instance, don't have ten continuous years in the UK with an NI number. I can't see it being a problem in practice but it is the requirement. I might ask about that next time I'm swinging by the community health centre here.

Ok, I've spoken to Dorchester County Hospital admissions and they say that all hospital treatment is now to be commissioned through a GP and therefore it would be for him/her to establish the validity of one's comment that one meets the (ten years) requirements - via old NHS records etc. etc. if need be?? - which would seem to be more straight-forward.

themajor

MOST G.P.'s cannot be realy bothered (most) so choose a very busy practice and the GP will just register you as long as everything is in order. Friend of mine returned after 15 years and that is what he did.

Good luck

themajor

This may help

http://www.gov.uk/government/news/ne...ns-to-nhs-care

michali

My husband (non EU spouse) and I had no problem registering as soon as we came back. We did have NHS numbers from years ago but, apart from filling out a registration form, we were not asked for any more information. And in the past few months we have both been referred for hospital treatment (outpatient).