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Health insurance - open enrollment - 3 days left.. should I wait?

Health insurance - open enrollment - 3 days left.. should I wait?

Old Jan 20th 2017, 7:57 pm
  #46  
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Default Re: Health insurance - open enrollment - 3 days left.. should I wait?

Originally Posted by Boiler

US Citizens resident in the UK do not need OCare or for that matter pay a penalty for not having it.
But the OP isn't a resident in the UK, or they would be risking abandoning their greencard.
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Old Jan 20th 2017, 8:01 pm
  #47  
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Default Re: Health insurance - open enrollment - 3 days left.. should I wait?

Originally Posted by Boiler
It is not an either or scenario, the UK has its own rules regarding NHS and nothing in there makes any reference to your deemed status anywhere else, the only thing that matters for NHS whatever is that they meet those requirements as they seem to do/

US Citizens resident in the UK do not need OCare or for that matter pay a penalty for not having it.
Yes but the OP is resident in the US so she does need health insurance to avoid the small penalty under the current law. The NHS is ok for coverage, but you have to be UK resident to get that. I don't know how the UK authorities will see the OP's current residence status. Was using the EB1 to enter the US and becoming a US resident enough to make her a UK non resident as far as the NHS is concerned.....maybe not....actually probably not because of her connection and time spent in the UK. Certainly when applying the double taxation treaty the OP will be classes as UK resident because of the substantial presence, habitual abode etc tests. The IRS will certainly tax the OP as a US resident and then defer to the tiebreaker rules if the tax treaty is claimed.

Last edited by nun; Jan 20th 2017 at 8:09 pm.
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Old Jan 20th 2017, 8:02 pm
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Default Re: Health insurance - open enrollment - 3 days left.. should I wait?

Originally Posted by Bob
But the OP isn't a resident in the UK, or they would be risking abandoning their greencard.
Yet again you are assuming resident has one simple definition, it does not, being resident in multiple locations for different reasons is quite possible.
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Old Jan 20th 2017, 8:11 pm
  #49  
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Default Re: Health insurance - open enrollment - 3 days left.. should I wait?

Originally Posted by Boiler
Yet again you are assuming resident has one simple definition, it does not, being resident in multiple locations for different reasons is quite possible.
Being resident in the US, for immigration purposes would kind of trump all other definitions, if one wanted to remain in the US though.
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Old Jan 20th 2017, 8:13 pm
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Default Re: Health insurance - open enrollment - 3 days left.. should I wait?

Originally Posted by Boiler

US Citizens resident in the UK do not need OCare or for that matter pay a penalty for not having it.
Yes they do, if they're arriving in April 2017 - US citizens and PRs are only exempt if they spend more than 330 days out of the US in a calendar year.

I don't know if the OP will be able to buy it then, though. I suspect asking the healthcare agent 'we're moving to the US and arriving in April - can we buy insurance then?' (absolutely - qualifying life event outside of open enrollment and all that) would get a very different answer to 'we're Permanent Residents who're going to be spending the first few months of 2017 in the UK - can we save money by skipping buying health insurance until we get back to the US in April?'
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Old Jan 20th 2017, 8:17 pm
  #51  
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Default Re: Health insurance - open enrollment - 3 days left.. should I wait?

Originally Posted by Bob
But the OP isn't a resident in the UK, or they would be risking abandoning their greencard.
You can be dual resident. But, by returning to, and working in, the UK after activating the US permanent residency the OP is doing something that US immigration specifically advises against and the Feds have no sense of humour about these things.

My intuition on this is that the OP is dual resident in US and UK.....so NHS will be ok and maybe she can even use is as continual coverage to avoid any penalty. She'll be taxable by the US on all income after she entered on the EB1 and so will have to go through the tie breaker rules to decide who to pay first. I think the UK will win on that one for UK sourced income so she'll have to apply FTCs for any PAYE tax withheld.

Last edited by nun; Jan 20th 2017 at 8:25 pm.
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Old Jan 20th 2017, 8:18 pm
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Default Re: Health insurance - open enrollment - 3 days left.. should I wait?

Originally Posted by Bob
Being resident in the US, for immigration purposes would kind of trump all other definitions, if one wanted to remain in the US though.
One example, seems relatively common.

Parents petitioned, come to the US to activate GC, files for minor children, and a 2 year re entry permit and heads home to wait out the visa number.

So they are not resident in their home country in the getting on for 2 years it will take?

Are they are resident in the State for DMV purposes? In State tuition?
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Old Jan 20th 2017, 8:32 pm
  #53  
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Default Re: Health insurance - open enrollment - 3 days left.. should I wait?

Originally Posted by nun
You can be dual resident. But, by returning to, and working in, the UK after activating the US permanent residency the OP is doing something that US immigration specifically advises against and the Feds have no sense of humour about these things.

My intuition on this is that the OP is dual resident in US and UK.....so NHS will be ok and maybe she can even use is as continual coverage to avoid any penalty. She'll be taxable by the US on all income after she entered on the EB1 and so will have to go through the tie breaker rules to decide who to pay first. I think the UK will win on that one for UK sourced income so she'll have to apply FTCs for any PAYE tax withheld.
It is also not uncommon for people especially those who have waited a long time to activate their US PR status and go home for a few month to see out notice periods, sell up, whatever before finally making the permanent move. All accepted.
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Old Jan 20th 2017, 8:42 pm
  #54  
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Default Re: Health insurance - open enrollment - 3 days left.. should I wait?

Originally Posted by Boiler
It is also not uncommon for people especially those who have waited a long time to activate their US PR status and go home for a few month to see out notice periods, sell up, whatever before finally making the permanent move. All accepted.
The OP activated the PR status when she entered on the EB1. She was admitted to the US as a permanent resident so that's how the US sees her. The UK probably also still sees her as a UK resident. The thing in all this that is worrying is the misunderstanding of the implications of this dual residency status...particularly for taxation.

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Old Jan 20th 2017, 10:44 pm
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Default Re: Health insurance - open enrollment - 3 days left.. should I wait?

Originally Posted by nun
The OP activated the PR status when she entered on the EB1. She was admitted to the US as a permanent resident so that's how the US sees her. The UK probably also still sees her as a UK resident. The thing in all this that is worrying is the misunderstanding of the implications of this dual residency status...particularly for taxation.
US Immigration certainly sees it that was and one of the things a PR does is file taxes, what has to be paid is another matter and something beyond this board.
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Old Jan 20th 2017, 10:55 pm
  #56  
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Default Re: Health insurance - open enrollment - 3 days left.. should I wait?

Originally Posted by Boiler
US Immigration certainly sees it that was and one of the things a PR does is file taxes, what has to be paid is another matter and something beyond this board.
During this tread it emerged that the OP was under the impression that she was not a US resident. I think we've corrected that error and she will now be able to proceed knowing that from December 2016 she has been a US resident and probably a UK resident too. She will be taxable on her worldwide income in both countries until she becomes non-resident from one of them. While her dual status persists she will have to use the tax treaty to apportion her tax correctly and claim the correct foreign tax credits.

The easiest way to have done this would have been to file a P85 with HMRC just before leaving for the US and then staying in the US after initial entry on the EB1. No dual residency and far simpler paperwork......still it's more of an inconvenience than anything else.

With all these complications I hope the OP has organized her finances, like stocks and shares ISAs etc, to be simple and efficient for US tax purposes.

Last edited by nun; Jan 20th 2017 at 11:32 pm.
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Old Jan 20th 2017, 11:33 pm
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Default Re: Health insurance - open enrollment - 3 days left.. should I wait?

I did not think the UK taxes world wide income?
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Old Jan 21st 2017, 12:07 am
  #58  
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Default Re: Health insurance - open enrollment - 3 days left.. should I wait?

Originally Posted by Boiler
I did not think the UK taxes world wide income?
I thought they did if you were a tax resident there during the time you earned foreign income.
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Old Jan 21st 2017, 2:07 am
  #59  
 
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Default Re: Health insurance - open enrollment - 3 days left.. should I wait?

Originally Posted by tom169
I thought they did if you were a tax resident there during the time you earned foreign income.
Yes, this bites those who leave for work overseas, but for whatever reason return to the UK before they spent long enough outside the UK to establish tax residence overseas. If they hurry home they get landed with a tax bill. This especially applies to those who go to the Middle East expecting to pay little or no income tax.
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Old Jan 21st 2017, 3:55 am
  #60  
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Default Re: Health insurance - open enrollment - 3 days left.. should I wait?

I just wanted to mention that open enrollment is still open, but enrolling by January 31 will get you coverage starting March 1, not February 1. You need to enroll before the 15th of the month to get coverage by the 1st of the next.

So, you're down to ≤2 months 'wasted' premiums. I will join in with everyone else advising the OP to make a serious effort to get coverage now. 'Address was too hard' will seem like an incredibly weak excuse if you find yourself needing that medical coverage
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