Rodsy

Hey all,

I wonder if you can give me some advice. Last February (pretty much a year to the day), my son moved to Doha from the UK as he's managed to get a great job out there.

He's 22 and I always suspected he hadn't tied up loose ends over here, even though we told him multiple times to. I guess his youthful exuberance made him overlook such boring things as contacting HMRC, etc.

Anyhow, this morning I saw a letter from the Inland Revenue saying that he owed £162. Not a major amount, and I'll pay this, but I'm a bit worried that he hasn't actually told them that he's no longer working in the UK.

I'm guessing that many of you reading this have done the move to the Middle East, and so I thought I'd pick your brains a little

Can someone tell me:

• Can I inform HMRC on his behalf that he now resides in Doha, Qatar? If so which form do I i use? If he needs to contact them directly, what's the best way?

I don't believe he is making voluntary National Insurance payments. From what I know, if he doesn't make these payments he can end up messing up his pension in the future when he decides to return to the UK. I hope the fact that he hasn't paid voluntary NI for the past year won't be a problem

• How does he make voluntary payments? Again, is there a form he can use for this? Also, roughly how much per year would he have to pay?

Thanks so much for any advice that anyone can provide.

Very best regards,

R.

Meow

He can complete a P85 form to advise HMRC that he is overseas. He has to do this himself. He can google 'P85' for it.

At age 22 no need to worry too much about making voluntary NI contributions as only 30 years payments are required to receive the full State Pension. There is no requirement to do this although class 2 payments are just GBP 2.70 per week.

Cypselos

Read it properly now - doh.

Rodsy

Thanks so much for the advice - you've set my mind at ease. I'll speak to him to find out if he remembers filling out a P85. If he hasn't done so, we'll get that done pronto.

If the voluntary NI is only around £140 or so per year, I'll get him to pay that as well.

Thanks again for your help - I did try to look on the HMRC website yesterday but I just kept going from link to link to link and ended up going round in circles

Cheers,

R.

Rodsy

Actually I have one more question!

When my son came back to visit over Christmas, we talked about what might happen after in the next few years.

Because he's earning much more than he would have earned in the UK, we suggested that at some point he put his earnings into bricks and mortar and look into buying a house over here in the UK.

Have any of you done this? Would it be possible for him to get a mortgage over here even though he's residing in Doha? I'm just wondering if Barclays or Halifax et al don't like giving mortgages to people who aren't resident in the UK.

If you've done it, what would you recommend?

Thanks again!

R.

mikelincs

Number oif years needed now is 35, and is likely to increase as retirement ages are increased.

Johnnyboy11

Not sure I'd bother paying any NI if I was in your son's shoes. He'll be 70 at the earliest before he is eligible for a State Pension, assuming HMG don't dilute it even further before then. You can back-date NI payments for 5 years, so there's no rush.

If you son returns to work as an employee in the UK, then NI is mandatory, even if his years of work exceed the minimum to qualify for a full State Pension. So again no rush.

He should however be in the habit of paying into a private pension (As a rough guide, half your age when you start your pension, so 11% of your son's gross salary).

[J]

Meow

Non-residents can get a mortgage in the UK, but few high street lenders will assist. Best to use a broker who is used to dealing with ME expats. I have contacts if required.

Rodsy

Thank you everyone for the advice given on this thread. You've all been fab and really helped to allay some concerns for us.

Meow - if you could PM me the contacts (or post them on this thread if rules allow and you think they might be handy for others) I'd really appreciate it.

He might not use them right away, but if he starts looking into a mortgage later this year it'll be good to have some recommended brokers.

Thanks again,

R.