I am aware that many of us have been away from the UK for a long time, and things change. So much so, that I choose to remain away from there as much as possible.

This was in the 'Daily Pail' today;

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...h-tourism.html

A couple of years ago, I found out that my UK Driving Licence had been cancelled, as I had used it to obtain Licences in other Countries (UAE, Saudi Arabia, Doha, and The Philippines) This was the old 'Pink Variety' from the 1970s. I have the full Email Dialogue if anyone is interested; however, DVLA neatly chose to avoid giving an answer to a fundamental question! – "If I obtained a Driving Licence (for life) in 1976, why has it been cancelled (without you telling me), and why did you choose to 'Change the Rules?"

Will the same happen with the NHS? – Obviously I have a UK Passport (Albeit one issued from Dusseldorf!), and I still have a UK NHS Card from 1958 which has my number in the form of ABCD 123 - Together with an NI Number from when I began work. Will this be sufficient in the future (if I choose to go back?)

Irrespective of being overseas I have continued to pay NI Contributions – Will this have been a waste of time (not to mention money), as I pay into 'The System' at one end, and Eastern Europeans and Accession States draw it out at the other?

Do you have a UK doctor?

Yes, apparently I still have the same UK GP

I was fine when I went back for surgery, went to see my doc 1st got referred to hospital etc and had no problem. I cannot see why 5/10/15/20 years makes any difference. You should be fine

Thanks for the information

technically as soon as you get a drivers license issued by a foreign government it invalidates your uk one and as such all expats should use their UAE or whatever license in the Uk.

Technically the NHS charges for all treatments if you are a non resident of the UK or EU however most of the NHS either don't know about this or care but if you use NHS services when on holiday you can be billed for it as an expat.
As soon as you are a UK resident again you can again use your UK license and be treated for free i the NHS.
As for NI payments, who knows, the tax man says keep paying them but he would wouldn't he as for actual use in doing so it will help your statutory govt pension if it still exists when you come to collect it but my understanding is it will still not classify for a full uk pension

Paying voluntary NI contributions when abroad does not mean a person is eligible for free treatment on the NHS. The NI payments are simply to build up entitlement to the UK State Pension. 30 years total contributions are required for eligibility for the full amount and you can easily get a forecast.

Guide to NHS eligibility attached.

Aren't these about a tenner a month?

yes and sod all to do with the NHS but don't tell the daily mail or its readers

That's correct, you surrendered your UK DL when you got your other one, so yes, they will have cancelled it. NHS is residence based so is ONLY available to UK residents, so if you were to move back, then you would get treatment free from day one as long as you could show some form of proof of residence, like a rental contract or utility or council tax bill. Using the NHS without paying if you are NOT resident is fraud and, should you be found out you will be prosecuted, you should also have informed your GP when you left the country, I would suspect that still being registered might well contravene some regulations.

How do the DVLA know you have got a foreign driving license ?

Is all correct, But provided you have a GP a UK address you will never have a problem. You seriously think the NHS has the brains/resources to find out that we are expats. You certainly don't have to prove address, The one thing they do need is to find you listed at an address though (historically).

You don't have to prove nowt mate . I still have a NHS dentist and i've seen the same doctor every 12months for the past 15 years .

Lovely fella the doctor , even fixed him up with a cheap hotel in Duabi a few years ago !

I just remember the hospital asking for my address and I had to reel a few off before they found my notes. Other than that it was a doddle and they sent me private.