How Hard Can It Be?
 

I am going back to the UK from the US - probably next spring. Born in the UK and got my US citizenship in May 2021.

1) I've searched the forum a bit but, unless I've missed a real obvious post, I cannot find an answer to what I think is a simple question: Once I have my affairs in order in the US can I literally just get a one way ticket to Heathrow? Seems unlikely that there aren't UK Gov forms to fill in to say that, on arrival at the UK border, I'm a returning citizen intending to stay? If I show up at the UK border I could be entering under false pretenses etc if I just breeze in - or is that it?

2) I see that I may need to complete Transfer of Residence forms If I am sending stuff back - but I'll only be shipping clothes, books, computer, maybe a musical instrument or 2. I'm not looking to get any relief for them - Unless you think I should?

3) Similarly, apart from updating official bodies in the USA - e.g. IRS, SSA - Is there something official/a form to complete to say I've left the USA/ceased to become resident - should I actually do this from the UK?

Can anyone in the Moving Back forum share their actions regarding the above or perhaps this should be in the forum dedicated to those expats already back in Blighty - If so apols to the moderators here.

Re: How Hard Can It Be?
 

As a UK citizen with a UK passport, yes, it is just a case of entering the UK on a one way ticket.
Once you get to the UK, and if with a job, you'll automatically be connected to the HMRC to pay taxes. You'll set up a bank account, get a GP, get on the voting polls.
There are no formal UK Government forms to complete.

You'll be obliged to complete US tax forms for the rest of your life.

Re: How Hard Can It Be?
 

And to add, no, you don't need to tell some central US entity that you aren't living in the US. Just update your contact address as needed with specific people.

And TOR is just to avoid being charged duty on your stuff when it's shipped. It isn't hard to do, saves you money.

Re: How Hard Can It Be?
 

Thanks folks and thanks for the TOR tip too. Some shipping companies, I think help with the TOR - I may use a combination of sendmybag (as I did when I came to the USA years ago) or something like https://upakweship.com/ - although for a small crate it looks a little prcey.

Re: How Hard Can It Be?
 

We moved back a few years ago after 29 years in the USA and can confirm the info in the above posts. Very easy, no need to inform IRS or SSA.

A few tips might be useful before leaving

get an online SSA account

ensure your brokerage holding your IRAs and 401ks will support overseas customers.

ensure your US bank will support overseas customers

convert any after-tax mutual funds to HMRC reporting ETF funds

ensure that SSA know that you are a US citizen. we never did that when we Naturalized and 23 years later when we came to claim SS benefits we had send proof to the FBU in London that we were US citizens.

Re: How Hard Can It Be?
 

Thanks durham_lad - And hello again - Actually just updated my SSA status the other day and checked other stuff through their portal. I'll certainly do the other checks you mention. I'm with US Bank here so I'm pretty sure they are good. Re the mutual funds comment: I've got a - now diminishing-due-to-stock-market-aggro currently - 401k and some depreciating ETFs. Could you expand a little on "convert any after-tax mutual funds to HMRC" - Like, after you retire/before. Also, I guess the UK just like the us has the equivalent of the annual Fin Cen form to report overseas investments.

Re: How Hard Can It Be?
 

There is no equivalent of Fincen and no reporting of foreign funds to HMRC.

Any funds inside a 401k or IRA can be anything you want as it is inside a pension wrapper. If you have funds that you normally pay taxes on through dividends and cap gains then unless they report into HMRC you won’t get the much lower tax rates and it will all be taxed as regular income.

google HMRC Reporting Funds to see if your ETFs are in there
https://www.gov.uk/government/public...eporting-funds

Re: How Hard Can It Be?
 

Oh crikey! I forgot about this. My card still says "valid with INS authorization" or something similar. I really need to get that changed. Do you know if it has to be done in person, please?

Re: How Hard Can It Be?
 

I think it is easier to do this in person by going into a local SS office then you wouldn’t have to send in your US Passports and Naturalization Certificate and spend time worrying about losing them.

In 2020 when I first encountered this in England I was told on the phone that we would have to make an appointment at the FBU in the London Embassy as they needed to physically see us in person with both the US passport and the Naturalization Certificate. Because of Covid this was not possible but in April last year when my wife was applying for her SS benefits they (US Embassy FBU) told her we could send in our US Passports and they would record our citizenship status. This we did along with the form requesting a new SS card, as instructed, and received our Passports back within days with a note that all was well. A few weeks later we received new SS cards from the SSA.

Re: How Hard Can It Be?
 

Hi Stelly - Echoing durham_lads advice: I went to my local SSA office in SLC. Presented the Naturalization Certificate, had my US passport and Driving License handy. The agent took the certificate, asked me a couple of security questions, updated my status in the computer and re-confirmed the address the new SS card needed to go to, which would take about 2 weeks. He actually didn't ask to see the passport and DL. Handed me back the cert. You actually don't need a new SS card if you already have one but, at the time, I couldn't find my old one. All in all, painless to do it in person.

Re: How Hard Can It Be?
 

Driving Licence - Now there's a thing. Did you have to re-take your UK test? My UK driving licence actually runs out next week. You can renew online but you have to state the UK address and "how long you've lived there". I haven't retained a UK address but have UK based correspondence (banks, NI etc) go to my sister or brother. During the renewal process it asks how long you have "lived' at the address. Now, I could stay "my address" is one of those, but I feel this is falling foul of a fairly entrenched legal statute (I guess I mean the law) as UK driving licenses can only be held by UK residents.

Re: How Hard Can It Be?
 

The address on your DL should be the UK address you are living at, but don’t worry about it as it is very easy to renew. When we returned to England the address on our DLs was about 30 years out of date but we simply applied for new ones, sending in the old licences. No need to take any kind of test, new licences returned in the post easy enough.

Re: How Hard Can It Be?
 

DL, I don't understand this one. You don't have to be a US citizen to collect social security. And the UK has an agreement with the US on this as well I believe. What am I not understanding?

Re: How Hard Can It Be?
 

What you are not understanding is the craziness of the US systems. It should not matter but apparently it does.

I first encountered this craziness when applying for health insurance some years ago through the ACA which is also available to all legal residents. (We were living in the US at the time). However, when applying online we had to answer the question of whether we are US citizens, immediately followed by “did you get your citizenship through Naturalization?” At that point the only way forward was to enter the number on our Naturalization certificates (US passports not sufficient proof). But the numbers on our documents was not in a format recognized by the input screen, so I had to go a different route and upload copies and submit them for review by an official. That took several days and then I was able to proceed with the application for health insurance. An American friend of mine went through exactly the same difficulty, he was born a US citizen but his wife was naturalized, and the number on her certificate was also not in the correct format.

Re: How Hard Can It Be?
 

So a former resident alien green card holder with more than the 40 quarters worked will never be able to show proof of citizenship because he isn't one, naturalized or otherwise. I assume there must be some other route then, no doubt involving lots of forms.