chrissmithx

Thank you in advance for any responses.

I'm planning to move back to the UK after living in Taiwan for 18 years. I have family in the UK. I'll be bringing my Taiwanese wife (that's the plan), 2 kids, 3ys and under (both with British passports). I have already started the process of looking for work in the UK.

There are a few areas I'm unsure about at the moment. Firstly, my tax status. I have an NI number, and wonder if I can bring my contributions up-to-date (I assume there will be benefits to doing this)?

I'm guessing that I won't need to pay tax as I didn't earn anything in the UK during my period of absence, except for small interest earnings in my UK bank account?

We will be selling our apartment here in Taiwan to help pay for the financial requirement for my wife's resident status (nothing begun with that yet). As funds from this are required to reside in a UK bank account for a full six months, will this be taxed? I have never moved money from one country to another before (especially large amounts, by my standard).

I think these are the big questions for me at the mo.

Cheers

chrissmithx

Have been notified through email of a response by P***y**a, but I don't see it. Something wrong?

Editha

I can't help over the missing response by Pollyana, but I'll try with the rest:

NI Contributions: You can make back payments for six years, so you won't be able to catch up entirely. It is definitely worth doing, and since you can start paying contributions while you are still living abroad, you don't need to wait. https://www.gov.uk/national-insurance-if-you-go-abroad

You are right, you do not need to pay tax for the period you were not living or working in the country.

The proceeds of sale of your apartment and any other cash you bring with you are not taxable but any interest the money earns after you have become resident will be.

pammy68

Really, I didnt know that, so better to keep your cash under the bed that you bring back if you dont invest it?!....doubt Ill have much left by the time I get settled anyway but good to know!

Bermudashorts

How did you determine from the post you quoted that it is better to leave cash under the bed?

Editha

I was wondering that too.

pammy68

It was a joke, Cripes, no one watch only fools these days, stop being so serious and correct!

msmyrtle

Except it's really hard to tell when people are joking or being sarcastic in the written form.

Immigration is extremely expensive and a mistake in the process (even inadvertent) could have horrendous consequences for those involved. It's a good thing there are posters here that take time to clarify and correct misinformation.

Pollyana

No, nothing wrong, I was going to ask about a visa for your wife then saw you have that under control

Bermudashorts

I didn't understand what you meant and as a joke, well it just didn't make any sense and wasn't funny.. perhpas you could clarify when you are making jokes and if you want any serious answers to your questions or not.

robin1234

It was an ok post apart from that though?

pammy68

I thought the ! was self explanatory, obviously not, I will refrain from joking unless in the lounge, I am now a little concerned thought that the Brits may have lost their sense of humour while I was gone, not a joke.

spouse of scouse

Hi Chris, couple of things.

Your savings don't have to be held in a UK bank for 6 months. I'm assuming you and your wife need only meet the financial requirement for a spouse visa application, currently 62,500 pounds. You can hold the Taiwan dollars equivalent of this amount in a Taiwanese bank for 6 months, as long as the account is of an approved type (see https://www.gov.uk/government/upload...ndix_FM_SE.pdf
for further info on what type of accounts are permitted). For the entire 6 months, the account balance cannot fall under the amount you need to meet the financial requirement, in your case the equivalent of 62,500 pounds.

For the purposes of converting foreign currency to GBP, the Home Office uses the daily cash rate published on Oanda.com

If you're using the proceeds from the sale of your home to meet the financial requirements, these funds don't have to sit in the bank for 6 months - you can use them immediately they hit your bank account, providing that the sale took place within the 6 months prior to you making the applications. You/your wife/both of you also need to have owned the property for at least 6 months prior to your application. See the below extracts from Appendix FM-SE (in italics) for further info, also the link I've posted above.

(d) Funds held as cash savings by the applicant, their partner or both jointly at the date of application can be from the proceeds of the sale of property, in the form only of a dwelling, other building or land, which took place within the period of 6 months prior to the date of application, provided that:

i) The property (or relevant share of the property) was owned at the beginning of the period of 6 months prior to the date of application and at the date of sale by the applicant, their partner or both jointly

chrissmithx

That's great information, all. Thanks a lot! Specially ...

That makes a really big difference.

I do get a File not found page when I hit this link.
However, I guess the page exists somewhere, so should be able to search it.

Cheers

Pollyana

maybe next time use a smilie/emoticon....can change the whole meaning of a post