Hello all: I'm John and my wife is Alison we currently live in the US and after a few trips to the UK we have developed a desire to return to the UK. I am 61 and Alison is 59. We hope to settle in the area surrounding the Lake District. I'll look at the sub forums for info on purchasing a home and the procedure for reestablishing our residency. We're both carry EU/UK passports. We hope to be able to move later this year I.E October November. Oh, we also would be bringing our two dogs. Please chime in with sub forum suggestions and tips and hints! Thank you for looking and any info you pass on. John and Alison...

HKG3: We where both in the U S because of the "brain drain" of the 60's and have never had a job or a national ID number. We have entertained the US citizenship idea, but never went forward with it. Thanks SanDiegogirl sounds easy!

You will need to apply for a national insurance number. Very simple once you get back.

With pets, use a pet shipping company as the paperwork can be complex and a minor error can have major consequences.

I would definitely recommend doing this before you leave the USA. It is a tax free event to roll a 401k to an IRA and all the big brokerages such as Schwab, Fidelity, Vanguard etc will do it. Once in an IRA you usually have a much bigger selection of funds to invest in. Sometimes the rollover can very cumbersome which is another reason to do it while still in the USA. I already had an IRA with Vanguard and my wife had hers with Fidelity. With my wife’s 401k it was all done broker to broker electronically and was super easy. With my 401k the rules of my company were that they would only distribute the funds via check to me at my address on record. Vanguard told me the exact wording of the check to be made payable to them and where I should send it. A very large check was then sent by courier to me by the 401k custodian (made out Vanguard with my IRA account number ) and the same day I re-sent it via courier to Vanguard.

I can’t imagine having to manage those rollovers from England. Before we left for England I decided that Vanguard had a better reputation for handing overseas customers than Fidelity, who were otherwise excellent, and the rollover of my wife’s IRA to Vanguard was super easy and done entirely online. We also set up “agent authorization “ for both of us so we each have full access to each other’s accounts.

Something to keep in mind if considering attaining US citizenship before relocating. The requirements for reporting all wordwide income remains regardless of foreign residence. This really means US tax returns will always have to be filed annually reporting income over a base amount.

We have no desire to become US citizens. We'll formally return our green cards after initially settling in. Returning to the US as British citizens on a vacation/holiday type trips. We have looked into IRS form 8854, 1040c and 2063. Also, the USCIS I-407. Breaking most bonds with the exception of family and friends. John...

Speak to a pet shipper sooner rather than later.