Re: Moving back to UK
 

Good advice, and definitely post code dependent on ease of getting appointments etc.

I did bring a month’s supply of medicine with me, plus this was back in 2016 when we still had a functioning NHS. When our daughter moved back in November 2022 (same town as us) she also registered the first week she arrived. Registration is handled by reception where we live so no GP appointment needed to get on their list with an NHS number and assigned GP.

Re: Moving back to UK
 

[QUOTE=C.2s;13289431]Most GPs have a catchment area and that info should be available on their website. To find which GPs are in the area you plan to move to, there's a search feature on the NHS website where you can search for GPs near a postcode. You can also register (basic details) for many GPs on the NHS website before you start the often frustrating task of contacting the surgery to try to get a first appointment..... Having said that, my GP office was happy to give me a one month prescription of my US medicine to tide me over before my appointmen but I made that request well before getting close to the end of the month's supply I'd brought with me.

Re: Moving back to UK
 

Wherever I end up that information about GP's and postal codes will be usefull. I have a Medicare Advantage Insurance which keeps me supplied with at least 3 months of my meds, so that will help. Prescriptions and medical records will be an essential but if you have the container with all the information on the label, would not that substutute for a prescription?

Re: Moving back to UK
 

No, in terms of you wouldn't be able to just take the bottle into a pharmacy and ask for a refill. It might even be helpful to ask your US doctor to write a brief letter outlining your current prescriptions (even if they charge you $50 for the privilege). One thing that really struck e about the UK compared to the US is that the "jobsworth" mentality is more common here. When it comes to important meds, you want things to go smoothly.

Another thing to check is whether the same meds are available in the UK. When I returned, one med was not available in XR (extended release) form in the UK.

Also, check if there are any NHS recommendations for the meds you are on. After a brain injury, I was put on several meds until the GP found one that worked to reduce the extreme headaches I was having (still have). After being on it for a year, the GP had to take me off because NHS gave out a warning that people addicted to opioids were using it as a synergistic drug to enhance the opioid high. I wasn't even on opioids, so it seemed a bit daft, but as per my comment "josbworth", etc. The replacement meds were not as effective.

Re: Moving back to UK
 

My primary care physician is very co-operative and would gladly give me a letter containing the prescriptions they write. Having looked through the NHS website, all the meds I take are avalable but a couple are listed as controled substances, as they are in the USA, I can see that I would have to have some discussions with the GP of my choice. However, being in the UK and over 60, prescriptions are at no cost. Thanks for the suggestions, at this stage anything is helpful!

Re: Moving back to UK
 

I took my most current US information label to my new GP office and they were able to give me the month's prescription based on that. Whole process took about a week from walking into the practice to picking up from chemist (pharmacy) but I'm in a rural area so everything takes longer. I don't know what kind of checks the GP might have run prior to providing that prescription, but mine is a fairly routine / low risk maintenance drug. I imagine it might be (should be) more difficult with some other meds.

Re: Moving back to UK
 

Taxation in the UK for a ukusac.
Do I file a UK tax return as a UK citizen, and is there a website that explains the process?
Do I then file my US tax return, notating that I permanently reside in the UK?
I understand that the US Tax year is from Jan to Dec, and the UK tax year is from April to March, and has to be pro-rated for US tax puposes.
This sounds draconian in the extreme! I should probably hire a tax accountant!
Any feedback on how difficult and time consumung this is?

Re: Moving back to UK
 

I do hire a tax accountant to do our UK and US tax returns because I do find it complicated and draconian. The UK-US tax treaty determines which country has primary tax authority over which income stream and you use foreign tax credits to ensure you are not doubly taxed.

Re: Moving back to UK
 

That's sad! I have always done my own US taxes myself, with the aid of a program. Very easy and not expensive.

Re: Moving back to UK
 

So have I but my wife is totally clueless about such things so having a relationship with a tax accountant is really for her benefit. I expect that you will be able to figure it out, but maybe pay for an account for the first year or 2 after you move back.

Compared to US tax returns a UK return is much simpler and I’ve helped my wife’s sister do a couple of HMRC self assessments after her husband died and she was advised that she needed to do a self assessment. After the second year HMRC told her that she no longer needed to file and could go back to PAYE.

Re: Moving back to UK
 

We moved back in August, and after checking with a couple of local FB community pages, signed up with a doctor's practice with no problems. Get your current Primary Care provider to send you your medical records. I downloaded them to a thumb drive, but the new practice couldn't accept them in that form, so I just emailed them. A lot of lot doctor's practices over here, have their own pharmacist who deals with prescriptions, and they will check if your medications are provided with the NHS. I can a couple that needed changing, one they didn't do the imtermediate dosage, so I had to take the higher dose, as I had already tried the lower dose without success. I was surprised to find that my allergy meds were available on prescription, as it bought over the counter in the USA.
Regarding part B, it has taken us months to get that removed. It might not be an issue for you, but as my husband was recently retired, his income incurred an additional charge which was for the both of us, and amounted to a couple of thousand every 3 months. You cannot keep up part B once you are resident in the UK, but you need to complete a form to stop it. Part of our problem was we sent the forms back to the SS in the USA, but the US has a dedicated department for US SS claimants at the embassy in London which is where the form should have been send.
In the new year, we have the joy of completing our first tax return. I am surprised you are not a US citizen after spending so long in the US, if you aren't intending on returning to the US, I am not sure it's worth taking it up. My husband has been looking at various investment companies, and he is finding that all of them so far, are not available to US citizens. We had to open a HSBC expat account, to access his 401K. Neither of our US bank accounts accept an address outside of the US, so we have kept a US cell phone number with Mint( good advice from here) and changed our address to one of our kids. It's seemingly small things like that, which keep tripping us up.

Re: Moving back to UK
 

I think I lucked out with banks as Bank of America had no issues with my having a UK address. I'd called their customer service department a few times to check and consistently got the same answer so I took that as a good sign :-) Additionally, one rep did recommend that I set up a yubikey for additional security while still in the US (easier than setting it up from overseas) rather than rely on text verification (because they can't text 1-time passcodes to non US numbers.) That has worked smoothly, though it does take more steps than receiving a text. Having said that, while I was still in the US I set up a Google Voice account (VOIP) and used it for voice and messaging while still in the US to get it 'established'. Then when in the UK I closed out my regular US cell plan and ported the number to Google Voice. Since then I have received automated messages from both Bank of America and my US brokerage on that number without any issue. I know many/most financial institutions won't accept a VOIP number for customer contacts but it doesn't seem to be a problem with a regular cell number (ie was established with a non-VOIP carrier) that is subsequently ported to Google Voice.
The thing that tripped me up here was trying to get a credit card. I'd been an amex customer for a couple decades in the US and was 'assured' by several customer reps in the US that I would not have any issues opening an amex account in the UK. But that turned out to be untrue, because they insisted on current year proof of income in the UK which I could not provide due to living off savings for the first few months. However, I already had a HSBC Expat bank account, which enabled me to open a HSBC UK bank account without having to jump through any more hoops, and fromt there it was easy to get a HSBC UK mastercard. Long way for a short cut, but it means I do now have a traceable financial footprint in the UK.