Qlyra

Hi everyone,
I am so happy to have found your group, as I have so many questions that so far have not been answered through any of the official government channels!
I left the UK in 1999 after Uni, thinking I was going to spend one year abroad in Japan, but have ended spending over 20; 3 years in Japan and then 20 in Taiwan. In this time, I have made a career in ESL, married and divorced, had a child....
Now finally I am ready to return home with my daughter who has just turned 18, but unfortunately, my parents have passed away, and I have no close family to help with this big move. We are both British Citizens but I know that having been away for so long (and my daughter has never lived in the UK) there will be many hoops to jump.
I would love any suggestions and advice on many things, but especially the following:
-what paperwork from my life in Asia should I make sure to have translated and notarized as will be needed in the UK? So far I have thought of Tax forms, employment records, birth/marriage/divorce certificates, but am I forgetting anything important?
-how can I go about opening a bank account in the UK once I arrive (this July hopefully), when I don't have a residence address yet? I have a very old Barclays account that has been dormant for years
-my daughter has finished high school in Taiwan and would like to go to Uni in the UK, but will she have to wait 3 years to be qualified as a home student? Are there any ways to get her studying faster without having to apply as an international student?
Any other information or suggestions would be really appreciated, thank you so much in advance!

Pulaski

Well so long as you both have British passports you don't need anything else to be allowed through immigration.

So far as a bank account goes, I would start by contacting Barclay's now as banks will sometimes reactivate an old/ dormant account.

Once you arrive you will need to register with a local GP, and your daughter will be assigned an NHS number, and they should be able to find yours, or issue a new one.

I don't think there is anyway around the "three year residency" requirement for getting the UK resident rate for uni. The admissions office at a university your daughter is interested in should be able to advise exactly how they apply to rules, but your daughter's case doesn't seem to leave a lot of wiggle room.

dean350

I would agree that UK universities can be strict with interpreting residency rules but I have heard on similar forums that they can take a more relaxed view if its a less popular course. The OP will find however that the Students Loan system has no leeway and they will insist on 3 years residency before granting access to the loan system. That means that even if you get do home fees you will have to pay those up front each year and fund maintenance as well.

Qlyra

Thank you, good to know we can register with GP easily
I contacted Barclays but it seems I will need proof of address so not sure how that will work, will go to the bank in person as soon as I arrive and see what can be done about it

Qlyra

Thank you for the info, yes we have been saving up for those school fees, but it would make a big difference if we don’t have to pay the international rates!

excpomea

I just tried this with Barclays last month in Cambridge. I left in 99.
They wanted proof of address in the form of a utility payment ect.
They could not reopen my account, closed in 2010. So I was in effect starting over again.

dougal03

Before I returned last year after 4 decades in southern europe,HMRC asked for a written letter from the authorities to say all my residency papers had been cancelled.This allowed my shipper to bring back my belongings.Then before I was allowed on the plane I had my passport stamped by British Border Control.When I went to open a Bank account I had to provide 3 addresses I had had abroad.That then descended into farce as they said the addresses were too long to fit onto the machine,so opened the account without these details(to confirm I was not the head of a money-laundering gang )As said,I also could not re-open a dormant Bank account.These details may not apply to people coming from Asia though as the British authorities seems to have a huge number of regulations reserved for those returning after Brexit from EU countries.At the Doctor´s Surgery I needed a new NHS number as you lose your original one after being away for 5 years.I did this myself by applying on-line straight to NHS website.If you have no acceptable credit card you will find that so many agencies like airlines or trains will not accept cash.So you may be stuck as I was until a kindly attendant from Latvia slipped me a free cup of tea on the way to my destination!

Pulaski

As discussed previously on the thread you started, your experience is grossly atypical, and nobody here has an explanation as to what you think you were told about your residency documents in Spain. Nobody here has ever heard of this before, nobody else has reported such an experience, and conversely, as a UK passport holder you enjoy a life-long right to show up in the UK to visit, or live, any time you like. So heaven only knows where your "shred all your documents before you were allowed on the plane came from", because there is no legal basis for any such requirement.

Helen1964

A close friend returned to the UK last year from Germany and had a very different experience.

"Before I returned last year after 4 decades in southern europe,HMRC asked for a written letter from the authorities to say all my residency papers had been cancelled.This allowed my shipper to bring back my belongings". HMRC didn't contact the German authorities at any point. She had no reason to be in touch with HMRC until she was back in the UK.


"Then before I was allowed on the plane I had my passport stamped by British Border Control"
Nobody stamped her passport. She got on a plane and flew home. Even if somebody DID stamp your passport, so what?


"When I went to open a Bank account I had to provide 3 addresses I had had abroad.That then descended into farce as they said the addresses were too long to fit onto the machine,so opened the account without these details(to confirm I was not the head of a money-laundering gang )"
I asked my friend about this. She did give the bank her last address in Germany but they were more interested in seeing proof of her current address in the UK. No big deal.


"As said,I also could not re-open a dormant Bank account"
You probably wouldn't have been able to do this even if you'd been living in the UK all those years.

"At the Doctor´s Surgery I needed a new NHS number as you lose your original one after being away for 5 years.I did this myself by applying on-line straight to NHS website."
Everyone in the UK was issued a new number some time ago. And it sounds from what you say that it was a simple matter of requesting one online. Well done. Not always easy navigating the internet when you're in your 80s. Or 50s for that matter.

"If you have no acceptable credit card you will find that so many agencies like airlines or trains will not accept cash". That's the modern world for you and it's been that way for a while. Makes perfect sense. Saves them messing around with large piles of coins and running up and down the plane looking for change.

Qlyra

I do have some money still in that account, so they said it is not closed, just dormant, but I guess I will see what happens once I go to the branch in the UK, fingers crossed!

durham_lad

We kept our bank account active during the 30 years we lived in the USA and on returning went into the bank with a change of address (we initially rented a place from abroad). They still required proof of our new address in the form of a utility bill or rental agreement etc.

So, don’t be surprised if they ask for proof of address.

dougal03

I can only report what happened to myself one year ago as I thought the original poster,Olyra,was seeking information.It appears that other replies come from posters who,although NOT recently returned,have much better knowledge than myself.I can assure Pulaski that the stamp on my passport is real & issued by the British Border Force,but Helen thinks it doesn´t matter anyway.There must be a first person to record an incident ,Pulaski & maybe I happened to be that one.....or perhaps others are rather put off by some of the comments received & are hesitant to be more forthcoming.

dougal03

I forgot to add a bit regarding the Government being completely legal in their dealings.You must be aware that Mr.Harry Schindler an elderly UK National resident in Italy,intended to take his case to the United Nations over being denied a vote in British elections,as so many of us had.This has resulted in a re-think by our Govn.which now has it up for debate but intend to re-name it as"votes for life"

brits1

Hi, I think you can still apply for a HSBC account whilst overseas

Englishmum

Hi - if you don’t have a UK address initially, you can open a current (aka checking account) with Wise (formerly known as TransferWise). Lots of international students studying in the UK and expats working in the UK use Wise.

It’s called the “Wise Multi- Currency Account”

www.wise.com

If you go to www.monito.com

go to the drop down menu on the right. Click on ‘Guides’ and under the sun heading ‘Life Abroad’ see ‘Open A Bank Account as Non-Residents’ - you can set it up before arriving in the UK in the currency of your choice. Do read through the guide as point 0.7 shows how you can open an online UK bank account with Wise, Monzo, Revolut and Monese.