Sparkleydiva

Yes this has happened to us too and has taken 15 months to get a reasonable UK credit card, despite good incomes etc

mrken30

When you left the UK did you close all your credit cards and bank accounts?

Sparkleydiva

Yes to credit cards as didn't need them as had NZ cards but still have my Halifax account of 36+ years abd a Uk address

morpeth

Halifax was very helpful to me in similar situation- they said they would issue me a small credit card straight away, but recommended before applying develop other credit first : evidently first time you apply for Halifax card bank bank manager can out in good word, afterwards more just on credit score alone.

Getting on electoral roll I found the main challenge. APS credit card--Marbles--Capital One credit all seemed to be fairly easy. Make payments then in few months betetr credit cards etc became available.

mollymolybdenum

I do appreciate all of the helpful words and advice. I have stopped hyperventilating about this big undertaking and started working my way down a file, as a pp previously recommended. We have started with passports, which is an expensive undertaking as I need 8 children's passports (each UK and US for my 4 children, all passports we have had previously are all expired!), renew my US passport and renew husband's UK passport. My parents in law have offered to give us all cash for Christmas, so my kids will be opening crisp UK passports on Dec 25. Way better than an iPod touch or American Girl doll, right??? I am finding that the job search will actually be a touch easier than expected as my husband's current company is in the UK as well and prefers to hire from within.

Now we are trying to decide what to do about US greencard renewal/citizenship for my husband. We do not know if we'll be moving back to the US at this point. My parents have a farm and chances are we may need to help take care of it/them at some point, but if he has his US citizenship, won't he have to pay US income tax AND UK taxes on his income? If he is not a US citizen, he will not have the ease of reentry but we will not have been paying US taxes on his UK income for the 10 or more years we will be there. Is this right or am I reading the tax stuff wrong? Or will I be taxed on his UK income whether he is a citizen or not simply because I am married to him? I can't seem to find a clear answer using the search function and the IRS website just wants me to take a 15 minute "Do I File" quiz.

BritInParis

The new British passport design is actually quite snazzy

As a citizen he'll need to file an annual tax return with the IRS (as will you) but it's unlikely that he'll be liable for any income tax as the US has a double taxation agreement with the UK. Unless he abandons his Green Card then he'll need to do that as a LPR anyway.

It's a hassle but less of a hassle then it would be to start the US immigration process from scratch. Also you need to return to the US in a hurry then as citizens it's just a matter of booking a flight and going.

Jerseygirl

As a GC holder your husband must file US taxes for quite a number of years after leaving the US.

I would give up my US citizenship in a heartbeat if it would simplify our taxes...but we would still have to file US taxes as my husband’s 401K and pensions are from the US. I presume as an ex GC holder the same would apply.

petitefrancaise

Always try to make sure you have the same citizenship(s) as your children. None of us knows about immigration rules in the future. Apart from anything else, if the kids decide to come and live back in the USA as adults, being able to come and go as you wish without worrying about visas has got to be worth it.

ukmancoll

Hi there - can you clarify someone outside the UK can do this? Going through the registration process it asks for your UK address, only accepts a UK phone number, postal code, etc.

mrken30

I originally set up my account with my last UK address. I still have a UK landline and cellphone number. I'm not sure if you need a phone number.
Maybe he could use a relatives address, but it may not pass the verification process.

holly_1948

Just for information, one can get a "UK landline" from Callcentric.com no matter where you are. The service is called "Intl. DID - United Kingdom" and it costs USD5.95 per month. You can take it with you when you move almost anywhere in the world.

To actually use it for telephone calls you need hardware and internet service. Suitable hardware is the Obihai Obi202 which is a nice piece of gear and costs about USD60.

mrken30

The obihai 200 was 37.99 last week. I use one for google voice. I still have my UK vonage account which I keep thinking about cancelling. When I moved here it was cheaper to keep my vonage account at $10 a month instead of paying for a landline at $30 to $40 a month. My plan includes unlimited UK and US calls.

lululondon

THIS! It was my prime motivation for becoming a US citizen 7 years ago. I'm English, long-term partner American, two dual citizen kids. I'm now in the process of planning our family's move (back) to the UK next summer (you are all likely to hear more from me on this over the coming months!) and I too inwardly groan at the prospect of years of dual income tax preparations for all the years to come, but as a pp said, your husband would be doing that anyway as a GC holder. In my personal experience, getting US citizenship was a total breeze compared to getting the GC. Green card took me two years and thousands of dollars. Citizenship was mere hundreds and a few forms, all of which I did myself and the whole thing took a few months total. And this means I can always come back and as the pp said, should your children decide to go back to the States one day, your husband will want to be able to go back easily too! In my view, getting citizenship made it easier to consider leaving, if that makes sense? The immense hassle and expense of starting again with the GC application, which your husband will have to do if he leaves the US for more than a year I believe (it's something like that anyway) is not worth it. Do the citizenship now! And good luck. From one who understands the Overwhelm 1000% since I have just 8 months to make everything that you describe above happen too!

mrken30

Just signed up to sipgate.co.uk. They give a free UK number that you can take anywhere. You can bolt on call packages if you want. Just make sure you use the number every few months, otherwise they will cancel the number.

sayang

Going from US homeschooling to UK state school system will be a culture shock for your kids for sure!