I have lived in the US( los Angeles) for over 30 years and now at 57 years old miss my family and my roots increasingly.I was born in the UK and now am a dual national- many years ago I became a non resident of the US and got my national insurance refunded as I believed that I would never return to the UK.
I would like to start by going back for 3-5 months a year and see how I like it. My first question is any advice on healthcare - my Kaiser plans covers me for emergency room visits but I would imagine that I will need more than that.I have finally been able to open a bank account in England ( HSBC)

Longer term, if I move back is there a book or a website that will help guide me through the process. Also, can someone recommend a company that can deal with the international tax ramifications of such a move.

If I retire there and do not work will I still need to apply for a National Insurance Card? - or is that the only way I get the NHS.
Any advice on a reliable container company to ship items from LA to Felixstowe?

I would appreciate any help or advice that you can give,

Thank you

As a Brit you just get on a plane and go.

Even if you are only there for a few months, you will be regarded as resident in the UK and therefore, eligible for the NHS from day one. You'll need some proof of accommodation to register at a GP office.

You undoubtedly already have an National insurance card and number, so apply for it at the Social Security office.

I used Pickfords to move me to the US but that was 20 years ago.

As you have been in the US for 30 years, and by the sounds of it have not paid into National Insurance, you are not likely to have much in the way of UK State pension, but, hopefully, you'll have one from the US.

Honestly, I think you would be better served asking this / these questions in the Moving Back to the UK forum. http://britishexpats.com/forum/moving-back-uk-61/

We were in a similar position when we retired at age 55 in 2010. In 2011 we moved back for a few months to test the water but were careful not to become ordinarily resident as that probably would have meant paying UK taxes. As it was were there long enough for our bank to notice and send us an HMRC form to complete and send in detailing numbering of nights in the UK that year, the 4 years before and projections going forward. We then spent the next few years traveling extensively in the USA, Canada, Australia and New Zealand before moving back in 2016.

Just being resident in the UK for a few months does not provide access to the NHS so we made sure that on our trips our US health insurance covered us. It was a PPO plan through BlueCross and it worked great. Before we traveled anywhere to stay for a while I would first go onto the BCBS website and look up doctors and hospitals in the cities we would be staying that were in network, and the only country that didn't have any obvious cover was Vanuatu, so when we had a week there we bought separate travel insurance.

As mentioned above, moving back is as simple as showing your passport, and if you want to have full access to the NHS then simply declare yourself ordinarily resident on the day you arrive back and start paying UK taxes. Being a USC as well means also paying US taxes and using foreign tax credits to offset the taxes paid to the other country.

The NHS is funded on an as-you-go basis from general taxation, the NI contributions go towards the State pension only.

More details below:
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/nhs-enti...t-health-guide

https://www.datadictionary.nhs.uk/da....asp?shownav=1

https://www.gov.uk/government/public...olicy-guidance

Thank you so much that is very helpful

To Durham_lad
I am a dual national both US and GB - I believe you are too. Did you ever consider revoking your US passport so you didn't have to pay taxes in both countries?

No, for a couple of reasons. I have too much money in pensions, pension funds and investments to be free of the IRS, plus I have a daughter living in the USA and as a USC I will always be able to travel there unconditionally.

Remember that I have to file taxes in both countries, not pay the taxes in both countries. When I filed my US taxes in June this year for the 2017 tax year I already knew how much I was going to be paying HMRC later this year. In fact I filed my HMRC taxes a couple of weeks ago. When filing my US taxes I get a figure of taxes owed then deduct as foreign tax credits the accrued amount I know I will be paying to HMRC. Unfortunately I can't get out of US tax withholding on my US pensions so by the time I file my US tax return the IRS has been collecting my money throughout the year and I then get it refunded from them when I file. (I have a US bank account into which the IRS deposit the refund)

It is undoubtedly a bit of a bother but while my daughter remains living there I won't even look into renouncing.

Isn't that where this thread is or am I missing something. When I click your link it takes me back to the same place.

A kind mod has evidently moved the thread to the correct subforum.

As said above, it's been moved - there is a redirect in the US forums for it.

HTH.