Sheilei

Hello
I am moving back to UK from US after 17 years. I am looking for guidance such as,
What happens to the social security that I paid in the US?
Best way to look for work when I get there?
Best way to find housing when I get there?
I have an adult son who is here with me, still a uk citizen but left before he was 16 so doesnt have a NI number, can we get one from here?
Best moving companies?
How to get money from here to the UK?
What challenges have you faced going back?
Best mobile phone comapany
Best TV service provider and Internet
So many questions

If anyone can guide me I would really appreaite it. We have nowhere to live when we get there, however it is the best option to return for my son

Oxfordite

I’m sure many people here can answer all of your questions but here are a few points on some of the easier ones:



If you have 40 credits (ten years) paying into social security, you will be eligible for payments either at full retirement age or at age 62 (reduced amount) wherever you are. You can apply online when the time comes and have the payments sent to the UK. If you will be getting a UK pension, let them know about your social security and the credits may be combined.



Your son won’t have an NI number and doesn’t need one. If he gets a job in the UK, he will be automatically issued a number at that time. He doesn’t need one to apply for a job but it’s best if he has a UK passport to prove eligibility to work.



I opened an account with Wise while in the US. It is an online bank that lets you keep multiple accounts in various currencies. I stashed money into a pound sterling account. Then when I arrived in the UK, I changed the address on my account to a UK address and they sent me a debit card. You could transfer out of the account into an account at another British bank when you are settled.



Since my visit was only temporary, I just bought a ten pound sim card from Tesco for my dual sim phone.That lasted a month and was easy to top up at any Tesco.



Stay tuned, there are many helpful people here who can give more advice.

Moon_River

I don't know what happens to your US Social security payments.
Best way to look for work when I get there?
If you have a LinkedIn profile, make sure it is up to date, stating your preferred UK area. Apply to various employment agencies online and things like CV Warehouse/CV Library attaching your CV (resume). Look up the Job Centre online, they will have vacancies for many different roles and employers.
Best way to find housing when I get there?
Look up websites such as RightMove and Zoopla.
I have an adult son who is here with me, still a uk citizen but left before he was 16 so doesnt have a NI number, can we get one from here?
He could apply for one here's link: https://www.google.co.uk/apply-natio...surance-number
Best moving companies?
Don't know, just find a selection of international moving companies and see what you think regarding their quotes/customer service/TrustPilot reviews.
How to get money from here to the UK?
Would you trust your bank in America ? Most people use an international Foreign Exchange service such as .xe or IFX.
What challenges have you faced going back?
Just dealing with 'state of flux' feeling where everything seems to be a juggling act. The feeling of being vulnerable and the people who will try to take advantage of that.
Best mobile phone comapany
I've used the BT service 02 since we've been back with no problems.
Best TV service provider and Internet
We use Sky, seems to have been ok so far.
0
So many questions
If anyone can guide me I would really appreciate it. We have nowhere to live when we get there, however it is the best option to return for my son[/QUOTE]

Oxfordite

That link for a NI # doesn't work and I believe you can't apply for one. My understanding is you have to get it through your employer when you get your first job. Beware of scams that say they will get a number for you and ask for sensitive information.

Mummy in the foothills

You can apply for a NIN, my husband did when we arrived back. He hadn't lived in UK long enough as a child to get one, and wasn't working in UK, so he applied. He had to take all his info and go for an interview they were quite rude to him too during the interview. Didn't seem to believe he was eligible even though he had his UK passport and BC. Very odd she didn't seem to understand how he couldn't already have one seeing he's an adult. Didn't seem to get the idea of living abroad all his life.

durham_lad

What happens to the social security that I paid in the US? - See post above. If you are a dual citizen make sure the SSA have you registered as such. We made the assumption that when we got our US citizenship, our US passport and informed our employers and the IRS that we were done. However when we applied to start receiving SS while we were living in the UK we had to send our US passports into the US Embassy for the FBU (Federal Benefits Unit) to record that we were US citizens. You are entitled to SS regardless of citizenship but they still need to know and don't get informed by the INS, IRS or any other agency.

Best way to look for work when I get there? - Our son used https://uk.indeed.com/ very successfully but I'm sure there are other ways.

Best way to find housing when I get there? - websites like https://www.rightmove.co.uk/ are what we used for both renting and buying

I have an adult son who is here with me, still a uk citizen but left before he was 16 so doesnt have a NI number, can we get one from here? No, but as posted above he doesn't actually need one to start a job, however our son, daughter and partner all applied online and got a NI number issued after they arrived here. It requires documents to be uploaded including either a UK passport as in the case of our children or BRP or as in the case of our daughter's partner. Takes 2 - 4 weeks at present. Our daughter's partner starts work on July 3rd and his NI number arrived July 1st but it didn't matter to him starting work. In 2017 our son was in work for almost 3 weeks before his came through - back then it required an interview at a JobsCentrePlus, but is all online now and much faster.

Best moving companies? Don't really know, others may answer that

How to get money from here to the UK? - Wise as described above. Both our daughter and her partner got themselves GBP Wise accounts and debit cards, her partner will be having his UK salary paid into his Wise GBP account as it comes with a UK style sort code and account number.

What challenges have you faced going back? - Make sure you register to vote which helps in a number of areas including building a credit record, which is needed for a number things.

Best mobile phone comapany - As above a pay-as-you-go SIM card is easiest as you probably won't have a credit record to sign up for a plan. Be sure your phone is unlocked before coming over so you can use a SIM only plan. We added our daughter to our plan and they issued her with an e-sim on her iPhone. She will get her own plan when we come to renew.

SanDiegogirl

If you do a search on this forum for "returning to the UK' there are a myriad of posts about people returning to the UK and what they go through.

We have nowhere to live when we get there .....

Hope you are planning to rent, say, a vacation rental or something similar, while you look for something more permanent.

Pollyana

This is the official government site for getting a NI number, and any information relating to it.

https://www.gov.uk/apply-national-insurance-number

durham_lad

Thanks, I meant to post this link in my post above. It works really well. This year both my daughter, a UKC without a NINO, and her partner, a USC/Australian citizen who recently got a BRP used it to great effect.

Oxfordite

Yes, my mistake. You can apply for a NI# but you can only do it when you are physically in the country, which is why I was told you can't do it. Here is the government website where you can apply. It says you don't need an NI# to start work if you can prove the right to work, which every UK passport holder has. Of course, if you are a white male some companies may look for an excuse not to hire you.https://www.gov.uk/apply-national-insurance-number

DerekB1972

Don't worry about these until you have an idea of where you'll be living, where I live there's only one broadband supplier (who is very good) and one mobile network with coverage (go PAYG initially to test)

Pulaski

Wise is great, so I hear (I have not used them myself yet, but would certainly do so), and it offers very useful services, however Wise is not a bank, and currencies other that USD are not insured* as, not being a bank, Wise is not generally (outside the US) covered by deposit insurance. This may or may not be a concern to you but I would recommend not keeping a balance larger than you can afford to lose, and generally using the account for transactions and transfers, not holding significant money.

* Wise talks about "segregation of funds" on its website, under the question about deposit insurance. There is nothing wrong with segregation of funds, in fact it is a good idea, but segregation is not a substitute for deposit insurance.

bkeogh

Hi,
I've been back in the UK since mid-June (2023) after 8 years in North Carolina. I've answered where I can below. DM me if you need more info

Hello
I am moving back to UK from US after 17 years. I am looking for guidance such as,
What happens to the social security that I paid in the US?
Best way to look for work when I get there? LinkedIn, Indeed and contact recruitment agencies in the area you will be moving to
Best way to find housing when I get there? We used rightmove.co.uk
I have an adult son who is here with me, still a uk citizen but left before he was 16 so doesn't have a NI number, can we get one from here? My eldest daughter turned 16 whilst we were in the US. I called HMRC they told me children are issued a NI number 3 months before their 16th birthday. It had actually gone to our old UK address. They will not tell you the NI number over the phone. They have posted it out to us. Note: when talking to them, they want the child on the call also to verify identity
Best moving companies? We used Suddath International. They were pretty good. We were told to book our container well in advance due to shortages and delays. We booked in February for a June move. Our stuff left the US on 16th of June and arrived in the UK 11th July. Total cost door to door cost for a 40FT container was 22K USD with 3K for insurance (mandatory)
How to get money from here to the UK? We used XE. If you're moving large sums of money be prepared to go thru money laundering and source of funds checks. We sold our US home and encountered some delays in moving money back. We tried OFX first as they were offering the best rates but they were taking days to complete the AML checks. I went to XE in the end who cleared the AML in 3hrs once they had the contract of sale from our US home and agreed to match the OFX rate. It's worth calling them and negotiating on the rate as they can often improve the advertised rate for large transfers
What challenges have you faced going back? A few:
Getting credit having been out of the UK for so long. Couldn't get a 3K increase on my credit card despite having a job. Also, mobile phone was a issue had to go PAYG due to lack of credit. Car I bought cash
Car insurance - lost my 10+ years UK NCD. Tried a number of companies. Same message: NCD is lost if out of the UK for > 3 years. Had to go with zero NCD which was expensive
Setting up anything (for example TV, Internet) that requires last 3 years of addresses. Most UK systems cannot handle a previous address outside the UK. I couldn't sign up with Sky for example
Driving. Getting used to the small roads, pot holes (West Sussex), lack of or expensive parking
Getting used to a much smaller house with no AC
Best mobile phone comapany. I went with EE. Four PAYG accounts to start with. They told me I can covert to pay monthly with 3 months good credit
Best TV service provider and Internet. I ordered BT a Phone with full TV package. Somehow passed their credit check. Only then did it tell me there was a 2 week wait for install so I cancelled and went with Hyperoptic for internet as they were already set-up in my new house, just had to activate. They did me a great deal 18 GBP p/month for 1GB plan for two years (goes up to 60 per month after that but I'll probably switch). Tried signing up for Sky stream (TV without the dish) but their system couldn't handle prior US address so they advised me to to to a Sky store which I haven't done yet. Got a Freeview TV and aerial which gave me 100+ channels for free including all the main BBC, INV CH4 etc
So many questions

If anyone can guide me I would really appreaite it. We have nowhere to live when we get there, however it is the best option to return for my son[/QUOTE]

Pulaski

If you've been living in NC for eight years, presumably you mean "getting used to fewer potholes"?

cyrian

Potholes are are common problem in the UK nowadays.
Recently, a visitor to the UK described the roads as "third world" level.