Hello,

I've been in France for just about 20 years now and like a lot of you I'm now thinking of going back to the UK. France is starting to wear me down with its economic situation and its Napoleonic ways of doing things and I just think thats its probably time to move on and have a breath of fresh air. It's alright for folk to come over here and retire, but working over here is another kettle of fish. The other, (probably easier), plan would be to go and live & work in Switzerland which isn't to far from where I live at the moment but I just think that in the long run I'd just end up going back to the UK one day anyway so why not now.

The UK is only a 6 hour drive from where I am but moving back , well I think it's pretty daunting to say the least!! I'm a trained plumber-heating engineer with about 15 years experience under my belt and spent a lot of that time running my own successful business so, job wise, I don't think I'll have that much trouble, although for jobs like that I suppose that its better to be in the country beforehand...??

My advantage over most expats coming back is that I don't have that far to travel so removal costs will be quite minimal but I have other problems :

- 3 kids: 15, 13 and 8. The older two speak english reasonably and can get by but they aren't really fluent but I think that after some time in the UK they'll be just fine - problem is though, education as I suppose it's not the best of time for them.... The younger one doesn't refuse to speak but he's a very lazy learner but at that age I think he'll probably be able to adapt easier as he'll still be in primary education.

- Credit rating!! So which joker thought that one up??? In France it doesn't exist and as I understand it, if you haven't got it then your fooked so how do expats go about?? No way could I buy a house at UK prices, so I'll be renting to start off but it seems pretty downright impossible if you haven't got credit rating.

So to sum up:

1. Has anybody on here had any experience of kids from another language moving back with you to the UK? and

2. How do you get around this credit rating nonsense once back home?

Any other help, advice, comments would also be very welcome

Hi LP,
Must confess I missed this post first time round, but was only wondering yesterday what you may be up, and ditto for some of the other regular posters from the French forum that we haven't heard from for some time.
Agree that it could be difficult heading back to UK with the 15 and 13 year old, although shouldn't be a problem with the youngest as they tend to adapt that much easier. Had no problem moving back for a short while with our youngest (6ish) who's predominant language at the time was French.
I can't offer any advise on the credit rating issue, and somewhat surprised that you had no takers on this forum. Perhaps someone on the French forum may possibly know.
Good luck, hope things turn out ok.
TP

Usual way to get round the credit rating problem is to offer a mch larger deposit, like 6 months, or to get a guarantor. As soo as you get settled in the UK get onto the electoral roll, and get a credit card, once you have a bank account most of them will give you one with a low amount, even if it's only £500 then use it and pay it off each month, within a couple of months the bank will, most likely, increase your credit limit. You will therefore have credi rating for the next time you wish to rent.

FIFA might have a few vacancies soon. You wouldn't need credit working there.

With kids that age I would strongly look at moving to Scotland. University for them is free after three years in Scotland but hugely expensive in England and Wales. Given the age of your kids the timing is near perfect.

Unless I've read incorrectly, University in the UK is Free too following 3 years residency. If I'm incorrect, please advise ?

University in England isn't free, it is in Scotland.

University in England is free only if the student has been living in Scotland three years prior to applying for University entrance.

University in England is currently about GBP 9,000 a year. If applicants have been living in England three years before attending university, they are eligible to apply for student loans.

Not exactly, their "usual residence" has to be in England, which means that people who are "temporarily" overseas, for example on a non-immigrant work visa can demonstrate that their (children's) usual residence was in the UK even if they were actually living outside the UK for several years. Typically you would need to demonstrate continued ties to the UK, such as owning a home, even if it wa rented out while you were overseas.

Thanks for the replies and sorry to get back so late but in the mean time I changed my email address so I didn't get any notifications....

I've just come back from the UK after a couple of weeks holiday and I must say I feel very pleased to have been over there. It seems SO dynamic compared to France and I plan to return in the very near future to get a proper idea of where to live etc. The building trade is really starting to move and I think that finding work wont be too much of a problem.

Credit rating is an issue but there does seem to be light at the end of the tunnel and there do seem ways to get around it. I pretty much understand now that that was put in place because of so many people abusing the system.

To my surprise the kids absolutely loved the UK and would be ready to move in a heart beat which is good news. After seeing their (french) cousins in London, and how they have easily adjusted to the UK and the english language, it was a bit of a relief for both them and me!

All in all, like many things in life, its about looking at the opportunities and NOT the obstacles...

Thanks again for the replies!

LP

Hi, like TP, I missed your first post on MBTTUK and didn't know about your plans. Funnily enough, some one was enquiring about plumbing work in France the other day, and I was wondering why you hadn't reacted!
All the best for the future, and give us an update on the France forum as and when!

I was always under the impression that no credit rating was better than bad credit rating or residing in a house of multiple occupancy "HMO". But with a zero credit rating status I would open a bank account and rent because too many credit searches against the credit rating file begins to red flag it. Shift to HSBC now in France with a personal account and it will stand you in good stead in the UK walking into a HSBC branch here is like a breath of fresh air.

I wish you luck in you endeavours as you have been a good face to have around the French section over the years..

Hi
Google "how to improve your credit rating in the UK".
Like in France, in the UK you have to learn the system and play by those rules.
The advice above is good - get yourself on the electoral role. (very important).
Use a credit card and pay it off each month.
Start to create a financial footprint.
A zero score could mean that you are using a false identity or you have been in prison - so it is not good.
In the past I have been rejected for a bank account because they did not use my postcode. They assumed that I lived in flats in a poor area and although I didn't appear there, other residents had very poor credit rating.
I was rejected because
a) They didn't find me on the electoral role.
b) The postcode in general had poor credit history.
c) Other residents had bed credit records.
There are almost 500k french living in the Greater London area who have opened bank accounts. Take as many documents as possible to prove your financial situation to your chosen bank. That is what we had to do when we arrived in France.
Good luck with your move and stay in touch with the French forum.