We're finally back in the UK after 5 and a half years in New Zealand, it's taking some getting used to but things are slowly progressing. I've already been put forward for a good job after an agency contacted me a couple of weeks back, we bought a great car today and this weekend will be my first match at my beloved Oakwell in towards 6 years.

I'll eventually be doing a big update thread on the NZ forum but in brief the biggest things we've noticed so far is how busy everywhere and everyone is, how hi-tech and warm my mums house is and how cheap almost everything is.

Anyway, we've started doing the basic things we need to do like registering with the doctors, we had a UK bank account left open but I'm unsure what else we need to do. After we'd left I'm sure we filled a form in telling the tax office we were no longer residents and we claimed our tax back. Do we need to inform them we're back and is there anything else you guys can think of that we need to do?

Welcome home Are you still on the UK electoral roll?

Good luck now your home. We were there for 6 years and ive loved being back.
You are doing the right thing, get on the electoral roll, join the doctors etc and start using your bank.

Yes I think so as I was going to vote in the referendum but never returned the forms.

Welcome home! Once you start your new job, you will be back in the tax system as soon as you start getting paid. However, you will need to ring your local tax office as you will be on the emergency tax code in the absence of a P45 from your last job. I found them very helpful, and you can let them know then whether PAYE will take care of your tax obligations, or whether you will need to fill in a tax return in the future, eg due to continuing income from NZ.

That's all we did immediately on returning back this year, plus we got our driving licence updated. (New address plus the picture id version).

Welcome back.

Just a week back.

How does one with address issue ? Staying at B & B until finding a place hard to open bank account or anything else.

Seems need to be "habitual resident" to register for anything a challenge.

Can't complain too much, the north-east the best place to be !

Good on you Matt. Nice to see you back.

Did you enjoy your holiday en-route to the UK ?

We moved into our rented house on Wednesday. We've put the deposit on a car today.

How have you got on for car insurance ? We're getting silly money four figure quotes. We've gone to a couple of internet cost comparison sites. With our driving history, the cost should be a few hundred, not a few thousand.

It sounds like things have been moving quickly for you.

It's taken us two weeks to get to this stage. The Thursday just gone, my husband remarked that it was two weeks to the day that we sold our house.

P.S. How would you have been affected by the earthquakes if you were still in Dunedin ?

We've had to buy some things from Argos to tide us over as our container doesn't arrive until January.

We've done quite a lot of grocery shopping in ASDA in the last few days. I'm amazed how much we're getting for our money. Cucumbers aside.

We organized a rental house before we got back, signed the lease the day after we arrived. We had started the lease two weeks before so on arrival we already a letter from the utility company in our name at that address.

Snap Shot; I understand that most U.K. motor insurers will take overseas No Claims bonuses into account if proof can be provided from your old insurance company in NZ.

Also, your situation (a returning expat) isn't an everyday occurrence and will not be programmed into the criteria for quotes over the Internet. I would therefore suggest that you actually speak with a customer services rep at an insurance company or even better, find a motor insurance broker (google is your friend).

Btw; insurance rates are higher for people who state that they are unemployed, another thing to find out about getting the best rates for motor insurance is:

Money Saving Expert: Credit Cards, Shopping, Bank Charges, Cheap Flights and more (also read the forum under the subheading "Motoring")

Hope this helps - Good Luck!

May your life now be filled with affordable cucumbers Matt

Good tip.

Hey welcome home Morpeth. I didn't realise you were about to move over here.

Unfortunately, until you have an address I'd say you can't renew your driving licence or get a bank account. However, you should be able to register at the doctors, since you have in fact permanently moved to the UK.

My experience was completely the opposite - quotes from the brokers were 50% higher than what I arranged on-line. There was no problem inputting our details (I happen to have a French licence and my wife's is Chinese).

Going to GP in the morning, though I note NHS form asks about time abroad, hope it doesn't delay medical care.

Back for good, or for a few months depend on a few work issues. Though being in Northumberland is a distinct pleasure, no place like it.

Bank account huge challenge to be sure. Three said no without lease or utility bill, but fourth agreed to meet with me to discuss.

Phones are great here in my opinion. And so is the Yorkshire Pudding.