LucyO

Hi there,

My husband and I are moving from the Uk to New Jersey. Should we register that we are living abroad with the FCO? I cant seen to find a link to information, or a page, on the website?

Many thanks

Lucy

rpjs

http://www.fco.gov.uk/locate

You have to re-register every year which is a pain. I did get an email from them after Sandy with a helpline number for Brit ex-pats affected by it. Who knows whether the help would actually be any use though. I expect that once I qualify for USC I'll not bother to keep up my registration.

robin1234

I'm thinking of asking them to send a gunboat up the St. Lawrence River to rescue me.

http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Don_Pacifico_Speech

sir_eccles

I'm probably stating the obvious here but it's worth reminding people that once you are a USC, the British embassy/FCO/etc cannot assist you as they would any other normal British citizen such as a tourist you while you are in the US.

rpjs

Can't offer consular assistance if you're arrested for sure, but the FCO Locate site specifically says that "dual national (British and other)" can register (as can non-UKC immediate family members), and they don't actually mention consular assistance as a reason for registering, rather "if a major catastrophe occurs we’ll have an instant record of your details so we can contact you to make sure you’re OK and provide advice."

Call me cynical but I suspect that would amount to "Oh you're still alive are you? Jolly good! Carry on."

Jonathan77

Lucy, https://www.locate.fco.gov.uk/locateportal/

Also I would follow the Embassy in Washington on Facebook and Twitter. They post good information from time to time. https://www.facebook.com/ukinusa?ref=ts&fref=ts

Cheers, Jonathan

sir_eccles

Hmm, it's a little ambiguous. It does indeed say "British and other" but it does not say "British and other wherein other is the nationality of the country you are in at the time".

Steve_

I think its really designed for tourists, I used to use it but I gave up.

Back in ye olde days you had to phone up the local consulate or go down there and register in person and every year they would phone you up to see if the details were still current. I remember I used to have this super posh fellow phone me from the consulate.

Pulaski

I never saw the point or need to register. It would be a different matter if I had relocated to Paraguay, Angola, etc., but I can't imagine any circumstance where the FCO could/ would provide any useful assistance to a resident of the US.

Bob

It's more so that family back in the UK can contact them to get in touch with you in the event of something happening.

I've had a few emails from them, automated, after winter storms in the area.

Still don't get notified about updating the details though after the year.