sally04 Posted February 20, 2012 Share Posted February 20, 2012 Anyone have any info on whether there are restrictions on accessing services / benefits etc. if you return to the uk after living in Oz for over 5 years? We all have dual Uk and Aussie citizenship. Thanks! :biggrin: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RockDr Posted February 20, 2012 Share Posted February 20, 2012 I think you'd have to prove that you were definitely resident in the UK again. How complicated that would be I have no idea. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boganbear Posted February 20, 2012 Share Posted February 20, 2012 yes there are. I don't know the exact details but I know of people who have been caught out bu this. You have to prove you are habitually resident in te UK. The stupid part of this is that if you have moved back to the Uk of course you are habitually resident! http://www.benefitsnow.co.uk/esa/residence.asp My other half was caught out by this when signing up at the doctors and they were fussing over whether he was resident or not after he did some temp work in Australia , despite being a British citizen, paying Uk tax and living in the UK.....but if you are an asylum seeker you are entitled to everything! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RockDr Posted February 20, 2012 Share Posted February 20, 2012 I would say get the easy stuff first and go from there. driving license just requires a UK address. Let the tax office know you're back in the country. A rental agreement would show you're living here. proof that you've shipped your belongings back (even if they've not arrived yet). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saraho Posted February 20, 2012 Share Posted February 20, 2012 sorry to hijack the thread with another question, but does anyone know if you can get private car insurance whilst using an Australian licence? I havent had a issue with hire cars but aim but buy our own car and wondered if we could get insurance. Will be applying for UK licence ASAP but heard it can take 3 weeks and dont want a hire car that long, Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RockDr Posted February 20, 2012 Share Posted February 20, 2012 saraho, have you had a british license before? if so, do you know your number? If yes, then you should have no issue getting insurance, since you're already in the system, and can just put your license number on the application form not sure otherwise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stovies Posted February 20, 2012 Share Posted February 20, 2012 Remember with car insurance you will be starting from scratch again, ie no No Claims Bonus. Expensive! I was in Aus for 12 years and the things I found important when I got back to the UK were - my UK passport, this was needed to open a bank account, along with proof of address, Council Tax Statement in your name, birth certificates, all needed to register with a doctor. All those things were also needed to apply for Child Benefit and Tax Credits. I had an old paper UK driving licence that I took along to the Licence Agency and it only took a week to get a plastic ID one. But I would say, out of all of these the thing that I had to show most was my UK passport. We have Aus passports too, but I wanted to travel back to the UK on UK passports so that there would be no restrictions and so I applied for them while we were still in Aus and it has smoothed the path on many occasions. Especially at the bank as I had to show it a few times when making withdrawals when I first opened the account. I can't help you on the benefits front but have a feeling that there are some restrictions ie waiting periods if you've been out of the country for the past 12 months, but don't quote me on that! saraho - I applied online for car insurance when I first came over. I hadn't had time to renew my UK one so sent off a copy of my paper licence, along with my Australian licence. Big mistake as my insurance was cancelled as they said I couldn't apply for insurance with an overseas licence. I should have just sent a copy of the UK paper one and all would have been well. I then went into one of the little insurance broker shops with my old paper UK licence and got insurance no problem. If you go into the Driving Licence office as soon as you can, they will give you a document that will say that your DL has been applied for and approved and that can be used to gain car insurance. It is all done over the counter quite quickly if you have your old DL, or DL no and UK passport. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Impatient Aussie Posted February 20, 2012 Share Posted February 20, 2012 Remember with car insurance you will be starting from scratch again, ie no No Claims Bonus. Expensive! ...they said I couldn't apply for insurance with an overseas licence. This is very different from my experience when I moved to the UK ten years ago. I initially used a International driving license which I acquired by simply going to a RACV shop in Melbourne and paying a fairly inexpensive fee (less than $30 iirc). I didn't have to hand over my Victorian drivers license at that point. I believe I am correct in saying you can drive on an International license for up to a year before needing to exchange your original license for a UK one. I don't remember the initial quotes I had for basic insurance when I first insured a car but it certainly wasn't prohibitive. First couple of cars I had were cheap bangers but I bought a half decent car after being in the UK for about a year and a half and took out fully comprehensive insurance and it certainly wasn't outrageous. I'm sure I was still using an International driving license at that point (I took the liberty of considering a short trip back to Australia as a reset for the time allowance for using the license :wink: ) and the insurance companies certainly didn't treat it as an impediment. I am also sure I recall that when I was getting quotes over the phone several companies accepted my accident free driving history in Australia which translated into cheaper premiums.Sorry if thats all a bit vague but it was 8-10 years ago. TLDR version : Look at getting a International driving license before leaving Australia to tide you over. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stovies Posted February 20, 2012 Share Posted February 20, 2012 This is very different from my experience when I moved to the UK ten years ago. I initially used a International driving license which I acquired by simply going to a RACV shop in Melbourne and paying a fairly inexpensive fee (less than $30 iirc). I didn't have to hand over my Victorian drivers license at that point. I believe I am correct in saying you can drive on an International license for up to a year before needing to exchange your original license for a UK one.I don't remember the initial quotes I had for basic insurance when I first insured a car but it certainly wasn't prohibitive. First couple of cars I had were cheap bangers but I bought a half decent car after being in the UK for about a year and a half and took out fully comprehensive insurance and it certainly wasn't outrageous. I'm sure I was still using an International driving license at that point (I took the liberty of considering a short trip back to Australia as a reset for the time allowance for using the license :wink: ) and the insurance companies certainly didn't treat it as an impediment. I am also sure I recall that when I was getting quotes over the phone several companies accepted my accident free driving history in Australia which translated into cheaper premiums.Sorry if thats all a bit vague but it was 8-10 years ago.TLDR version : Look at getting a International driving license before leaving Australia to tide you over.I am currently paying £75 a month for fully comprehensive car insurance with a £300 excess. That, to me, is expensive. I obtained 3 quotes and they all came in around this price. I have been driving for 30 odd years without a claim but you have to have had the two previous years of no claims in the UK to get the No Claims. With me having been away from the UK for 12 years, I couldn't get that. If saraho has a UK licence that just needs renewed, then there would be no real need for an International licence as she could still drive using an Aussie licence for up to 3 months in the UK. She would just have to have the document from the DL office to say that she has applied for a UK DL and that would be enough to get accepted for insurance. This is just my experience, maybe it's different in Scotland? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saraho Posted February 20, 2012 Share Posted February 20, 2012 I am currently paying £75 a month for fully comprehensive car insurance with a £300 excess. That, to me, is expensive. I obtained 3 quotes and they all came in around this price. I have been driving for 30 odd years without a claim but you have to have had the two previous years of no claims in the UK to get the No Claims. With me having been away from the UK for 12 years, I couldn't get that. If saraho has a UK licence that just needs renewed, then there would be no real need for an International licence as she could still drive using an Aussie licence for up to 3 months in the UK. She would just have to have the document from the DL office to say that she has applied for a UK DL and that would be enough to get accepted for insurance. This is just my experience, maybe it's different in Scotland? thanks everyone for the advice. I still have my old UK licence, just need to change this to my married name now so I am hoping I may be ok from the sound of things. My husband is Australian though so may have to let me drive him around for a few weeks until his licence comes through. I think we will make this a priority when we get back and go visit the DVLA. Thanks again though for the help Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Impatient Aussie Posted February 21, 2012 Share Posted February 21, 2012 My husband is Australian though so may have to let me drive him around for a few weeks until his licence comes through. I think your husband would be ok on the International license until you get his Aussie license exchanged, just make sure the policy is in your name and he is a named driver. @Stovies: I guess where I minimised the costs was by driving bangers for which I didn't feel the need to insure fully comp for the first couple of years. I missed the bit where Saraho said she had a UK license... I was working on the assumption she was on an Aussie license. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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