Dad moved abroad 10+ years ago wants my address for pension

[chocolateandsprinkles]

My dad lives abroad and is pestering me to renew his Uk drivers licence so he can claim his UK pension. I guess he needs UK ID and he will use my address for this. He's not lived here for about 12/13 years and he's visited twice (due to my personal circumstances). It expired so long ago I'm not sure if I can even renew it I'll need to go and look. But does all this sound dodgy?
Thanks.

Yes it does!

You don't have to live in the UK to claim a UK pension but having a UK driving licence when you're not resident is illegal - you are supposed to swap it for your country of residence. Depending on his age he might be required to take a driving test in his current country which may explain his desire to renew the UK one.

He just left me an angry voice clip because I've not done it. I have no family and no help and my life is hectic and stressful and I'm just really busy. I've prioritised my family but I do feel bad.

I think he has a separate licence for his country because I know he owns and drives a car there.

Why doesn’t he renew it himself, why have you got to do it?

AFAIK you can only hold one driving licence at a time.

I know for example my German friend had to surrender her German driving licence for a UK one when she moved here.

This link seems to suggest I'm correct... www.keithmichaels.co.uk/news/renew-your-uk-driving-licence-as-an-expat/#:~:text=Therefore%2C%20if%20you%20don't,includes%20England%2C%20Scotland%20and%20Wales.

Where is he? (You don't need to say!). Just because he owns and drives a car doesn't mean he has a drivers licence issued in that country. The pension is a non issue - lots of British immigrants legally claim their UK pensions from another country.

Which country does he live in? If it does not have a reciprocal social security arrangement with the UK, living there may affect whether he receives pension increases in full.

By having a UK driving licence at a UK address, he may be trying to claim he lives in the UK. I think that would be fraudulent

This all sounds like a ‘him’ problem, not a ‘you’ problem. Tell him if he wants a licence to drive in the UK he should organise it. Him choosing to move countries 10+ years ago meant this kinds of issue would come up and be HIS to deal with.

Stay out of it, so if there is any potential fraud you are not implicated.

You don't need a UK licence to drive abroad. When we lived abroad and DH's licence expired, he swapped it for a local licence. Why can't your dad do that?

I think this is Key, he’s obviously not infirm if he can drive so let him do his own admin. (This may have triggered me as my mum treats me like her pa)

I was avoiding trying to say but he lives in China. China don't have access to the usual UK sites.

He doesn’t need a UK driving licence if he lives in China

People can receive their UK pension when living abroad but I don't think they get the same increases. So either he's trying to circumvent that or there's another dodgy reason related to the driving licence.

Either way it's probably fraudulent, so stay out of it.

If he lives in China he shouldn’t have a UK driving license. The fact he can’t get access to UK sites whilst living in China is enough of an indicator that he doesn’t need it/shouldn’t have it

It's so he can claim his UK pension and use my address. He has been here twice over the last 13 or so years. I think he needs ID to claim his pension and maybe it needs to be UK ID? So he wants to renew his licence to get his pension.

He doesn't need a UK address.

assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/643d0e9322ef3b000f66f2e6/ipc-br1-nsp.pdf

Though he does need his birth certificate.

Surely his passport is enough for an ID.

I think he needs to register on the government gateway to be able to access asking for a licence. He will need to give his address. They won't issue a UK license to a foreign address. If he lies on the gateway about where he lives this may have implications for council tax etc. because I believe it links to tax and social security. It could cause you a lot of difficulty if it shows him resident with you.
I only know this from my own difficulty sorting out affairs from abroad so I hope what I'm saying is still the case.

He can claim his UK pension anyway (depending on his contributions) using his Chinese address. Using your UK address would be fraud. Don't do it. If he can't do it himself online get him to phone the international pensions helpline. www.gov.uk/international-pension-centre

He lives in China and barely sees you - why should you go
out of your way to help him? He doesn’t even need your address. Tell him no.

I claimed my UK pension from France, with a French address, into a French bank account (in Euros). I don’t have a driver’s licence, UK or otherwise. I did it all on-line via the international pensions helpline. I also get any increases, but I know that varies by country of residence.

is there anyone else that he can ask?

He is Chinese and although I've had a UK upbringing and I was born here it seems to be a Chinese thing that the children should serve. But he's not served me for years!

I think that China is on the 'frozen' list for State Pensions, which means that they are not uprated annually and so devalue. Pensioners living abroad are not entitled to pension credit either.
So it could be that your Dad is going to try to claim that he is a UK resident to avoid his pension devaluing.
Tread carefully.