Returning to live inUK. Visa needed?

[Dodie66]

We have a family member returning to live with us here in the UK after living in the USA for about 25 years. They were born here and are a British citizen and lived here for the first 25 years of their life. There is a query about whether they need a visa to return and be a permanent resident again in the UK. British Immigration told them they probably don’t as they are a British citizen but check with the American embassy. Then other info was conflicting. Getting passed to different people Just wanting clarification as they don’t want problems when they get here. Is there any info we can read online which will clarify this? Thanks

If they have a British passport they won't need a visa.
They won't qualify for free NHS health care for 3 years though, so they might want to buy medical/ health insurance before they travel. (If they came in on a visa they would have to pay the immigration health surcharge so its swings and roundabouts!).

I looked it up and that doesn’t seem to be the case. Read here https://www.gov.uk/guidance/using-the-nhs-when-you-return-to-live-in-the-uk#:~:text=If%20you%20are%20a%20UK,the%20NHS%20for%20your%20healthcare.

Glad to be proven wrong.

🙂👍🏼

Just to add to the above, yes, your family member has an absolute right to return to this country (you cannot keep a British citizen out of the UK) but it's a different matter if they are married.

There are (or soon will be?) new rules about bringing a non-British spouse to the UK. It basically depends on what salary you're earning.

If your family member is returning on their own (or with their children) then there is no issue. If they want to bring a foreign spouse then that is a different matter.

You cannot access non emergency treatment at first - I found a lump 9 months after returning from the USA and was told I would need to pay treatment costs - though in the end it was nothing and the hospital used their discretion not to charge.

"...after living in the USA for about 25 years. "

I missed this bit initially.

I presume that they have US citizenship (or at least a Green Card?) as well as British citizenship?

If that is the case then they will still be required to report their income in the UK every year to the IRS as long as they retain their US citizenship or Green Card.

This can be a real hassle to do. Americans have what is called the "Foreign Earned Income Exclusion". What this means is that, from 2024, the first US$126k (£100k) of income is free of any US tax - but still does need to be reported, which can be a real pain. There is also something called the "Foreign Tax Credit" which offsets any tax you pay in the UK, for example, against any tax you may owe the US government.

Basically, if a US citizen earns over US$126k and lives in a high tax country (like the UK) it's usually better to go for the Foreign Tax Credit if they have any income in the US and if they live in a low tax country then it's usually better to go for the Foreign Earned Income Exclusion. But there are exceptions to this.

If they earn less than US$126k then it doesn't matter but they still do need to file with the IRS a Form 1040 and Form 2555 for the Foreign Earned Income Exclusion.

America really does hate it when their people go overseas.

This was my point made above, but OP posted a link to suggest it was wrong. It certainly used to be the case as I worked in the NHS, but maybe it’s changed?

I was going to say what @Another2Cats said.

They might have more issues with the US than the UK! And if they’re a green card holder and not a citizen, there will probably be limits to how long they can be absent from the US, as in they have to visit i think at least once a year.

I am a British citizen and also a US citizen and when i returned briefly in the 90s, i had no issues with using the NHS.