Moving abroad - what do you do about bank stuff etc?

[canella]

There's a strong chance we'll be moving to germany this time next year and i'm just wondering what people do when they leave the UK? do you have to shut your UK bank accounts? what about life insurance and drivers licence and the like? i dont have any family in the uk that i could redirect the mail too so i was just wondering what i would do? any ideas?

You can redirect mail abroad. Are you planning on returning , if so keep your accounts open (although you may have to notify banks as your tax position may change and you may not be eligible for ISA's etc), you may need to give in your driving licence and apply for a German one but your UK one is probably valid within EU for a while anyway. You could continue to pay life insurance policies or cash them in , but you'll need to decide if it is worth keeping up NI and notify Inland Revenue.

We have a UK account for the UK salary to go into and pay the mortgage and bills. As we are going back eventually, we have kept all the life insurances etc going. We also have a Euro bank account for living allowances over here.

Keep your UK licence, as you won't have to take a driving test in Germany, you can drive on that, as it is an EU licence and therefore legal. The DVLA are not apparently interested in you changing your address if you move abroad.

If you are renting a house out, contact the non-residents section of HMRC and get a certificate to have your rent paid gross. You'll have to fill in a return annually, but I write off various expenses including mortgage interest off against the rent, and do not pay tax as these expenses exceed the rental income.
If you have been working make sure you claim back any tax paid in this financial year...I got £800 back when I left teaching.

If you are taking your car abroad, then you'll need to get the forms to export it from the DVLA and reclaim the road tax at the appropriate time.

Keep your bank account - make sure you have internet access to it.

Hang onto your driving license if you can - you will need it when you first arrive in your new country, but may need to hand it over when you get your new license. I managed to keep my UK license in the US (although had a US license within a couple of weeks). It was really helpful on my return to the UK.

You can redirect your mail internationally for 6 months. Obviously, you will need a foreign address to do this.

Thanks for that advice - the plan isn't to come back but you never know do you. i just wouldnt like to stop all my uk accounts - thats why i was wondering about the life insurance etc because they obviously come out a uk account.
i'm excited at the thought of going to live in germany (dh german so thats why we're going) but once i start to think of the logistics it scares the pants off me!!

Keeping a UK bank account is v useful when you come back for visits. I still have a bank account and investments in the UK, they are happy to send statements abroad. Wasn't allowed to continue paying into ISA but was able to keep it open and cash it in later (good job too because I moved in Oct 2001 and it was worth half what I had invested)

V Important: check your life insurance policy wording. Sometimes they are only valid if you are resident in the UK.

1. Just write to the bank with your new address. They'll happily send your statements overseas.

1. To keep your tax etc in order, get the relevantv form from the inland revenue.

1. You may have an option to keep up your NI contributions if you are intending to come back to the UK.

1. Change your driving licence address to a relative's house (slightly norty).

1. Pensions - contact your providor, you may be able to transfer your pension overseas (but it may not be poss to transfer back again).

1. For all of the above, make an appt with your bank manager, they'll keep you right.

Hi canella,
can't help with the bank question really as I left the UK years ago.

I've still got my old driving licence (UK one) and no one ever asked me to change it or to change the address even though I drove and insured my own car in Germany for years. Don't have a car at the moment but we're getting one soon so I might change my licence to a new German one (those little card ones with photo) as the UK one looks a bit crumpled!

Where in Germany will you be living? we're in Berlin at the moment but moving to Hannover this summer.

Actually, you can redirect post for up to a year - as long as you're willing to pay.