Do you know this for certain though? I admit I hadn't been to my GP for almost 20 years and they re-accepted me with no questions - though I had nothing wrong with me (I went there to get my wife registered). But I can't comment what would have happened if I had an existing serious illness the first time I turned up there.Originally Posted by jonathan47
you sound like you really want to be together so i would do like fred suggested renting a place i think your budget is fine. i stayed in tacloban for two months in a very cheap 3500 piso amonth aprt which wasnt luxury but ok .i also need annulment like yourself but she has a child which ex partner doesnt want to ever leave the phils.that was only my second ever visit to phils but after a few weeks i felt @home there.but two months is alot different from permanent. its worth trying it .without too much financial commitment.
I really do hope that you are not referring to me in that statement ..Personally I think of health tourists as being no different to benefit cheats.....
I have paid my stamps since I was 16 with little or no hospital treatment thereafter ..If I want treatment in my home country then trust me...Ill get it!!
The NHS is not all that anyway..My father waited so long in a North London hospital "emergency ward" that he had his stroke there and then in the waiting area..It still took them another 30 mins for the ***** to see him..He died not long after that BTW..
It would be a pretty serious measure for me to resort to the NHS these days as I am fortunate enough to be able to afford treatment here or anywhere else in Asia for that matter..
Anyway..What are the Mitchell s up to these days?? Do they still own the Vic or what??
My comment was aimed at any non-UK residents who believe if they visit the UK they are entitled to use the UK NHS for free. So if the cap fits....
BTW it doesn't matter how long you lived in the UK and how much you paid in 'stamps' in the past, entitlement to the NHS is based on current residency.
hi, I just spent 14 months living with my (now) husband and daughter in the philippines - i renewed my visitor visa every 2 months (which needs budgeting, you can renew in laguna or manila from batangas though, so fairly simple) but we lived on around £350 a month - a small apartment, unfurnished, nothing at all fancy, used public transport and the local market - but for both me and my husband it was the most affluence we have ever experienced (I came back for my daughters education as private school was out of the question financially).
It seems there are some questions to ponder but I would suggest you ponder them over there with your lady - you could discuss them forever without ever getting close to an answer (I wasted nearly 8 years)- give yourself a time limit if it makes you feel better, go for 6 months, see how you feel and then decide about the next 6 months, after a year you'll have a much better idea of the issues - and probably a whole stack of new things to wonder about!
live life your way..........
NIC's build up entitlement over time for example pension rights which are payable oversea's to non resident British Citizens.
NI was a system designed to entitle people to access to the NHS and to Unemployment benefits, Pension rights came later.
Many people living abroad will continue to pay voluntary NI contributions in the UK in order to retain full pension rights, so what exactly is different about the NHS?
It may be the rules but it's not morally right when someone has paid their dues over many many years for them to be refused treatment because they choose to live abroad for a few years.
If your home base has absolutely irrevocably changed then yes I can see your point but few people moving to the Philippines are going to cut themselves off from the UK that way, they may well still have taxable assets in the UK and may well still be paying tax in the UK on payments from their pension annuities and other investments etc.
So should they be refused treatment just becuase they have been out of the country for x length of time?
Jim
Very well said Jim..You make far too much sense I'm afraid!
I decided long long ago to leave the UK as I felt completely cheated almost on a daily basis by those with an opinion not unlike those of Darren B.
It would be far better for me to have been born Polish so that I could have legitimately availed of almost any British social service without the requirement to have ever contributed even one Penny.
(and without fear of being called a cheat by an opinionated coward hiding behind his monitor and keyboard)
Well sorry but I have just decided not to subscribe to these type of injustices and will now definately recoup some of the money that was stolen from me by the cheats in the British Government in recent years..Its much easier than you might think..
I have just decided to apply for my sons university grant that he not entitled to..For starters.
Darren B...Thank you for the inspiration.
If you ever decided to return then you would be far better off with a 13a visa which is valid for 5 years..Only requirement is to report once a year and a 300PHP fee..
Cheers,
Fred.
So exactly how many years do you need to have been in the UK so that you should be able to live somewhere else and visit the UK and claim from the NHS for life? 5 years would get you British citizenship, is that enough? How about if you were born in the UK and only worked for a few years then left, is that enough? What about someone who has been out of the UK for 30 years? In some cases maybe the rules aren't morally correct, but unfortunately rules like this have to be black and white.
My opinions are based on the law. Based on your thoughts it seems as I haven't got full value for the amount of taxes I've paid I ought to be claiming for things I am not entitled to.(and without fear of being called a cheat by an opinionated coward hiding behind his monitor and keyboard)
BTW everyone on the internet is in 'hiding' including you.
making friends fred
it does a little strange that some leave the country and expect to get something back
but it does seem a little unfair,after paying taxing that you can still claim your state pension when moving aboard but cant get nhs treatment after a certain amount of yearsi cant see the problem myself.
i have learnt to do what my wife says!
As I said if the home base has irrevocably changed, the person has sold up, has no UK taxable assets or business, has upped and left, then yes under current rules they should not really expect treatment as a tourist.
But I think in many cases the rules are not morally correct and certainly in the case of pensioners who have contributed all of their lives I think it is just wrong.
I think my problem with all this, is that I don't think the rules have to be black & white, rules like this are usually black & white because someone can't be bothered to think up something better.
I don't think retired pensioners should be refused treatment because they choose to retire abroad, they get their pension abroad so why should they not come home to get treatment now and then.
For the rest of us I think the one year limit is restrictive, if you are going to have charges they could be scaled on an accumulated contributions basis, that would be fairer to everyone. There are many different ways you could implement this, you could retain the arbitrary absence period but scale the charges on an accumulated contributions basis, or you could scale the allowed time out of the country based on contributions history, I'm sure people could think up many other ways that would be more in the spirit of the NI system.
Whenever people suggest things like this there is always the old "oh well, it's too hard to administer" argument, well it shouldn't be too hard, I mean how hard is it to do a bit of arithmetic, we have computers for that.
Just my thoughts.
Jim
OK then...Here`s "the law"...My opinions are based on the law.
Are you taking up or resuming permanent residence in the UK?
Under the current Regulations, anyone who is taking up or resuming permanent residence in the UK is entitled to free National Health Service (NHS) hospital treatment in England. If your intention is to live permanently in the UK you will be exempt from hospital charges from the date of your arrival in the country but you should expect to be asked to prove your intention and that you are legally entitled to live here. This exemption applies to your spouse, civil partner and children (under the age of 16, or 19 if in further education) if they are living here with you on a permanent basis.
http://www.dh.gov.uk/en/Healthcare/E...able/DH_074376
OK..So if I should decide to return home to resume my UK residency as I am legally entitled and thereafter require FREE medical treatment how then would I be breaking the law?
Are you a solicitor? If not,what are your credentials to give me or other British nationals legal advice?
Your comments seem to be based on nothing but a mix of pure conjecture ,opinion and irrelevant questions that have nothing to do with the law or how it is structured.So exactly how many years do you need to have been in the UK so that you should be able to live somewhere else and visit the UK and claim from the NHS for life? 5 years would get you British citizenship, is that enough? How about if you were born in the UK and only worked for a few years then left, is that enough? What about someone who has been out of the UK for 30 years? In some cases maybe the rules aren't morally correct, but unfortunately rules like this have to be black and white.
Please be more specific as a few here have suggested to me that you are either a fraudulent keyboard lawyer or a Government immigration spy that has infiltrated this site for some reason.
Can you provide us clarity?
If you moved back to the UK to resume your residency then I agree totally that you should be entitled to receive FREE medical treatment as soon as you arrive. But at no point have you stated that would be the case, in fact everythng you say suggests the opposite. Which means...
"If you move away from the UK permanently, you will no longer be entitled to medical treatment under normal NHS rules."
Not sure how you can claim my question about what it takes to get free healthcare for life was irrelevant. With immigration/emmigration to/from the UK happening more and more, and a greater number of people obtaining British citizenship/passports who weren't born here it is likely to be a bigger issue in the future.
I notice you choose to ignore my question about whether I ought to falsely claim benefits. By your admission you are now considering claiming something from the UK government you are not entitled to, which shows the sort of person you are.
I resume my residency the second the plane lands..Its my right to do so and you have no idea about my intentions to stay..If you moved back to the UK to resume your residency then I agree totally that you should be entitled to receive FREE medical treatment as soon as you arrive. But at no point have you stated that would be the case, in fact everythng you say suggests the opposite. Which means...
Of course the situation could alter at which point I could leave at any point and resume my residency here.. No laws broken and I have received that of which I am fully entitled..
I will now give this advice freely to all British expats that are lucky enough to have retired old and young alike..Like me!
Actually I have just applied for the grant on behalf of my son ..I notice you choose to ignore my question about whether I ought to falsely claim benefits. By your admission you are now considering claiming something from the UK government you are not entitled to, which shows the sort of person you are.
Turns out he`s perfectly entitled to that too..I had no idea!
I must admit..This conversation has really proved to be quite fruitful !!
I wonder what else I might be legally entitled to?? I`ll have to ask my Polish friend..He`ll know.
Resuming it is one thing, proving it if required is different. Some PCTs won't even take owning a house in the UK as proof of residency, and some require you to have been resident for 6 months before you can register as a resident.
If your son is entitled to it and gets it then that's good for him. My arguement has never been about someone not being able to get something they are entitled to.
You could do what me and my missus are going to do..We're off back to live in China, so she can work and I'll look after Junior..I have the same amount saved as you and get just a bit more per month, but we found we could live very well there on that..Plus health care? we just walked in to the free clinic's on every main road there and get treated there and then (maybe different if big problem) we just made a small donation out of thankfulness for the treatment..plus..two teeth out = £7..in UK £147... Visa's (L Visa..standard tourist visa for one year is £90...not bad) but maybe thats not for everyone..just pointing out that there are alternatives to everything..Anyway, good luck mate and go for it whatever you do...dont be regreting not doing what you would like to have done and never having done it....
There are currently 7 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 7 guests)
Posting Permissions
