Quote Originally Posted by fred View Post
David you are entitled to use the NHS as long as you decide to resume your residency in the UK after having lived abroad.



(from the NHS website)

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
As far as I can see this is only relevant to EU members coming to live here. It states clearly in a separate section that free NHS treatment is "residency based" i.e. only valid whilst you are living here.

If you were of retirement age and claiming a pension in the Phils then trying to get NHS treatment would be hard. If you were below pensionable age and kept an address in the UK you could probably get away with still receiving NHS treatment by being perceived as still being resident in the UK.

Who decides where you're resident? If you cut all ties with the UK then clearly you're no longer resident. Seems best to keep a foot in both camps.