Permanent U.K. address.

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steveghoward

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So, if you don't have any close family and do not want to inconvenience any friends, what do liveaboards do for a permanent U.K. address to use for passport renewals, driving licence replacements and other necessary but tedious documents that are still required when you have moved aboard and abroad. . . . .

we are off in the spring.

Regards
 
You can use a third party such as a solicitor. However, you should look carefully at maintaining the appearance of still being UK resident - unless you intend going non-resident. You start to lose access to all sorts of services if you do not have an address, even if you pay taxes. For example you cannot (officially) use the SSR for your boat, you could lose automatic right to NHS care free of charge and to an EHIC. The "system" is not very friendly to people who live a non conventional lifestyle so most people make arrangements to at least give the appearance of being ordinary - having an address, keeping GP registration and somebody reliable to deal with the inevitable things that might catch you out.
 
steveghoward said:
So, if you don't have any close family and do not want to inconvenience any friends, what do liveaboards do for a permanent U.K. address to use for passport renewals, driving licence replacements and other necessary but tedious documents that are still required when you have moved aboard and abroad. . . . .

we are off in the spring.

Regards
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You pay someone to forward your mail.There are various commercial services on offer. Do a google.
 
temptress said:
You pay someone to forward your mail.There are various commercial services on offer. Do a google.
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Good afternoon:

I agree with Tranona - do everything you can to make everything seem kosher as there are lots of people with the mentality of a "traffic warden" who seem to pride themselves on the number of people they catch out. The address of a commerical mail forwarding company might well be a dead give away.

I would begin to change my address well before my departure so I was on hand to handle any queries or problems without the need for mail to be forwarded to "far off places" before a reply could be prepared or problem resolved.

Suspect that we will be hearing a lot more on this subject as things like SSR registrations come up for re-newal.

Cheers

Squeaky
 
I would add that certain organisations do not permit the forwarding of mail. We pay £100 for Royal Mail forwarding (for six months) but were caught out last year when our council tax bill was not received. I rang (from Portugal) to query where the bill was to discover that a summons was about to be posted on that day. Pretty silly really as we would not have received that either!

I have a suspicion that this applies to all Government Agencies.
 
For 16 years I've used a good friend's address as my uk address. Vehicle tax,SSR, tax Revenue and Customs, pensions, NHS in fact everything 'official'... It is possible to cut down even on official correspondence, for example I wrote to the DVLC and told them I would be in the Med for 2 years and they didn't send out tax/sorn notices for my motorcycle until I returned and told them I was back in the uk. Everything which is legally required is dealt with properly.

For all non official purposes and Salesmens antics, I use a duff address. Even Screwfix at least locally, demand an address or at least a postcode and that's just to purchase something....
A derelict newsagents does the trick, above the door are the details you need..licenced to sell etc. I just give the address, postcode and a local 'phone number and all the rubbish, double glazing adverts, free offers , shopper surveys and all the junk that results from people passing on your personal information ends up on the floor of an empty premises. If the clowns feed the address into their system it comes back bona fide when they check the post code.
 
We have a brilliant mail service here in the USA that specializes in cruiser folk sas well as motorhome wanderers and world travelers. THey even intercept and renew boat registration renewals and deal with them for us. We still use the service as our 'billing address' even though we are back living on land again simply because it allows us to remain Florida resident even if we move state and not have to change car registration or even have to take a driver test for another state licence if we moved. I seem to remember a similar service being advertised in the UK some years back in the YM small ads IIRC.

This is our service provider http://www.sbimailservice.com/index.html
 
I recommend changing the address on your bank accounts if possible. Keeping good credit history in the UK is critical to ensuring you retain a link to the UK.

If using a friend or family member's address be sure to write to Equifax and Experian credit agencies to let then know that there is no financial connection between yourselves and them (be sure to name all parties concerned). This will ensure you don't experience problems later on. Also be sure to change the electoral register as you will need this information to be accurate should you ever need to undergo formal checks.

Having a valid UK bank address is also vital to buy goods online as they compare billing addresses and registered card addresses each time. You can select a separate delivery address but without a UK billing address matching your cards it is very difficult to get orders approved.

Remember to also coordinate addresses for the inland revenue, DVLA, NHS (EHICs), national lottery (set up your direct debits while in the UK), Sky TV (if you use it overseas), and use the address to forward your mail from with Royal Mail.

One other tip; call your banks and tell them that, although you live in the UK, you work in France/Spain etc etc, and they will notify the fraud department. This will stop your cards being blocked every time you try to use them.

This is my advice having gained over 25 years experience of living and working all around the world.

Andy
 
steveghoward said:
So, if you don't have any close family and do not want to inconvenience any friends, what do liveaboards do for a permanent U.K. address to use for passport renewals, driving licence replacements and other necessary but tedious documents that are still required when you have moved aboard and abroad. . . . .
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Your questions are quite specific yet none of us has come up with any conclusive answer.

Probably because, unfortunately, there is no answer.
 
>Probably because, unfortunately, there is no answer.

There are companies who offer a UK holding address, check on a Web search.

We lost our registration with our doctor after one year away, however you can sign up again when you come back. As mentioned, also lose your NHS entitlement, however if you come back for treatment and you are obviously British then nobody asks if you are entitled or not.

If you don't have a fixed abode to get not resident and not ordinarily resident you have to be away for four years. If you have a house/flat etc and you want to sell it when you get back then get the not resident status and sell the house before you get back then you avoid capital gains tax. We sold a house and flat that were rented and avoided it.
 
KellysEye said:
>Probably because, unfortunately, there is no answer.

There are companies who offer a UK holding address, check on a Web search.

We lost our registration with our doctor after one year away, however you can sign up again when you come back. As mentioned, also lose your NHS entitlement, however if you come back for treatment and you are obviously British then nobody asks if you are entitled or not.

If you don't have a fixed abode to get not resident and not ordinarily resident you have to be away for four years. If you have a house/flat etc and you want to sell it when you get back then get the not resident status and sell the house before you get back then you avoid capital gains tax. We sold a house and flat that were rented and avoided it.
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The op specifically asked the question about passports and driving licences. Neither of these two agencies will deliver to a 'holding address'.
 
Rent a sheep shack in the Outer Herbides. Install a letter box. Pay a local to check on it once a month. Would it work?
 
AMCD300 said:
One other tip; call your banks and tell them that, although you live in the UK, you work in France/Spain etc etc, and they will notify the fraud department. This will stop your cards being blocked every time you try to use them
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Oh no it doesn't and that is my experience gained in over 35 years living and working all around the world.
I frequently have my main card blocked however the issue has been resolved by the bank giving me an additional credit card account and card(s) to be used if the master (main) card is blocked - saves having to call the fraud dept at the time to have the block lifted. It can be difficult to call the fraud dept from some restaurant or bar in the back end of nowhere so pay using back up card and call them the next day or whenever convenient. My advice would be to obtain an additional credit card account and card(s) NOT linked to the master (main) card.
 
cliff said:
Oh no it doesn't and that is my experience gained in over 35 years living and working all around the world.
I frequently have my main card blocked however the issue has been resolved by the bank giving me an additional credit card account and card(s) to be used if the master (main) card is blocked - saves having to call the fraud dept at the time to have the block lifted. It can be difficult to call the fraud dept from some restaurant or bar in the back end of nowhere so pay using back up card and call them the next day or whenever convenient. My advice would be to obtain an additional credit card account and card(s) NOT linked to the master (main) card.
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Just inform the card company(ies) of the countries you are likely to be in and they ensure they are not blocked . Also your UK bank will accept an overseas address as the account address. I know because I did it in order to receive a replacement debit card which was by courier at no extra cost and then reverted on receipt.
 
RAI said:
Rent a sheep shack in the Outer Herbides. Install a letter box. Pay a local to check on it once a month. Would it work?
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:D Great idea but unless that sheep shack has a post code you're snookered. Without a post code I found myself treated as NFA (no fixed abode) and I didn't exist officially, just one of the great wandering unwashed...;) Get yourself a post code and you become acceptable, respectable and beloved by officialdom...( and they even let you join the local Library)...;)
 
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Downsman said:
:D Great idea but unless that sheep shack has a post code you're snookered. Without a post code I found myself treated as NFA (no fixed abode) and I didn't exist officially, just one of the great wandering unwashed...;) Get yourself a post code and you become acceptable, respectable and beloved by officialdom...( and they even let you join the local Library)...;)
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Not only that but if your car breaks down the AA will have trouble finding you if you can't give a postcode!
 
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