Moving to England

Information on these sites may help or point you in the right direction

http://uk.angloinfo.com/moving/residency/eu-nationals-residency/

http://europa.eu/youreurope/citizens/residence/documents-formalities/eu-...

Uk seems to have tightened there rules up for all. When you say you don't need financial support are you moving to work & pay taxes, if so then National insurance will be probably be taken at source which covers NHS care.
I would imagine a rental contract would confirm address, you will need to register with a local doctor, dentist and school.

Hope this helps

I did the opoosite move some 9 years ago, and after some 15 years in England (starting from 18 years old for university, so an "adult"), I was stunned as the amount of hoops you have to jump through in Belgium, and to be honest I didn't bother with the most if not all of them...did not register at commune for some four years, and the only reasn I did so was I wanted to sit my motorike test. I still don't have a mutuelle. This may seem a bit reckless, but I move around alot. 6 months to 18 months in a country, then onto another for the next contract, then back to Belgium for a while, so I have private insurance.

Anyway, during my ten years in the UK I never regitered with a GP (doctor). In the UK there is no requirement to register with the local council (commune). In fact the only real reason the register, or in the UK, called being put on the electoral role, is for precisely that, to vote in local and national elections, which you will not be able to unless you are British or Irish.

All medical treatment (well most, dental work is free for under 18s, payable for over). You may have to work out how to get a National Insurance number/card, but if you are going to do the UK to work, this will all be done automatically through your employer, once you are set up in the payroll. You will be allocated your "numéro national" and will start automatically paying social security and income tax. For example, my parents came to visit from Brussels a few times, and once my mother insisted on coming, even though she was not feeling well, and while in the UK a gastric ulcer she had burst. She was rushed to hospital, had emergency surgery which involved removing part of her stomach and was in hospital for two weeks. My father was trying to give the doctor his address in Brussels to send the bill which he would forward to his employers (EU Commission) to pay, but the doctor said all treatment was free, no matter what nationality you were.

In the UK, there is not even the legal requirement to carry ID at all times. There is no ID card (I seem to remember that there was a national vote about this in the last 15 years or so, and the vote was a resounding "NO"). In fact if you are ever stopped by the police and asked for your ID, you need not have any, so they ask your name, and you're not even required to give your real name, a nickname will do.

Finally, a rental contract is not needed to register at a doctor, dentist school, they wil take you on yor word, in fact when I registered my kids, I just gave their names, DOB etc, and gave ny and partners details, n ID was produced at any point. The most imortant document you will need is probably a utility bill (gas, electric, water etc) as this will be needed to open a bank account. Although strictly speaking that isn't even that necessary if you can bring a recent (dated in the last 6 months) bill with an address in Belgium, most banks will open you an expat account, with your legal address in Belgium, and correspondence address in the UK.

Good luck and don't worry to much about admin and documents and "démarches" in the UK. They're much more relaxed about stuff like that over there. The real pain/hassle is going to be finding somewhere t live, moving yourself and your kis and all your stuff etc etc.

You will need a national insurance number. It's a number you may be asked, for lots of different purposes, especially banking. Follow this link https://www.gov.uk/apply-national-insurance-number. If you have a job then your employers will do it for you.

There is no registration as such in the UK. No ID cards, no commune set up. You will need to register at the doctors practice that covers where you live. Follow this link http://www.nhs.uk/Service-Search/GP/LocationSearch/4 . I expect at the most all they will want to see is your passport, maybe a letting contract as proof of address but they may not ask for anything other than for you to complete a registration form.

Don't have kids but I think you just find schools that cover your post code and contact them to register your child, discuss if they have room for them etc. Follow this link https://www.gov.uk/find-school-in-england

To be honest I think the hardest thing when arriving in the UK is getting a bank account, utility bills in your name etc. If you have work or lots of money then it won't be too difficult, but UK banks are sometimes awkward and may only let you have the most basic bank account at first.

Also finding a house/flat to let won't be easy without a work contract but some agents will accept 6 months rent paid in advance as proof of ability to pay.

If you have grown up with Belgian red tape then be prepared for little to no red tape in the UK.

Before you go, you need to:

1) Get a certificate of residence from your commune - this will at least prove where you have been living in Belgium and for how long.

2) Get papers from your mutuelle to show that you and your child have had health cover in Belgium so that you are entitled to immediate NHS cover in the United Kingdom (otherwise you will have to pay for any routine health care in the UK until you become entitled to NHS cover).

3) Change your driving licence to one of the new plastic cards if you don't have one already. This isn't essential but it will make things easier. The new licence will be valid for 10 years before you have to change it for a new UK one.

4) Tell your commune that you are moving to the UK and when and get them to tell you how to register with the Belgian Embassy when you get there (so that firstly you keep your Belgian ID card and secondly you drop out of the Belgian tax system).

Note that British Banks are VERY awkward about opening accounts for anyone who hasn't previously lived there and cannot therefore produce a utility bill. This is a direct result of the failure of the UK to have any form of secure national registration scheme. As soon as you have settled accommodation, you should register to vote with the local town hall, even though you are only entitled to vote in local and European elections, as the electoral roll is used as a partial proxy for a national register.

good god!! Yes, and only coss the road when the little man is green despite there not being moving traffic for a radius of ten miles, change your underwear at least twice a week etc. Christ, did Schumann and Andenauer spend their lives creating freedom of movement subject to beaucracy?

You're Belgian, you have as much right to be in the UK as any UK citizen. OK, you cannot claim all the social benefits, but then I cant here despite being Irish.

Go there, get somewhere to live, and in fact you'll find that everything will be OK. Doctors... register. Lawyers, ...dont bother, pay your council tax, thats about it.

As a Belgian you have the right to spend 3 months in the UK looking for work - but your intention is not to look for work and therefore, unless you are financially independent (which you aren't) you do not have the right to live in the UK. Therefore you have no rights to send your child to a UK state school whether grammar or otherwise, you can, of course, choose to send your child to a private boarding school in the UK but you will have to pay for the privilege. Secondary education in the UK in areas where grammar schools exist starts at age 11 and there will be very few highly contested places for older pupils and these will be restricted to families that are legally resident.

In fact, since you don't intend to deregister in Belgium, you will remain a tax-paying resident of Belgium. The EHIC card only entitles you to EMERGENCY treatment in the UK while you are there on a temporary basis and if you regularly seek medical treatment you will soon be "sussed". Medical practices are under great pressure to collect the fees that are due from overseas residents.

You seem to have a very false idea of the situation in the UK. The education system in Belgium is much more effective in producing young people with the sort of qualifications that employers actually require and if it is a UK university education that is ultimately sought a Belgian-educated child probably has an advantage over local applicants. If you want your child to be educated to speak English well seek out a Belgian school that offers English-immersion teaching, there are quite a few around in both Flemish and Bru-Walloon education systems.

Gosh BECAUSE you are a little hysterical and really quite wrong about lots of things.

PG, I don't think you will have any issues getting a National Insurance at all, or any issues moving to the UK. If you aren't asking for help from the state then you are financially dependant. You are allowed to work in the UK so you have the right to ask for a NI number and having one doesn't mean you are obliged to work. It's just a number that all adults born in the UK or that move to the UK legally are given.

As for your age, the jobs market in the UK is a lot more buoyant so you may find something.

You probably can't open a UK account whilst in Belgium but as soon as you get a lettings contract you will be able to open an account.

Do you have somewhere to live? Schools have catchment areas so you can't ask any schools until you have an address because they are only obliged to take kids within their catchment area.

As for health care, if you live in the UK, regardless of where your husband lives and works, you will receive health care from the NHS!

Living in the UK is really quite straightforward. Good luck!

I moved to the uk as a trailing spouse with 2 children. I had no problems at all. I did not register with town hall, but I did register with a gp before any of the children got ill. it is also good to find a dentist asap. many dentists no longer work under the nhs and private dentists can be expensive. if your child is going to attend school in the uk, put there name down asap. it is best to rent accommodation in the catchment area of a good school. when I went through customs and told them I intended staying in the uk they asked for my future address. I did not need any proof. but shortly after I arrived, child allowance arrived for the children. I had not expected to get any and was pleasantly surprised. not sure if it was customs or the doc who arranged that. at the moment you will be entitled to free healthcare, and free dental care fo the child. with Cameron, that may change.

best of luck and enjoy the experience