Many people who have moved abroad will consider coming back to the UK at some point. About 99,000 Britons moved overseas last year, according to estimates by the Office for National Statistics, and 61,000 came back. While the process may seem straightforward for those with residence rights, there can be bumps in the road. We look at seven issues faced by expats and explore the potential solutions.

Bringing back your belongings will probably require more planning than coming back from a holiday. Be careful you don’t accrue charges such as import VAT and duties. You are allowed to transfer personal possessions into the UK without charge if you’re making a permanent move, but you must complete the paperwork to prove it.

Solution: Complete a ToR1 form to claim relief on customs duties. This form can be done online and should list all belongings being imported, from clothing and furniture to vehicles and even the family pet. The form is valid from up to six months before your move to a year afterwards.

Opening a UK bank account might not be as easy as you think. Many banks require proof of address, making it impossible to open an account before moving. And even when you’re in situ, you may not get exactly what you want. “Lack of proper proof of address may cause problems,” Amy Morton, an expat coach at AIM Coaching, said. “Some banks may also require quite a high initial deposit or charge additional fees.”

Solution: Shop around to find out what different banks offer. Some may look more favourably on expats than others or make exceptions in individual cases, Morton said. “I know of one big high street bank that recently allowed a client to open an account with an Airbnb address.” Some app- based banks may have simpler application processes and proof of address is not always necessary. Some of Morton’s clients choose Wise and Starling.

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Buying a car or arranging a mobile phone contract might be difficult if you have lived away for several years. It is likely that you’ll have a low — or no — UK credit rating, meaning most institutions will not want to lend to you. “Even if you’ve kept a UK bank account, it’s usually not enough information to build a healthy credit score,” said John Webb from the credit reference agency Experian.

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Solution: While there’s no easy fix, there are ways to improve your credit score more quickly. Register on the electoral roll, Webb said, and get a basic bank account and manage it well. “It’s also worth opening a credit card account — keep it active and pay off in full each month,” he said. But it may take up to a year to notice a significant difference. “When you have a year of history behind you, that’s when you’ll start to feel the positive impact,” he added.

Finding and securing a home to rent can be problematic at the best of times. Letting agents carry out credit and affordability checks, which might be harder to pass for expats. Some agencies will also not allow people to approve a rental “sight unseen”, meaning you need to conduct viewings when you are already back in the country.

Solution: Speak to a variety of different agencies — you may find some more willing to rent sight unseen than others or may offer virtual viewings. Alternatively, ask a local friend to view on your behalf. Once you’ve found a property, if you fail the affordability or credit checks, there are solutions. “If you are unable to pass these checks, you could pay for the rent in full in advance,” said Bola Ranson, founder of the estate agency Ranson. “Alternatively, you can seek a UK tax-paying guarantor.”

Buying a property in the UK should be no problem, provided that you can pay outright. But if, like most, you need a mortgage, you may well come unstuck. Typically mortgage lenders require two years’ residence before lending, said Claire Sweet, a financial adviser.

Solution: It’s worth contacting a “whole of market” mortgage adviser, who may be able to get deals from smaller institutions. Often these have a higher rate, but some people decide to take these on for a period of time to get on the property ladder. “When you are ready to apply, it helps to have as big a deposit as possible. Having a permanent contract of employment and stable address history will also help,” Sweet said.

Even careful drivers who have maintained their no-claims status overseas may struggle to get car insurance back home. Although some insurers say they accept no-claims proof from overseas, it can be challenging to prove eligibility. Some only accept the proof in English, for example, something you may struggle to obtain.

Solution: A lack of no-claims or driving history shouldn’t prevent you from obtaining insurance, but it could be more expensive, and you may have to forgo your no-claims discount. Shop around using comparison sites and speak to your present insurer about getting suitable proof to satisfy your UK insurer.

A low credit score or absence from the electoral roll may make it harder to take out a mobile phone or broadband contract. It can also be difficult to engage some suppliers without an all-important UK mobile number — rather a Catch-22 situation.

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Solution: Shop around and be prepared to pay a deposit on a new contract. After a short time, certain restrictions will lift and more options will open up. Pay-as-you-go Sim cards can also be a way to bridge the gap until you have a more permanent solution.

Many people returning to the UK will be coming back to retire closer to friends and family. But if you have been away for years, does that affect your state pension or healthcare?

As a British citizen, you are entitled to use the NHS, although you will need to provide proof that you have returned to the UK to live. Visit your local GP practice to register and complete the necessary paperwork.

When it comes to pension income, if you are already in receipt of your state pension this should continue as normal, and you may be entitled to claim for pension credits to top up your income once in the UK.

If you have not yet reached retirement age, it’s important to check your eligibility for a state pension in the UK — which will depend on national insurance contributions. You could also be entitled to claim a pension from your former country of residence, so you may need to seek expert financial advice to ensure you receive the correct amount when the time comes.

If you have taken citizenship of the country you’ve been living in, it is likely that you have retained your British citizenship and now have “dual citizenship”. This will not affect your entitlement to live in the UK. If you had to renounce your British citizenship to obtain citizenship for another country, you have the right to resume your British citizenship, provided that this is the first time you have applied to do so.

‘The timing of your move can make a huge difference’

As a financial adviser, Andrew Lumley-Holmes thought he had spotted most of the potential problems when he moved back to England in 2021. Lumley-Holmes, 43, had been living in Cyprus for 14 years with his wife and two young children.

“We decided to rent at first but several estate agents refused to deal with us because we were non-resident. With a saturated rental market, they weren’t willing to put in the additional effort involved in settling someone from abroad,” he said. The family got around this by contacting smaller agencies that would do digital viewings.

Lumley-Holmes, who now lives in York, was also unable to carry over his no-claims discount from his Cypriot car insurance policy. “Apparently, Cyprus doesn’t register data on the EU system, so we weren’t able to use our no-claims,” he said.

Because he wanted to purchase a property eventually, Lumley-Holmes quickly worked on building his credit score after moving. “I took out a credit card and paid it off in full each month.” I also registered my rental payments with a credit agency using the Rental Exchange Initiative,” he said. The initiative, which is the brainchild of the credit agency Experian and the Big Issue newspaper, enables renters to have their payment history incorporated into their credit records, which may help to support an application for credit at a later stage.

His biggest tip to anyone looking to return to the UK from overseas is to seek tax advice. “The timing of your move can make a great deal of difference to the taxes you pay both in the UK and the country you are moving from,” he said. “Good financial planning advice is essential.”