Employed abroad

Smitcdg

For the past two and a half years I have been employed abroad while my wife has not been working and we have spent part of that time living abroad and also part of the time in the UK, however have maintained a UK address, bank accounts, credit history etc. for the whole period.

For the past six months I have been paid in GBP in the UK (to a UK bank account) and receive pay checks in GBP, although am still employed abroad (in Hong Kong).

We have moved back to the UK on a more full time basis and my wife is looking for a job. I still work for the same company and currently on the same basis. We are keen to buy our first home and have a 10% deposit saved.

My question is whether mortgage lenders will be happy with my pay slips / bank statements as proof of earnings even though the employment is not in the UK (would they even know this?).

Thanks in advance

amnblog

The main question is are you paying tax in the UK on your earnings.

Smitcdg

Thanks for replying. I will be paying tax (through self assessment) but won't have any evidence of that until the end of the tax year...

KayTM

We were living overseas for several years before coming back recently and applying successfully for a mortgage with HSBC.

We initially applied to both Halifax and HSBC and got AIPs from both easily enough based on current income. Neither asked at any stage about payment of UK taxes for the period we were abroad. They did however, have a sticking point with proof of residence for the last three years. (I think that was to do with preventing money laundering.) We overcame the problem by showing them that we'd been registered at our overseas address with the British Embassy in the country where we'd been living.

You might also be able to do something similar. Good luck!