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Daphne33
Posts: 1 Newbie
I have recently returned to the UK with my husband and kids after 25 years away. We are trying to navigate life in the UK and could use some practical advice. I am a British Citizen and my husband is American. I moved away in my early 20s.
I need a credit card, bank account, and eventually a mortgage. I have no idea where to begin. Our children are very young and I haven't worked for three years, so I don't have my own income. My husband has a good job in the US that he is keeping and will work from here.
I have a UK driving license and a NI number and we are staying with my parents, so I don't officially have an address of my own, though I am in my childhood home so I have had the same UK address all my life.
Help!
Any advice appreciated.
Thanks much
I need a credit card, bank account, and eventually a mortgage. I have no idea where to begin. Our children are very young and I haven't worked for three years, so I don't have my own income. My husband has a good job in the US that he is keeping and will work from here.
I have a UK driving license and a NI number and we are staying with my parents, so I don't officially have an address of my own, though I am in my childhood home so I have had the same UK address all my life.
Help!
Any advice appreciated.
Thanks much
0
Comments
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Start with a bank account and go from there. But you'll need some sort of income - even if only from your husband - for a credit card.0
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If you're planning on staying where you are for more than a couple of months - get yourself added to the electoral roll. As above, get your first bank account, although it won't come with an overdraft facility, then a few weeks after opening the account (and it's registered on the CRA reports) you can apply for a sim-only mobile phone contract. Once these have been running a few months, and you've got yourself on the electoral roll, you can try the eligibility checkers for sub-prime cards such as Vanquis and Aqua - but to do so you'll need an income. Are you planning on working in the UK now you're here?0
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cymruchris said:If you're planning on staying where you are for more than a couple of months - get yourself added to the electoral roll. As above, get your first bank account, although it won't come with an overdraft facility, then a few weeks after opening the account (and it's registered on the CRA reports) you can apply for a sim-only mobile phone contract. Once these have been running a few months, and you've got yourself on the electoral roll, you can try the eligibility checkers for sub-prime cards such as Vanquis and Aqua - but to do so you'll need an income. Are you planning on working in the UK now you're here?
A friend's sister literally walked off the plane (non-UK/EEA national) and got a full current account with small overdraft and credit card. She now works part time but was and is primarily still a home keeper.0
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