NHS back in UK after living in HK

Closed Thread
  1. #1

    Join Date
    Dec 2006
    Posts
    93

    NHS back in UK after living in HK

    Apologies if I'm looking in the wrong place, but I can't find anything about this in old posts.

    Does anyone know whether you can still get free NHS healthcare when you move back to the UK even if you didn't pay National Insurance contributions while you were living in HK? (I'm a British citizen)

    The UK gov website isn't very clear on this front...

    thanks
    Kazbo


  2. #2

    Join Date
    May 2006
    Location
    Pampanga, Philippines
    Posts
    29,764

    if you're a british citizen then you will get free treatment. i certainly have never been asked for any proof of ni payments. sorry for lack of capitals - keyboard buggered.


  3. #3

    Join Date
    Jun 2005
    Location
    Hong Kong
    Posts
    23,205

    hullexile,

    Not true. You need to be a UK resident to get free NHS treatment. You may get away with not being asked if you look and sound "British" (whatever that means), but that's not what the law says.

    Kazbo,

    My guess is that once you are legally resident in the UK again then you will be covered, but like you I am not sure (I've never really bothered to dig since I have no intention of ever returning).


  4. #4

    Join Date
    Dec 2006
    Posts
    93

    I actually did some more research and found two conflicting (ish) pieces of info on the DOH site.

    One says if you haven't lived in the UK for 3 months, regardless of what nationality you are (ie even British) and how much NI/tax you've paid over the years, you are not eligible for hospital treatment without paying (I guess this may be the difference hullexile, as maybe you were just going to the GP?)

    But the other says if you are returning to the UK to resume permanent residence then you are eligible... I guess this would be my situation - and the above point probably answers the question about not paying NI contributions for a few years.

    Obviously any other POVs are welcome if people know for sure.

    I'm mainly thinking of the maternity/giving birth thing back in the UK.


  5. #5

    Join Date
    Oct 2005
    Location
    HK Island
    Posts
    208

    We went through something similar recently for student tuition fees covered by the LEA. They check to see your 'residence' in the past 3 years. If outside of UK for more than half of it, they may not cover you. Although there were extensive forms to complete for re- education purposes, I think it may be similar with NHS as well..


  6. #6

    Join Date
    May 2007
    Posts
    660

    I think you can get free treatment even if you're not British.

    There was a slot in Michael Moore's film "Sicko" about this.


  7. #7

    Join Date
    Jun 2006
    Location
    Park Island
    Posts
    807

    In short you need to be resident - ie have an address. When we first returned for a visit my girlfirend visited the GP to get a subscription renewed and when asked her address explained that were not currently living in the UK...she was then told she would have to pay, depsite being a British Citizen and only out of the country a few months. The nurse was actually very good and told her to write down her parents address and that she could then have it on the nhs...

    If your British and can give a residential address then you should have no problem. Expect to get a letter from the IR regarding your National Insurance and whether you would like to make a 'top-up' payment to cover the contributions you havn't made whilst not paying NI...it is not compulsary though and I'm not sure what the effect would be in the long term other than a dent in the state pension (not that there is likely to be anything left anyway!...depending on how old you are of course!)


  8. #8

    Join Date
    Oct 2005
    Location
    Sham Tseng, NT
    Posts
    452

    If you don't' mind the 4 to 5 hours queue at the ER in the hospital, you can get treatment for free. For NHS you probably need to be a resident as mentioned above.