Going home

[Porlaew]

I'm planning to go back to sunny Warwickshire, England after living and working here for 16 years. I'm 47 now, the years have just gone so fast.

I have 2 young sons I look after myself, aged 6 and 8, they'll be coming too. Their mother is Thai and there's no difficulties foreseeable.

I have nothing there to go back to and I'm pretty much on my own aside from my old dad, who is my reason for returning anyway. Once someone is gone you can't even get half an hour to talk to them no matter how hard you wish. Anyway..i have to go back. I have plenty of friends around my hometown, so I have no doubt I'll be ok for a few months while everything is sorted out..and here's where everything begins.

What do I do first?

I'll have maybe 3 or 4 thousand pounds when i arrive. 

Any advice is greatly appreciated.

[GinBoy2]

I can't comment on what stuff you'll need when in the UK, since I'm American.

 

But, I'm assuming that your kids are British nationals and have British passports.

However you will need to get Mom to go to the Amphoe to get a letter that states she gives permission for you to take them out out the country, even though they are British, immigration can get sticky without that.

 

And good luck with the move back home

[justaphase]

Thanks for the heads up about the letters. That should be no problem as the mother wants them to get a British education. I take it the letter is just in Thai for this end?

I had to create a new profile to post because I can't post on my phone but replying seems ok. งง

 

[GinBoy2]

17 minutes ago, justaphase said:

Thanks for the heads up about the letters. That should be no problem as the mother wants them to get a British education. I take it the letter is just in Thai for this end?

I had to create a new profile to post because I can't post on my phone but replying seems ok. งง

 

I can only say from my personal experience.

 

My son who is a dual US/Thai was about 13 when we went to the US to visit family. 

 

I didn't have that letter, and it took 40+ minutes at immigration, getting Mom on the phone etc.

In point of fact I think it was touch and go that they ended up letting us board

On the other end, the US immigration guy asked him a few questions about who I was, where was Mom and why we were visiting.

 

Assuming your kids speak fluent English that won't be a problem. It's primarily leaving Thailand with minor children that the issue.

 

As irritated as I was at the time. I get it, parental abduction, child trafficking is a real issue

Edited April 6, 2019 by GinBoy2

[magicroundabout]

Just a few things that caught me out when I moved back to the uk:

Don't take them as a negative. 

 

Credit record - as I no credit in the UK for a few years my credit score dived. Made it difficult to rent a house etc. 

Jobs - always wanted references etc make sure you have contacts for your work in Thailand. 

Money - I had a lot to buy from warmer clothes to a car. 3 or 4k won't last long especially with kids. 

 

Best of luck with the move. 

 

[post]

14 hours ago, GinBoy2 said:

....I'm assuming that your kids are British nationals and have British passports.....

Do the children need to use Thai passport to leave the country if they are Thai as well?

Edited April 6, 2019 by post

[GinBoy2]

2 minutes ago, post said:

Do the children need to use Thai passport to leave the country if they are Thai as well?

Yes, the usual procedure is you will need to provide their foreign passport at check in to show they have a legal right to enter the country you are flying to.

It's at immigration that they need to use their Thai passport to exit the country since they probably never entered on a foreign passport, or visa etc.

That's when that permission to leave the country from Mom kicks in

[Jip99]

Just now, post said:

Do the children need to use Thai passport to leave the country if they are Thai as well?

 

If they have dual passports then they should use the Thai passport to exit Thailand on, and British passports to check in with and enter the UK........... (unless they entered Thailand on British passports).

[Essex Reject]

Sounds horrendous to be honest. 4 grand???

 

Are you sure your Dad would want you to embark on what no doubt will be a nightmare just for him??

 

Good luck anyhow (if you go through with it)

[Pilotman]

somewhere to live and some transport.  4k won't last 2  months. Renting a half decent place for a family will be around £500 a month say, a deposit of at least one month, plus one month in advance, that's £1K gone. 

Edited April 8, 2019 by Pilotman

[oldcarguy]

Are the kids all in on this ?
Is this their first trip overseas ?
Did you buy return tickets just in case ?

I f you stay at your Dad's that will cut the expenses , but still 4k is not much .

Have you lined up a job before you leave? Getting one at 47 years old is going to take time.

Just a few questions to think about , hopefully everything works out fine :)

Good luck



Sent from my Nexus 6 using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

[Essex Reject]

2 hours ago, Pilotman said:

somewhere to live and some transport.  4k won't last 2  months. Renting a half decent place for a family will be around £500 a month say, a deposit of at least one month, plus one month in advance, that's £1K gone. 

500 a month?? I'm not even from a posh part of Essex and it s 1300 quid a month for a 3 bed semi.

[Pilotman]

1 minute ago, Essex Reject said:

500 a month?? I'm not even from a posh part of Essex and it s 1300 quid a month for a 3 bed semi.

I was guessing, clearly under guessing for Essex. Not sure where th e OP is thinking of relocating but in the North of England, which I am sure we all agree is the best part of the UK, I would guess that you can get something reasonable in the £500 to £650 a month range.  

 

https://www.home.co.uk/for_rent/results.htm?long=0.871568&lat=53.7038&location=goole&TOWN_SEARCH=1&MAP_SEARCH=&high=650&low=500&pcmpw=m&minbeds=2&maxbeds=3&house=true&radius=40&sort=PRICE_DESC&found_since=&loose=1&showmap=0

 

[UKresonant]

Medical insurance until NHS cover kicks in?

[Sheryl]

From posts I have seen in the past from Brits there may be special assistance/entitlements you can get by virtue of being a single parent. Perhaps others could comment.

Child care while you are at work will need to be considered.

Sent from my SM-J701F using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app
 

[GinBoy2]

16 hours ago, johnwf1963 said:

Medical insurance until NHS cover kicks in?

I read many posts from Brits about this.

 

Since the kids are UK citizens from what I've read before, their NHS coverage starts as soon as their feet hit UK soil.

And as I recall, the OP just needs to state he is permanently repatriating, and him and the kids are good to go

[Speedo1968]

Are you classed as resident or non-resident in the UK ?   This will affect many of your rights.

I couldn't get a rental agreement when i tried moving back about 5 years ago because I had no credit rating, even though I had sufficient funds.

When / if you return to UK get in touch with the CAB asap.

You could try looking at council property but you normally need to be in the UK for 3 months and have specific reasons to require such accommodation.

 

As others mentioned things like NHS and extra social payments will probably be difficult to arrange etc.

 

A guesstimate on monthly outgoings from my 2014 try to return trip of 6 months, at least 1,000GBP, thats for me only on basic needs.    Winter fuel bills ?   Water and electric charges here are a fraction of those in the UK.    I am single in my 70's and my drinking water, domestic water, electric come to only 20GBP a month in winter a bit more in summer.    That's about equal to 1 or 2 days in the UK.   Food costs ?

 

Good luck and consider carefully the benefits for all concerned.

[daveAustin]

I'd get onto the Indeed app to try to line something up. You can do searches for your chosen work, area, salary etc. Tough getting back into employment when you've been away for so long - the interview process has changed: behavioural/skills based questions etc, and you have a huge gap in your CV. Not impossible if you have a trade/skills and so on, but maybe ask your mates for whatever to get going.

 

Having somewhere to go (your dad's) would take a load off. It will also help massively if you have maintained a UK address for doctors, as well as bank accounts. Credit rating/renting: you'd need to get established with a job ideally as they do salary checks n all that.

 

Regards consent to travel paperwork that the mother will have to do, it is fairly straightforward (only need it in Thai) - simply head to the amphur where she/kids are registered and have her take tabien baan and ID card. You'll also need your passport. Takes about an hour, maybe 20 baht. An alternative is to ask her to delegate custody, which can also be done at the amphur... though this may go hand-in-hand with divorce. This consent to travel is a worldwide thing, where any single parent traveling with minors across borders should arm themselves.

 

To save a lot of running around, research the schools of the council you're moving to and contact the schooling dept to try to arrange places for the kids. If you can't get in at the start of the year, you'll need to apply for an 'in year transfer'. Collect any reports from current school - if they can type them out in English, it'll save translation hassles and costs.

 

It'll be a huge change but will be worth it for the kids, if not spending time with your old man. They'll get into it a lot quicker than you, will be fluent and it'll widen their horizons exponentially. Just be sure to have them keep tabs with Thailand and the language. 

 

Main changes from early Noughties: very busy, rammed roads, supermarkets, doctors, dentists, EU folk galore, rules & regs, PCness, Brexit mess and politics rammed down your throat, incessant TV adverts, oh, and crap weather... though it is getting warmer. 

 

I was away for a similar time and found it tough (still do), even when staying with family at first, and ping-ponged as many returning expats do. Have a look at the British expats forum as many on there are going through the same thing and there's good advice.

 

Shout out if you need some more pointers.

All the best.

[rott]

On 4/6/2019 at 8:03 PM, justaphase said:

Thanks for the heads up about the letters. That should be no problem as the mother wants them to get a British education. I take it the letter is just in Thai for this end?

I had to create a new profile to post because I can't post on my phone but replying seems ok. งง

 

So did you go or did you stay OP? After 16 years going home with 2 kids and 3 grand in your pocket with possibly limited job prospects is, as they say "challenging". Best of luck to you.

[steven100]

It has the all the makings of going six rounds with Mike Tyson ....

wouldn't it be better to send him a card.

 

 

 

 

Edited June 15, 2019 by steven100