Returning to UK to work at 62 - advice please?

[jimballard]

I need some advice please...

62 years old and married and living in Isaan backwater for 10 years. Got house and old truck. Two children under 10 years old. I have not been in the UK for 12 years.

I have been staying here on a marriage visa using 40k baht/month method. Due to a big medical bill two years ago I have only 250000 baht in bank.

The UK pound is now under 38 baht and so my UK income has dropped well below 40k baht/month. Never dreamed this would happen. Will not be able to extend visa this year. As a family we no longer have enough income. My wife cannot work due to back/neck injury from traffic accident.

I am running out of options and getting desperate.

How easy for me to go back to UK and work? I was a truck mechanic for 30+ years and can drive a taxi.

I have no property in the UK, just a sister in Mitcham who I don't get on with but she might help a bit. I am disconnected from current UK situation.

I can arrive in UK with about £2000 to set up. I have lost touch with how things are there. Where is the best place to locate to get a job and rent somrwhere for a few years? I hear unemployment is v low. How easy to get a job at 62?

Thankyou

[CharlieH]

Rather than renting on your own, you might want to consider sharing, check out somewhere like Cohabitas.

There are jobs around and places like B&Q take on seniors.Local councils too as wardens etc.

If you can get your licence, Taxi driving (private hire) is a good option, flexible etc.

Always jobs for courier/delivery vans too.

Be careful and take time choosing a good area. 

 

Best of luck !

[Golden Triangle]

Sorry to hear about your troubles mate, I fear it is one we are going to be hearing a lot more of in the coming months, and not just Brits but expats that cover the whole spectrum.

 

I can't really offer any practical advice as I have been here for close to 8 years and at nearly 66 would not want to go job hunting, maybe some casual work as a fitter or taxi driver, or an advisor at something like Homebase or some of the other DIY places, the biggest problem is gonna be accommodation, my mate pays out over £600 for a 1 bedroom flat, then you have council tax, water rates, electric, gas & TV licence and probably a load of stuff I forgot.

 

Good luck feller

 

Posted simultaneously to CharlieH, sorry for any duplication. 

Edited July 29, 2019 by Golden Triangle

[blackcab]

Jim

 

Jump straight back into the taxis, because it's cash money from day one. I'm guessing you're not licensed anymore, so you will need to go through the licensing procedure at your local council. Don't worry about that though.

 

Just go to a private hire company and explain your situation. They're all down to earth and they will explain to you exactly what you need to do to get licensed and start driving. As you know you can often rent a car from the company, so you will be able to get driving as soon as you get your temporary badge (which will take a while because your CRB check has to come back).

 

The other big problem you will have is accommodation. If you choose to rent somewhere then be prepared for a shock regarding prices and documentation required.

 

Best advice is to start contacting letting agents now to see what their requirements are.

 

Best wishes for the future. I'm very sorry it's come to this for you.

[blackcab]

@ubonjoe is the Multi Entry Non O without financial proof an option here?

 

If it is could you explain for the member please?

[Davo369]

Hi jim, there's plenty of driving jobs in London. I'm sure you will be okay just get your head down and before you know it you will be back in Thailand with your family. 

All the best Dave.  

 

[MarkyM3]

10 hours ago, jimballard said:

 

 

OP - UK economy is still pretty buoyant, the unemployment rate is low. I live and work here (age 48, IT sector in London) and spend 4 months of year in Thailand. Work should not be a problem to get, would think something like private hire cab, Uber, driving jobs, delivering cars would be good places to start. Sectors with lots of competition from cheap labour from Eastern Europe etc are ones to avoid imo.

 

Day to day costs are much more reasonable than you may imagine - food and clothing for example. Accommodation is costly and much more of an issue if based in SE England. Recommend you avoid that area unless your connection in Mitcham means you can wangle something. 

 

PM me for anything specific I might be able to help you with and  best of luck

 

PS My colleague was hired in his early 60s. So ageism is less prevelant here than you may imagine - not mandatory to put your age on a CV and age discrimination is not legal though in practice it's hard to prove otherwise I guess. From my personal experience - had 4 recruiters do cold approaches last week via LinkedIn (job networking site) so would seem to disprove that you are over the hill by your late 40s and certainly not in jobs like driving. Plenty of retirees deliver cars for example to top up pensions. 

[blackcab]

Off topic posts and replies to it have been removed. This topic is not about Brexit, it is about offering sensible and helpful advice to a member who finds himself in a very difficult situation.

[HansumFarang]

 

You should be eligible to claim income support and housing benefit when you return - I know you might be unwilling to consider that, but its a safety net that you paid into for many years. Best to claim on day one when you get back - you won't see any money for a few weeks at least.

 

There is always a job for a minicab driver - indeed.co.uk is probably the best UK job site, although there are others. Here's some jobs on offer:

 

https://www.indeed.co.uk/Minicab-Driver-jobs

 

If you can save some money until your state pension kicks in, you will hopefully find yourself in a much better position soon. Good luck!

 

 

 

 

[jimballard]

3 minutes ago, blackcab said:

@ubonjoe is the Multi Entry Non O without financial proof an option here?

 

If it is could you explain for the member please?

Thank you for your replies. The problem is not just the visa. As a family we no longer have enough each month. We are now at about 35kv each month. I underdtand the pound my drop more. I need to get income to send to thailand to supplement private pension and support family. If i can earn enough in uK to keep myself and send 10k a month to the family it will be ok until state pension kicks in.

[Mikisteel]

8 years before retirement age in UK.

 

You sure you have not got stuff lying around that could prop you up over 400k here?

 

Seems like you got a bit coming in already each month and your not that far from the 400k requirement anyway.

 

How's your credit in the UK? 

 

 

 

 

[madmen]

1 hour ago, jimballard said:

Will not be able to extend visa this year

Why not use an agent 20k They will fix it even if you dont meet visa requirements

Edited July 29, 2019 by madmen

[Inn Between]

Can you not use an agent to get around the process? I get the impression that 25K baht will do the trick. 

 

(Apparently madmen and I were typing at the same time -- great minds, as they say.) 

 

 

Edited July 29, 2019 by Inn Between

[Traubert]

Get the wife to borrow against the house and go visa agent for your next extension. Buy some time. That 2k you're taking home is almost 80k baht, plus your airfares. It'll vanish quickly in UK and you're chasing again. It will cost nothing like 80k for an agent to get you two more extensions.

 

I don't know how close you are to 63 but in two years or more you'll get your Government pension and your income will double. I'm 62, I'll get my UK pension at 65.

[CG1 Blue]

I don't know which part of the UK you'd prefer to be in, but Southend on Sea in Essex is a busy town with plenty of work for taxi drivers. The bigger local firms will provide the car, and once you've done the local knowledge you can get cracking. Rent for a flat is going to be a lot lower than London etc., especially if you look around places like Westcliff. 

As a bonus you'll be near the sea, so it'll feel just like Thailand (on the 2 sunny days we get per year ????). 

Good luck! 

[HansumFarang]

12 minutes ago, Mikisteel said:

8 years before retirement age in UK.

 

You sure you have not got stuff lying around that could prop you up over 400k here?

 

Seems like you got a bit coming in already each month and your not that far from the 400k requirement anyway.

 

How's your credit in the UK? 

 

 

 

 

 

I think you are mistaken, Mikisteel.

 

https://www.gov.uk/state-pension-age

 

When I entered my birth year as 1957, it told me I would get my state pension when I turned 66.

 

 

 

Edited July 29, 2019 by HansumFarang
error

[Traubert]

4 minutes ago, madmen said:

Why not use an agent 20k They will fix it even if you dont meet visa requirements

 

2 minutes ago, Inn Between said:

Can you not use an agent to get around the process? I get the impression that 25K baht will do the trick. 

 

(Apparently madmen and I were typing at the same time -- great minds, as they say.) 

 

 

We were all typing at the same time. Great minds think alike. ????

 

And fools seldom differ. ????

[Mikisteel]

Just now, jimballard said:

Thank you for your replies. The problem is not just the visa. As a family we no longer have enough each month. We are now at about 35kv each month. I underdtand the pound my drop more. I need to get income to send to thailand to supplement private pension and support family. If i can earn enough in uK to keep myself and send 10k a month to the family it will be ok until state pension kicks in.

Go north to the Midlands it's much cheaper. Forget all that 600 a month with council tax too rubbish. Rooms can be found for 300 a month in house shares all bills included. I downsized from 1350 a month London flat to a nice house share 325 all in. They love me I pay on time and spent 2 days there in 9 months. I often do the maths on this too cos you just never know. I think I could survive on 600 a month in the UK and get 1000 a month to the family and it could work. Would I like it? No, but i'd do it of it came down to it. 

 

At 62 though I'd be inclined to shaft a few credit card companies in the UK and see the family grow up. No idea if that would impact the gov pension but I would not necessarily be thinking about 8 years time as a given either.

[Happy Grumpy]

1 hour ago, jimballard said:

Will not be able to extend visa this year.

You don't need to.

 

Isaan backwater, head over to Savannakhet and get 1 year multi entry that's good for 15 months.

 

Become Buddhist and eat like a monk. Done. 

[Mikisteel]

Just now, HansumFarang said:

 

I think you are mistaken, Mikisteel.

 

https://www.gov.uk/state-pension-age

 

When I entered my birth year as 1956, it told me I would get my state pension when I turned 66.

 

 

 

Well that's even better. I'm pleased I'm wrong this guys knocking on the door. Gotta be a way to stay.

[HansumFarang]

3 minutes ago, Mikisteel said:

Well that's even better. I'm pleased I'm wrong this guys knocking on the door. Gotta be a way to stay.

 

Yes, good news. I got the numbers wrong on my first post, but the retirement age is still 66 if you're born in 1957 ????

 

[Traubert]

16 minutes ago, jimballard said:

Thank you for your replies. The problem is not just the visa. As a family we no longer have enough each month. We are now at about 35kv each month. I underdtand the pound my drop more. I need to get income to send to thailand to supplement private pension and support family. If i can earn enough in uK to keep myself and send 10k a month to the family it will be ok until state pension kicks in.

But you've still got a chunk in the bank to tide you over for a couple of years until you get your UK pension. You've got 35k coming in and 240k in the bank. Take out 50k for an agent for two extensions, you have 50k a month almost to live on.

 

At 65, you'll have another 27k coming in every month. Job done.

[blackcab]

@jimballard What is your pension forecast?

[jastheace]

just to start of with, I wish you good luck.

12 years is a long time, yes, be prepared for a shock. despite raises in the 'minimum wage' I went back to do 3 years of work in 2012 to bolster dwindling income and savings, salary was less than I was on in 2002. that seems to be the norm. as others suggest, consider house share, plenty of websites out there. I lived in a static caravan most of the time for around 100 a week all in. moved out the times where it was 700 a week tho. housing rental cheap in certain areas ie durham, Merseyside to name a couple. anyway, long story short, worked as long and hard as I could for 3 yrs and funds are still ok, may have to do again in a few yrs but we'll see.....

[sunnyboy2018]

1 hour ago, HansumFarang said:

 

You should be eligible to claim income support and housing benefit when you return - I know you might be unwilling to consider that, but its a safety net that you paid into for many years. Best to claim on day one when you get back - you won't see any money for a few weeks at least.

 

There is always a job for a minicab driver - indeed.co.uk is probably the best UK job site, although there are others. Here's some jobs on offer:

 

https://www.indeed.co.uk/Minicab-Driver-jobs

 

If you can save some money until your state pension kicks in, you will hopefully find yourself in a much better position soon. Good luck!

 

 

 

 

There are few mini cab offices now.  Its Uber and Addison Lee etc...

app based services.

[steve187]

3 hours ago, sunnyboy2018 said:

There are few mini cab offices now.  Its Uber and Addison Lee etc...

app based services.

still plenty of mincab offices in lincoln

[evadgib]

Citizens Advice

Good luck to the OP.

If he takes the kids he'll surely qualify for housing upon arrival.

[KittenKong]

11 hours ago, MarkyM3 said:

UK economy is still pretty buoyant, the unemployment rate is low.

Unemployment is low because so many people are "employed" in zero hours jobs as part of the "gig economy". Thank God I don't need to do jobs like that: I consider them very close to slavery.

[essox essox]

at your age a low paid job is what you can expect.....possibly get free housing.....but if from eastern black country will get loads and loads of benefits.....!!!

[essox essox]

10 hours ago, blackcab said:

@jimballard What is your pension forecast?

if he 62 then he might NOT get any pension until he 67....depends on yr when born...

Edited July 30, 2019 by essox essox
wrong spelling