Out of the UK for more than 3 months and the NHS
This may have been covered before, if so I apologise. Is everyone aware that if you are outside the UK for more than 3 months (Spain for winter counts
) then you are not entitled to free NHS services or medicine supply when you return? I have just had a very long conversation with NHS England and the BBC as they ran the potential for showing passport ID for medical treatment this morning and the upshot is that information on the web posted by the NHS is very confusing. However my second sentence on this matter is fact, even if you hold as we do an EHIC card.
Comments
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How is this going to be 'policed'? How will 'the NHS' know you have been out of the country for more than three months. Passports are no longer stamped at the port/airport when you leave this country or when you return. Will I have to take in my outward and return tickets every time I make an appointment with my GP to prove I was back within the required three months, or will I have to get my passport stamped by 'Anne Official' every two weeks, to prove I haven't left the country, before going for an eye test?
Whilst I assume the intention may be there, it's like a lot of these 'off the cuff' policies and the operational details are ill thought through.
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Where did you get this from are you sure it relates to UK citizens as it does not sound right to me at all as every UK citizen is entitled to free NHS treatment at point of contact, obviously paying for prescriptions or not is different but if you are entitled to free prescriptions because of say age then where you ahve been in the last 3 months+ is irrleevant, I can understand them not giving you 6 months supply before you leave but thats a different matter.
If it is true how would they know anyway?
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There are different regulations for those who have been living abroad and those who have just been for a holiday. AgeUK has a fact sheet on line about it.
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I have always understood this to be the case, but thought it was six months. Certainly for people who moved away as in purchasing a property. Couldn't quote chapter and verse. I have no idea how they do/did police it. Recently know of New Zealand residents,
she sufferung with cancer who travelled here in between chemo stints and plan to again; when i asked about cost of insurance they gayily say got the NHS still got UK passport, lived in NZ since the 1980s0 -
The subject has been raised, in the media because of the ammount of people not from the uk coming in for treatmen,and the idea of produce passports to show entitlement,it has been in use at Peterborough with some succes and with passports now having micro
chips it only need a reader a hospitals0 -
I find this confusing
, I know someone who lives abroad, they have been diagnosed with Cancer in the Country they now live(12yrs) they commute
regularly to the UK for their appointments/Ops/Chemo. I'm sorry to be vague but it's not fair to be specific. I talked to the person 2days ago whilst in this Country, they will be returning to their Home(abroad) in a few days. They have the dates for the next
time they fly back. I think this proves it can't/won't be policed.0 -
If you are out of the country for more than 3m you are no longer entitled to free NHS treatment and prescriptions on returning unless you can assure them that you have returned for good. This has been in place since April 2015. It is on the NHS England web
site. I can assure you that I have had a lengthy conversation on this matter and it is fact. If age concern is stating something different they are wrong. I have the NHS document in front of me. Anyway as I stated originally there is confusion and this is
due to Gov. / EHIC and NHS England stating different time frames for "normally domiciled". The overriding principle being the NHS stating clearly 3m. I have requested both the BBC and the NHS make public what the NHS document states and not just via the web.
I agree that currently it will be difficult to police however Brexit results may mean that our passports are stamped in the rest of the EU countries (who knows). What I do know is that the time to be in conversation with a Dr or hospital about treatment costs
is not when you are poorly. I understand the need to stop non UK nationals getting free treatment however like all of you we have paid into the UK system all of our lives so think that this is unfair.0 -
99% certain the 3 month 'rule' applies to returning ex pats ie those who had taken up 'residence' in another country and have now returned to UK. When we returned to UK after living in France for 6 years we were able to register with a GP immediately but
kept our French EHIC cards just in case. The ID question sounds like a good arguement for ID Cards - but I digress!0 -
The NHS web site states that uk healthcare is residence based. I presume this means the place where you are domiciled, if you have opted to be a non dom or are not a uk resident then this is when uk healthcare options might be challenged?
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The 3m rule applies to anybody returning to the UK after being outside of the country for 3m. I quote "If you spend more than 3m living in another country on a regular basis each year, for example because you spend 4m living abroad during the winter but
return to the UK for the rest of the year, then you may not be elegible for free hospital treatment while you live here" It further quantifies the "may not be" to be pertinent to students and serving members of the armed forces. Look, I have spent all afternoon
discussing this with the NHS. I don't think that it is fair, I also don't think that the intent is clearly understood and that there are quite a few people that this could impact. On the basis of the intelligent conversations I have had today on this matter
we will certainly not be continuing with private health insurance to cover more than 3m outside the UK and will be limiting our trips to 3m unless it is made public otherwise. We do not want to get into excited conversations if we become ill.0 -
As a footnote to this thread, I have hust spken with AgeUK and they have given me a direct number to call tomorrow to discuss this matter with them. I will post the outcome.
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Can you post a link to the NHS page which concerns you? I've tried googling it and can't find it. Yes, there are all sorts of documents abount non-domicile or normally domiciled, and I always understood that you were 'normally domiciled' in this country if you spent more than six months living here and paid income tax here. Has this been changed - and can it really be applied to people who are just on an extended holiday?
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This is one of the info sheets supplies by AgeUK, the Habitual Residence Test is mentioned for those who remain out of the country for longer than three months.
But that fact sheet quotes this:
A British citizen who resumes settled residence in the UK is immediately entitled to free NHS care. It is only if a British citizen resides only overseas and is visiting the UK that they may be charged.
and the document is clearly about people who have lived overseas and are returning to this country intending to resume residence (ie presumably not those returning from holiday), stating that it may take three months or more to prove habitual residence.
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Look guys, relax. If you have a permanent UK address, and you are on the electoral roll, and you are registered with a GP, and you pay tax here, etc etc. then you can go for a holiday and come back without losing NHS entitlement. Keep calm and carry on.
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My brother MHomes full time in Europe and has done for 4 years. Takes his prescriptions with him and gets them whichever country he's in, obviously there is a cost. He returns to the UK for a couple of weeks a year and see's doctors etc. No problem at all
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Can you post a link to the NHS page which concerns you? I've tried googling it and can't find it. Yes, there are all sorts of documents abount non-domicile or normally domiciled, and I always understood that you were 'normally domiciled' in this country
if you spent more than six months living here and paid income tax here. Has this been changed - and can it really be applied to people who are just on an extended holiday?Write your comments here...Google - "Policy on medicine supply for british nationals going abroad and eligibility for NHS services" - it is a NHS document produced by Mid Essex Clinical Commissioning Group. It is the document I discussed with NHS England
who advised me that the contents were as NHS Englands policy documents. This despite my pointing out that it is different to the NHS England "Cover Your Healthcare Abroad document" which you will see lower down on the google site. On the NHS England site which
talks about EHIC cards, cursor down to Free EHIC and click on "about the EHIC". On that page under "who can apply for a UK issued - EHIC you will see a link "ordinarily resident" in the first para. This is the confusion.0 -
Look guys, relax. If you have a permanent UK address, and you are on the electoral roll, and you are registered with a GP, and you pay tax here, etc etc. then you can go for a holiday and come back without losing NHS entitlement. Keep calm and carry on.
Write your comments here... Thanks for your reassurance we will keep your response as confirmation that it is not an issue
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When it comes to deciding eligibility an easier check on residency might not be a UK passport but a quick perusal of the electoral roll.
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PLM I think you are making this more confusing than necessary for us caravanners travelling on long trips abroad. You have selected a specific local document issued by a CCG which appears to cover prescribing no more than 3 months supply of medication for
a person moving/travelling abroad, which is normal. In fact even if you are in the UK you would only get more than 3 months supply of medication in limited circumstances. The NHS guidance document covering the 2015 regulations is at this
link.0 -
When it comes to deciding eligibility an easier check on residency might not be a UK passport but a quick perusal of the electoral roll.
Write your comments here...cyberyatch, this is not about "deciding eligibility", this is about us wanting to ensure that when we return from a holiday in the sun (surprise we feel better in the sun and hopefully will not need medical care) we will continue
to get the UK health care that we have paid for all our working lives.0 -
PLM I think you are making this more confusing than necessary for us caravanners travelling on long trips abroad. You have selected a specific local document issued by a CCG which appears to cover prescribing no more than 3 months supply of medication for
a person moving/travelling abroad, which is normal. In fact even if you are in the UK you would only get more than 3 months supply of medication in limited circumstances. The NHS guidance document covering the 2015 regulations is at this
link.Write your comments here...You need to read the whole document. It is not just about prescription medicines, it covers NHS treatments. Look lets close this down, I have spent all afternoon with NHS England who confirmed to me that the regulation since April
2015 has been that you are not entitled to "free" (thats a laugh considering the amount of money we have contributed over the years and not used anywhere near the service) NHS services (not just prescription) if you travel outside the uk for 3m annualy regularly.
I posted this in good faith as we though people might be interestead. Obviously you are all comfortable with what you know. Good luck.0 -
I am a permanent resident, been here since 1970, taxpayer, in receipt of UK state pension etc etc, but I am not a citizen and not on the electoral roll.
So we need a better test of the right to NHS treatment than passport or electoral roll.
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I have read the whole of this CCG policy and on page 6 states
"If you go anywhere abroad for more than three months, either for a one-off extended holiday for a few months or to live permanently for several years, but then return to the UK to take up permanent residence here again, then you will be entitled to
receive free NHS hospital treatment from the day you return. So will your spouse, civil partner and children (under the age of 16, or 19 if in further education) if they are also living with you permanently in the UK again."As to residence look at Chapter 3 of the document in my link. Especially paragraph 3.6 which defines residence.
"living lawfully in the United Kingdom voluntarily and for settled purposes as part of the regular order of their life for the time being, whether of short or long duration."
So when on holiday a persons residence is still in the U.K. The regulations are about 'health tourism'.
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This is a very serious post but like other people have stated there is no way of policing this so don't worry i've been wintering in Spain/Porutgal for the last 12 years for upto six months some years. I now live in Spain and there are a lot Brits that haven't
been home for years yet still go back to the UK for operations.0
I think this is probably where the three month confusion comes from, but I may be wrong.
