I only vaguely remember how I relocated to the UK five years ago when my Frederik with whom we had spent almost the whole life together passed away. An old friend of ours found a company that helped me with all the relocation-related matters without my involvement. When it was time to apply for Indefinite Leave to Remain, I realised that I had lost contacts of that company and that I had forgotten about taxation and other important legal aspects. For that reason, I applied to Imperial & Legal.
Anna relocated to the United Kingdom from New Zealand. She had been happy there with her husband Frederik. He had had a successful automobile business. They had loved each other, lived in comfort, and joked that they would die together, like characters of a romantic novel.
All those happy moments only added to abruptness and devastation that Anna had to go through. One tragic day, she came home from a walk and found her husband`s dead body. The doctors later told her that he had suffered from a massive heart attack and she could not have done anything even if she had been with him in the same room.
Those were hard times for Anna since she blamed herself for not being with Frederik in his last minutes and not holding his hand when he had closed his eyes forever.
Anna`s friends did their best to support her. They spent a lot of time with her, distracted her with conversations, and did not let her fall into depression. Her conversation with an old family friend Doris became a turning point. She persuaded Anna that Frederik would not want her to suffer. He had loved and could not have born a thought of Anna`s grieving and depriving herself of happiness.
That understanding helped Anna to move on. She decided to live as long as she was supposed to and enjoy every day to the fullest. When the time came, she would join her husband in heaven.
Of course, easier said than done. It was still hard for Anna to take her husband`s things, visit places where they had been together, and think about the past. Finally, the woman realised that nothing would change in New Zealand for her and decided to start from scratch. She sold out her house and then business. She took all her money and relocated to the UK that took everyone by surprise.
Her husband and she had once dreamt of returning to their place of origin from where their ancestors had relocated to New Zealand several centuries ago. Anna felt that it was the moment to make that dream come true.
She avoided noisy London or any other big city and chose a small village in Yorkshire that they had considered with her husband. Anna bought a house and invested the rest of her money in business following the advice of their family friend and Frederik`s business partner Tom. Tom also helped her with all the bureaucratic matters by finding a company that specialised in them. Anna`s husband had always solved those problems for her, so the woman had no idea how to act and welcomed professional support.
While preparing documents for relocation, the company told Anna that she would be able to get Indefinite Leave to Remain in five years and then in one more year UK citizenship. In five years, Anna wanted to apply to the same company, but she had lost its contacts. Fortunately, her new acquaintances in the UK who had long and successfully been our clients recommended Imperial & Legal to her. That`s how Anna became our client herself.
Anna — 72 years old, from New Zealand.
To get Indefinite Leave to Remain.
The first step was to find out on what visa Anna relocated to the UK. The woman did not remember much about that time, but she kept all the documents that she had been given by the Home Office.
Based on those documents, our advisors concluded that Anna lived on a UK investor visa. It seemed that her husband`s business had been really profitable since after selling it, Ann had been able to invest £2,000,000 in the UK economy as it was required for the visa she applied and purchase a small house. Tom`s pieces of advice were priceless since the company Anna had invested in was growing and brought dividends that were sufficient to support the woman in the UK.
The case, however, was not so easy. It turned out that Anna had seriously neglected her duties as a tax payer. She had not filed any tax returns in five years and had not known that it was mandatory. Maybe, the company that helped Anna with the visa had not warned her about the required tax operations, or maybe, the woman had just forgotten about that.
Our specialists did their best to correct the situation. They found all the necessary documentation and prepared tax returns for all years. Since Anna received all her income from dividends in the UK, though she was not domiciled, remittance basis was of no use. The income was taxed under a normal scheme.
Imperial & Legal`s advisors minimised the fine for late submission of tax returns. It was useful since after paying taxes for all five years of stay in the UK, Anna had an overspent.
Nevertheless, the outcome was positive, and Anna got her ILR. In a year, she asked us to help her to obtain UK citizenship.
Anna was charming and friendly, and all our specialists grew fond of her. It was impossible to get angry at her when she made mistakes or forgot something. Everyone carried about her as though she was their grandmother and reminded her of all the important dates and meetings with immigration officers in advance. When the time came, we told her to prepare the next tax return. Since the documents were put in order, it was easier to declare income then. We continued to monitor Anna`s tax operations to make sure that she would have no debts in the future, and the woman successfully became a UK citizen with our help.
When you relocate, you should learn more about life in another country, especially the aspects that can affect your chances to extend your visa or get citizenship in the future. Our client was lucky, and her problem was solved. Of course, Imperial & Legal`s specialists have successfully dealt with even more complicated cases. However, it is better not to push one`s luck and apply for consultations in advance.
If you have any questions or doubts concerning your stay in the UK or you are planning to relocate to the UK, contact us and tell us your story. We will help you prepare all the required documents so that you have no problems in the future.
We will work with you to find a customised solution for your immigration, second citizenship, business, tax and other needs.
Indefinite Leave to Remain in the UK
How to obtain UK citizenship
Self-Assessment Tax Return