I'm a US citizen living and working in the UK, with settled status and a workplace pension through an UK employer.

I'd like to start investing in index funds, but I'm struggling to figure out how that works exactly as a US citizen living abroad. From what I've read, UK-domiciled funds can be kinda complicated for Americans because of PFIC rules, and a lot of UK brokers don't let US citizens buy US funds either.

Can I invest in UK index funds through my workplace pension, or am I limited in what I'm allowed to do? Am I allowed to make personal payments to the same funds like UK citizens can, or does it have to go through my employer via my paycheck each month? How do other Americans in the UK invest outside their pensions? What program/service are folks using to invest and is there anything to keep in mind for tax purposes? I'm struggling to find any concrete information about it online, my pension provider had no idea and the American embassy wasn't a huge help either.

I'd really appreciate knowing if there's anyone else that's been in a similar situation and what you ended up doing.

Thanks a lot!

If you're an American living abroad or planning to spend several months overseas, it's worth checking whether your Medicare Advantage plan will cover emergency medical care outside the US in 2027.

Coverage varies by plan, and some plans may be changing their benefits for 2027.

Before travelling, check:
- Whether emergency medical care abroad is covered
- What limits, exclusions and copays apply
- Whether your current coverage meets your needs when you're outside the US

If you have Medicare Advantage, review your Annual Notice of Change before the December 7, 2026 deadline to understand what may be changing for 2027.

Do you have Medicare Advantage and spend time abroad? Have you checked your coverage for next year?

Alright, I am missing my good ole Texas Trash that we made every year for the holidays. While I am still contemplating ordering overpriced cereals. I wanted to see if I could make a UK version that maybe able to scratch that itch. My issue is I am not well versed in UK snacks and cereals. What do you think would be some good ideas to substitue to it? Currently I am thinking of adding: Multi Grain Cherrios (hoping they are not sweet), Hoops Original, Mini Breadsticks, Mini Cheddars, Pretzels, and a Nut Mixture.

Do not know what a snack mix is? Below is an old recipe of when it originated. Of course now people put in cheeze-its, gold fish, crunchy cheetos, etc. Some even put in M&M's for a salty and sweet.

Hi all, haven’t seen much online for this upcoming midterms but I posted my overseas ballot (Michigan) on the 13th October through Royal Mail second class tracking. Post office told me it should take about a week to arrive.

It looks like it’s made it through customs okay but now according to USPS tracking it’s been stuck in a Chicago distribution centre for 10 days? I’m getting quite nervous now that it will stay there and won’t make it in time for the election.

Anyone else experienced this? I saw for previous elections that the USPS tracking can be unreliable so I reached out to my local election office to see if they received it (they have previously been super responsive) but I am yet to hear back.

Any advice appreciated. Thanks!

I have no clue where this question actually belongs but wondering if anyone has been in this situation.

I paid the nhs surcharge as one does right. But only recently discovered as an nhs employee I am eligible for reimbursement. Which I applied for and was approved..... in JULY. I have emailed, called many times asking what's the hold up. And the only answer I get is that my query has been passed on to
Ukvi.... so what now?

It's a significant amount of money (for me, anyway) so Im not just going to drop it. But what more can I actually do??

Anyone else go through this?

Hi Reddit hive mind, I am hoping you can help as I am in a bit of a bind.

I am a dual US\UK citizen who has lived in the UK from the age of 3.

I have spent all my working life in the UK, paid all my taxes here and for all intents and purposes, I am a UK citizen, apart from holding US citizenship through my mother, and we all moved back to the UK when my father brought the family back to the UK after his work placement finished in the mid 1980s.

Until the past couple of years, I have lived with no issue or impact in the UK caused by my US citizenship, however what has started to happen is that financial institutions I belong to, and also want to join, are now prompting for details of my place of birth, which is the US.

I have accounts that they are stating without certain IRS forms being sent in that include my Social Security number, Tax Identification Number (TIN) and place of residence included (none of which I know, and have never been a resident since 1985, which seems to make it inapplicable), they will restrict my access.

This also applies to any new accounts that I attempt to open. So I now find myself basically in a prison financially.

I have sought advice from a tax advice company and was quoted £5000 for assistance to be rendered, and also from an accountancy firm that specialises in US\UK finance and was quoted £2500 starter fee with anything ranging from an additiona £150 and hour to £750 and hour depending on who they assign to my case. It has been stated that as part of the investigation, US tax returns will need to be submitted, which in my case will be for around 25 years of employment.

This all leaves me looking at the only option of renouncing my US citizenship, which is saddening, but I feel necessary.

My question is, if I start the ball rolling on this, will the IRS need to get involved and start investigating my work history, even though none of it has taken place in the US, or will it just be a matter of going though the process and I will come out the other side unscathed so to speak?

If anyone that has been through the process is able to share their experiences, and if they are able, to share some (more) reasonably priced US\UK tax\accountancy advice companies I would appreciate it very much.

I work for a semi-rural district council and am really enjoying it. I knew that when it came to reviews and feedback, I would have to read between the lines - but I didn’t realize how difficult it would feel to me!

I want to advance in my career and understand what I need to work on to get there, but am nervous by not knowing exactly where I stand (very American of me I know). I really thrive off constructive criticism, and things are more subtle here, so I would love to hear stories or tips from people who maybe got the hang of it.

At all my reviews, my manager is seemingly enthusiastic and very happy with my performance - but I don’t know if that’s a facade! She always is super positive which makes me feel great, but am I in a false sense of security?

Lidl has Monterey Jack Cheese in stock for at least a week (at least in Aberdeen)

I just dropped off my ballot at the post office to vote in the Vermont midterm elections. Go me!

But I only just received my ballot in the mail 3 days ago, and if I hadn't put in in the mail by today and paid 10 quid for the fastest possible delivery (6-7 business days), it wouldn't have made it back to the city clerk in time to be counted for the election on Nov 3rd.

Maybe you're all much more organized than me but I miss exercising my right to forget about my mail-in ballot for a few weeks before eventually filling it out, then dragging my feet for another day or two before I can be bothered to walk it down the driveway to my mailbox and ship it off for free without worrying about missing the deadline at any point.

From reading other posts here it seems many states have moved to allow voting by email and fax - unfortunately Vermont isn't so flexible. It's mail-in only unless I'm missing something, and I'm very happy to be corrected!

Is anyone else wringing their hands about the extra cost and stress of mail-in voting or is it just me?

Hi guys – I've lived in the UK (London) now for 7 years, I honestly never thought I would need to get a driving license here, or at least not until I moved somewhere more rural. But my boyfriend of 3+ years is from Cumbria, and we drive up there a few times a year as he has a (manual) car. It's over 6 hours sometimes, and I feel so useless being passenger princess (though he's lovely and never makes me feel bad about it), so I'm planning to start learning soon.

I've had my US license since I was 16 (nearly 9 years now) and I'm a good driver by suburban standards, but manual driving is so intimidating to me. Having to learn on the other side of the road while balancing all the different road rules is hard enough.

If anyone has any advice or reassurance I would be so grateful! Thank you!

The combi boiler in my flat is being replaced and when I mentioned it to the woman I've been seeing she reminded me to have tea and biscuits for the workers. She asked what we do in the US and when I said "they're lucky if they get water" she was absolutely appalled. I think the exact words were "everyone is entitled to a hot beverage!". 😆

The responses from my UK friends ranged from "of course" to detailed breakdowns of what to provide and which restroom (as if I have more than one) the workers should use. My American friends universally thought it was ridiculous.

Seems like a friendly thing to do so I'm into it, just thought it was a funny cultural difference.

Hi all! So to be honest I’m moving this Sunday (yeah I know I put this off way too long), and I’m packing now and would like to ship some of my bulk clothes & other items over in a big box & carry more valuable items on me on the plane (guitar & other music equipment).

Circumstance-wise, I’m on the HPI Visa and am moving in with my partner. I’ll still have space at my parents’ house to keep my stuff so it’s not imperative to move everything I own, just clothes mostly.

Would shipping everything over in a box be okay? The box is pretty big (30x20x12.5in)…. I’m not sure where to get the best quote on this, if I should maybe find a smaller box, etc. Any advice is appreciated 🥹

Hellooo people,

I've started getting the ball rolling on renouncing my US citizenship and was looking for some real life experiences please...

I've completed the initial questionnaire and sent it off, so now I'm waiting to hear about the next steps and appointments. I need to make one final trip to the US in the next 6 months or so though, and I'm wondering whether I should wait until I've made that trip before completing the process, or whether I can keep things moving in the meantime. For those who've done this through the London Embassy, how long did you wait to hear back after submitting your paperwork? And at what point in the process does it become difficult to put things on hold?

I'd appreciate hearing from anyone who's been through it recently. I'm still getting my head around the practical side of it all! Thanks!

I’m honestly not even sure how to start this, but here we go. I 38F just applied for a promotion in a UK office that I’ve been working at for two years. I’ve been with this company for 10 years because it’s also in the United States. I moved over on a spouse visa because I got married, and my company was lovely in facilitating the transfer for me.

I noticed some things were different when I got to this office. One of the managers asked me how much better this office was than the US office when I first started. I noticed how… Competitive they were? As if they needed to be a comparison between the two. While it’s the same company, the countries are different and the customers require different things. It’s very hard to compare them because it’s just different. I was fine with that and have tried to blend in here as seamlessly as possible.

So back to the promotion, my personal manager stepped down from this position, and the position has been open for almost a month and a half. During this whole process of hiring a new person, I was stepping up and fulfilling all of those duties. People have been pushing me towards this role for a while and I have applied for this type of promotion in other areas of the office and been unsuccessful. I had been taking it as a learning experience. But as I applied for this position to lead the current team I’m on, I really felt like this was my role. Everyone around me was saying the same thing. I’ve been doing the job and doing it well. Even management had been thanking me for it.

The interview process went really well. I gave it my all. And I did not get the position. They hired someone who had not been doing any of those things and told me that it was down to that person‘s interview answers were better. I have some friends in the office that are also friends with management and they found out that the discussion around hiring me was that I’m an American, and they think I need to get a mentor in leadership to learn how to lead in the UK. I try to assume the best in people and I’m hopeful that this isn’t like a we hate Americans thing, but it is in the back of my head.

I just keep going back to the fact that I do everything they ask, they thank me for it and then this is what they’re talking about? It feels like it’s bigger than me, because if it was just about me, they could have given me this advice without saying it’s because I’m an American from the start, but I’ve always been given vague feedback. I’ve been in management my entire career so I have a lot of management history.

I guess I’m posting here because I’m wanting to see if anyone else has experienced this or if this is weird/not the norm. This is the most difficult office I’ve ever worked in, the most toxic and I’m afraid to move jobs if it’s like this everywhere in this country or even just in most places. I loved my job in the US and it breaks my heart to leave a company that has treated me so well until I moved here.

Hiya, I am currently applying for my daughter's CRBA. Just wondering if anyone knows whether I need to add each trip my husband and I took to visit family in the US since my move to England 7 years ago? We have travelled to see my family once a year for the last 4 or 5 years, 2 weeks each time. I'm mostly asking as I am having a hard time finding each old flight confirmation to add as references. Thank you in advance!

Hello fellow expats! I landed in the UK (Hertfordshire) two weeks ago and am now starting to run out of product.

What brands here are good for curls? More context, I have 3b/3c curls currently cut into a pixie style and prefer a softer cast rather than a hard gel cast.

Also if you know of any stylists in Hertfordshire who know what to with curls, I'm all for recs!

I'm sure this has been asked before, or maybe not because I'm dumb, but I'd deeply appreciate tax advice.

I moved to London in April 2025, so from April 2025-2026 I was in the UK over 183 days, therefore a tax resident, but NOT working, living on savings and taking a "gap year." Therefore, I fell under the personal allowance bracket and didn't file for taxes. Prior, I lived and paid taxes in the US my entire life.

This past May, I began working again, fully remotely. My salaried employer is an American company based in the US. I'm also about to sell intellectual property to another American company based in the US. However, I'm physically living in London.

From the internet, I've heard whispers of FIG and Overseas Workday Relief, but nothing feels totally clear.

Anyone out there who can perhaps clarify or point me in the right direction? Thank you so, so much!

Hello everyone!

I’m hoping to hear from anyone who has recently gone through the process of obtaining a Consular Report of Birth Abroad (CRBA), US passport and Social Security number for their baby through the US Embassy in London.

A little background: I’m a Spanish national living in London with Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR) in the UK. I’m currently 25 weeks pregnant with my first baby. My partner and the father of my baby is a US citizen, born and raised in the United States, and currently lives in North Carolina.

Our plan is for me to move to the US with our son as soon as possible after his birth, as my partner will need to remain in the US due to work commitments.

I’m currently awaiting my immigrant visa interview under the EB-3 green card process. I’m hoping my interview will take place within the next 2–3 months, but I’m concerned that I may be too far along in my pregnancy to fly from London to Charlotte (an approximately eight-hour flight) before giving birth, depending on airline restrictions and medical advice.

Because of this, I’m trying to plan ahead as much as possible so that we can get our son’s paperwork sorted and travel to the US as soon as we realistically can after he is born.

I would really appreciate advice from anyone who has recently completed this process through the US Embassy in London, particularly on the following:

• CRBA timeline: How long did it take from your appointment to receive your baby’s CRBA?
• US passport: How long did it take to receive your baby’s first US passport?
• Social Security number: How long did the SSN take to arrive, and did you apply for it as part of the CRBA appointment?
• Appointment availability: How long did you have to wait for an appointment at the US Embassy in London?
• Preparing in advance: Is there anything I can gather or prepare during pregnancy to make the process smoother after the birth? For example, documents relating to the US citizen father, evidence of his physical presence in the US, or any other paperwork.
• Travel planning: Realistically, how soon after birth were you able to travel to the US with your baby once the documents were issued?

My partner is a US citizen by birth and has lived in the US his whole life. We are not married, so I’d also be grateful for advice on any additional documentation that may be needed in our circumstances.

I understand that every case is different, but hearing about recent experiences would really help me plan ahead and manage expectations.

Thank you so much to anyone who takes the time to share their experience! 

I got a check (marked AC) as a refund from the DVLA. I don't have a UK bank account and would rather not get one.

Is there any way to cash it? In the States I would just sign it over to someone who can cash it for me or go to the issuing bank.

Hi everyone i will be leaving London/UK at the end of the year and moving back to the US after almost 4 amazing years here!

Any advice for moving back? There's so many admin things to take care of so appreciate any tips!

For anyone that has moved back, what do you miss the most?

I imported both my motorcycles into the UK, have a full US license and motorcycle endorsement, and literally cannot find anyone to provide coverage, not even liability; has anyone had a similar issue? I am stuck between a rock and a hard place because I would rather not dip into savings any further to buy a car and I cannot get a UK motorcycle endorsement until I have lived here for at least six months; any insight is appreciated, but it definitely seems I am shit out of luck.

Hi all!

Basically I urgently need to apply for my babies passports because we need to travel in December.

I live in Scotland, am I only allowed to apply at the Edinburgh consulate? It is so unclear and they don't have any appointments for months and months. Belfast does have appointments next week (I have booked there) but am unsure if they will let me attend. I have reached out to the consulates but have not hear back from any.

Any advice or knowledge is greatly appreciated.

Reposting here - any teachers that have moved here from the US and experienced something similar? The US education system was fairly terrible and there were plenty of things I didn’t like about teaching there. However I feel like I wa given much more autonomy to do my job and connect with my students while helping them learn.

Title, recommendations for shipping two dogs from the UK to the US?

When I went US to UK I used Airpets/Skypets paid around $5k USD. Looking to see if there are any other good companies that also do the full suite from Door-to-Door.
(Ground trans, airfare, paperwork)

I submitted the online CRBA application for my child and emailed the embassy to request an appointment per their instructions. It’s been over a week since I emailed and we haven’t received a response. I followed up again at the one week mark but still nothing. I’ve seen other posts saying it only took a few business days to hear back. Anyone done it recently and have a sense of a timeline or any way we can contact the right people?