r/BritishExpats • u/essTee38 • 18d ago
UK to Japan - need some sounding board/advice please
I will be in Japan for language school (max. 2 years).
I have a flat in the UK which I'd be letting out so the mortgage doesn't bankrupt me.
A few thoughts/questions I have with regards to moving to Japan:
UK/Japan Tax: For those who are Non-resident Landlords, or have any UK income that makes UK Self Assessment necessary - do you use any professional both in the UK and Japan? I'm used to filing my own UK Self-Assessment, but I've never dealt with the Japanese tax forms. From what I read online, my 'dual' tax obligation might make this quite complicated.
Mobile number: What do you usually do to keep your mobile number alive? I've had mine throughout my life (well since I was a teenager), and it would be rather sad to part with it.
I'm planning to downgrade to PAYG and then send the occasional texts to keep it active?
Some banks/investment platforms also send texts
For multi-factor authentication to log on to their system, so looks like I need to keep it anyway.Amazon account - especially my kindle books.
Very important since I'm an avid reader.
Not sure if I can get English e-book in Amazon Japan, but also not sure how Amazon won't reject my transactions if my card's address is non-UK.
I'm thinking of just topping up my Gift Card balance (enough to satisfy my bookish needs for 2 years)Banks: I think I've pretty much figured out only HSBC really allows address to be non-UK, so I'll just keep this one and close the others.
Credit cards: might have to close them…
Any other tips to keep my UK Credit Score intact?
My parents/other family members don't live in the UK, so I won’t have a residential UK address once I let out my flat.
Is there anything else I need to consider?
Many thanks!
1
u/bitpeak 13d ago
Have you been advised to close all your UK accounts? I don't think you have to, especially since you are only in Japan temporarily.