Settling down in United Kingdom - lets talk about personal life
Published: 2nd Feb, 2021
We are experts in medicine and talk about related subjects all the time, but we often ignore certain basics about our personal life. What makes you feel content at the end of each day, week or month? This could be living in a plush apartment, having a car to commute, financial stability etc, and the answer to this is different for various people.
Having said that, below are few pointers around certain aspects of UK that many of us might not be aware about. We hope that you may find the same helpful:
- Driving in the UK: Most immigrants assume that the only way to drive is by securing a local UK driving license. However, DVLA has provisions for various different nationalities that allow you to drive for at least a year on your overseas driving license. Moreover, certain nationalities are eligible to drive permanently, while some may exchange their license seamlessly. You may have a look at DVLA's Driving in Great Britain on a non-GB licence assessment, to determine your eligibility.
- Individual Savings Account: Are you aware that you could earn a 25% bonus (up to a maximum of 1000 GBP) each year (if you invest up to 4000 GBP in an ISA each year)? This is an exciting investment benefit that many of us are not aware about. You may read more about this in the Lifetime ISA guidance from gov.uk. Moreover, you may also consider reading about Individual Savings Accounts (ISAs) overall as it offers additional tax efficient savings
- Personal Savings allowance: HMRC has made provisions to benefit from an eligible amount of tax efficient personal investments / interest each year. You may read more about it in the Tax on savings interest guidance from gov.uk
- UK Taxation: Every country has a different mode of taxation, and it takes time to learn the same. It might be beneficial to engage with a tax consultant during your first year in UK, thus ensuring that you do not miss out on several possible benefits. Ref: Ways to save tax in UK
