What to do before leaving the UK

On the following lines, you can find useful information, which you should know while ending your stay in the UK.

I have decided to divide the information in three parts. At the beginning, I describe how to apply for all forms necessary for the evidence in the Czech Republic, proof of the work period and alternatively also tax refund or unemployment benefit. In the final section, you can find other formalities before your departure and an example of the come back of my clients to the Czech Republic.

Preparing all important forms

Form P45 from all previous jobs, you had in the UK.
You must fill in the form CA3916 (Statement of National Insurance contributions)
This is a document on the basis of which you can prove to the Czech authorities that you paid for insurance for the whole period of your stay in the UK. Also, the Czech authorities are going to calculate the number of work months / years to the pension system. Moreover, based on this document, you may ask for the unemployment benefit in the Czech Labour Office.

You can apply for this form:
- Online – it is necessary to register your account online.
- Via mail – you get a PDF document, which you must fill in immediately (you cannot download it). After filling in the application, you send it to the given address.
Before filling in and sending the form, you must make copies of:
- Form P45 for the last 3 years and from all of your previous employers.
  
  or:
- The last payroll from all of your employers, for which you have been working for the last 3 years.
- Payroll from March for the last three years.
- The form P60 for the last three years.
If you don’t have any from the previously stated documents, you must contact the HMRC and agree how to proceed.
Filling in the form P85
This concerns the tax refund.

Other formalities before your departure

In advance, you need to get a cheap ticket back home and transport from the airport.
Sort out all the formalities concerning renting the house or flat:

Give the notice in advance to avoid uncessesary costs. It is ideal to announce your leaving via email and also send a text, just to make sure that the message is delivered.
Make the room ready to leave.
Take over the deposit and return the keys.

Just before your departure, you need to withdraw money from your bank account and close the account, in case you are not planning to come back to the UK.

If this is your last stay in the UK, I would recommend you:

Cancel your registration at the GP.
Unsuscribe from the library and return all books.
Redirect the post to friends or people you trust.
Cancel your membership in clubs and societies you are member of, such as fitness, where they very often charge the fee automatically from your card every month.
If you had a flat or house rented, deregister from all services, such as electricity, water supply, gas, Internet, TV and others. Finally, you should contact the local council and say that you are leaving.
If you are selling your car, you need to deregister from the insurance system.
Cancel any other type of insurance that you are paying, such as life insurance, injury, etc.
If you have a pet, you need to make sure that you are ready to take it back. Remember to solve all necessities concerning transport as well.

Example:

Mr Novak decided to come back to the Czech Republic after a year and 5 months (arrived on April 15th, 2015). During that period he had thee jobs.

For all the time, he lived at the agency and was registered at local GP and library, where he borrowed books and magazines from time to time. He had two bank accounts at different banks. Every month, he visited fitness club several times and paid the membership that was charged regularly from his bank account.

From his current and two previous employers he was given forms P45 and P60. With short breaks, he used to work from April 25th, 2015 to September 30th, 2016.

From the form P45, he found out that he paid £3, 560 more and he has the right for a tax refund.

How did he calculate that?

He counted his gross salary for the tax year, meaning from April 6th, 2015 to April 5th, 2016, and then April 6th, 2016 to September 30th, 2016, when he decided to leave.

During the first tax year, he earned circa £1, 200 per month, which is £14, 400 per year. However, during that year, he was charged £2, 880, that is 20 % each month.

And the tax-exempt for the same period was £10, 600.
£14, 400 – £10, 600 = £3, 800, which are subject to taxation of 20 %.
20 % from £3, 800 gives £760.
£2, 880 (paid taxes) – £760 (compulsory tax from income bigger than £10, 600), which means £2, 120. Mr Novak might ask for this sum of money.

In the second period, from April 6th, 2016 to September 30th, 2016 he earned again £1, 200 with 20 % tax per month. He was given 6 salaries with the overall gross amount of £7, 200. Nevertheless, he was charged £1, 440, which means 20 % for every month or better 20 % from every earned pound.

The tax-exempt for the period from April 6th 2016 and April 5th 2017 is £11, 000. However, over that period, Mr Novak earned less than the above stated amount and he is not planning to work in the UK any more. Therefore, he has the right to ask back all the tax amount of £1, 440 .

What is Mr Novak going to do next?

Based on the form P45, he applies for:

Tax refund filling in the form P85.
Filling in the form CA3916 to prove his insurance and work period in the UK to the Czech authorities.

What has Mr Novak done already?

Two months in advance, he bought a cheap ticket back home to the Czech Republic.
He has contacted me with a call for help with the cheap transport to the airport.
Three weeks in advance, he gave the notice to the agency (both in person and via email) and several days before leaving he agreed on the conditions of leaving the room, returning the keys and the deposit.
He deregistered from the library and returned the library card.
Cancelled his membership in the fitness club, returned the membership card and cancelled the standing order in the bank.
In future, he is planning to come back to work , therefore:
He did not deregister at his GP. He only contacted the office and announced that he is going to change his address to his friend, who is taking the post for him.
He cancelled one of the bank accounts, but kept the other opened. There, he might get the tax refund. Again, he changed the address to the one of his friend.

Of course, not all of the cases are similar to the one of Mr Novak and there always exist some differences. Nevertheless, this might serve as a pattern how to proceed, when you are planning to leave the UK and come back to the Czech Republic and you need to register in health and social system.