How do we find a home and a job back in the UK?

After years in Portugal, you may have no recent UK credit history or address history, and you’ll be job hunting from abroad. The good news is that mainland Portugal and Madeira are on UK time. Here’s how to rent, buy and find work when you come back. Rules here are for England.

Renting

• Landlords in England must check every adult’s right to rent. A British passport, current or expired, is enough
• Since 1 May 2026, landlords must advertise a set rent and can’t accept offers above it, and can’t refuse you because you have children or receive benefits
• Landlords can still make checks before they let to you, so have your paperwork ready
• Bring a reference from your Portuguese landlord, proof your deposit (caução) was returned, your job offer and recent bank statements, with translations of anything important. Renting short term for the first month makes viewings much easier than doing it all from Portugal

Rebuilding your credit file

UK credit reference agencies only hold UK data, and your record on the Banco de Portugal’s Central Credit Register doesn’t transfer. A printout of your free credit map can still help explain your history to a lender: see How do I build a credit history in Portugal? After a long time away you may need to build a UK file from scratch.

1. Register to vote as soon as you have an address
2. Open a UK bank account. If a bank turns you down, you have a legal right to a basic bank account if you live in the UK lawfully and have no other UK account
3. Put household bills in your name, and switch your phone to a monthly contract
4. Leave a few months between credit applications

Buying a home

First-time buyer relief is only for people who have never owned a home, or a share of one, in the UK or anywhere else in the world. If you bought in Portugal, it doesn’t apply. The 5% surcharge counts homes worth £40,000 or more anywhere in the world, so a Portuguese flat you’re keeping can trigger it. If you pay it because your old main home in Portugal hasn’t sold yet, you can usually claim it back if you sell that home within 3 years. You count as non-resident if you spent fewer than 183 days in the UK in the 12 months before buying; if you then spend 183 days in the UK in a 365-day period running from up to 364 days before completion to up to 365 days after it, you can claim the 2% back within 2 years. Selling in Portugal has its own tax rules: see How do I leave Portugal, and in what order? Lenders set their own rules on UK income, address and credit history, so speak to a mortgage broker early. Scotland and Wales have different taxes.

Job hunting from Portugal

• Mainland Portugal and Madeira keep the same time as the UK all year, so interviews in UK office hours fit around a Portuguese working day. The Azores are one hour behind
• Your British passport, current or expired, proves your right to work
• UK criminal record (DBS) checks can’t see records held overseas. Portugal’s equivalent is the criminal record certificate (certificado de registo criminal) from the Ministry of Justice. While you live in Portugal, apply in person, for example at an Espaço Cidadão. Once you live abroad, there’s an online application only for residents abroad: if you use it while still in Portugal, it’s rejected without a refund. The fee is reported as €5 (about £4), and a certificate is reported to be valid for 3 months, so time it for when an employer needs it
• Keep your contracts, payslips (recibos de vencimento), your social security contribution record and a reference letter from each Portuguese employer, with translations of the key documents

Qualifications

UK ENIC can compare a Portuguese degree or diploma with the UK level in a Statement of Comparability. It costs £69.60 for the e-Statement and takes about 15 working days once you’ve sent everything. Regulated jobs, such as nursing, teaching, law or accountancy, have their own UK registration bodies, and Portuguese registration doesn’t carry over automatically, so check with yours before you apply for roles.

Benefits while you settle

• British citizens coming back may have to pass a “habitual residence” test for Universal Credit, showing the UK is now their main home
• Universal Credit isn’t paid if you have savings over £16,000, and money in a Portuguese account counts