The UK has no retirement visa — the passive-income route closed in 2008. But a £20 ETA buys visits of up to six months, average rent is £1,381 a month, and prescriptions are free at 60. Here's everything else — from official sources, checked and dated.
No retirement visa exists. Ancestry (Canadians), family, Skilled Worker, Innovator Founder — 2026 fees, timelines, and the pending settlement reform.
4 guides → Guide hubThe 4-year FIG regime for new arrivals, why US Social Security is taxed only in the UK, the £12,570 personal allowance, and the WEP repeal.
Read → Guide hubThe NHS is free at point of use — after the £1,035/year immigration health surcharge. GP registration, waiting lists, and what's free at 60.
Read → Guide hubNo foreign-ownership restrictions — but stamp duty surcharges stack to +7 points. Buying, leasehold, and the new renting rules.
Read → Guide hubReal ONS data: £1,381 average rent, the £1,663 energy cap, £2,392 average Band D council tax — and what a couple actually spends.
Read → Guide hubThe £41,700 Skilled Worker threshold, why there's no digital-nomad visa, self-employment, and remote work for a US or Canadian employer.
Read → Guide hubCanadian licences swap; US licences mean a UK driving test. Bringing pets (21-day wait), £200 road tax, and the £180 TV licence.
Read → Guide hubLondon at £552,655, the North East at £163,190 — real prices, train times, and which airports still fly nonstop to the US and Canada.
Read →A UK-born grandparent gets Canadians a 5-year work-and-live visa for £726. Americans are excluded. Requirements, costs, and the path to a British passport.
Read the guide → Visas & ResidencyThe routes that actually work for the 50–70 crowd: citizenship by descent, ancestry, partner, work, business — and the part-year alternative.
Read the guide → PlanningEvery step from 18 months out to your first 90 days — in order, with the 2026 rules built in. Tick as you go.
Open the checklist →From first visa question to keys-in-hand — tell us where you are in the move to the UK and we'll answer, or introduce a specialist we've independently vetted.