# Bankrupcy Tourism (to the  UK): Is this a realistic option for distressed RoI people?



## ajapale

Nermal said:


> They could reside in the UK for a short period of time and then declare bankruptcy, which would also cover their Irish debt.



How realistic is the UK bankruptcy tourism option for distressed RoI people?



*Bankruptcy in England could be attractive option - The Irish Times ..Subscription for full article.

*


> Wed 04 Apr 2009 Bankruptcy in England could be attractive option Legal experts say European insolvency legislation could lead to cross-border ‘bankruptcy tourism’, writes  *CAROLINE MADDEN*
> INSOLVENT IRISH individuals are  being advised to petition for bankruptcy in England as they could  potentially free themselves from debt after a year.


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## Guelder

*Re: Bankrupcy Tourism (to the  UK): Is this a realistic option for distressed RoI peo*

Could someone please post a link to the original thread you're discussing as I can't find it.

Many thanks!


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## GarBow

*Re: Bankrupcy Tourism (to the  UK): Is this a realistic option for distressed RoI peo*

The Germans seem to avail of the quick fix Here anyway.



> *'Bankruptcy tourists' exploit UK's lenient insolvency laws*
> 
> 
> French and Germans looking to use the speedier bankruptcy process available in the UK
> Written by Rachael Singh
> Accountancy Age, 20 Aug 2009
> Foreign nationals are travelling to the UK as ‘insolvency tourists’ seeking to become bankrupt under English law because procedures in Britain last 12 months instead of up to nine years on the continent.


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## maryb

Is it the same for Scotland? Can you be declared bankrupt in Scotland and your Irish debts (property loans) are included?


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## macflea

i assume if you had assets like a site to build on you would lose it .so tempting living in uk since losing job 3 years ago 70000 grand in debt , dont want to sell as on family farm tooo sore . but tempting i assume a lot of guys will do it as i see all my contractor friends getting caught for 1000s from developers, you really can see dispair in there faces ,owed money and out of work. you would to do it , but no support from gov to stop all big builders and rich crowd  doing it getting away scott free , protecting their wealth its these crowd in a few years with their hidden money buying up all cheap assets getting richer again , they did well in boom but will do even better in the recession


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## philcheetham

I am at my wits end. The amount of money I owe is ridiculous. Silly decision, losing income and just borrowing too much money. 

My situation: 

I owe the following:

2,ooo euro credit card
1,000euro overdraft
15,000 credit union loan (ends 3 years)

As well as this, i moved from the uk 5 years ago - i still owe in the uk

2,ooopounds overdraft
3,000 pounds bank loan (ends 2 years)

11,000 student loan (negotiated to 40euro a fortnight - struggling to pay)


My question is this. I am considering going back to the UK and declaring myself bankrupt. How do you go about this? 

- Does it take into consideration my irish debt level? 
- I do not own my house, my wife and her brother do. I pay the mortgage. Will they try and take away our home? 
- Do I have to live in the UK again to be able to do this? 


Any help would be appreciated. I am worried about losing my job, the mortgage is huge, I know people are in terrible situations but i just wanted some information about this. 


Thanks.


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## Time

You need an address in the UK. After that it is a few forms and a trip to see the judge.


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## philcheetham

Time said:


> You need an address in the UK. After that it is a few forms and a trip to see the judge.



Technically, i still am registered to my mothers address. 


Can people outline the route i would have to take - it is a serious consideration, unfortuantely. I see no other way out of my situation.


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## Bronte

One of the rules for UK bankruptcy is that you reside there. If you have a job in Ireland you cannot do this. 

Why on earth is the property you are paying for in your brother in law's name. That's very messy. As is the fact that you've run up debt in two jurisdictions.  You ought to do up the moneymakeover threat as your level of debt looks quite low compared to some that have been posted.  You have proved that you have a serious issue in relation to not learning from past mistakes on the debt front and that needs to be tackled.


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## Kev

philcheetham said:


> Technically, i still am registered to my mothers address.
> 
> Can people outline the route i would have to take - it is a serious consideration, unfortuantely. I see no other way out of my situation.



 Also be aware that it cost money to go bankrupt.  See link below



  [broken link removed]


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## philcheetham

Bronte said:


> One of the rules for UK bankruptcy is that you reside there. If you have a job in Ireland you cannot do this.
> 
> *Why on earth is the property you are paying for in your brother in law's nam*e. That's very messy. As is the fact that you've run up debt in two jurisdictions.  You ought to do up the moneymakeover threat as your level of debt looks quite low compared to some that have been posted.  You have proved that you have a serious issue in relation to not learning from past mistakes on the debt front and that needs to be tackled.




My, now wife, and brother in law bought property in 2005, before i moved over here - i now pay the mortgage with my wife, as if the property was ours. 

True about the debt level and not learning - if im honest im not too sure what i was doing - seemed easy at the time, very reckless and stupid now though. thanks for advice though.


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## Bronte

philcheetham said:


> True about the debt level and not learning - if im honest im not too sure what i was doing - seemed easy at the time, very reckless and stupid now though. thanks for advice though.


 
Fair enough that's an honest answer.  Instead of running why don't you do the money makeover, if only to get your head straight on where you are and what you want.  It's amazing what putting down all the figures does to clear the air.


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## callaghanj

You can file for bky in uk or ni and still work in roi. Your student loan debts are not released in the bky. You have to move your centre of main interest to the Uk. You will need an address in uk for about 2 months before filing for bky. Bky costs around 500 pounds. Your roi bebts will be discharged in the bky. You will technically be living in the Uk for 12 moths but you will be able to commute to Ireland for work purposes.


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## JohnOB

what's bky?


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## Time

Bankruptcy.


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## Shuttleworth

It sounds great in theory BUT it doesn't stop creditors in the home country taking debt recovery proceedings against you on home turf, which effectively makes the whole thing a nonsense.

What would happen then is that you would appear in Court in your home jurisdiction and explain to the judge that you already filed for bankruptcy overseas and he may or may not take that into account when considering your creditor's application.


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## Bronte

callaghanj said:


> You can file for bky in uk or ni and still work in roi. Your student loan debts are not released in the bky. You have to move your centre of main interest to the Uk. You will need an address in uk for about 2 months before filing for bky. Bky costs around 500 pounds. Your roi bebts will be discharged in the bky. You will technically be living in the Uk for 12 moths but you will be able to commute to Ireland for work purposes.


 
You can do that in theory but it's probably illegal under Uk bankrupty law and so you would leave yourself open to having the bankruptcy declared null and void and being prosecuted by the UK authorities for fraud.  

It's difficult to understand how someone with a job would need to declare themselves bankrupt.


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## Luternau

Bronte said:


> It's difficult to understand how someone with a job would need to declare themselves bankrupt.



If you were working and your liabilities to creditors were far greater than your income could sustain?


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## ajapale

Thanks to www.thepropertypin.com: ireland turns to bankrupcy tourism for this article from the Guardian *Bankruptcy tourism draws debt-stricken Irish

*


> Stephen Baister, a senior UK bankruptcy judge, suggests it may be harder  for the authorities to spot Irish bankruptcy tourists than it has been  identifying Germans because of the large Irish diaspora. "If an O'Neill  or a Joyce turns up and gives an address in the UK, you think no more of  it.". He added that  said there was nothing illegal about indebted  Irish individuals genuinely relocating to the UK and seeking bankruptcy,  regardless of their creditors' location of their creditors. "If you  prove you have a genuine tenancy agreement or if you have gainful  employment and prove you are settled here, you can fill in the forms and  say you can't pay your debts and we will make you bankrupt," he said.


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