Retiring abroad
Take your whole medical history with you.
Decades of care sit with your GP, your hospitals and your old practices. We gather all of it before you leave, add your new country's care as it happens, and keep one record your new doctor and your family can use.
Why it matters when you move
More than a million UK state pensioners live abroad. Most of them arrive with no medical history at all in their new country, and a doctor working in another language.
Once you have left and your GP removes you from their list, they can no longer release your record. It goes into storage with Primary Care Support England. You can still get it, but it takes longer and has to be asked for from abroad. The easiest moment is before you leave.
What we do for you
- 1
Before you go
We write the requests to your GP and every hospital trust that has treated you, while you are still registered. You send them; we chase.
- 2
When you arrive
Your record is ready for your first appointment: a one-page summary, your medicines and allergies, with the detail behind it in plain English.
- 3
As you go
Each letter and result from your new doctors is added, translated beside the original, and checked against what we know.
- 4
For your family
With your written consent, your son or daughter gets the same record, so they can help when something happens.
For sons and daughters
Many of the people who contact us are buying this for a parent abroad.
See what is happening
When your mother is in a hospital in Málaga and the letters are in Spanish, you can read the English beside them.
Help with the next doctor
One summary you can send ahead of any appointment, so nobody starts from nothing.
Consent comes first
We act only with your parent's written consent, and they can change what you see at any time.
Where we get records from
The UK plus the countries most British retirees choose.
| Country | Fee | Time | What comes back |
|---|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom | Free | One month by law; Primary Care Support England says 28 days | PDF by secure email |
| Spain | Free first copy | Under 30 days | Digital copy, without doctors' personal notes |
| France | Copies at cost | 8 days, or 2 months for records over 5 years old | CD or paper |
| Portugal | Free | Promptly, one month at most | Digital copy |
Prices
Most people retiring abroad need the two-country build: the UK, and where they live now. A second person, such as a partner, is half the build.
Build my history, once
One country
£495
Your care has all been in one country, often the one you live in now.
Two countries
Most common£795
The usual case: the UK, plus the country you live in.
Three or more, or complex
£1,295
Many hospitals, a long illness, or a language we need extra help with.
Keep it current
£395 a year
We add new care as it happens, chase what is missing, review the record once a year, and make one care pack for you each year.
A care pack on its own
£195
One focused pack for a new doctor, a move, a second opinion or treatment abroad, if you do not pay yearly.
A second person
Half the build
A partner, or a parent bought for by their son or daughter. Keeping it current is £195 a year.
You pay a quarter when we start, which covers the requests, and the rest when your record is delivered. All prices include VAT.