UK help and services in USA

Services if you're visiting, studying, working or living in the USA. Includes information about trading with and doing business in the UK and USA.

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Emergency help for British nationals

Get help if you're the victim of crime, you've been arrested, or are affected by a crisis abroad.

  1. Get help if you're a victim of crime abroad

    Contact the nearest British embassy, high commission, consulate or the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office in London to get help if you're the victim of crime abroad

  2. If you’re affected by a crisis abroad

    Advice to British people affected by crises abroad such as large-scale terrorist attacks, natural disasters and political unrest, and how the FCDO can help.

  3. Support for British nationals abroad

    This page lists guidance on how you can help yourself stay safe abroad, and the help the Foreign Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) can provide.

  4. USA: information for victims of rape and sexual assault

    Information for British nationals who are victims of rape and sexual assault in USA

  5. USA: prisoner pack

    Explanation of the USA legal and prison system to British nationals.

Passports and emergency travel documents

Includes how to cancel a lost passport, renew a passport and apply for an emergency travel document.

  1. Apply for or renew a British passport if you're visiting the UK

    You can apply for or renew a British passport while you're visiting the UK - as long as you expect to be in the UK for long enough

  2. Cancel a lost or stolen passport

    What you need to do if your passport has been lost or stolen and you need to travel urgently.

  3. Overseas British passport applications

    Renew, replace or apply for an adult or child British passport if you’re living abroad or working overseas - forms, prices, how long it takes

  4. Travel urgently from abroad without your UK passport

    Apply for an emergency travel document if you're outside the UK and have not got a valid British passport - apply online, how to apply, fee, timings

Travelling to the USA

Includes travel advice and how to get married abroad.

  1. Advice for British nationals studying in the USA

    Guidance and tips for British nationals studying at university in the USA

  2. Advice for British visitors to Florida.

    A detailed guide for British travelers planning to visit Florida.

  3. Getting married or registering a civil partnership abroad

    Find out how to get the documents you’ll need to get married or form a civil partnership overseas and how much they’ll cost.

  4. Reduce your risk from terrorism while abroad

    How to minimise your risk, and what to do if there's a terrorist attack.

  5. USA travel advice

    FCDO travel advice for USA. Includes safety and security, insurance, entry requirements and legal differences.

Coming to the UK

Get a visa to study, work or visit the UK.

  1. Check if you need a UK visa

    You may need a visa to come to the UK to visit, study or work.

  2. Contact UK Visas and Immigration for help

    How to contact UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) for help with your application or immigration account, from inside and outside the UK.

  3. Get your visa, immigration or citizenship documents back

    Get your documents returned if you've made a UK visa, immigration or citizenship application but need them back urgently

  4. USA: apply for a UK visa

    Guidance if you are in the USA and you need to find out how to apply for a UK visa.

Living in the USA

How to access healthcare, get a document legalised, lists of lawyers and how to vote abroad.

  1. Get your document legalised

    Use the online service to get a UK document legalised.

  2. Living in the USA

    Official information British people moving to and living in the United States of America (USA) need to know, including residency, healthcare and driving.

  3. Professional services if you are abroad

    Find English-speaking lawyers, doctors and medical facilities, interpreters and translators, and funeral directors overseas.

  4. UK benefits if you’re going or living abroad

    Find out what benefits you might be able to receive while you’re abroad and how to export them from the UK or claim them while abroad

  5. USA travel advice

    FCDO travel advice for USA. Includes safety and security, insurance, entry requirements and legal differences.

  6. USA: lawyers

    List of English-speaking lawyers and translators/interpreters for British nationals in the USA.

  7. Voting if you move or live abroad

    Find out how to vote in UK elections if you move or live abroad, including eligibility, registering to vote and renewing your registration.

Tax, benefits, pensions and working abroad

Includes how to pay tax, claim State Pension and get tax credits abroad.

  1. Claiming benefits if you live, move or travel abroad

    Benefits you can claim if you go abroad and countries with social security arrangements with the UK

  2. Moving or retiring abroad

    What you need to know if you move or retire abroad - tax, pensions, voting and contacting your local council

  3. National Insurance if you work abroad

    Find out if you need to pay National Insurance in the UK or in the country you are visiting when you work abroad.

  4. State Pension if you retire abroad

    How to claim State Pension if you're overseas - payment, tax, change of circumstances - contact the International Pension Centre

  5. Tax credits if you leave or move to the UK

    Tax credits if you live abroad, go travelling, are a cross-border worker or subject to immigration control

  6. Tax on foreign income

    Find out whether you need to pay UK tax on foreign income - residence and ‘non-dom’ status, tax returns, claiming relief if you’re taxed twice (including certificates of residence)

  7. Tax on your UK income if you live abroad

    Find out whether you need to pay tax on your UK income while you're living abroad - non-resident landlord scheme, tax returns, claiming relief if you’re taxed twice, personal allowance of tax-free income, form R43

Birth, death and marriage abroad

Includes how to get married, list of funeral directors and how to register a birth abroad.

  1. Getting married or registering a civil partnership abroad

    Find out how to get the documents you’ll need to get married or form a civil partnership overseas and how much they’ll cost.

  2. Register a birth abroad

    Parents must register the birth in the country where the child was born - find out if you can also register the birth in the UK.

  3. Surrogacy overseas

    Information for British nationals who are considering entering into surrogacy arrangements in foreign countries.

  4. USA - bereavement information

    Information to assist those bereaved following the death of a British national in the USA.

  5. What to do when someone dies: step by step

    Check what to do after a death - how to register the death, notify government departments and deal with the estate.

News and events

Find out about the UK government's diplomatic, security and development work in USA.

  1. American Samoa and the UK

    Updates, news and events from the UK government in American Samoa

  2. USA and the UK

    Updates, news and events from the UK government in USA

Trade and invest

Includes investing and setting up a business in the UK and doing business in USA.

  1. Department for Business and Trade USA

    DBT provides trade and investment services and practical support. We help UK companies succeed in the USA, and US companies set up and invest in the UK

  2. Set up a business

    What you need to do to start a business: choose a legal structure, see if you need licences and insurance, learn about reliefs and benefits

  3. USA: UK Science and Innovation Network summary

    A summary from UK Science and Innovation Network (SIN) on science and innovation in the USA including UK SIN priorities and successes.

British embassy or high commission

Includes contact details, opening hours and consular fees and local services.

  1. British Consulate General Atlanta

    The British Consulate General in Atlanta maintains and develops relations between the UK and the USA.

  2. British Consulate General Boston

    The British Consulate General in Boston maintains and develops relations between the UK and the USA.

  3. British Consulate General Chicago

    The British Consulate General in Chicago maintains and develops relations between the UK and the USA.

  4. British Consulate General Houston

    The British Consulate General in Houston maintains and develops relations between the UK and the USA.

  5. British Consulate General Los Angeles

    The British Consulate General in Los Angeles maintains and develop relations between the UK and the USA.

  6. British Consulate General Miami

    The British Consulate General in Miami maintains and develops relations between the UK and the USA.

  7. British Consulate General New York

    The British Consulate General in New York maintains and develops relations between the UK and the USA.

  8. British Consulate General San Francisco

    The British Consulate General in San Francisco maintains and develop relations between the UK and the USA.

  9. British Defence Staff in the USA

    The Ministry of Defence (MOD) protects the security, independence and interests of our country at home and abroad.

  10. British Embassy Washington

    The British Embassy Washington maintains and develops relations between the UK and the United States.

  11. Support for British nationals abroad

    This page lists guidance on how you can help yourself stay safe abroad, and the help the Foreign Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) can provide.

  12. USA: notarial and documentary services guide

    Documents, certificate, letters, and notes available from the British embassy and consulates in the USA.