RetireJapan

I saw in previous posts that people had a similar problem to me in confirming their identity on the UK Government Gateway site, therefore not being able to check their NI contributions throughout the years (among other things).

The problem being the two IDs they required from the following: passport (check), photo driving license (nope - only paper), bills/ credit card loan details etc (nope - left the UK too soon for that).

Well it seems they have now updated the system and you can do it all with just your passport and an easily downloadable gov. app. I did it in 5 minutes.

Cheers!

Great news, thanks for sharing. Maybe some of the others who were stuck can confirm.

Hallelujah!
Worked for me with just the passport and their ID Check app.
Finally

Wow, it even works with Japanese passports! This saves me the hassle of applying for a pension forecast for my wife every year. Thank you very much halfmanhalfsenbei

Well the would be great but the buggers won't let me do it because my old passport has run out.

Great news! Yes, I was stuck before because I only had the old green paper UK driving license. In the end, I applied for the new photo ID driving license online from Japan. I used my parents address in the UK which was printed on my 1982 old paper license. There was a box to tick to allow DVLC to use my passport photo in the HMRC records which I duly ticked. Charged my Japanese credit card and it worked! My parents got my new photo driving license delivered within a week! AMAZING. They posted to me in Japan. Finally, I was able to login to Gateway! This was last November…… Anyway, glad to hear you just need a passport nowadays.

richardnoge wrote: ↑Fri Jan 06, 2023 9:46 amI applied for the new photo ID driving license online from Japan. I used my parents address in the UK which was printed on my 1982 old paper license. There was a box to tick to allow DVLC to use my passport photo in the HMRC records which I duly ticked. Charged my Japanese credit card and it worked!

You also ticked the box that said you are definitely resident in the UK and you are definitely not lying.

adamu wrote: ↑Sat Jan 07, 2023 1:43 am

richardnoge wrote: ↑Fri Jan 06, 2023 9:46 amI applied for the new photo ID driving license online from Japan. I used my parents address in the UK which was printed on my 1982 old paper license. There was a box to tick to allow DVLC to use my passport photo in the HMRC records which I duly ticked. Charged my Japanese credit card and it worked!

You also ticked the box that said you are definitely resident in the UK and you are definitely not lying.

Just in case anyone else thinks this is a good idea, see the requirements below:

What you need
To renew online, you need:

a valid UK passport
to be a resident of Great Britain - there’s a different service in Northern Ireland
to pay £14 by MasterCard, Visa, Electron or Delta debit or credit card (there’s no fee if you’re over 70 or have a medical short period licence)
addresses of where you’ve lived over the last 3 years
your current driving licence (if you do not have your licence you must say why in your application)
your National Insurance number (if you know it)
to not be disqualified from driving

Doing what richardnoge did could be construed as fraud, so I wouldn't recommend it.

https://www.gov.uk/renew-driving-licence

beanhead wrote: ↑Sat Jan 07, 2023 5:09 am Doing what richardnoge did could be construed as fraud, so I wouldn't recommend it.

That's why I didn't renew my license back in the day -was put off by the big 'I certify the contents of this application to be true' box, with the legal penalties for lying listed underneath

Pretty sure the chance of being caught is minuscule, but didn't seem worth it.

northSaver wrote: ↑Fri Dec 23, 2022 5:07 am Wow, it even works with Japanese passports! This saves me the hassle of applying for a pension forecast for my wife every year. Thank you very much halfmanhalfsenbei

Your Japanese wife is paying into the British state pension?