Living in London with Irish debt and wanting to go bankrupt

If you are watching this video on youtube or reading my blog, the chances are that you are Irish living in London with a pile of Irish debt, or you are thinking about moving to our capital for work purposes and wondering if you can go bankrupt here at the same time.

Many thousands of Irish come to London live and work each year. A small percentage of them also use the opportunity to try to deal with property losses they have sustained since the collapse in the Irish economy over the last four years.

Whilst it is easy to live and work in London, and hence establish your centre of main interest there, it is not quite so easy to go bankrupt.

A number of high profile Irish Nationals have tried to go bankrupt in the UK using the Royal Courts and some have found out how time consuming it can be.

In London an application for bankruptcy is begun in the Rolls Building on Fetter Lane if you owe in excess of £100,000. Ordinarily, if your debt is all UK based, the bankruptcy registrars would review your petition and make an order without even having to see the petitioner, all on the same day.

Where the debt is overseas, the Judge will not make a bankruptcy order on the same day as the petition is filed. Without exception now they will instead make an order that the petitioner file a witness statement in which they set out all the evidence upon which they wish to rely proving that their centre of main interest is in the UK.

In essence this means all evidence of residency such as rent agreements, utility bills, wage slips and bank statements showing wages going in expenditure coming out. The court will also want to know what ties there still are with Ireland. The cleaner the break the better chances of the Judge granting the order. This hearing only takes 15 minutes, but it can be quite detailed and will in any event be listed at least two months after you first filed your papers. The court will also require you to tell your creditors of the hearing, ensuring that they have a chance to attend if they so wish. I have done a number of these hearings and never once has a creditor attended.

Far better than to petition in London, would be to live on the periphery of the capital and commute in to work. Places like Croydon and Kingston Upon Thames and Luton will deal with the petition on the day it is issued, without the need to file a witness statement in support.

The practices of dealing with Irish bankruptcy petitions is changing and will continue to change. You cannot assume that because you thought you knew how the courts were treating Irish Bankruptcy petitions, the same still holds true.

Call me on 07837 60820 for the very latest news on how courts in your areas are treating Irish Bankruptcy.