The only way to declare BR is to either pay the fees or have a creditor declare you BR. HMRC, the Council and AMEX are about the only creditors that will actually declare you BR, the rest just tend to threaten you with BR.
Normally you may be able to get help or advice from the CAB regarding fees but as you are not in the UK this isn't possible. The only other option is to save for the fees even if it takes a long time.
You can also only declare BR in the UK if you have resided in the UK within the last 3 yrs and you do not currently reside in the EU (except for Denmark). If you have not resided in the UK within the last 3 yrs or you currently reside in the EU then you would need to declare BR in that country.