I know I come up with all sorts of crazy plans and I mention them on here sometimes. My new plan has to do with us moving back to England in the next year or so for me to go back to school and Neil to work there. I wondered if I'm a permanent resident there am I eligible for funding for college? university? This is just a crazy plan/brainstorm and may never happen but I just wondered if anyone knew anything about this. Also, how hard is it to get a visa for me to live in the UK since we're already married?

Regarding your crazy plan

The spousal visa to move to the UK is quite easy to get, for now!!!!
Everything is done by mail but you will have to organize a biometrics appointment, this is done at your nearest USA biometrics place, probably the one Neil went to for his AOS biometrics.

Regarding the school/college. You will have to pay for that and its not cheap. I had to pay for my own diploma course a couple of years back (approx £5,000 for 2 years), the only ones that get schooling paid for are those on low income and state benefits and as you are not allowed to claim any benefits off the State on a spousal visa you will have to pay full fees.

If you are still having this "crazy plan/ brainstorm" then here are a couple of sites you can look at -

http://www.britainusa.com/index.asp
http://talk.uk-yankee.com/index.php?board=17.0

Probably not unfortunately. I'm from a relatively low income family and I didnt get a bean. I also think that any types of funding/loans are only available to UK citizens.
It also sucks that tuition fees have now gone up to £3,145 a year for UK citizens (a HUGE jump from the £1000 a year I paid when I went to uni).

thanks! I'm still having the crazy plan but I'm thinking about it more and more we'll see how I feel when I get back from vacation in a few weeks

The uni my wife worked at charged overseas students full fees at least £10000 a year.

I am a USC and did both my under grad and Masters in the UK. My undergrad I was classed as an "overseas" student - and the tuition wasn't bad on US standards. When I did my Masters, I was classed as "in country" as I had lived as a resident in the UK for 3 years previously. It might be the same rule. Do your research online/phone first, sometimes it can be how you present your situation. Good luck!

Yup, when we checked for my SO the rule was 3 years residency before you could be eligible for the lower tier of fees. It's a no go I'm afraid. Nice try though!

With uni fees in the US being crazy, I don't think £5k is all that bad!

I agree that it all depends on how you present yourself. When I started at uni, I started and completed a 4 yr degree as a foriegn student because I had not been a permanent resident in the UK for, I think, 2 or 3 years (something like that).

The foreign student fees depends on the university and the degree you want to study. It can vary considerably from university to university. In my case I studied for a Bachelors and then a Masters in Engineering at Kings College, London and it cost me £9,750 per year on tuition. This was back in 1997.

My advice or view is ask yourself the following questions:
1 - Can you wait the 2 or 3 yrs as a permanent resident so you can be eligible for funding?
2 - If you imagine the total foreign fees to be a loan from the bank that you have to pay back in bits on graduation, how long will it take you to pay it back? Its a typical case of ROI (Return On Investment).

By the way, Happy New Year to you all.

T

I paid overseas fees when I went in London & it was crazy expensive. It wasn't much better for EU/UK students tho (only £1000 less) - as it was a private art college.

We will move back to the UK, but not till J gets his US passport, about 2 more years or so. It's not worth going thru all this green card stuff again - should plans change & we return the the US.

Something to think about for you too.

I was thinking about the same thing devilette. Waiting until Neil has a US passport so we don't have to do this crap again. I definately want to move back to the UK eventually. At least if we wait a few more years we won't have to go through all of this again!

We're moving back soon and there is now way in hell I would move back without a US passport. It is worth the wait. Time really does fly.

Just out of curiosity, why are you guys moving back?

seconded..

unless the UK goes through some seriously dramatic socio-political unheavals, i'm not interested in coming back

Oh, you musta missed the news that America is in a HUGE recession now....and it's not like our leader is a bright one....

i'm more interested in a socio-revolution that an economical one - british people nowadays seem totally beaten down until you get them on BBC's Have Your Say, then they turn into complete winging xenophobes. we are unable to stand up for our rights when it counts, whereas americans stand up for their rights loudly.

as far as the recession goes, at the moment its fairly limited, especially compared to what the UK is about to pile into (in my opinion). but then anyone who's been watching house prices over the last 5 years already knows whats happening.

When the $ -> £ gets to be $2.50, then will you believe we are in a recession? Or when we bomb Iran? Or when another million illegals stream across the border in 2008 to take your tax dollars away? Or when America elects a bible banging sexist president?

Does all that still make America a BETTER PLACE TO LIVE?

Just asking. America is not nirvana, nor is the UK. They both have their pluses & minuses. But I really get annoyed when people act like bigger everything (land, cars, food, waistlines, ignorance) is the best.