Hello from sunny England!
We got here safe... Russ loves it here so much we thinking about moving over here!!
Does anyone knoe of a website like this, but that is for US to Uk.
I just wondering how long it takes to get visa's etc etc!
Thanks Guys!
Full Version: Need some advice...
www.britishexpats.com or something to that effect
QUOTE(fwaguy @ Sep 24 2007, 06:56 PM) 
www.britishexpats.com or something to that effect
wouldnt that still be for Brits moving to USA?
I looked into it briefly before we made the decision which way to go and from what I can remember it was a cinch bringing a fiance or spouse to the UK - much easier than the other way round. Don't quote me though! I just tried to do a google search and couldn't come up with anything concrete.
I just googled "UK Spouse visa" and found tons of info on moving to the UK. Give it a go.
From stories on this forum, it is apparently MUCH easier and faster to move to the UK as a spouse. Something ridiculous, like a week or two until the Visa is in hand.
From stories on this forum, it is apparently MUCH easier and faster to move to the UK as a spouse. Something ridiculous, like a week or two until the Visa is in hand.
I would be sure you explore all your options - there's a lot more to living in the UK than just liking it (as I'ms ure you are aware).
Just my .02
Just my .02
QUOTE(devilette @ Sep 24 2007, 03:41 PM)
I would be sure you explore all your options - there's a lot more to living in the UK than just liking it (as I'ms ure you are aware).
Just my .02
Just my .02
Ditt-o. Consider this too -- if you can tough out 3 years in the US and get your citizenship, you never have to think about dealing with USCIS again. If you move to the UK before then, and then decide to move back to the US after all, you have to go through the agony of US immigration again.
UK visas are comparatively easy to get for spouses, but they still cost an absolute ton of money. Would he be able to integrate into life over there? Is there work for him? Is he ready to leave his life in America? And also, the cost of living should not be underestimated. (I just spent a week in Los Angeles, and realised I could rent a house with a garden and garage in West Hollywood for less than what I was paying in grotty old North London.)
God, I sound miserable today -- must be that I am back in CT after all that California sun!
QUOTE(elmcitymaven @ Sep 24 2007, 01:43 PM)
realised I could rent a house with a garden and garage in West Hollywood for less than what I was paying in grotty old North London.)
You musta had a very very very expensive N. London flat then!!!
-signed a Los Angeleno
Hey Maven, I'm with you, I'm hoping to be moving out to LA by next May, can't wait to get out of my miniscule London Flat.
The forums for UK visas tend to focus on people who have very complicated immigration histories, or have been denied because the process for most people is pretty quick and painless (apart from the cost) so don't let them scare you.
http://www.ukresident.com/
There is one form and supporting docs, and the easiest place to find all the info you'll need is the official source. Their guides are relatively easy to follow, provided you fall in to a simple category, i.e. married:
http://www.ind.homeoffice.gov.uk/
http://britainusa.com/
BUT
MOVING to the UK is a very different thing to LIVING in the UK. One is a case of rocking up to the consulate and getting a sticker in your passport. The other is slowly unlearning to expect a good standard of living or for businesses to be set up to please you, the customer.
After 5 years or living here my OH is STILL in shock everytime he needs to get anything done - banks, phone, broadband, TV services, jobs, etc. - at the archaic and cumbersome systems in place here, not to mention the BAD BAD BAD service. My victorian flat might feel lovely and historical, but it wasn't so great the other day, when the equally ancient electrics went haywire and blew my speaker system, router and external hard drive. Things like this are the order of the day.
And then if you get here, and want to move back, and you've abandoned your PR status, you gotta stay here and go through the whole process all over again!
The forums for UK visas tend to focus on people who have very complicated immigration histories, or have been denied because the process for most people is pretty quick and painless (apart from the cost) so don't let them scare you.
http://www.ukresident.com/
There is one form and supporting docs, and the easiest place to find all the info you'll need is the official source. Their guides are relatively easy to follow, provided you fall in to a simple category, i.e. married:
http://www.ind.homeoffice.gov.uk/
http://britainusa.com/
BUT
MOVING to the UK is a very different thing to LIVING in the UK. One is a case of rocking up to the consulate and getting a sticker in your passport. The other is slowly unlearning to expect a good standard of living or for businesses to be set up to please you, the customer.
After 5 years or living here my OH is STILL in shock everytime he needs to get anything done - banks, phone, broadband, TV services, jobs, etc. - at the archaic and cumbersome systems in place here, not to mention the BAD BAD BAD service. My victorian flat might feel lovely and historical, but it wasn't so great the other day, when the equally ancient electrics went haywire and blew my speaker system, router and external hard drive. Things like this are the order of the day.
And then if you get here, and want to move back, and you've abandoned your PR status, you gotta stay here and go through the whole process all over again!
www.uk-yankee.com
Lots of people here to give you lots of information
Lots of people here to give you lots of information
It is a total cinch for any legit US-UK couple who have a bit of income to make the move from US to UK. It is more expensive than UK to US, but very fast and easy (a couple weeks by mail or same day in person at a British consulate).
However, I'll reiterate what everyone else is saying about the standard of living in the UK and customer service compared to in the states. Moving to the UK and actually living here are very different things. In my opinion, the best course of action, would be to live in the states for long enough to become a natuarlized citizen and then make the move to the UK if you still want to. That way if (probably when! I'm cynical and terribly unhappy living in the UK) you want to move back to the states, you don't have to do anything except faff about with the movers!
However, I'll reiterate what everyone else is saying about the standard of living in the UK and customer service compared to in the states. Moving to the UK and actually living here are very different things. In my opinion, the best course of action, would be to live in the states for long enough to become a natuarlized citizen and then make the move to the UK if you still want to. That way if (probably when! I'm cynical and terribly unhappy living in the UK) you want to move back to the states, you don't have to do anything except faff about with the movers!
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