tbn3

I see that one thread was closed re; this discussion because of personal exchanges. I don't have that, but I do have a question and am not sure where to post it, but I'll try here... So here goes:
My wife (a British citizen, [I am American]), of over 20 yrs on a Green Card (Resident Alien), wants to move home to be near her sister, so I guess I am moving too. I see so may requirements an other loops/hoops to jump thru I wanted to find out if any one actually knows the answer or has done something similar. I am a retired law enforcement officer who has enough in my retirement salary to meet the £16,000+/- I saw was needed somewhere. Although I also saw where I would need to get a job, show how much money I have in the bank, yada yada... I don't want a job, been there and have done my time. I have a home in Faversham waiting on me and my wife and of course my retirement benefits will be coming to the UK for me.
Big question: can I come in with my wife and apply for an ILR to stay with my wife or will they deport me back to USA? I mean I do have enough monthly money to support myself and her, our children are grown and already UK citizens...just wondering if I am going to have any problems if I come on a regular trip over (from USA, one doesn't need a formal VISA), or am I asking for trouble?
I appreciate any and all information. And I thank you in advance.
Tony

spouse of scouse

Hi Tony, I replied to your similar post on the Citizenship/Passports etc page.

Welcome to the club, and a very large one it is. If you want to live in the UK with your wife, you'll need to obtain a spouse visa and your application must be made from the US. Your cultural origins are irrelevant, the fact that three of my four grandparents were born in the UK gives me no special status (unless I'd wanted to apply for an Ancestry working visa, and being retired that wasn't an option for me).

I applied for my spouse visa from Australia, in order to move to the UK with my British husband.

SanDiegogirl

Your wife as the British citizen needs to sponsor you for a spouse visa if that is the route you intend to take.

There are financial, accommodation and relationship criteria to fulfill.

Sounds as though you are of retirement age. If you are intending to meet the financial requirements of 18,600 GBP per annum, then you can use both your's and your wife's retirement pensions. You would have to produce proof of such payments etc.

You have to apply for the spouse visa from the US - you cannot enter the UK and then apply from there. If you used priority service the it could as little as 4 weeks.

Read the following document carefully to see how you would qualify using pensions/investments to meet the financial requirements.

https://www.gov.uk/government/upload...equirement.pdf



You should also read the following website for obtaining a spouse visa:

https://www.gov.uk/join-family-in-uk

There are fees associated with obtaining a spouse visa.


You might also want to consider getting your wife her US citizenship. Being on a Green Card means that if she is out the US for a couple of years or more and then decides to move back to the US you will find her Green Card has lapsed and you will have to go through the US immigration process all over again.

Perth

Hello and welcome! My US husband will also be retired when we apply for the spouse visa in a couple of months. You can use your social security and other pension plans to satisfy the financial requirement, and make it up through savings if there is a shortfall. Good news is the present exchange rate. Not so long ago we were looking at $102,000 (for the 62,500 pound savings requirement); now it's $82,500

robin1234

Problem is, you clearly cannot rely on the exchange rate being the same when your application is processed as when you fill out the application, even if only a couple of weeks have elapsed in the interim. So it would be prudent to make sure you have a significant margin of safety, say 20%.

Pulaski

I agree with the idea of a margin of safety, but if the pound falls it will help, not hinder the OP and other would-be immigrants, and if the pound rises by 20% this year I will personally come around and eat any hat that you care to put in front of me. ..... A safety margin of 5% should be more than adequate for the next six months.

Perth

Well, of course, it goes without saying. I don't think the OP is going by the savings route in any case. It was just a personal anecdote. We plan on having $100,000 in that account anyway, which we will lock away and forget exists until the full 5 years are up.