mayb

So, I'm a bit of an idiot and I think I'm going to know the answer to this question but here it goes:

I was granted a 2 year marriage visa in November 2011. I stayed in the UK until the day before it expired, January 25, 2014.

My husband and I moved back to the US because it's just always been the plan since the first day we met. However, now that we are both back here we realize we actually probably do want to live in Scotland

So, we are idiots and should have stayed at least one more year until I got British citizenship. Is there any way to go back and not have to start the visa process all over?

formula

Unfortunately you have to start the visa process all over again. The rules have changed since you got your first spouse visa and your husband will now have to show he can afford to sponsor you by him earning £18,600 or you both have savings of £62,000(ish) or a combination of both on a set formula. It's 5 years to ILR now.

mayb

Yeah we're idiots for leaving. So my husband would have to go ahead of me and get a job or could someone sponsor me?

SanDiegogirl

Third party sponsorship is no longer allowed. Your husband is the only one who can sponsor you.

If he is currently earning 18,600 GBP per annum AND has a job to go to within 3 months of your return (which means you could travel together) he is going to have to return, obtain and hold a job for 6 months and then apply for the visa - unless of course you can qualify with investments/savings.

formula

You can't turn the clock back, so don't beat yourself up.

As said, there is no 3rd party sponsorship, so it would have to be your husband - unless the firm you use to work for would sponsor you for a Tier 2 Visa? You would have to be a graduate, doing a graduate job at an annual income set by the UK government and the firm would have to carry out a resident market test.

mayb

Yeah I know there is no real point in beating myself up I just can't help it, it feels like the stupidest decision I have ever made!!!

Isn't there a loophole of moving to another EU country, obtaining a visa from there and moving into the UK?

SanDiegogirl

It's not a loophole - it a route brought about by EEU laws regarding the free movement of people within Europe. It's called the Surinder Singh process.

It means that a British person may claim their "exercising of rights" by moving to another European country to live and work and then moving back to the UK to live and work, thereby bringing their non EU spouse into the UK.

The rules pertaining to this route have been tightened up lately by UK immigration and it's not just a case of moving to Europe somewhere, staying a few weeks and then entering the UK. One now has to prove that one had moved their "centre of living" to the European country, found work, had accommodation, entered into the life of the country etc etc. A couple of months stay does not now suffice.

If one goes this route then you can apply for an EEA family permit.

JAJ

In hindsight, it would probably have been wiser to have at least obtained your Indefinite Leave to Remain. That would have given you a little more flexibility in the situation you find yourself in. Or better still, waited the extra year or so to become a British citizen, then you would have an unrestricted right to return.

But now that you've moved to the U.S. and taken the trouble of sponsoring your husband for a green card, have you thought of giving the move enough time to work? In the next few years, he can become a U.S. citizen if he wants to which gives him flexibility to live in the United States. Scotland will still be there in a few years, the immigration rules may even be more open at the time. If you still want to live in Scotland at the time, look at the options available then.