mcbrewster

I'm a dual US/UK citizen who was born in the USA and never lived in the UK.
My husband is a US citizen who works for a big international company who may be able to have them hire him in the London office.

What sort of visa would he need? I would have to find a job once we moved there, so could he come on a spouse visa if I wasn't already living and working in the UK? Or would the employer have to get him a work visa?

We are trying to make it as easy on the employer as possible to encourage them to transfer him with the least amount of hassle. Any suggestions would be appreciated!

SanDiegogirl

If YOU as the UK citizen are unable to sponsor him as per the requirements in the document below, then, in order to transfer him to the UK to work his employers will need to get him a work visa.

http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/si...df?view=Binary

Briefly, you can sponsor him by a)currently having employment and having a job to go to within 3 months of arriving in UK or b)YOU move to the UK first, obtain a job and after 6 months in employment apply for the spouse visa or c) savings/investments etc,

The document provides all details of the categories.

He can't transfer to the UK without either a work visa or a spouse visa - either of which must be obtained BEFORE he moves.

JAJ

And if he chooses the work visa route, he needs to think hard about what his options are for settlement (Indefinite Leave to Remain) in due course. Also, what happens if he loses his job.

Liza

If it's a big international company they may already have experience with being a sponsor and with Tier 2 (Intra-Company Transfer) visas.
Good Luck!

mcbrewster

Is it possible to switch to a spousal visa from a work visa?
Would years spent living in the UK on a work visa count towards the five(?) years required for settlement?

THANK YOU TO EVERYONE FOR THEIR RESPONSES!

SanDiegogirl

Yes, you can switch from work visa to spouse visa.

Not sure about the residency aspect of years spent on work visa counting towards the residency requirements. Something at back of my mind says that inter company transfer work visa on Tier 2 does not count towards residency but can't find out the info.

Maybe someone else can advise.

WEBlue

If I recall correctly, the rules for Tier 2 ICT changed in April of 2011, and Tier 2 ICT visas granted since that time will not lead directly to ILR (settlement). Here's the link announcing the changes:
http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/si...es?view=Binary

Go to page 15.

There may be a possibility to switch out of Tier 2 ICT into some other visa (one needs to study this, though, because it's complex), but even then any residence time on the T2 ICT visa granted after 5 April 2011 won't count towards the 5-year ILR. (However, it's possible those years may count towards the 10-year, "Long Residence" ILR. Best to check immigrationboards.com for that.)

Bluegrass Lass

You may also find some additional immigration info on the UK-Yankee forum - it's a forum dedicated to Americans that are relocating to Britain. The site is www.talk.uk-yankee.com There are a lot of members there that have gone your route and can shed light on your questions.

BritInParis

Go for an Intra-Company Transfer visa for the time being. It'll be far easier to obtain than any other type of work visa for your husband. If you foresee yourself spending five or more years in the UK then it might be worth switching to a spouse visa once you meet the financial requirements to sponsor him. This will enable him to gain Indefinite Leave to Remain and have the option to naturalise as a British citizen if he so wishes. If it's just be a short posting then stick with the work visa.

bkk_mike

Unless you currently havethe income (yourself) to sponsor his visa, I'd recommend the internal tansfer initially.

One of the oddities of then switching to a spouse visa is that if your husband is working in the UK, his income can then be included on the financial requirements, where it's only your income when applying from abroad.

One advantage of switching to the spouse visa is that it would make things easier if your husband wanted to move to another firm.

mcbrewster

Hello again, helpful people!

It's looking like my husband will be getting an intra-company transfer visa through his firm. So I will be able to follow him and enter under my UK passport to start looking for a job of my own.

So when would we want to apply for the change to a spousal visa, if our plan is to stay in England for a long time if not forever?

I read that he can't get NHS healthcare on a transfer visa, so in case his firm doesn't offer him private health insurance we need to get him on NHS as soon as possible.

WEBlue

I think this may depend on the length of the ICT visa he receives. Any visa of less than 6 months' validity usually doesn't entitle the visa-holder to free NHS coverage.

There are 4 kinds of ICT visa, and some are shorter-term than others.
https://www.gov.uk/tier-2-intracompa...er-worker-visa