US Citizen considering relocation to UK, what are the options available?
Apr 7th 2019, 2:19 pm
#1
Just Joined
Thread Starter
Joined: Apr 2019
Posts: 5
US Citizen considering relocation to UK, what are the options available?
Hi everyone, 2nd post in here and already incredibly grateful for the initial feedback i've received. This query is linked to my initial post, which can be found in the USA section, under Marriage based visas, with the title - UK Citizen seeking clarification on fastest route to permanent residence in US. I would link to this for ease, but i've not made enough posts to allow that yet!
The Situation
The Situation
- My girlfriend and I are strongly considering getting married, however, we've yet to decide upon whether it will mean I relocate to the US to ultimately live in New York or whether she will seek to relocate to live in the UK, London to be exact. (We love the frenetic cities... for now). In my previous post I was asking about the various options available to us which would involve me relocating to the US, with people kindly offering guidance on K1 and CR1 options.
- My query now is what options would be open to us if we decided that we'd like to get married and she'd like to relocate to the UK? What would be the options open to us in terms of Visas to apply for, taking into the usual factors listed below.
- Speed of process
- Whether it would allow for relocation during the application process or not
- Least documentation/steps within process
- Ability for her to work soonest
- Cost of process
- Would it be feasible for example, for us to get married in the US this month, then I apply for a spousal visa in order to allow my partner to relocate to the UK once this is granted?
Last edited by Hari_; Apr 7th 2019 at 3:14 pm.
Apr 7th 2019, 3:33 pm
#2
Concierge
Joined: Jan 2013
Location: Western Australia
Posts: 21,139
Re: US Citizen considering relocation to UK, what are the options available?
Hi everyone, 2nd post in here and already incredibly grateful for the initial feedback i've received. This query is linked to my initial post, which can be found in the USA section, under Marriage based visas, with the title - UK Citizen seeking clarification on fastest route to permanent residence in US. I would link to this for ease, but i've not made enough posts to allow that yet!
The Situation
The Situation
- My girlfriend and I are strongly considering getting married, however, we've yet to decide upon whether it will mean I relocate to the US to ultimately live in New York or whether she will seek to relocate to live in the UK, London to be exact. (We love the frenetic cities... for now). In my previous post I was asking about the various options available to us which would involve me relocating to the US, with people kindly offering guidance on K1 and CR1 options.
- My query now is what options would be open to us if we decided that we'd like to get married and she'd like to relocate to the UK? What would be the options open to us in terms of Visas to apply for, taking into the usual factors listed below.
- Speed of process
- Differs, but processing time from the US for a straightforward spouse visa application currently seems to be around 40 - 60 working days, with applicants who've paid the priority fee around 20 - 30 working days.
- Whether it would allow for relocation during the application process or not
- Your wife can't enter the UK to live until she receives her spouse visa
- Least documentation/steps within process
- Using cash savings of £62,500 to meet the financial requirement is the easiest in terms of documentation. There are various ways to meet the financial requirement, as well as cash savings the most common route is using employment income - to meet the financial requirements using employment income the UK sponsor (you) needs to have been employed for a minimum of 6 months in a job that pays a minimum of £18,600 per annum.
- Ability for her to work soonest
- The spouse visa allows the visa holder to work immediately on arrival
- Cost of process
- A lot, unfortunately. There are three visas to apply for over 5 years, after which your wife could apply for indefinite leave to remain and immediately after that, British citizenship. I don't know off the top of my head the exact fees for each visa, but they total around £5,000 - £6,000 currently. In addition your wife would need to pay the International Health Surcharge of £200 per annum for each of the five years. The priority fee for the initial 'leave to enter' visa is around £600.
- Would it be feasible for example, for us to get married in the US this month, then I apply for a spousal visa in order to allow my partner to relocate to the UK once this is granted?
I've given some brief info in red font to your questions above but you'll get more info once your thread's in the right place.
Last edited by spouse of scouse; Apr 7th 2019 at 4:11 pm.
Apr 7th 2019, 10:36 pm
#3
Joined: Feb 2012
Location: Not in Paris
Posts: 18,194
Re: US Citizen considering relocation to UK, what are the options available?
If you married in the US this month then, providing you met the financial requirements, your wife could then apply for her spouse visa to join you in the UK. She would need to apply from the US but could join you in the UK and work as soon as it’s granted.
