Wilto

After 9 years in Florida, added 4 kids to the family unit.... we've decided it's time (again) to move back to the UK.

It feels different this time.

My parents are retiring, my grandparents are slowly fading away, we are both 31 and still young with plenty of time and only one child in school. If we were ever going to do it now is the best time. My siblings are getting hitched and of course kids on the horizon, I want to be there to support them and vice versa (something we have completely lacked in the USA, zero support system) My wife spent a number of her teenage years in the UK and misses the UK greatly. She never obtained British citizenship, you have no idea how much I regret not pushing her to get that prior to moving back to the USA.

Anyway, all 4 kids and myself have British and US citizenship, my wife is US only. Yes we travel with 11 passports!

I have read extensively over the years regarding the 18600 GBP rule and it is what it is, no point complaining just have to suck it up and work out the best plan for us. We will live with my parents who have more than sufficient room to house all of us temporarily.

I have three options:
1) I already have a job earning over 18,600 in USA, so all I need is a job offer in the UK for at least 18600 to begin within 3 months of application. This seems to be the best option but logistically it seems impossible, using limited vacation time for flights for interviews, my employer needing at least 1 month notice for such requests.

2) This one is fraught with separation anxiety...... Pack up and move with wife entering as a visitor while I look for work so she can support the family as the main carer for the 2 youngest kids. Once her visitor visa is up she will leave, and hopefully apply based on my 6 months of earnings projected to earn over 18600 GBP. There are so many bad what if scenarios with this option, what if I don't get a job earning 18600 right off the bat? What if she only gets a 3 month visitor stamp in her passport?

3) Gift of 62500 for 6 months. Highly highly unlikely but I will float the idea.

Anyway I already know that I have to make option 1 work, just had to write it down. Thanks for reading, every time I read about it I just want to vent so much, I just don't know how the potential separation of our family helps the UK in any way.

Any thoughts or comments are always welcome.

movingtolakes

HI - I feel your pain! Having been in the USA for 9 years myself i felt the itch a couple of years ago and recently put in my spouse visa for my wife and we along with our 2 kids born here are making the move, we are waiting on the decision now. I will say this forum basically helped me from starting from scratch to having what i think was a pretty strong application. i plan on putting up my list of documents to the forum when i HOPEFULLY get the visa back in a couple of weeks! Good luck to you

holly_1948

Bringing the wife over as a visitor when the kids are relocating risks problems with the border agency, especially if you all travel together.
If I were in that situation I would send the wife over (travelling alone) first with the family following on at least a few days later. Even though she is bona fide entering UK to visit family, but I wouldn't count on the border bureaucrats believing it in the circumstances if you all travel together.

BritInParis

Agree it is a pity your wife never obtained British citizenship when she had the opportunity. Does your wife have any recent British, Irish or other European ancestry?

Wilto

I will post some more later, but we spoke with my parents and they will do whatever it takes.

I will have a gift of 62,500 no strings attached by September.

Euphoric.

June 2019 hopefully we will be in the UK.

Wilto

I'm going to try and update this thread as things progress along.

The gift was delayed, should have it by the end of December.

I have just stuck mine and the 4 kids British passport renewals in the mail....120 pages as I had to provide colour copy of every page in their American passports.

Hoping to move in Summer 2019, in time for British school which starts back the 1st week of September.

Scared, excited, nervous all at the same time.

Wilto

Her Maternal Grandmother was a British citizen by birth, I don't think that counts for anything unfortunately.

BritInParis

Probably not. Any other Commonwealth heritage in the mix? Canadian perhaps?

Wilto

Unfortunately nothing else in the mix.

Anyway, we are planning full steam ahead and going the savings route.

I am starting to collect supporting documents while we wait for the 6 months to elapse.

Here is what I have so far.

4 x Birth Certificates (Our kids showing both our names however the state of Florida insists on women using maiden names)
1x Marriage Certificate ( British as we lived in UK when we got married 10 years ago)
5 Years of Real Estate Taxes in both names showing ownership of various houses.
7 years of IRS Tax returns showing married filing joint
Bank statements from every January between 2012 and soon to be 2019 showing paychecks and joint accounts.

Do we really need to add photos from every stage of our life?
We don't use whatsapp but I can pull up phone records to prove we text and call each other, but is that even necessary?

SanDiegogirl

You've got quite enough documents to support your genuine relationship. You don't need additional photos.

Wilto

Thanks SanDiegogirl.

We are trying to work through the logistics of everything. It seems inevitable that I along with our 4 young children will have to travel ahead of time.
We can apply for my wife's spouse visa from the US on or around July 15th (6 months of savings with sufficient time to get the financial statements)

I am thinking of booking flights now (through Norwegian for me and the kids) for the end of July as it is so cheap and then hopefully my wife can join mid to late August as we will pay for priority.

However, I have had a crazy thought.....what if we moved in June (Florida school year ends May).
Gives the kids time to settle in over the summer and arrange schools etc, then my wife can return to take care of the visa process in July/august?
How risky is this option, high chance she will be denied entry? She will have a return ticket but the rest of the fam will not for obvious reasons.

brokenhearted.

You say you wont have return tickets for other members of the family but you never know....i intended to buy a one way ticket for but after checking the cost out it turned out cheaper to buy a return and i ended up in Virgin Premium class because it was cheaper than even the ordinary seats!! Good luck with your journey.

Sammy2018

vikingsail

Occasionally, one way's can be cheaper using this website: https://skiplagged.com/

Mostly though I use Kayak as they collate all the others fares and display the price correctly (eg what you see is what you get).

Wilto

Norwegian Airlines, Orlando direct to Gatwick can be had for less than $300 per person each way (in July)

Just as an FYI for anyone wondering it....January/Feb/March can be had for $159 to Gatwick, then $209 back to Orlando.

www.norwegian.com (it's even cheaper if you use the Norwegian language website)