WendsRach2022

My husband and I are both retired and looking to move to Florida. We have visited many times and love the lifestyle and weather. I have tried to look at what the requirements are but a little overwhelmed by the advice/help that has been offered, some which are out of date so hoping someone will put us in the right direction. My husband has MS and receives regular medication and I have liver disease which is controlled by medication. What would be the situation with medical insurance? Taking small steps at a time but would be grateful for any advice and suggestions in advance. Thank you.

postbox134

What visa are you intending to move with? Are either of you US Citizens?

WendsRach2022

We're both full British citizens.

postbox134

Not quite sure what 'full' means here.

Anyway, it's very unlikely that you'll move to the USA full time. You need a visa/path and just wanting to is not enough unfortunately.

SanDiegogirl

As said, you need a visa to live in the US on a permanent basis. Read the following website to see how you could qualify:

https://britishexpats.com/wiki/Pulas...rk_in_the_USA_

Basically your options are:

- family to sponsor you
-work visa sponsored by employer
- investment visa (read tens of thousands of dollars)

tht

Probably the most common type that is allowed to live in the UK. The others were given to the people in the empire they did not want in the UK:

https://www.gov.uk/types-of-british-nationality

e.g. British overseas citizen…

Rights as a British overseas citizen

You can:

• hold a British passport
• get consular assistance and protection from UK diplomatic posts

Unless you’re also a British citizen:

• you’re still subject to immigration controls - you do not have the automatic right to live or work in the UK
• you are not considered a UK national by the European Union (EU)

postbox134

Yeah agree, just weird to put that in the the OPs post. I'd never assume someone who said they were a British Citizen was in fact a British Overseas Citizen etc.

tht

the OP may think that being a British Citizen helps them with moving here… when in their situation being a citizen of a different country wound actually be better. With out family / marriage / work, the diversity lottery would have been a pathway (but long shot), but not for non Northern Irish British Citizens… the “special relationship” is not that special when it comes to immigration…

RICH

Sorry to be blunt but you cannot move to Florida. You might be able to visit frequently with a B2 visa.

neill

Even if a path to immigration is found in this situation which seems highly unlikely, the immediate healthcare requirements (not to mention long term healthcare requirements for seniors) in this instance is a complete non-starter. Without having the prerequisite years of payments into the US social security system to be eligible for Part A/D Medicare, getting health insurance is probably going to be impossible or extremely expensive. I agree the only way this will happen is for extended holidays.

Pulaski

Even retired Canadians can only spend 6 mths per year in the US, but it works for tens of thousands of them as they head south each autumn, mostly to Florida and Arizona, it seems.

For clarity and completeness of advice, the US does not have a "retired person's visa", and in reality, even if there was one, it wouldn't be very popular as it would mean having to pay for private health insurance and deductibles (excesses), which without government/ Medicare subsidy would mean somewhere around $25,000/ person/ annum, assuming good health and no preexisting conditions.

Hypothetically, an investment of $900k + fees (think $75k+), is the minimum per couple/ family for an EB-5 green card/ permanent residence, which IIRC would give you access to Medicare after 5 years, but health insurance and deductibles would probably run $250k for five years for a couple until Medicare kicked in, but it's still quite expensive even if you're signed up for Medicare. So in short, it's doable if you have $1.25million to burn (before housing costs or any other living expenses) for just the first five years. I should point out that technically the $900k is an "investment", but your money will be tied up for years and there are no guarantees that you'll get anything back even if the "project" is profitable for other investors- typically eligible investments have multiple classes of investors, with EB-5 investors being the first to get hit with losses/ expenses, and the last to get a share of the profits.

RICH

I am fairly sure that anyone with a $million to burn is not posting on this forum!

Pulaski

"Fairly sure"? I think I'm more sure than you are, that you're correct!

RICH

Also, the immigration laws have not really changed in the last 50 years, so I dont get how the info is out of date.

Pulaski

I think it was more of a vain hope that visa rules might have changed in their favour since any previously posted advice, rather than the previous advice necessarily no longer applying.