# Sticky  Introduce yourself to the forum



## Missblissbear

Hi I'm Kelly, I'm an Aussie and my hubby is dual UK/Aussie as are our kids. We have lived in Australia all our married life and have decided to head to the UK to join hubby's family business. We are hoping to head over first week of March, so the last 3 months I have been madly selling off all our stuff, organising passports and trying to get my visa. Still waiting on the visa.... Hopefully will have in back in the next 2 weeks so we can organise flights and finalise schools for the kids apon our arrival....soooo much to do!


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## Joppa

I'm Joppa, male, regular on Expatforum for over 5 years and mod for the last 4. Have experience dealing with UK immigration since early 1970s, when visa cost nothing(!) and applications were sorted in a matter of days (except settlement) or on arrival at UK border. Have lived in London, and now in the North West of England for 25 years. Married with grown-up children. My hobbies are travel, culture, and I am a practising Christian.


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## Kimi2490

I'm Kimi, female, Indian by birth and living in England for love. Recently married and been through the spousal visa process. This forum has been a God send and it is genuinely one of my ambitions in life now to be of some use to visitors/settlers by sharing from my own (limited) UK visa experiences. My dream is to basically be Joppa , so yes haha. Settled in the North East of England and loving the little community life. Busy looking for work and small community networking really helps !
Loving my Christmas tree, and cannot wait for Christmas day with my new family eeeeek


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## Whatshouldwedo

I'm Whatshouldwedo and have been on the forum for over a year now. I chose that name as I felt my husband may not get a spousal visa as we are pretty old and my first post was quite emotional. Joppa, Nyclon and others were so encouraging and helped us through the process. We have been back now for nearly seven months and are very happy with the move. It is nice to be closer to our children and other family members. Great to have our first English Christmas in many years! I hope everyone has a good Christmas, especially our moderators who work so hard to keep us well informed.


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## bfdboy123

I'm bfdboy123 I'm fairly new to this forum though I have been reading up for a year now.
The stories I read on here are touching and the advice given by likes of Joppa are most valuable.
I hope to be a regular on here and hopefully one day be able to offer help to others.
wishing everyone a merry Christmas and a happy new year


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## NewYorkPhil

Hey - Phil, left (cold) New York City with my significant other, work in shipping. Arrived to (somewhat milder, but still cold) North West London. Look forward to connecting


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## OrganisedChaos

OrganisedChaos here and my username pretty much sums me up! I am British and my husband is Jamaican, married 4 years and he has been in the UK 13 months now. Been on this forum for over a year and the info shared is absolutely invaluable!!! Majority of applications are straightforward however i understand how daunting it can seem so its comforting to know you are not alone and that many others often have the same questions.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Expat Forum


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## TxKat

Hello, my name is Kathryn from the US. I moved to the UK in November 2014 on a Fiancée visa and married my girlfriend in December 2014. We did the in person FLR (M) in Glasgow... now navigating the waters of finding a job, getting registered with the NHS, getting a National Insurance number. I live in rural Northwest England.


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## Lihong

Hi. I am Lihong from Beijing. I am spending my first Christmas day in London with my husband. I joined the forum about 18 months ago. I have work here. We are very thankful to Joppa and Nyclon and others. Very good people.


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## shaziya

Hi iam shaziya from sri lanka hoping to apply for mu uk spouse visa to join my hubby... hope everyone will help me with this journey..good luck to everyone...luv u all


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## reh1166

Hi - my name is Bob and my family is relocating to London (Area) this summer after I complete my MBA and my 10 year old son completes school. We have lots of questions and are so grateful for sites like this!!!


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## EllaKly

*Ella*

Hi I'm Ella, British, with Canadian husband. Just noticed I first used this forum a year ago when our Surrinder Singh hopes were pretty frail. We have been in Greece for over a year now and are planning to get back to the UK soon, just to figure out the intricasies of the paper work now! 

:car:


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## guybar1

Hi my name is Guy and I just arrived on a spouse Visa time to find a job and start my new life with my new wife Allison. If I can be of any help just ask.


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## Joppa

Keep it coming! Also those who have been on here for some time can introduce yourselves to others and to newbies, esp if you have a fascinating background (like being a former immigration staff).


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## mehemlynn

My Welsh husband, our daughter and I now live in Cardiff, with me on FLR after arriving a year into our "old rules" spouse visa. I've been a member of this board since around 2011, preparing to "move home". We've been married for about 14 years, initially travelling between the countries, then with my husband moving to the US, which he hated (so in total we are up to five settlement visas, six if you count one I withdrew, between the two countries (hopefully only one more to go).


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## grasshopper33

I'm Grasshopper!  My husband and I went through the (gruelling, terrible, awful, heart-wrenching) spouse visa process from Sept 2012 when we married until June of 2014 when I finally came home for good to Dorset. We were Cat F, so I can help a little with those questions. We were helped greatly by Joppa, Nyclon, and shel...our extraordinary moderators. It was also incredibly heartening to be on this forum in the company of people like ourselves, whose goal was simply to be with their loved ones. 

Life is wonderful on the other side of the visa process. If you're in the midst of it, keep your eye on the prize and soldier on!


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## Pallykin

I'm Pallykin! I'm a 50 year old woman (but I still feel like a kid on the inside). I was born in Manhattan, but my father's job took the whole family to The Hague and then Surrey for a total of ten years, starting when I was 4, and ending when I was 14. We then "returned" to Massachusetts, a place I only recalled visiting, and I was homesick for the UK for a long time.

I've been in a relationship with my UK born US dual citizen boyfriend for 27 years; we've been living together for 25. He's lived in Massachusetts for 48 years, having left the UK as an infant to move to Canada for a few years before coming here, all due to his father's job.

We're both anglophiles, and are at a point in life where we'd like to have an adventure. You could call it a planned mid-life crisis! We have a few years of work life still ahead of us, and would like to sample life in London. In addition to being closer to cousins and my old school friends, we're also interested in some of the holiday destinations, both in the UK and the continent, that would be achievable at relatively low cost.

We're also looking forward to the better infrastructure and better food that London offers. Examples would be high speed rail European wines and cheeses from the region. And sausages! Groceries in Boston are expensive: we live far from the places where it is all produced.

Standing in our way are a few challenges:

Finding jobs in London... it seems this will be far easier once there. We both have university degrees.
Renting out our house here... real estate is rapidly increasing in value here in the Boston area... so keeping the house looks like a good idea for now.
Deciding what to do with our 1985 sail boat. Lots of sweat equity there, not so much value. Should we ship it to Europe? Or sell it and start over?
Moving will increase the distance from relatives here: His 90 year old father and 81 year old stepmother, a total of 3 sisters, 3 brothers-in-law, two nephews and a niece (ages 7-12).

I've been on this board nine months now. I've been taking lots of notes, and as long as UKVI doesn't change the requirements, I know exactly what's needed. Our biggest challenge will be the accommodation requirement, as we don't have close family that we can stay with, only cousins and friends from childhood. It seems that my boyfriend will need to move first, and once accommodation is sorted, I'll be able to apply for a visa to join him.

Thanks to all the mods and experienced forum members who have helped me out. I hope I will be able to return the favour...


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## chiefteaofficer

I'm chiefteaofficer because I'm actually the CTO of *thee* Royal Tea Club. 

I've been in London for just about 6 months now and this is my third go around in this wonderful city (though my first one as a permanent resident). I'm married to my best friend and we both agree the spouse visa was the worst thing we've ever had to do, but once you get past it ... you practically forget it was a thing. I brought my dog over with me and he doesn't have any idea what culture shock is so he's settled in much more quickly than I have. Looking forward to getting my provisional licence soon so I can pay someone to give me driving lessons after already having had a licence for 13 years! Woohoo. 

Happy to help anyone with questions, especially if I have nothing better to do.


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## NYC2LON

Hi All

Native NYer moving to London for a new opportunity via my current employer. Have always wanted to live in EU so let the adventures begin! 

Happy Holidays! 
Jace


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## MacUK

Hi everyone,
I'm MacUK, moved to the UK in June 2013 to be with my husband and a member of the forum since July 2012. I'm currently on a spouse visa, new rules of course. 
We waited 1 year to be eligible under the new rules, so that's something we'll remember for a long time. 
I cannot even begin to thank the forum regulars for the insight and knowledge they have offered us. You're doing a great job, so thank you!


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## kung fu panda

Hi, 

I am as lovable as king fu panda yo. After years of long distance my boyfriend, now fiancé and I have decided to take the plunge and be together. It was always sad saying goodbyes at airports and counting down the days till we saw each other again. But those days will soon be behind us. Hopefully my fiancé visa will be approved soon and I will be in England next month with my soulmate. 

We are getting married in April. 

This forum is godsend, It is so helpful and friendly with such great content and moderators. Thanks guys. You are the best.


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## cbuchwa1

Hi there! I relocated to the UK back in Sept 2012 on a student visa, then switched to a Tier 2 work permit, and now my boyfriend (UK citizen) and I are talking about making our relationship a bit more permanent next year. For the first time I'm looking at navigating the world of visas and permits with another person and it's incredibly overwhelming!


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## frovelorey

Hola from Honduras. My name is Francisco <snip> and my girlfriend Emma is from the UK. We have seven months in a relationship and we decided to go together to live in England. We live in Honduras but my girlfriend has to return in july to join her new job. I want to go in September but after finished my degree then looking for a job although we already know that is not something simple. I hope to get some help to achieve our goals. Thank you so much!


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## kg5glen34

*Introducing myself*

Hi All,
I am KG, living in Melbourne. My wife n son are French +Australian citizen so thinking of moving to UK by doing an EEA family permit. This forum is amazing a helping me a lot to know about the process of EEA family permit.


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## frovelorey

Hi there, I see that you mentioned getting a Tier 2 Work Visa. This is something that I am trying to look into at the moment, and if you have any advice about this then it would be really appreciated. Thank you!


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## BillW

Hello,

Bill originally born in Scotland looking to return from Australia and retire many years later.

Tired of bushfire summers. Looking forward to a snowy winter for a change.

Bill


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## JoannaJ

Love this post! I'm Jo, 37 from NW London, but have lived in Australia for 13 years. I am moving back to the UK with my Australian husband and our two boys. We are just starting the Spouse visa process, so getting together all the necessary documents. Having decided we will save the money of using a migration agent, we are doing everything ourselves, so this site is wonderful! If anyone would like to connect or talk about the process, especially if you're doing the same thing, please message me!


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## lolly54

Hi All,

I am new to this forum. From HK -> Melbourne - > London. 
Trying to understand how I can apply for Tier 2 work permit (holding Tier 5 youth).


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## Lsp1990

Hi all, am new on here. I am from the UK originally and moved to Australia. Have recently returned to the UK with my fiancé who is on a Yourh mobility visa... Trying to figure out what the best process will be for us to allow him to extend his stay in the UK


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## frovelorey

I want to say thanks for the opportunity.


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## giccho-power

I'm Tim and I lived in Japan for a number of years, now back in Herts, UK where I'm originally from. I'll be marrying my Japanese girlfriend in Japan next month and then starting the arduous spouse visa process afterwards so we can (eventually) be together here. Wish me luck!


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## Joppa

Konyaku omedeto. Biza shutoku wo inottemasu.
Congrats on your engagement. Pray that you get your visa.


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## DropBear

Hello there, I'm from Australia and hoping to move to Scotland in a few years with my wife (Australian but from Scottish family.)


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## Austria2016

*Hello from Austria*

Hello @all

we are from Austria and we want to move to UK next year (2016) in April. 

I guess we have a lot of questions and there are many things we need to know. hopefully we get a lot of answers here 


My family: two children, my husband, a dog, two cats, a horse


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## Gvalps

Hi Jo, I am very pleased to read you on here, my name is Georgie, I am 41, born in the U.K. and have been living in Australia for 13 1/2 years. My Australian husband and I are hoping to return to London in June with our 3 children aged 7 and 5 year old twins! I am about to start the spousal visa application using our rental income from a U.K. property as income to reach the £18,600 threshold. It sounds as though you are planning the same and hoped we could swap relevant ideas/stories. I look forward to hearing from you and good luck with your application? Georgie


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## gaucho277

Hi! I'm J, living now in Argentina and aiming to relocate to UK this year with my girlfriend. We are both in our early 30's working in finance and consulting in Buenos Aires. 

I have a EU passport but she doesn't, so we are trying to understand what are the options and what is the best way for us to move together.

Hopefully with the information in the forum and the advice of more experienced people in the topic we'll find out how we'll be able to turn our dream into reality.

Glad to meet you all and good luck with your applications too


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## Excellent

Hello! I am new to this Forum. We are hoping to move to France sometime in the near future. We would like to get organised before our move and our first concern really is how to open a bank account in France while we are still living in the UK. Any advice is very much appreciated. Thanks!


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## Joppa

https://www.britline.com/ (Crédit Agricole)


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## Excellent

Thanks Joppa!


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## Joppa

Ask on France forum about members' experience with Britline or other English-speaking banking service.


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## nancyanny

*Planning a move to UK*

Hi, I'm Nancy Murphy, planning a move from the Chicagoland area to UK - either London or Edinburgh, still picking between and finding out any and all info I can get. I would love to hear from others who've left US for UK. We are trying to get Tier 1 Enterp Visas for ourselves, as we plan on buying or taking over a business (hopefully pub or BnB). There is no way we can get a 6-month visitor visa and then apply for Tier 1 Enterp while we are there, is there... We want to have time to shop around for housing and get settled while looking for biz to buy. Is this possible? I am going to go out on a limb and say no  lol 

If anyone can offer any help on this. We have the means (income) for enterp visa, but if the markets in US go down in the next few months, we won't have that income they require. I am leery of going on a work visa bec I've heard that some companies really take advantage of you and then chuff you, then you have 30 days to get out of dodge and reapply when you get back to US. We want to move as permanent residents right off. Isn't there any way to do that?? Thanks for ANY help. We have 3 kids adn 2 cats we are working into this mix. I can have my sister watch the cats until we get settled, but would rather not (she already has 2 cats and 2 dogs!). Anyway, thanks for any help!!! 

Nancy in Chicago


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## Joppa

You should resubmit your post on the main forum, but welcome to Expatforum. There are many members and regulars who have moved from US, but very few as entrepreneur.


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## AubreciaNel

*Introduction*

Hi! I'm new to the forum and still finding my way around!

I've read some very interesting articles, questions and stories shared and it seems like a fabulous forum to share knowledge and pit falls of this emotional and costly experience of emigration/immigration.

I am originally from South Africa, emigrated to Australia 7 years ago on PR - skilled migration. I used a professional agent to assist with the process as I felt too vulnerable and unsure of the process to do it myself.

I am now in the early stages of looking at emigrating to the UK as my only child and her husband live there and I have been in a 3 year long distance relationship with an old flame who lives there. This time I would like to do the application myself, potentially on an ancestry visa.

I'm happy to share any info on my journey if it will help any one!


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## vfsvideos

*Public Liability Insurance*

Hi My name is Graham and I moved to Cyprus nearly 5 years ago from England UK.
Does anyone know of a company that offers Ex Pat Public Liability Insurance.

We have no property in the UK now but I still visit the UK for my job.

No companies seem to offer PLI to expats who have no UK address.

HELP!!!

Graham. :confused2:


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## aam017

I'm new here! Still wondering about this site. I'm from Bangladesh, going to apply for UK Spouse Visa in May. Need some information about the visa processing as I'm already ban to apply any other visa for UK except Spouse Visa. In my past I was ban for 10 yrs bcoz my college was scam. So worried if its affect my new application.


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## Svetik

Hi All,

I am Svetlana from Russia, currently applying for an extension of my leave to remain on a 5 year ROUTE (after 9 July 2012) as a spouse of a British national.


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## kiwi1989

Hi! I'm kiwi1989, New Zealand citizen, lived in London the last two years however am back home, wanting to get back to the UK to be with my partner. I had an unmarried partner visa denied at New Years as we hadn't lived together quite long enough and am now looking into applying for a fiancee or spouse visa - decisions are very up in the air at the moment! Will no doubt need plenty of advice in the coming weeks, super grateful in advance to all of you for helping out!


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## Elaine1986

Hi! I'm Elaine1986. I'm from the UK but I'm currently living in Argentina with my Argentinian boyfriend. We enjoy living in Buenos Aires, but are now starting to think about how to relocate in the UK.
Thanks for accepting me in the forum.


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## douglasbarbera

hi all

i`m from Brazil i lived in the UK for 5 years i`m in Brazil for 2 years hopping now on going back to the UK thanks for accepting me here


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## neigefield

Hello everyone! I am a long time lurker of this site from the US. With the help of wonderful people here (and the ever useful search function), I recently finished the application of entry clearance to join my wife in the UK, which I just received today, and I'll be moving to England in a month! I'm hoping to use some of the positive knowledge I've gained to be a bit more active in this community and help others, as much as I need/needed advice


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## lucianbride

I'm the British wife of a wonderful St Lucian man. Recently applied for his spousal visa to come join me in the UK and hope that reading the "positive" stories of Caribbean processed visas on here will help to keep me calm during this awful visa processing waiting period.

Xx


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## Joppa

Welcome all, new members and first-time posters.
Let's make this forum the best around for friendly, helpful discussions on relocation and migration.


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## Veen30

*Hello All*

Hello All,

My name is Praveen. am new to this forum and hope to get some great support and advise for my move to join my partner in London.

So, we been together close to 2years. I am from Canada ( Canadian PR and Malaysian Nationality) and he is a British Citizen, currently he works and lives in London.

Will it be quicker if we get married in Canada and i apply fro spousal visa from Canada?


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## Joppa

Possibly, and you will save one lot of visa fees, but ask further questions by starting a new thread (click left-hand top).


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## Veen30

so whats the best way to save visa fee?

if i aply for fiancee visa into uk, i would have to spend another fees for changing it into Spouse visa. whats your advise?


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## Canscot24

*New to Expats*

Hi My name is Bill and I am from Canada, I am married to a beautiful Scottish lady, Tracy.. and we live in Scotland... But I am here as a visitor.
We have an settlement appeal in Late March and was wondering if anybody has any information on what we can expect?
What information is required above what was submitted with the visa application, or do we resent everything?

Thank you in advance

Bill and Tracy


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## Joppa

Veen 30 and Canscot24

This sticky thread isn't a place to ask immigration questions. So start a new thread by leaving this thread, go to main Britain Expat Forum site and click top left.


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## lozmarne

Hi, my name's Loz, and I've been with my US husband for 3 years now. We've been faffing around trying to decide where to apply, but our minds have pretty been made up on that point, and it's going to be the UK - paperwork to be submitted at the end of April. Not as long as some, but a long wait nevertheless. 

Thank you for all the advice and guidance that has been posted on the forum, which has really helped me to sort the rules and requirements out, and feel less isolated.


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## Zippies

*Aloha*

Hi all,

Quick intro:
Originally born in South Korea, raised in the Netherlands where I have lived for 30(!) years and now starting a new chapter in my life in London where I accepted a fantastic job offer. 

This seems like an appropriate forum to dig up some tips on getting around in London and perhaps meeting some new people along the way. 

See you around!


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## cloudman

Hi all, I am a British citizen looking to bring my USA Fiance over to the UK, so that we can take our life to the next stage  

This forum is great and I'm hoping to find a lot of help here


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## heresy

Hello, and thank you for having me. I'm currently an American, but I've always felt I should have been born in Britain, and now I'm looking to set things right.  I'm very grateful for the people on this forum and their willingness to help others relocate.


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## Joppa

Why heresy? Do you think it's heretical for an American wanting to be another national?


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## heresy

Hi Joppa. No, not at all. Heresy is just the name of one of my favorite songs.


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## Jolanda

*Moving*

Hello Everybody,

I joined this group today and hopefully get some information about our upcoming move.
We are moving, myself and two girls (16 and 13) to Kent in the UK this summer to live with my love.
Schoolsystem is different than what i know from in Holland, lots to learn.
Any help is welcome. 
Jolanda


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## khadija123

hello i m khadija i m from morrocco married with one child she is 9 months now
i m in england for 1 year and half
i live in kent with my pakistany husband i like lving in uk but life its hard in uk real i m usisng tyhe forum for 3 yeras now i know about it from youtube vidio this forum help me a lot realy to get my visa because i been refused two time speccially joppa was realy helpful to me thanks to everyone and good luck to you


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## Jolanda

Thanks for your reply


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## Porckchop

Hi all, I'm an Aussie married (for 25 years) to a Dutch National, we have two children aged 16 and 19. We lived back in the relatively uncomplicated early eighties in Amsterdam but have lived here in Oz, since then, with a number of trips back to NL during that time. We would like to live in Europe for a reasonably long period (certainly more than a few months!) and reconnect with my wife's family who largely live in Holland. We feel that the UK-route and entering the Netherlands under EU regulations is going to be easier than moving straight to NL and going through family reunification  Any advice and tips most welcome!!


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## KHP

Hi everyone,

I joined this forum in October 2012 soon after I realised the Spouse visa rules had changed. I was living and working in Guatemala at the time. I decided with my Guatemalan husband that we would move back to the UK for family and career reasons. This forum helped immensely when we were applying for my husband's spouse visa. Thank you Joppa and Nyclon!

We now both live and work in London and are expecting our first child. 

We will be watching this forum closely as we approach my husband's FLR application. And would love to hear from people who have managed this successfully.

Thanks, K.


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## xcrossthepond

*New and Stressed.*

Hi my name is Roger and I am stressed. I am in the process of applying for my fiance visa in order to move and get married in the UK. So far I am finding it hard to verify information that I read from various resources. So hopeful I can find help and stress relief from here. Glad I found this site.

Thanks,

Roger


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## Bashi

Hello everyone my name is mohamedsubhi i just joined the forum and i am looking to apply for eea family permit, 
I hope to get help from you guys


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## Razmataz

Hi everyone  

I am Robyn and I am currently waiting on a decision for my spousal settlement visa so that I may join my husband in the UK. We are planning to live in Kent and are excited to start our new life together :]

I have been frequently referencing the "visa timeline" forum throughout this process and it has been immensely reassuring and helpful. Really enjoy reading about everyone's situations and looking forward to being a part of this community.


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## HatakeSage

I'm a lurker from the US, currently sorting out marriage and whatnot overseas, I understand it's super difficult -- so far we have a venue bought and our guests are planning to buy tickets, and thats before we even get the visa! Gosh it's so spooky!

I'm using this forum to help alleviate anxiety and whatnot on the process.
I think everything will be 100% perfect with it -- but just in case, I'm here browsing what others do, to follow in a footpath. 

My fiance is from Scotland, and we've met in person a total of four times for a total of over 15 months. I really enjoyed being with him daily, and cant wait to move in properly!


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## Razmataz

*Hatake:*

Hatake- 

I previously applied for a fiancé visa like you. Be sure that you can prove intent to leave the country after your wedding (career, lease, whatever) because they are always on the alert that you might not leave once married. This didn't occur to me when applying and because I had few significant ties to the U.S. (college student) my visa was rejected. No big deal - so long as you can prove your intent you're golden - but just thought I'd give you a heads up!


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## Pallykin

Razmataz said:


> Hatake-
> 
> I previously applied for a fiancé visa like you. Be sure that you can prove intent to leave the country after your wedding (career, lease, whatever) because they are always on the alert that you might not leave once married. This didn't occur to me when applying and because I had few significant ties to the U.S. (college student) my visa was rejected. No big deal - so long as you can prove your intent you're golden - but just thought I'd give you a heads up!


Keep in mind that the Fiance Visa and the Marriage Visitor Visa are separate and distinct. The first is a settlement visa, and is for someone going to live with their future spouse in the UK post wedding. The latter is for coming to the UK to marry and then leave in order to live elsewhere.


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## Razmataz

Aaaand therein lies the problem - that'd be why I got rejected. Mhm. Mkay. So disregard my comment hatake , sorry about that !


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## HatakeSage

Oh. Haha it's all right! No big deal. At first I didn't know the difference.
They seem the same, but they're quite different as Pally said.
I am getting the fiance visa and planning to stay in the UK afterwards, we are purchasing a house before the marriage and everything.


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## Razmataz

Awesome! Well, good luck! Keep us posted :]


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## tbterrybrown

Hi everyone, i'm Terry, I'm British and my wife is Nicaraguan, we've been together for 10 years and were living together in Nicaragua, i'm now back in the UK and we'll be applying shortly for her visa. I'm hoping this forum might help with last-minute questions about the forms and documents needed...glad it exists! Best of luck to everyone in similar boats


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## diosprimero

*Hi*

Hi i'm diosprimero and am living as an expatriate in UK and my fiance is British,i met her a year ago and we'll b applying shortly for my spouse visa soonest so i hope this forum might hlp with the process enlightenment. Good luck to everyone!!!


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## Carla3079

*Hey Everyone*

Hey Everyone! My name is Carla, So glad I found this Forum! Lots of Great Info.
I have a job offer in SouthEast England, Portsmouth area. I received my COS sponcership and will be going to apply for my visa tomorrow (3/16). I'm unsure of what I need to provide to get my visa, how long it will take ect. mainly because I've been researching (to much) online, LOL. I know alot of my questions have probably been answered 100 times. Any advice, tips ect. would be Greatly appreciated. 
I'm also looking for info on bringing my dog with me once I'm settled, and I will be looking for a furnished place to rent...... :confused2: I know that's alot of questions, so Thanks in Advance!
Carla


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## salix

Dogs I can help you with, just search my prior posts. I brought my first dog over last August, the second one is going with me in 12 days and my third dog will follow as soon as we rent a bigger place.

Good luck.


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## Carla3079

*Thank You*

Thanks Salix! I looked at some of your post in reference to taking your dogs. I will look in more detail to get more info!
Thanks again!


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## salix

The only thing that has changed since the first dog went, is they changed the Appendix II form, so make sure you are using the most current one.

Also, if your dog is not going within 5 days of you (before or after), you have to use the commercial form (more than 5 dogs) instead. There is a place on there to mark it is a pet not travelling directly with you.


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## nyclon

Carla3079 if you want to discuss how to ship your dog, please start a new post. Let's keep this post about introductions.


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## Vinnie8

*Hello from SA*

Hi Guys my name is Vince and myself and my wife currently live in Cape Town, South Africa. We love Cape Town but are investigating all our options before settling down and starting a family. 

My wife has a British passport and I am currently getting my documents together to apply for an ancestral visa. Taking this into account, the UK would be a likely option for us. From the research I have done, it would be easier and less expensive for me to go the ancestral route as apposed to spousal. 

I would really appreciate any advice and hope to positively contribute to the form. 

All the best 
Vince


----------



## Swissy64

Hello I am Swissy from the USA, I live my husband who is from the UK. We have been together for over 5 years, lived together in Taiwan for a couple of years working as teachers and we have been living back in the UK together for about 19 months, myself on a tier 2 work visa. We got married in October 2014 and are now applying for FLR(M). All the best everyone!


----------



## Francesca Sparagna

*Hello Guys*

My Name Is Francesca Sparagna. I am new user on this forum.


----------



## Joppa

Welcome all!


----------



## Francesca Sparagna

*hello*

I have joined this forum a few days ago, But i am introducing myself today.My name is fran and i have a own business Belvisifurniture . Belvisi is the dream project of my husband and Silvio Sparagna.


----------



## caffeinated22222

I am a South African,who has lived in the U.K now for 16 years and have been terribly unhappy here and now moving,not back to S.A where their is a white genocide taking place.


----------



## silken

Hi all 

I joined a few days ago but forgot to introduce myself properly. Thank you to those of you who have already helped with some of my questions.

My name is Emily and I've lived in the UK for all my life. I recently got married to my husband in Cyprus after being together for about 2 years. My husband is Russian and we've decided that the UK is the best place for us to fulfil our life together so we're in the process of making an application for him to join me in the UK. He's already visited the UK on a visit visa and we both can't wait to properly start out lives together. Long distance relationships really aren't easy and I miss him terribly! I've done a lot of research into the visa application but there's a lot of conflicting information, although, the information on this forum is invaluable.


----------



## PapaK

Hello all, I am PapaK and I have been using this website as a guide for about 2 and a 1/2 years now. As previously stated this site has been a godsend. I am an American and first came to this awesome country on military orders but stayed because I fell in love with both my wife and the culture. I am currently on a student visa but will be applying for a spousal visa in a month or so. I am so happy that there are people in this world that go out of their way to explain things to those of us who find the whole immigration process daunting. I would like to give a big thanks to the whole forum in general but a special thank you to Joppa who has answered so many questions for myself as well as others here. Thanks Guys and Gals!!!!!


----------



## asimwarraich

Hi my Name is Asim and i've been using this forum for 1 year but today i saw this amazing thread of induction so i thought of doing so. Thanks all for creating such a informative place for lesser minds.


----------



## franparras

*New in UK*

Hi,
my name is Fran I just arrived to London last Jan and working from March in the Visa EEA FP for my wife, she is mexican and I am spaniard. Crossing my fingers to have sorter out this process asap.

Thx,
Fran


----------



## tiffaliffers

Hi everyone! May have joined this forum a bit prematurely, as we won't be applying for the UK spouse visa for a few months but thought I'd say hi and hopefully clarify a few things that have been worrying me about the whole process.

It's already been an invaluable source of information and I'm very grateful to everyone who posts!

Thanks,

Tiffany


----------



## Thelat

*Mr*

Hi, 

My name is Levon and I joined the forum today. I am South African and looking to relocate to Ireland with my wife in the near future, I just need to find out a few more details before making this big move.

Thanks
Levon


----------



## Joppa

Welcome all to the forum!


----------



## Kiba

*Hi all*

Hi, 

My name is Frank and I joined today. I'm Italian and I'm gonna to relocate in London in the next few months to reach my girlfriend is working there.

Today I quitted my job in Italy, I hope this will be a good start to get there :fingerscrossed:.

See ya


----------



## gustavobs

Hi! I missed to present myself. My name is Gustavo and I'm planning to travel from Brazil to UK with my wife!

I hope I can continue my IT career in UK!


----------



## thatweirdlady

I am new to these forums and currently working on an application for my spousal visa so that my husband and I can move to the UK. He is a UK citizen as is our daughter. I am a US citizen.


----------



## sjd_nsd

Hi,

We are Sankalp and Natasa. I'm Indian by birth and have lived in the UAE, Kuwait, the UK (I have my Bachelors and Masters degrees from Scotland), Thailand and we are now in Slovenia for the past 2 years. My wife is Slovenian. 

We are both very keen on making the UK our new home and finding careers and adding value to the UK.

We will have some questions and we are requesting and looking forward to all the help and assistance we can get as we will need it. Thanks to everyone, in advance.


----------



## zara.mat

Hi,

I'm Zara from UK, Im engaged to be married to my fiancé Mat who lives in the USA. He'll be moving to the UK to join me here and we are in the process of preparing documents for the fiancé visa to then switch to a spouse visa after marriage. 

Great forum here, its my first day and I've been very impressed. I'm just finding my way round but I'll be posting questions on documentation, statement letters etc

Thanks Joopa and Nyclon


----------



## nyclon

Welcome, Zara!


----------



## Jubilee_Royal

*hello to everybody from sunny Kyrgyzstan*

I am currently in process of getting all the preparation for the uk spouse visa. Not fully sure which documents we have to provide. my husband waiting for me in the uk. 

I ve got my master degree in London 2013 and that is how we met with my hubby. 

this forum seems very helpful on a wide range of visa issues. 

Hope getting visa will be smooth and easy so we could start our life in uk this summer! 

so excited!


----------



## ann22

Hi everyone
I found this forum to be the most helpful out of all I've seen on the web.

I'm a Russian girl living in the UK. My partner is English.
I'm on a Tier 2 work visa and we will apply for a Unmarried spouse visa the day after tomorrow.
Fingers crossed......


----------



## MrSniffen

*Hello! I'm Tim.*

Living in Edinburgh with my partner John, who works for the Edinburgh Airport. I'm a writer for a theater in the US.

Right now we're in the middle of doing visa stuff so I can join John in the UK as his husband, but I'll post about that separately.

So far we love Edinburgh! Especially the hiking, after several years in the flat gray wasteland known as Chicago.

Take care,
Tim


----------



## crusader24

Hi Everyone, 
I'm Balaji living in Singapore currently. Planning to move to UK soon with my EU wife. I like to do browsing, watching youtube videos and documentaries. The forum is very helpful and provides good information.
Thanks.


----------



## kelvindavid053

*Introduction*

Hi My name is Kelvin. I worked in British Army and now I have setup a company to help others find jobs in security industry.


----------



## talby

I am tahir from pakistan. I have got indefinite leave to remain. Now i want to apply for spouse visa. I have got few questions regarding financial requirements . I searched it online and found this forum . So far its so good to read the comments and their answers of senior members. I am hopeful i may get my answer here. But i dont know how to post questions here. Can anybody guide me how to start a thread. Thanks


----------



## talby

i v just read my inbox ...i am not allowed to post questions yet.


----------



## talby

Actualy i am just newbie in this forum yet . Hopefully i will find my way.


----------



## erinheather

Hello. I'm a Canadian, living in Alberta. I married my husband on April 7th. He lives in England. We have known each other for many years, as I lived in the UK in my early 20's. We reconnected and now I'll be moving there this summer. Hopefully! He will have been in his job for 6 months as the end of May at which point I will submit our application from Edmomton. Thanks in advance for any answers to questions I might have!


----------



## humble

Hi All, I am british, I am in the process of preparing my wifes visa application to join me in UK from Afghanistan. I have read some posts and those helping are fantastic


----------



## Josh.L

Hi! My name is Josh and I'm engaged to a woman in California. We're in the process of beginning the visa application for her to join me here in London. Currently feeling totally baffled but things I've read online so feeling thankful to have found this forum!


----------



## VVb

Hi. We are the VVb family. We are planning to move to the UK from Asia in 2015..


----------



## jonesylad84

Hi Ive just joined today, I have been living in the UAE for over a year now. Its a great experience, there are ups and downs but enjoying life over here.


----------



## bootneck4891

*Advice needed*

Myself and a mate are moving there, roughly about October, He has already lived Espetona but Im a multi trade builder and wonder if there is a market for work for me, I don't mind doing bar or cleaning work to begin with.
I have my own van and tools etc. just need to find good suppliers etc.

advice would be welcome 

regards

Brian


----------



## bootneck4891

Any good there for a builder to move there, im coming there October permant and want to know the work situation

regards

Brian


----------



## Joppa

Welcome to all newbies!


----------



## mcc1380

Hi All, I just joined a few days ago. moving from USA(california) to UK with my british wife and kids. Most people, I know in UK, told me, I was crazy, for leaving California weather for UK. But, you know what they say, "happy wife, happy life". I have been to UK many times and one time I stayed there for almost three months during winter. I was okay. I lived in copenhagen through 2 winters. things could be worse! I am actually looking forward to be in UK.
Thank you all for making this a great forum.


----------



## bolanta

Hi am Abby a criminoly student. I am happy to join this group and hope to be a active member. I am a mum of two and i live in essex.


----------



## bolanta

Doess anyone know about visa cancellation?


----------



## Joppa

Please start another thread, and explain what you mean. Home Office cancelling your visa?


----------



## HAS2

Hi! I'm Shamila and I live in Sri Lanka.
My husband lives in England and I'm hoping to apply for spouse visa so I can join him soon! Came across this amazing forum when I was doing the research.


----------



## asif_sharif

hello all 

male from LANDAN(london) ! born and raised here in blighty. so heres my story went to pakistan for a family visit met a girl we dated got married (feb21st 2014) her  that was the easy part.

then the real fun began. 


been 15 MONTHS since i last saw my wife :Cry: 

just waiting to hear from the home office now :fingerscrossed:


----------



## cjie

Hello,
I am a Tier 2 General skilled worker, currently working in Scotland. I came to this good site to learn more about visa related issue. 
Nice to meet you all.


----------



## Joppa

Welcome all. I suggest you read through recent threads to familiarise yourself with what we have been discussing and how the forum works. Pay attention to the rules, and to start a new thread, go back to Britain Forum homepage and click, above the list of threads, 'Start a new Thread.'


----------



## DymockDonna

Hi I'm Donna, I live in Scotland and I'm in the process of figuring out information to sort out a spouse visa for my Australian fiancé , whom I marry this coming October in Newcastle Australia .

I'm very new to this site so bear with me please. 
Thank you


----------



## cnadratowski

*Cnadratowski*

Hi, I'm Christie. I'm going to be a new expat from the US. I was offered a job in Brighton, so hopefully I'll have this all sorted soon. I work in Higher Education, and coach Olympic-style trampoline in my free time. I am a runner and a trampolinist, who occasionally indulges in springboard diving and flying trapeze, an avid reader, a former opera singer and a proud pet parent of a miniature poodle and a small cat.:usa2:


----------



## Baz666

Hi, I'm Baz from sunny Barbados. Happy to join up. Have been visiting site for a couple of weeks and have gained a lot of info.


----------



## Flying in the Face Of..

Hello all,

I'm from London, but have lived in three counties in England (south, north and east) long-term. I've also lived and worked in six countries in Europe, Asia and the Middle East for the last ten years. I love to travel, cook, read, take photos and ride motorbikes. I found this website yesterday and am hoping to give and receive tips, advice, guidance and encouragement. <obligatory >


----------



## Parallelogram

Hi folks, I'm an Australian who will be moving to the UK (Scotland) later this year for study. I have travelled, but this will be my first time living long-term in another country. 

Everytime I google an issue regarding the move, I end up at this site, so it seems like the place to be. Hopefully I can also be of some help to folks looking to move to Australia.


----------



## absurdobservant

*Hello*

I am absurdobservant. Been a traveler all my life...lived out of Singapore, China, Belgium, Spain, UK (yes earlier for a year), US east coast, US west coast and now looking at, gods grace, making a move back to UK!

very glad to meet you all and looking forward to lots of learning!!

Thank you for such a forum....lane:


----------



## Scottie dog

Greetings all,
My name is Keith, been living in Johannesburg for ever (39 yrs) am 45 now, married with a 4 yr old daughter, have dual citizenship as was born in Scotland, looking to go and live in England, see you on the forums!


----------



## clever-octopus

I did not even realise this post was here! 

My name is Brigitte, living in New York. I married my British husband here last month. I've just received an email this morning that our documents have been picked up in Sheffield and an ECO is reviewing our case! I am very hopeful that we'll be approved for a spouse visa; my husband is a chemical R&D associate and I am a vice president in the IT field. I've been doing many months of research on UK visas and have made lots of connections in the process, which is so helpful, but this forum is truly the best for immigration insight (though I understand it is all completely unofficial and NOT legal advice!). I love reading everyone's stories, and I am truly looking forward to finally starting a life with my husband. Cheers!


----------



## DeaMK

This is Dea writing, and I feel like an intruder to the forum because I am still not in the UK (am from and currently live in Macedonia), but will be in the UK as of September, as I am starting my studies there (three year program). I initially found the forum and registered as I need advice on an visa issue, however now I see that it is quite a lively forum and full of helpful advice, so I plan to stick around for some time


----------



## PBrady

*Hi all*

Hi my name is Paul,

I am currently in South Africa but moving to the UK with my two kids and dog sometime between Feb and May next year. My father was born in the UK so we will be moving over of Ancestry Visas.

Thank you for adding me


----------



## abdulkhan1

Hi, I'm Abdul from the UK. Im looking to apply for a UK visa for my Wife.


----------



## aepbbb

Hi everyone!

I am brazilian, civil partner then married to a brazilian/belgian. We have lived for 7 years in Belgium, 3 years in Germany and now moved to UK.


----------



## AnOceanApart

Hello everyone!

I'm American with permanent residence in Canada. I've known my British boyfriend for thirteen years, although we were best friends for much of that time and our romantic relationship is fairly new. I'm hoping to move to the UK to be with him next year.

I love to cook, write, read, draw, and do various other kinds of art and crafts! This forum looks like the perfect place for me to learn and to gain wisdom and guidance before applying for our fiance visa in 2016!


----------



## theworldisyourlobster

hey my name is Jason, I am English born, Raised in New Zealand and now back in UK after travelling through Canada and Japan. I have a Japanese partner who i will try bring over to the uk with me shortly so i will be pestering you with all my questions  

Hobbies are Snowboarding, travelling and cars


----------



## steveneptune

Hi,

Steve here. Englishman who moved to New York in 2003. Married in 2011 and now have 2 kids. Back in the UK with wife/kids still in NY, and trying to get them here ASAP.

I've already found a lot of very useful information on this forum, and hoping that a few questions I have specific to our situation may get answered too!


----------



## MaryKatewyn

Hi I`m Katherine from Ukraine, but recently I moved to England)
I just need a few tips in some queshions))


----------



## Syrena

Hi, I'm Cyrine from Tunisia. I met my british husband 3 years ago while he was working in Tunisia, we got married in Liverpool in 2013 and lived together in my country till septembre 2014 when my husband, who wasn't enjoying anymore his job in Tunisia, went back to the UK looking for a career change, after 8 years working abroad. I've been to the UK 04 times, twice on a " visitor for marriage visa " and twice on a " 2 years family visitor visa " valid till next year. This website has been so helpful for my previous visa applications so a big "Bravo ! " for its moderators. Today I'm hoping to gather here all needed advices for a successful "Spouse visa application " planned for early september, when my husband will finally get his 06 full months payslips.


----------



## aqeelnj

Dear forum members,
I am Aqeel, an Indian, currently residing in Kuwait with my family (wife and 2 kids, all 3 British citizens). After living almost 15 years in Kuwait, we are now considering moving to UK. I have been looking up this forum and other government websites piecing together information towards my spouse visa application and this forum has been a great source so far. 
I have a few queries specific to my case and I will put those up and hope to receive much needed valuable guidance and clarification on this forum.
Thanks all. Cheers.


----------



## Joppa

Welcome all. Hope you find the forum useful. Looking forward to hearing from you soon!


----------



## Rina Zainul

Hi, 

My name is Rina. I am a Malaysian married to a British citizen. We have been married for the past 4 years but have been living apart throughout our marriage as we both have thriving careers in our respective countries, financial commitments to families and was still trying to figure out where we we are going to settle permanently as husband and wife. Earlier this year, we decided that I would join my husband in the UK. I have applied for my settlement visa on the 5th of June and am waiting for the results. 

I wish I'd known about this forum before I applied. Sigghh... in any case would still be checking in here regularly.. in case my application is rejected, I would know how to get it right through advise of members here, next time. 

Thanks!


----------



## Portgas D. Ace

*Hi all !*

Hi everyone !

Portgas D. Ace, new to this forum but I used to be an administrator for a very similar site.

I'm coming from France (Paris), I did travel a lot and moved to Ireland for several years and I moved since few months to Guernsey to join my loved one who is from there.

I was curious if there is any French, Irish or people from anywhere else who did that type of jump so far, if there is anybody feel free to give me a shout. I would be more than pleased to get to know some people coming from anywhere and currently living in Guernsey as I'm enjoying multicultural exchanges. It would be funny and interesting to get to know you, the reasons what you've been pushed or willing to live in this beautiful island, chatting about any common interests.

Cheers 

*Portgas D. Ace
(R.)*


----------



## dnessim

*Introduction*

I'm Daniel, a British Canadian who lived in the USA with my American wife for 13 years before moving to the UK. Now we are moving back to Seattle - and I have to get my US visa situation sorted out, as well as insurance for our container of household goods that will be shipped out soon.


----------



## MelodyPond

Hi, I'm a Mexican female, living in the UK and currently applying for my second period of FLR(M) as I'm on the 5 year route. I joined the forum in Jan 2013 just before switching from PSW Visa to my Spouse visa, therefore my first FLMR(M). Thanks to the help received here before and during my application in 2013 my application (premium) went smoothly. This time I feel a bit more apprehensive as I'm applying by post but I do think I meet the requirements OK, so hoping for the best.


----------



## clever-octopus

MelodyPond said:


> Hi, I'm a Mexican female, living in the UK and currently applying for my second period of FLR(M) as I'm on the 5 year route. I joined the forum in Jan 2013 just before switching from PSW Visa to my Spouse visa, therefore my first FLMR(M). Thanks to the help received here before and during my application in 2013 my application (premium) went smoothly. This time I feel a bit more apprehensive as I'm applying by post but I do think I meet the requirements OK, so hoping for the best.


Hello Mrs. Pond, you must be a Doctor Who lover  I'm sure your FLR(M) will go just fine!


----------



## MelodyPond

clever-octopus said:


> Hello Mrs. Pond, you must be a Doctor Who lover  I'm sure your FLR(M) will go just fine!


Hello! I am indeed, thanks to my British husband! I was wondering if anyone would notice the Dr Who link. Thank you for your reassurance! I do hope so!


----------



## jessralston

Hello. I'm an American (New York) living in China but moving to Liverpool in September for work. I don't really know what else to say other than living in the UK has been a childhood dream of mine, so it's exciting to see it finally come true.

It'll be just me, so I might be poking around, asking to hang out or be shown what I need to know about the area. Thanks in advance for any help!


----------



## SavannahV

Hello everyone! I stumbled across this page a while back and made up my mind to join today, having decided that I need a community full of like-minded people for support and help answering questions. I live in the US and met my British fiance two years ago at a convention. We started talking about the fiance visa this year while I was visiting England. We hope to apply by the end of the year. The process and the fees seem overwhelming right now, but I'm confident that we'll get through it!


----------



## deepgill

Hello friends.... I am an Indian and working in a restaurent as a Cook. I have spent three years in Australia in Gold Coast Qld. Once again i have lodged 489 visa. Hope it will be granted within three months if everything goes fine.I love and excited to come Australia after four years.May GOD grant this wish of mine!!!


----------



## Cherry-Anne

Hi, I'm Cherry-Anne from South Africa. We are planning on emigrating to the UK in the new year as my husband is British but has been living in SA for 28 years. My son who has a British passport is already living in the UK, so the rest of of the family; my husband, my daughter (who also has a British passport), her 19 month old daughter, and our two dogs are planning on joining him. I'm just hoping I don't have too many problems with my spousal visa.


----------



## nyclon

Cherry-Anne said:


> Hi, I'm Cherry-Anne from South Africa. We are planning on emigrating to the UK in the new year as my husband is British but has been living in SA for 28 years. My son who has a British passport is already living in the UK, so the rest of of the family; my husband, my daughter (who also has a British passport), her 19 month old daughter, and our two dogs are planning on joining him. I'm just hoping I don't have too many problems with my spousal visa.


If your daughter is British by descent her daughter will also need a visa.


----------



## Joppa

Unless your son-in-law (granddaughter's father) is British otherwise than by descent.


----------



## Cherry-Anne

Joppa said:


> Unless your son-in-law (granddaughter's father) is British otherwise than by descent.


My daughter is unmarried, with no father listed on her daughter's Birth certificate. Would we both apply for the settlement visas then?


----------



## Maeble

I'm currently in the U.S., have lived abroad in Germany and our family has plans to head to Scotland in a few years...wanted to be in a "community" to help us keep up with possible issues that could impact a move. I'm a U.S. citizen, husband and kids are dual citizens USA/New Zealand. 

When we moved to Germany it was orchestrated by my husband's employer...moving to Scotland will be all on our own.


----------



## teeeff

Canadian. UK spouse. We lived in France for 10+ years then I EEA'd into the UK. We want to stay permanently and are stumbling down that wobbly road now.


----------



## Axion

Hello all

I'm Indonesian with a Romanian spouse & have been planning to move to England ASAP

Wish you all the best!

Cheers


----------



## Joppa

Welcome all!
Before you start posting your message, do read through the relevant 'stickies' - the FAQs at the top of the threads to familiarise yourself with how the forum works.


----------



## larmflower

*USA to UK*

Hello all,

I'm new to the forum.. A friend of my fiance's recommended I join up and educate myself on the process of settling in the UK. I stayed with my fiance during my initial automatic 'visitor time' last year and decided I'd apply for a fiance visa so I could return again and get married in that time... An agent at the border actually instructed me to do so when I went through the last time. He told me I'd likely be turned away if I came back again within the year.. So we applied this past April. I was denied entry after 3 months of waiting. They basically told me that I needed to choose a side because coming to stay frequently over time as any kind of visitor is not cool in their book. Which makes sense but then why advise me this way? So that was an expensive lesson to learn.. The punchline was getting the refusal in a scrappy parcel bag all wrinkled riddled with all kinds of grammatical error. Seriously sad. I know they see a million a day, but this is my life.

This forum is now my only hope of gaining any real knowledge about immigration control's style for processing us these days. I've wasted enough money on phone calls and gone through my fill of robot generated emails to realize it. 

It is likely my fiance will come next month and we will be married. Probably Vegas. Then I would like to apply to settle over in the UK so we can be together. Anyone manage to find success in this endeavor recently? I'd welcome any perspective. 

Cheers,

L


----------



## Wonderful2016

I'm Winnie from Hong Kong and married to a British citizen for the past 11 years and got the decision overturned and received a reply that my passport arrived to VAC, but until now still waiting


----------



## Advocat333

*From Mauritius to the UK*

Hello Everyone,

I am sorry I posted without introducing myself. 

I moved from London to NYC in 2006 (UK citizen) lived there for three years and (gratefully met my wife to be)and then took a contract in the Caribbean St. kitts, where we had our first child. We eventually got married in 2011 and one month after moved to Mauritius. The scary time has come to get back to the city  and we are moving back to London. 10 years on, scary thought!

I posted a thread regarding questions on Appendix 2 yesterday, it was long! Sorry i will break it down but any advice is greatly appreciated. 

Thank you for doing such a good job with this forum, it's shocking enough to know the cost of a settlement visa but even more shocking to know that i have read over 200 pages of three separate documents in order to come to what appears to be the final stages of this process.

Appointment booked for wife next wednesday, application completed, fees paid (health surcharge, visa and premium service-not sure about that one but lets see) now completing appendix 2 where i have posted some questions.

Any input feed back greatly appreciated!


----------



## Ang72

Hi, 

I am Canadian and my boyfriend is British. We met in Ontario and moved to BC in 2013. He was home sick so we have decided to move to the UK. I am looking forward to this new adventure.

Angela


----------



## wooty

Hi there, 

Latin guy here with Mexican/New Zealand citizenship. Partner is British (and New Zealander now too), been living in New Zealand together for 7 years now and planning to make the move to the UK.

Very nervous about the whole process and read tons so far, so hopefully I can help others and not only leech information.

See you all around!


----------



## nyclon

Welcome new members!


----------



## d_rice

Hi, I'm David, British and my girlfriend Sara is Spanish.


----------



## bear_square

*Hello*

Greetings, 

I'm Tabitha from the US. I've lived in various countries in Asia in the past 10 years. My plan this year is moving to England to do a masters course at Sussex this fall. I'm currently working on my visa application, and glad I found this website and all this helpful information!


----------



## sjbode01

Hi all

I'm American and have been living in the UK as a Tier 4 student for 3 years, 10 months. My partner is British. We have been living together for 2 years, 1 month. We are planning on submitting an FLR (M) application within the next month. I have some questions about Category B of the financial requirements. Would it be appropriate to post a new thread in the forum asking about it?

Thanks!
sjb


----------



## emma_1714

Hiya....I have quite a long story and need some advice rather desperately.....I was living in London for 9 years and 11 months (born in the states) and need to find my way back to the UK. I am trapped here in America and feel like I cannot breathe.

I genuinely hope I can pick the various brains of the smart people here. 

-Emma


----------



## nyclon

sjbode01 said:


> Hi all
> 
> I'm American and have been living in the UK as a Tier 4 student for 3 years, 10 months. My partner is British. We have been living together for 2 years, 1 month. We are planning on submitting an FLR (M) application within the next month. I have some questions about Category B of the financial requirements. Would it be appropriate to post a new thread in the forum asking about it?
> 
> Thanks!
> sjb



Yes, please start a new thread with your questions. There is a sticky explaining how to start a new thread.


----------



## vliggs

Hi All

I am a South African married to a British passport holder. We will be applying for a spousal visa in the next few weeks for myself and our kids.


----------



## JeanneC

Hi - my name is Jeanne. I am a South African passport holder, married to a UK passport holder. I lived in the UK for 7 years, where I met my husband. We decided to move to South Africa (just as a qualified for ILR and thought - well we will be married and can always go back to the UK if we wanted too) little did we know all the changes that will happend.
We moved to South Africa (nearly 6 years ago) and started our own business, things have been going fairly well however lately it is just getting harder and harder due to loadshedding and various other factors. After a recent trip to the UK we decided that we want to move back and I am now investigating everything for a spousal permit. Reading up on all the requirements and rules made me wish I stayed another year and got the ILR! 
I know that this forum will be a great help in the months to come!


----------



## shaerooke

I'm Shae, I'm Australian and I live in London with my British husband. I've been living in the UK for three years now on a student and a YMS visa and it is now time to apply for the spouse visa! So I am here for some support and guidance. Thanking everyone in advance for you help!


----------



## kimbo6987

Hello everyone. Just wanted to introduce myself. My name is Kim , I have been in the UK since 2011 I came here on a tier four student visa and completed and undergraduate degree here in england. I met my partner Danielle who is from the uk and we been together since 2011. We moved in together as we became serious and have been living together since 2012. We have decided to apply for a spouse visa in January 2016 when my tier four runs out as I am now completing a MSC degree. 
I have been in touch with home office and they said because i am already in the uk we can combine our finances and we meet the 18,600 threshold. We are applying under the basis of us living together in a romantic relationship for more then two years. Then we want to get married once I am on a proper spouse visa as I heard getting married on a tier four home office dont like because its 'not the proper way to do it' Any advice would be greatly appreciated as we have now started saving payslips from this month until december. I am paid four weekly and my partner is paid weekly, so i understand you have to apply no later then 28 days of your last payslip. So i get paid on 24-12-15 so no longer then 28 days after that and my partner can show hers weekly for december.

Best of luck to you all.


----------



## zetproducers

*intro*

i am zet from usa , moved in to latvia and hope you can hook me up ... got lots in mind thanks


----------



## kimbo6987

im in the same situation u need to meet the financial requirement of £18,600 a year. you can combine incomes as well. can you let me know how you get on and what paperwork you submitted? we are applying on the basis of living t ogether in a romantic relationship more then two years as well then get married once i get my spouse visa. let me know if you have any questions


----------



## DonnaDymock28

Hi I'm Donna and I'm from Scotland , I joined this site to see if anyone could help me with information about a spouse visa I'm applying for on behalf of my Auatralian Fiancé . 

Also can someone direct me to where I should post to on this site ? I'm new and don't know how to do this .


----------



## Joppa

I suggest you change your username if it's your real name.


----------



## katysails

*New Here*

Hi, my name is Katy and I wish to relocate to Scotland to marry my fiance. The problem: neither of us meet the visa earnings requirements since we are both disabled. We both manage on what we have in our own respective countries but it seems that neither country can see that if we teamed up, it would be not only to our advantage but to theirs, since this would free up funds that are now being duplicated (ie: utilities, rent, etc). We are actively seeking solutions at this time.


----------



## 261314

Kimi2490 said:


> I'm Kimi, female, Indian by birth and living in England for love. Recently married and been through the spousal visa process. This forum has been a God send and it is genuinely one of my ambitions in life now to be of some use to visitors/settlers by sharing from my own (limited) UK visa experiences. My dream is to basically be Joppa , so yes haha. Settled in the North East of England and loving the little community life. Busy looking for work and small community networking really helps !
> Loving my Christmas tree, and cannot wait for Christmas day with my new family eeeeek



Hey Kimi,

I know this post is about 2.5 years old but by any chance are you still in the north east? Recently I've been offered a role in tyne and was hoping to hook up with fellow north easterners.

261314


----------



## lsg84

Hi all!

Im 30 years old, did my degree in Bristol a few years ago before moving back home to Norway. 

Planning on renting a car and packing down the flat with the hubby and dog next summer and doing the drive back to the UK, this time to settle down for good 

I know Im early, but I feel like its never too soon to start planning, lots of things to get in order! Still undecided on where we want to settle down, hubby is pushing for London while Ill be happy just to get my hands on some proper food again (I know, people call me insane for missing the food  )


----------



## DonnaDymock28

Hi I'm Donna and I live in Scotland , I'm currently in the process of putting together my visa application to get my Auzzie hubby to join me back in the UK after we get married in Australia. 
I enjoy going to watch speedway , and I love my music and gigs .


----------



## SomeoneFromMumbai

Hello everyone  My name is Nora and I currently am in Mumbai, India (on a tourist visa though). I'm German but have lived in Norway for most of my life (besides going to the UK (UWC Atlantic College, St. Andrews and Edinburgh) for education), while my husband is Indian. 

We are looking to relocate to the UK in November (with him applying for the EEA Family Permit) and this forum has been so helpful (and will hopefully continue to be so) with figuring out things related to the EEA Family Permit, so thank you to everyone who has been a part of this!


----------



## Marelyn

*Hello*

Im lyn from philippines im just a new member here just marriage this april i hope i can get some idea here on how or what is my first step about preparing my documents...thanks and g god bless


----------



## batcola

*Hello*

I am from the United States and my boyfriend is from the UK. We are both looking to meet for the first time and maybe after my divorce even marry. I am planning a trip to spend some time with him in November for 6 months however with all the requirements I am a bit overwhelmed any direction or advice would be appreciated. Thanks 

(Im at work so slow reply)


----------



## meryray

Hi am mery nice to meet you. Am from morocco married to dual morocco /italy we have 2 children. We live in Morocco after many years in Italy. I want to visit uk in holidays with my husband


----------



## K2C

*Hello Hello*

Hi All

Im K2C and I'm applying for my Wife's visa and this forum has already massively helpful. I am very close to submitting the documents so I thought I'd register.

Hope you are all having a great time.


----------



## Leylosh

Hi everybody,

I'm a UK citizen currently in the process of moving back from Turkey and am hopeful that the helpful people on this forum can point me in the right direction. It is often a nightmare trying to understand the regulations without paying for solicitors.

Looking forward to finding out info and trying to help out where possible.


----------



## bjenkins33

Hi all, 

It is so nice to see a board for introductions . 

I'm Brittney, an American recently married to a British/South African dual-citizen named George! We serendipitously met in the U.S. 4 1/2 years ago when George was traveling through my native North Carolina, instantly hit it off and developed a very close friendship despite the distance. After 2 1/2 years of close friendship we decided we were ready to take the leap and started dating long distance while George was doing a stint in Johannesburg, South Africa. I moved to the London in 2014 to work toward a Master's degree, George joined me here mid-March of this year to settle in and we were married in June . I will leave the UK at the end of this month due to the expiration of my current visa and we will not be eligible to apply for our Spousal visa until December, but we are planning ahead and feel positive despite another period of distance. 

This forum has already been such a great help to us, even in the preliminary stages. Thanks to moderators like Joppa and Nyclon for providing great advice! I also would really be happy to try and help anyone who needs it, whether it be by answering questions to the best of my ability or just providing reassurance and support through the process. Feel free to message me directly if I can help!


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## ShrutiBlue

Hi everyone, my name is Shruti and I'm originally from India. I've been in the UK for almost 5 years. I originally came here to do an MSc in Biotechnology at UEA, and got a post study work visa just a few months before they stopped it. I fortunately got a job in my MSc supervisor's spin-out company and they have sponsored my visa as well, having got a sponsorship license just for me. 

I've been in a long distance relationship with my boyfriend of 9 years for more than half of our relationship now, and it has been quite hard. He's moving to the US to do an MBA and I'm hoping to do the same, if I ever get a job there!


----------



## 261314

ShrutiBlue said:


> Hi everyone, my name is Shruti and I'm originally from India. I've been in the UK for almost 5 years. I originally came here to do an MSc in Biotechnology at UEA, and got a post study work visa just a few months before they stopped it. I fortunately got a job in my MSc supervisor's spin-out company and they have sponsored my visa as well, having got a sponsorship license just for me.
> 
> I've been in a long distance relationship with my boyfriend of 9 years for more than half of our relationship now, and it has been quite hard. He's moving to the US to do an MBA and I'm hoping to do the same, if I ever get a job there!


wow! 9 years of long distance.....how did you manage it?


----------



## ShrutiBlue

261314 said:


> wow! 9 years of long distance.....how did you manage it?


Sorry, I meant 9 years of total relationship duration and 5 years of that was long distance. And we managed it through Skype, Whatsapp (Blackberry messenger before that) and lots of trust and patience. I'm really glad we live in the Skype age, otherwise it probably would have been impossible! I suppose you just get used to not being able to see them or be with them every day, though its very very difficult and quite lonely too..


----------



## JAKEBARCLAY

*Introduction*

Hi I'm Jake Barclay a recent graduate from Lancashire now residing in the big freezer- Moscow!! I'm working as an independent IFA here and I mostly help other expats in Russia and surrounding countries mitigate taxes aimed at their UK Pensions. I have a degree in Psychology and love playing football and going to the gym. Always looking to meet new people so if you're in Moscow and fancy watching a game of football or a familiar accent then give me a shout!


----------



## VJC

Hi all, I'm Vijay & I've recently been helping my wife, from India, fill in her FLR(M) after arriving here about 2 1\2 years ago on a spousal visa - I'd like to say thanks for the invaluable information we've found on this site (both back then & now). 
It should be ready to post by the end of this week or early next - thought I'd register in case I need help in anything that hasn't already been asked (all our questions so far have been asked & answered already!).


----------



## lownslow

Hi everyone,

My family and I are planning to move from Australia to the UK next year. My wife and I lived in London some years back - but with kids it's going to be a completely different experience this time.
We loved it there last time - and life is too short to not have another go..

I'm specifically seeking guidance around managing the school enrolment process for our kids - seems there are some challenges to overcome. I'll post in the appropriate forum and see what comes out.

Cheers


----------



## mumbai2015

Hi Im Ash from mumbai, just joined the wonderful forum. Just applied for my uk spouse visa... thanks to all who have been doind such a great service! good luck to all applicants...


----------



## alliemarymp

*Hello!*

Hi all! I'm Allie, I'm a US Citizen getting married to my UK fiance stateside. (we met while he was running a marathon here) we will then have a long distance marriage while we go through the UK spouse visa process. 

I am so happy this forum exists and to collect from the wisdom of everyone.


----------



## kensP-51

*Hello*

I'm from the USA. Met my now British wife in 2009 on a app in Facebook called Yoville. A small conversation turned into many. Neither of us looking for a relationship or anything turned into that very thing. We married Last March in the British homeland. We only met face to face twice during our long distance relationship. My ultimate goal is to be with her for the remainder of my life. Since she and her children can't come to me, I shall go to her. There is a wealth of good information here and I am appreciative to have access to it and help as well as be helped in what seems a simple wish not so simply done...............


----------



## Victoriaelaine

*Loved up in London*

Hi, Victoria here, late 20's Kiwi bird (tee-hee) married to my honey of a hubby (Dual Citizen British/French) for 2.5 years.
Unusually (I believe - correct me if I am wrong) I came to the UK on a YMS for 2 years during which time I met my husband and hopped over to a FLR(m) in April 2013...
I only made it through that hoop thanks to this incredibly informed/experienced forum, so thanks guys!
I don't get homesick anymore and feel very settled here but within the next 2 months I will be going in for my second round of FLR(m) :boxing:
I'll be posting as a sweating, frantic stresspot very soon...
Wish me luck! :fingerscrossed:


----------



## Joppa

Welcome.
Not unusual judging from our forum.


----------



## Remybfg10k

Hi All, new to this site and incredibly stressed trying to do our visa application right now!


----------



## Remybfg10k

Victoria if you have any stress relieving tips please share haha


----------



## jennifer_epic

My name is Jennifer from Malaysia, married to a Italian husband. I have been following this Expat Forum more than a year; before that I found no way where I can get all this information and knowledge about how to apply this EEA FP. I even went to the UK Embassy for 2 times, but they gave me nothing, just the website.

Until one day I found this website which is very helpful. All the people around the worlds doing the something like me; try to apply the EEA FP/Visa for moving to UK. There are several hundreds of stories talked about how they go thought with this application. Some are lucky, some are not. I’m here to reading and studying get the fresh information, also the experience from them so not replaces the same mistaken.

I feel sorry for those people who have refused and I completely understood how it feels like. After you spent so many times to get prepared all documents and evidences in the end still got refused. In a way, I can see how strong with they love to the spouses which is never give up, they try to find the solutions just for moving and want to live together with they husband/wife/family. 

Peoples… I knew this is not easy, so much stress and nervous too, but I’m doing the same thing like you guys. Let fight on it for ours spouse and our family. Bless for everybody.

PS: Thanks for all the help from you guys here. I really appreciated so much. Thanks alot...

/Jennifer


----------



## rickaeyyy

Hey! Im Ricky, a 23 year old Australian fella about to make to move to London. After my last trip there I have fallen in love with the city and have decided to give it a go. I have never really been a part of a forum previously, but lurking through this site whilst in the midst of my move (on UK Ancestry) I figured i would give back to a website which helped me so much! Without it, it would have made an already extremely stressful process even more difficult to deal with  lane:


----------



## IndianaMF

Hello everyone! My name is Indiana and I'm from the U.S. My husband is from London, born and bred. We met in 2009ish and kept in contact as friends until 2013 (when we were both single lol) and became closer, fell in love and married in May 2014. We got married in the U.S. and initially had planned to get my hubby a green card and work permit to stay in the states. That process takes a lot longer over there though and he became restless after so much time waiting and not working. So after paying over $1500 for the I-130 and I-485 forms, plus a lot of time and stress to get all the papers needed and making sure everything was perfect, he decided he didn't want to wait anymore and that we should live in England. Now the thing is that I have two kids (from a previous relationship) and so it will be bigger move and cost more money. Bottom line is that we love each other and will do what's necessary to be together. That's why I'm here on this forum... To find out all the info necessary to get things started. We know that he has to be making £24,800 for at least six months to begin so that's a first step. We still need to know how much each of our visas will cost etc.
Unfortunately we will be apart for this time and we have already been apart long enough  but we must be patient. 
I have been in England for almost a month visiting and to see how it is (my first time) and I love it!!! I'm hoping to get a lot of good info and feedback from all you lovely people who have experienced this or are going thru the similar process


----------



## mobetter20

Hi. I'm Ajin from South Korea. I've stumbled upon this amazing forum recently, and it wasn't moment too early since I've been daunted by the whole visa application process. 

My fiance(British / or Welsh during six nations) and I met in 2012 when he was teaching in Seoul, and we've been in long distance relationship ever since he went back to UK in 2013. 2years of long distance relationship has been ..quite something (getting up 6 am every morning to talk to him on skype, flying off to UK and staying with him for every holiday). 
Although we made many good memories during those years, we are now more than ready to actually be together. For financial requirement (6month payslip), I would be applying for fiance visa this November, and I want to get everything as perfect as possible before that. 

I have a good feeling that I would be visiting this forum with alarming frequency and be needy and clueless every so often


----------



## vikipilenche

Hi. I am Viki. I live in London now.

I am originally from Bulgaria. I live in the city and just trying to figure everyone out!


----------



## RayenD

*Hello from London*

I live and work in London for the last 11 years. I will try to support you guys if i can. This is a great forum. Cheers.
In the meant time will be getting married soon in Mauritius. So I far I can see all the requirements but stuck in few.


----------



## Ed70

Hi just found this forum, I'm British but met my girlfriend in Portugal who's Brazilian 18 months ago, we are now looking to marry & settle in the UK. Looks like i will need help with the process!!


----------



## JessaBam

Hello All!
Been lurking this forum for several months so thought I would finally join as my application process will be starting soon.

I am in a unmarried partnership with a British man, whom I met when we were both travelling New Zealand in 2012.
Came to the UK January 2014 on Tier 5 Youth Mobility 2-year visa.
It will expire this Jan, so going to apply for FLR (M).
Am working a well paying job but they do not sponsor.
I am trying to get the timing right because obviously the day my visa expires is the same day we reach two years living together.

I have lots of questions! I must say it is a blessing and curse to fall in love with someone from another nation!


----------



## tovis

Greetings,
my name is Tom and I am a Chicagoan. Damned if I know how I ended up in London but I guess I am stuck here until my boss says I can come back home. I miss the snow. I miss the elevated transit system. I miss driving on the "right" side of the road. I miss decent coffee. 

I am here to get the inside scoop on London and its hotspots.


----------



## Babu007

I am babu.i was living in uk since 2005-2008 and suddenly my father had stroke and i had to comeback to bangladesh.after fathers death experiancing life is hard,i have known someone for 6-7 years,got married to her on this april.looking forward to go to uk as a spouse.i am a photographer as well as a model here in bangladesh.


----------



## antshiel1970

*Hi*

Hi all, great forum, been really helpful the past couple of months as my Ukranian partner and I are hoping to get married and live here in the UK. Keep up the great work


----------



## chris_k

*New comer*

Hi,

My name is Christopher and I'm planning to live in UK for improving my english and find a work.


----------



## shazzalou

hi my hubby and me are currently waiting for our settlement visa from pretoria as he is from mauritius and i am in england,we have been together since july 2012 and he had overstayed in uk since 2010 but we applied in uk but was refused so he returned to mauritius in april 2015 and i went over in june and we got married.We applied for settlement visa on 1st july and are still waiting and on wednesday it will be 11 weeks!! anybody else waited this long for a reply?


----------



## Amez85

Hi! I'm Amy. My fiance is American. We only met this year and are hoping to get married end of next march. Currently beginning our visa application journey. It's nerve-wracking your relationship being in the hands of the authorities!


----------



## shazzalou

hi we had to show proof of a 2 year relationship and also proof of living together for 2 years before you can apply


----------



## Amez85

shazzalou said:


> hi we had to show proof of a 2 year relationship and also proof of living together for 2 years before you can apply


We are applying for a fiance/marriage visa, not to live together as an unmarried couple


----------



## rohant

*first timer advise*

hi my name is rohan, my fiance emily is british. we have been together since 2013 and after being engaged in jan we decided now that we might be able to apply for a fiance visa .emily is in a new job at the moment with only 4 month sto show but is due a promotion.
payslips say 18000 pa. by the time we apply in november or dec, her pay will be 20k pa.
the problem is from what iv read that they will consider lowest income . now with the bonus and overtime the lowest gross comes upto 18564.
does anyone have any idea if they will fuss over 36 pounds?


----------



## Yaz2015

Hi everyone!

I'm Yaz and I am a British citizen by birth. I currently live in Canada and wish to return to the UK with my family. Miss home way too much and finally could not take the cold weather any longer! 

Lots of questions to ask which I will post to another thread. So grateful for forums like these to help people out. Thank you!


----------



## Alfa123

Hi i m new one in here, i m serving in British Army since 2006, i m lookung for some advice for my Mrs spouse visa,


----------



## Nosocks

*Greetings*

Hi, 
My name is Kim and I currently live in Cape Town, South Africa.
We are moving back to the UK in a few months and are currently in the process of selling up everything.
We've both lived in SA for most of our lives, so moving back home is pretty scary and exciting all at the same time.
I look forward to being a member on the forum


----------



## rup48975

Hi I am Rup from india currently living in UK. I am planning to apply for a PR to Australia. As part of the PR process I need to get a police clearance certificate for the counties i have stayed for more than 6 months. I need to apply for a PCC in canada and UK .Any pointers for that?


----------



## munmittal

Hi, I am maninder from punjab India and will be applying for settlement visa soon. I would appreciate your reply in future.
Thanks
Maninder


----------



## brainno722

Hi, I'm Peter from the US. I work in the IT industry and just got married this year. I'm planning/hoping to move to UK with my wife and can actually use some help in the visa application process. 

It's very confusing which type of visa that I should apply. My wife has PR for UK but not yet a citizen and her visa route is settlement. However, for me, I thought I should apply for settlement-husband but as I go through the process there are many questions that just did not seem to apply.

I'm at the stage of using IHS and it was asking my wife for her visa route and type, but there was no choices that matched her route (Settlement - Tier 1 General).

Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks!


----------



## M1LT

Hi,

I'm Jason, from South Africa. I work in the IT industry and will be transferring to my company's UK branch at the end of the year.

It's a huge move, so I'm looking for any assistance/information/support on this journey and hopefully I will be able to share my experiences with individuals that are in a similar situation.

I look forward to interacting with the forums members


----------



## susanespindola

Hello!
I'm Susan
25 Female from California US
hubby is 33 from Manchester UK

we got married in California in June
now we are currently waiting on my UK visa!(non priority) so it's really stressful! 

I miss him...
worried about not making any friends in the UK but we will see


----------



## MrsMTea

Good morning,

I am MrsMTea  

I was born in Germany, and my husband is from County Durham. We married in Germany, and I was surprised that I had to provide a lot more paperwork that my husband. Must have been the punishment for leaving the country haha!

Anyway, glad to be here!


----------



## Hello_all

*hi!!!*

Hiii ,

I'm Hello_all and already very thankful for all the support in this forum. Forgot to post here  and hopefully soon together with my husband in uk.


----------



## nic2uk2015

Hello!  I'm Nichole, Canadian. I'm joining my husband in the UK. He's a UK national. I love him to bits! :laughing: I applied for my visa on September 30th from Vancouver, and am enjoying the questions and informative answers. Good luck everyone! :+1:


----------



## UK-GTR

I'm a late 40s U.S. citizen living in the UK for 13 years now, the last 5 in London. I have two teenage daughters and am married to a Luxembourger who has lived in London for 25 years. I have a job that requires me to travel outside the UK a lot, mainly to Africa. Since 2012 I've been involved with five applications for RCs or PRs under the EEA immigration rules, so I've gotten reasonably knowledgeable about those rules. I'm a big fan of knowing the rules - bureaucracies find it harder to snow people who know the rules.


----------



## globetrot

Hi, This is Adam from the UK,28 and Na from Indonesia 31 . I (Adam) have been living in Indonesia for almost 5 years and have been with Na for more than 3 years. I have just been offered a job back in the UK so we are beginning the process of moving our lives across the other side of the world and would be happy for any advice.


----------



## Whovian94

*Young and In Love...*

Hello! I'm Kelsey, I'm a 21 year old in my last year of College/Uni in the US. I met my partner of almost 2.5 years online in Early 2013, we became an official couple when I studied abroad in London the summer of 2013, however we did not make this very public until this year. I've been there to visit twice now totalling in about 9 weeks of time together, he's visiting here for 2 weeks in January, I'm returning there for Spring Break in March, and he will be here for 2 more weeks in May before I (hopefully) begin my graduate school there in August/September.

He's turning 24 next month, being a younger couple we've not gotten to visit as much as we'd like but we've done very well with what we have. We're hoping to start our lives together after I graduate and after reading this forum for a while as well as looking over visa requirements in both countries, it's obvious there's a lot to be done and I'm really hoping that I can find help and a place in this community... Then be able to help others in my situation after we get our things sorted! 

We love each other to death and know it's a lot to juggle :juggle: but we're both determined to be together for the long haul. Also, it'd be nice to make expat friends in the Yorkshire area that I can possibly visit and hang out with when I get there for school!


----------



## nyclon

Welcome globetrot and Whovian94.


----------



## yunnipie

Hello all. I'm Jenna, and my husband and I met online in 2013. He's born and raised in the UK, and I in the US. We just married (eloped Reno, Nevada) on September 30th when he was visiting. I've read quite a bit on here awhile ago, but need to refresh myself prior to applying.
Everyone is so helpful in getting people through this daunting process. Seems a wonderful community.


----------



## SyaHart

Hello, I'm Lesley and I'm 38, my boyfriend is 41 and currently lives on the Wirral in the United Kingdom. We have been together 8 years, he's visited here several times as well as me visiting there for the first time in May of 2015 for a month and then I just went in Sept of 2015 for a month. We are engaged and I have my ring, we also have my wedding ring bought. However he decided he didn't wanna wear a wedding ring so I dont see that as a big deal really, anyway I'm hoping for all the help I can get on here as I find this process very daunting and hopefully make some new friends in the Liverpool area. So I'm going to be trying to apply for a fiance visa to England to start with if I read the websites correctly then we are getting married somewhere in England (maybe at the registers office at this point) and then we are going to apply for a marriage visa.

Thanks
Lesley


----------



## JaclynPoulter

Hello, I'm Jaclyn, a US citizen and I'm getting ready to start the process of immigrating to the UK to join Olly, my husband. We married in the US this summer while he was here as a visitor and he headed back to the UK to get started on earning money and getting things in order for applying for this visa. We dated years ago and it seems that a lot has changed in terms of how difficult it is to get a spousal visa. Our plan is to apply right after Christmas and hopefully be together sometime in March. I am 100% overwhelmed by this entire process right now and am open to any advice anyone has on how to make this process go a bit easier.


----------



## sfreeman

*Hello ...*

Hi,
I am Sally, I am applying for my Husbands visa to join me in the UK from Australia, I'm finding the whole visa application super stressful and confusing ...


----------



## gazkinz123

Hi I'm Gaz I applied last year and it's now been two months my hubby is here


----------



## mlmjasmine

Hi Jasmine here,
Brand new. Planning on migrating to the UK next year with my baby girl.


----------



## fancyf

I'm new and here, because we are desperate...

Hopefully I'll have great questions, with great answers...


(can't post images yet either... sheesh)

~ƒ~


----------



## ssa1fh

*New and Homesick*

I am originally from the UK but spent past 24 years living in USA. For the past 2 years I felt homesick for the UK so I have moved back here 16 days ago and I fear I have made terrible mistake. I gave up a good job in the USA and my husband and cat are still in USA. I live alone and have a 5 month lease on an apartment. Although my family are here I am really missing the USA and my hubby and cat. I am not seeing as much of family as I would like. I feel very lonely. So sad today. I wish I had come back for an extended vacation first. I feel terrible today.


----------



## Vispop

*Howdy!*

My name is Fay Turner, and I enjoy meeting new people and finding ways to help them have an uplifting experience. I am dedicated, passionate and outgoing. Hope everyone's well! lane:


----------



## kimbo6987

Hello my name is Kim I'm an American citizen been in the UK since 2011 on a tier four student visa. Met my girlfriend Danielle and have been living together in a romantic relationship since 2012. Applying for flr m in January 2016 before my current visa runs out. Any advice or support would be grateful.


----------



## wishfulwanderer

Hey! I'm Andie. I'm moving over to the UK in January on a 2 year Teir 5 Youth Visa. I've honestly never been out of North America, but have always loved the idea of travelling, so I decided- hey, why the hell not move to a new continent. I'm thinking I want to live in Scotland for the first while, but who knows. I genuinely don't really have much of a plan. Looking for something in the hospitality/ tourism industry.. so we'll see how she goes! Any leads on anything would be much appreciated!


----------



## reneeclaire

Hello, thought I would introduce myself as I saw the sticky (now i know what one of those is!  ) 

My name is Renee and I am from NZ. Ive lived in Central London since 2011 when i came over on a youth working visa. I met my British husband at work after being here 3 weeks! We've since married, and i joined this forum when going through the first stage of spousal visa from inside NZ (with him, we took an amazing 3 months off and hung out with my friends and family and travelled all over NZ - which I would more than recommend ). 

Im keeping my eye out here at the moment, as we are applying for my next 2.5 years in the uk in two weeks time in croydon... so looking at others tips and tricks. This forum is invaluable for those applying for visas!!


----------



## Captain Sparrow

Iam Captain Sparrow from India, planning to go to England very soon. 
Have a good day all.


----------



## rude_cakes

Hi everyone. I am a UK Citizen, originally from the South East of England. I'm now living in the US (permanent resident) with my US Citizen wife. We've been married for 8 years and have two boys (2 and 5), both born here in the US.

We're joining this forum with some questions about a potential move back across the pond, but this time to Scotland. We have some friends and family in that part of the world, and we feel it could be a better place to root ourselves and raise the kids.

Looking forward to "meeting" some of you and picking some brains (in a non-zombie sense, of course...!)

Cheers
Paul


----------



## Yggdrasil

Hello, Good afternoon all.

I'm from Venezuela and my fiancée currently lives in England. We want to gather/do the paperwork for my fiancée visa this month and apply as soon as possible on 2016. I've seen an amazing and helpful information for the process in many threads, have some questions still tho, hopefully I can find them searching the forum

Cheers!


----------



## cjorgs

Hi! Wanted to introduce myself. I'm Chris, I am a U.S. citizen anxiously awaiting a spouse settlement visa determination for the U.K. My wife and I married just over a year ago. She is a British citizen and I will be joining her soon. I weaned a lot of information from this forum during my visa submission process. Thank you to all who maintain and contribute to this forum. It is so helpful.


----------



## Stefanvanrutten

Hi All, 

At the moment I am an expat in the Netherlands. And verry soon i go to UK! During my stay in the Netherlands i met a really nice girl from UK. So my next step is to go to United Kingdom.


----------



## RKAUR87

Hi All,

I am RKAUR87, basically from India, came to UK in 2013 after marrying a British Citizen. I recently got my second extension on Spouse visa. These forums have been extensive useful to me. I have been reading these forums for last 2 years, but I registered just today and posted my first thread about successful FLR (M) application.

Also, I want to thank you all, who have been contributing and maintaining this forum very nicely.


----------



## Stefanvanrutten

RKAUR87 said:


> Hi All,
> 
> I am RKAUR87, basically from India, came to UK in 2013 after marrying a British Citizen. I recently got my second extension on Spouse visa. These forums have been extensive useful to me. I have been reading these forums for last 2 years, but I registered just today and posted my first thread about successful FLR (M) application.
> 
> Also, I want to thank you all, who have been contributing and maintaining this forum very nicely.


Welcome,

I think you know how it works here, so you don't need a tour in here to find everything out


----------



## okkhu

Hello everyone, I am okkhu, from Lahore Pakistan. It is my first day on this forum and I would like to provide any help as I could for Tier 4 applicants.


----------



## J4mrk82

Hi I'm new to the forum finding it hard to use it


----------



## J4mrk82

Any advise I can get on spouse visa plz


----------



## J4mrk82

RKAUR87 said:


> Hi All,
> 
> I am RKAUR87, basically from India, came to UK in 2013 after marrying a British Citizen. I recently got my second extension on Spouse visa. These forums have been extensive useful to me. I have been reading these forums for last 2 years, but I registered just today and posted my first thread about successful FLR (M) application.
> 
> Also, I want to thank you all, who have been contributing and maintaining this forum very nicely.


Hi, I'm new to this site. I got my spouse visa in November 2013 in Pakistan to come to the UK, I did the esol city guilds a1 test, visa runs out in august 2016. How early can I apply for flrm, also can I use my esol certificate as it was used when I applied to come here. And the final question is that I was made redundant in October 2015, start my new job in January witch is paying less witch is only £17500, how do I meet the requirements


----------



## okkhu

Hello J4mrk82, this thread is for introductions of new members only. You can find information about spouse visa on threads related specifically to spouse visa. You can post a new thread of your own there, as nobody here would be able to provide you help on that.


----------



## J4mrk82

When can I start sending messages??


----------



## J4mrk82

Hi I'm khal, I have been in the uk for about 2 years on a spouse visa, hope to gain a lot from this site to process my Flrm process which is due soon and with all the new changes, hope u can help.


----------



## Joppa

Post your questions on the main forum.


----------



## TanTheMan

Hi I am TanTheMan, I have been a lurker on this forum for a while and it has helped me a lot to understand what I need to do to bring my fiance over to the UK.

I am getting ready to put in our application for a fiance visa and hope to get some advice on a few queiries that I have.

I have seen from other posts that members are really helpful and have a lot of knowledge regarding the visa process etc...specially Joppa and Nyclon.


----------



## RKAUR87

J4mrk82 said:


> Hi, I'm new to this site. I got my spouse visa in November 2013 in Pakistan to come to the UK, I did the esol city guilds a1 test, visa runs out in august 2016. How early can I apply for flrm, also can I use my esol certificate as it was used when I applied to come here. And the final question is that I was made redundant in October 2015, start my new job in January witch is paying less witch is only £17500, how do I meet the requirements


Hi, You can apply for extension one month prior to your expiry date, that is you can apply in July 2016. Other thing, you need to show sufficient funds, which are £18600 for a single applicant. you can combine your spouse's income as well. Or, you can find some sponsor, whose details you can provide to show sufficient funds, or self employment income, bank savings, anything. It should be £18600, otherwise your application will be refused. check my thread , where I posted a link explaining all about financial requirements. 

I provide my expired IELTS certificate for English requirement proof and it was accepted. So, I guess you can use your ESOL one, if it is approved in list of secured English tests.


----------



## Herrybraun

Hi, I am Herry, single male from Leeds, UK. I am engaged with a local cosmetic company that provides botox treatment services in local West Yorkshire, UK area.

Herry


----------



## michaelh

Howdy All,

I am Michael, from South Africa. I plan on applying for my UK ancestral visa early next year (2016). I have already began applying for jobs. My wife and I are hoping to travel at the same , however I may have to move first and then have her join me once things are more secure.

I am looking forward to new adventures.....slightly nervous.

Mike


----------



## yaniv4321

Hello
I am Yaniv,France/Israel national living and workig in uk married to Duen, Thai national
Duen applied for EEA FP and got it, we will apply for EEA1 and EEA2 by the end of this month/year 

Yaniv


----------



## Heather-Anne

*introduction*

Hello,
My name is Heather and I am Canadian. I live in Canada with my Scottish - born husband
We are hoping to move to Edinburgh sometime in 2016.
it will be nice to hear about other people and their adventure in settling in to the UK
Thank you for the opportunity to be involved
Heather


----------



## CSquared

Hello!
My name is Courtney, and I'm from the US. I'm a Sociology/Anthropology student. Planning on going to the UK in May to visit my boyfriend and study, but still working everything out. 
I figured this site would be a good place to start.


----------



## michaelzero

HI guys, UK citizen living in New Zealand since I was 2! 

Been back lots of times, lived there for 2 years from 2011-2012. 

Now I'd like to move there with my partner!


----------



## Pete_A

G'day Folks, 

I am an Australian born, dual UK/Aus and my wife is Australian. We are currently based in Australia. 

We are looking at settling in the UK and I am currently trying to fully understand the VISA / Immigration system. 

She is a medical Scientist and has decent paying locum work available as soon as we can ourselves to the UK and legally able to work. As she is over 30, we can't use the 2 year working VISA path. 

I am still finding my way around the forums, but if there are threads that already deal with our type of situation, links would be great. 

Cheers, 
Pete


----------



## SAH33

*Intro*

Hello Everyone!

My name is Shannon. I am a US citizen currently living in Florida. It has always been my dream to move to Scotland, my grandma was born there, and I'm working towards making that a reality in late 2016 or 2017. This forum seemed like a great place to start!

Looking forward to hearing some tips and suggestions you all have learned in your own experiences.

Thanks,
Shannon


----------



## tedari

*Hello to the world of expats*

Hi guys, 

Thanks for having me. I am currently working and living in the UK while I finish my degree. This is full-time career and degree with one of the largest banks in the UK that will give me the qualifications to ensure I can make a proper start when I move to South East Asia in about 4 years time. It is exhausting but it'll be worth it. 

In the meantime, I am engaged to a lovely Chinese girl, who wishes to stay with me in the UK until we are able to travel the world. Unfortunately, the British government keep making it harder and more expensive for legitimate couples to be together in Britain. The applications are filled with twists and turns and bad web applications that crash and take your money, but don't allow you to move to the next stage, and time is running out. 

Any advice that anyone can offer to us would be much appreciated. Thank you all, and I hope that I can share some advice in the future.

Danny


----------



## AlannaAdventure

**

Hi everyone! I'm Alanna - Canadian living in SE England! Just moved over and getting settled. Hope everyone is doing well!


----------



## Joppa

Welcome all. Please post queries on the main forum.


----------



## AlannaAdventure

Hey Andie! Nice to see another Canadian making the move over to the Uk! Hope you settled into your new life well!


----------



## Batul

Hi, I'm Batul. I live in Hertfordshire, my wife spouse visa is due to expire and I am in the midst of putting the application together. I stumbled across this site while trying to get some visa application answers via my good friend Google. Now I've discovered expat forum this will be my main resource for visa information. A big round of appreciation goes to the creators and advisors on this site.


----------



## freezing

Hello everyone. I have been just reading the forum as me and my husband are planning to move to UK this year. I am just worried about making the applications correctly and not ****ing up as we have a sort of schedule planned out. 

We are 30 and 37 and i am EEA national while he is non-EEA (so we are looking at the family permit....).


----------



## UKSpark

*American in Suffolk*

Hello

I'm an ex-air force member and have lived in East Anglia since 2008.

I've come across this site in a panic I'm afraid, I'll post a thread for the detailed reason why. The short version is that, naively, I didn't think I had to file taxes with the U.S. as I'd cut ties with military employment and worked for RBS to start my career as a UK resident in the making. I'd like to know where to start in order to resolve the situation.

Glad to have found the community


----------



## doctorwhy

Hi, I'm Vic. Moved to UK from Ukraine some time ago, found this forum, will do some reading, see what's what  Nice meeting you all.


----------



## Erielle

Hello. I'm Eri and I'm from the US and am applying for a fiance visa so I can move to the UK and marry my love. 

My fiance and I have been in an ongoing relationship for six and a half years and have been engaged for almost two. We'll be getting married at the end of April, assuming everything goes according to plan. haha.

I've lurked here for a few days before register and have found everyone to be most helpful. Thanks a bunch for all the information!


----------



## achandler

Hello ALL! I'm Alfreda (female) from Indiana USA. I recently took an early retirement and decided that this was my YEAR to consider transitioning abroad. I choose Denmark because it's on my list of places to visit this year however, I'm open to suggestions. I'm not so much worried about the perfect climate but places that expat friendly and to younger retirees in their forties. I have spent all my adult life in Indiana and have travelled abroad for work but now I want to find somewhere I can meet new people and just enjoy life. Again, any suggestions would be great, I'm excited to read some of your posts and explore this forum! Thanks for having me.


----------



## Rajiv26

*Hello Everyone*

Hi everyone I am Rajiv from Mauritius but currently studying in Paris and hopefully will be applying for the proposed civil partner visa soon. Great advice everytime on the forum. Thank you!


----------



## britishbengali

*hi*

hi my name is rob i was born in bangladesh but came to england when i was 3 i got married last jan and am trying to bring my wife over to settle with me in the uk and its very stressful and expensive! i hope i can get help on this forum :fingerscrossed:


----------



## nwebb62

Hey, my name is Nick. My wife and daughter moved with me to NW London about 18 months ago. Prior to the move, we had live in Stamford, CT. Also, our dog, Dexter, came with us. Just found this forum.


----------



## roxs

Missblissbear said:


> Hi I'm Kelly, I'm an Aussie and my hubby is dual UK/Aussie as are our kids. We have lived in Australia all our married life and have decided to head to the UK to join hubby's family business. We are hoping to head over first week of March, so the last 3 months I have been madly selling off all our stuff, organising passports and trying to get my visa. Still waiting on the visa.... Hopefully will have in back in the next 2 weeks so we can organise flights and finalise schools for the kids apon our arrival....soooo much to do!


By the time you know it will be all done and the hassle will be a distance memory.


----------



## Broham

*Hello!*

Hi Everyone

My name is Dylan, I live in South Africa and joined this forum to gain some insightful knowledge to move to the UK with my long term Girlfriend. :fingerscrossed:

Happy to be on here! 

Cheers


----------



## tanidr

Hi Everyone,
My name is Tanaka, I currently live in India. I moved back to India a few months back to start the process of my move to the UK to join my fiancee. Our visa process is complicated as he doesn't get a visa to India and I was working abroad. So I have to move to the UK for us to be together finally. Looking forward to actively engage with the forum.
Many thanks!


----------



## JKearns

My name is Julie and we (my husband and three boys) are attempting to relocate to the UK from Australia as newly trained teachers for September 2016. We have both made a recent career change, selling our financial planning business of the last 10 years, retraining as teachers and now looking to find full time employment in a high school teaching Economics, Business Studies, Commerce and Maths, while David (my husband) is qualified to teach in Primary schools. The kids are nervous about the big move. They are reasonably well travelled, but that's only been for holidays. The idea of moving to another country is a little scary for them, but I'm sure everything will fall into place once we're settled.

As yet, we don't have jobs lined up, as we've had to wait for positions to be advertised for the new school year, but looking online this is starting to happen, so we will get the ball rolling on this very soon.

We are looking for work, housing and a great community from Birmingham to southern England. We are a little older than the average working visa applicant (early 40s), but we figure that we offer our future school, two enthusiastic worldly teachers, and 3 new enrolments (our boys are aged 9, 10, and 13).

JKearns


----------



## butteries

*Hiya*

Hiya everyone,

My husband and I and our 2 young children (5 & 2) are moving from Australia to the UK in August this year. We lived there before and can't wait to take our kids over there and srat another chapter of our life.


----------



## kellythecat

*oh the anxiety*

I'm Kelly, a Canadian married to a Welsh bloke. We met in Spain in 2013 an were married in August 2015. We lived together in Cardiff for 5 months last year. One day maybe the stars will align and we can somehow be together permanently. 

I have been perusing this forum for about a year now. I've been working on a spouse visa for about 6 months, gone through a few different attempts and my latest attempt actually got to the interview stage but I cancelled it and requested a refund due to missing paperwork.

All we talk about when we call is the visa. I'm suffering anxiety, heart palpitations and woke up this morning to nightmares about this

the biggest struggle with this is trying to figure out what documents are needed since the instructions are so vague. where does it say you need a cover letter for instance? or a letter from your spouse/sponsor? Do I submit all of my phone records or just a couple months here and there? My phone company only issues pdf print-outs so will the visa office even accept them? Can I get Koodo to stamp them as authentic, I don't know. my husbands phone bills only show outgoing, and he uses foocall so my number isnt even there. How many wedding pictures should we include. our wedding was an Asatru ceremony, pretty informal on the cheap. our pictures are unprofessional. Would an uncertified scan of his passport combined with original birth certificate be adequate or should i certify the passport copy? Do I photocopy everything and submit copies as well? Trying to get originals of anything is a huge pain in the ass since everything is electronic. For a long time his bank refused to sign or stamp e-statements. They do now though thank god. they must have changed policies.


when I do finally submit the damn thing I will be sure to report back to this forum with what I did submit.

If my man didn't have a really good job in the UK I would seriously question the wisdom of this endeavor. No one immigrates away from Canada. Everyone looks at me like I'm a nutjob when I tell them what I am doing. :S Especially giving up the sunny Okanagan for the rains of Cardiff. He is worth everything to me but I just wish the process was easier. 

sorry for rant. Had really bad day today with this and I feel so lost.


----------



## Marty50

Hi, I am relocating back to England after being away for 25 years. I need so much advice I do not know where to start. I saw this site after surfing for answers and I wouls like help, as much help as I can get.


----------



## nyclon

kellythecat said:


> I'm Kelly, a Canadian married to a Welsh bloke. We met in Spain in 2013 an were married in August 2015. We lived together in Cardiff for 5 months last year. One day maybe the stars will align and we can somehow be together permanently.
> 
> I have been perusing this forum for about a year now. I've been working on a spouse visa for about 6 months, gone through a few different attempts and my latest attempt actually got to the interview stage but I cancelled it and requested a refund due to missing paperwork.
> 
> All we talk about when we call is the visa. I'm suffering anxiety, heart palpitations and woke up this morning to nightmares about this
> 
> the biggest struggle with this is trying to figure out what documents are needed since the instructions are so vague. where does it say you need a cover letter for instance? or a letter from your spouse/sponsor? Do I submit all of my phone records or just a couple months here and there? My phone company only issues pdf print-outs so will the visa office even accept them? Can I get Koodo to stamp them as authentic, I don't know. my husbands phone bills only show outgoing, and he uses foocall so my number isnt even there. How many wedding pictures should we include. our wedding was an Asatru ceremony, pretty informal on the cheap. our pictures are unprofessional. Would an uncertified scan of his passport combined with original birth certificate be adequate or should i certify the passport copy? Do I photocopy everything and submit copies as well? Trying to get originals of anything is a huge pain in the ass since everything is electronic. For a long time his bank refused to sign or stamp e-statements. They do now though thank god. they must have changed policies.
> 
> 
> when I do finally submit the damn thing I will be sure to report back to this forum with what I did submit.
> 
> If my man didn't have a really good job in the UK I would seriously question the wisdom of this endeavor. No one immigrates away from Canada. Everyone looks at me like I'm a nutjob when I tell them what I am doing. :S Especially giving up the sunny Okanagan for the rains of Cardiff. He is worth everything to me but I just wish the process was easier.
> 
> sorry for rant. Had really bad day today with this and I feel so lost.



There are numerous document checklists. Do a search of the forum. Please ask your questions on the forum. There is no interview.


----------



## Marty50

I love Canada. 25 years here. Had a great vacation in Kelowna and the BC interior. 

I some times question what I am doing. I have a good opportunity.

Thanks for getting in touch. Get dual citizenship. I hold both a british and Canadian. 
I love Canada.


----------



## Mangala1

*New to the Forum*

I live in london and came to the UK as an asylum seeker with my Family nearly 20 years ago.

My husband currently lives in Democratic republic of Congo and we have a child together and want to finally be together!
This site is very useful and wish for all to be blessed with thier Visa.I enjoy,travelling different food and a a practising Christian and gosepl singer


----------



## Cadmio

Hello! My name is Camilo. I'm Chilean by birth and Italian by heritage. I have a degree on Hospitality Management and about 2 and half years of experience in the Hotel industry. I currently work at "W Santiago".

My idea is to find a job and home in the UK or basically Europe. The thing is I don't decide where to... I have some money saved to go and adventure myself but I will like some advice!

Greetings everyone


----------



## Goro

Hello everyone

I've been living in Japan for three years now but want to move back home to England with my Japanese fiancé next year. I'm hoping it works out! 

G


----------



## koby

Hi All, I'm koby from london. planning do marry this may with my fiancee in france. need to apply fpr marriage visitor visa for her. I hope, i can get more help from expatforum expert ppls


----------



## isaacdfrank

*Indian applying for spouse visa*

Hi, my name is Isaac. Married a British citizen in India. Applying for spouse visa next week. Any last minute tips would be helpful


----------



## AuroraSkye

Hi all!

I'm an American who is applying for a fiance visa to join my British fiance with wedding plans set for June. Super excited and getting even more so with putting in this application. Hope to be able to do so in the next two weeks or so.

I've been endlessly combing through this forum. It has such valuable information and some really great people/moderators. I'm so glad this is here. The moderators have been wonderful with their knowledge on the visa process.


----------



## Koko123

Hi I am Koko, originally from Ghana and married to a British wife with 2 kids. We were residing in Ghana but have have all moved to Spain as my wife got a job in Spain. After some time we hope to be admitted to go back to the UK. 

I have followed this forum for some time and noticed awesome contributions from people, and the moderators.

I will definitely be seeking your advise on issues and likewise making immense contributions to others through my long experience with UK visas.


----------



## LoveGarnet

Hi I'm a wee American hoping to join my wife in Scotland in the beginning on April and start our lives together. We got married in October 2015. My application is submitted and I'm honestly so stressed out about it, haha.


----------



## LoveRedNBlack

*Glad to be here*

Greetings,

Looking forward to my dream of moving to the UK and just wanted to introduce myself here. Continued blessings to you alllane:


----------



## LoveRedNBlack

*Will Dream Ever Become a Reality*

Greetings All,

I have been glancing over some of the wonderful posts on here and I am so glad that i found this website. My heart truly aches to be in England because i fell in love with the country two years ago to this day as my parents gave me a two week holiday over there as a birthday gift. I have three to four friends with families there and i miss them alot. I sometime wonder if i will ever return there as a new citizen? I dont have anyone special in my life nor a job lined up and it seems that's the only way im gonna make it there.

In other words, should i just give up on my dream? Im really happy for all of those who have found their special love and enjoying their new lives there.

Continued blessings to all of you


----------



## Joppa

There are other countries beside UK where you may be happy. Keep your options open, explore the world (not easy with Ghanaian passport I admit) and choose wisely.


----------



## danny88

*brit + phil*

Hello everyone, this is my first day on the forum so please bare with me, I have done a lot of reading on here tonight and already grateful for the stories and information shared.
I am a 27 year old British male, me and my fiancé from the Philippines will soon be going through the process of the fiancé visa, A lot of the stories I have read show me that a lot of you have achieved what you wanted with regards to the visa and are now sharing to help others. 

any help and advise that can be given to me and my fiancé would be appreciated, I do have many questions although I have done a lot of research and am putting documents in too place now along with paying immigration lawyers when it seems all the help I need is on here. 

I look forward to speaking to some of you.


----------



## brazilgirl

Hello fellow expats. My name is Kim and I am an American who married a Brazilian over 20 years ago. I have been living in Brazil for the last 27 years in a small town between Rio and Sāo Paulo.
We have three wonderful kids with dual citizenship. I am mainly here to sort out the logistics of the new tax issues for American citizens and for my kids ( futurely). 
I also enjoy reading of fellow expats' experiences.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk


----------



## M4HON

Hi, my name is Duanne, originally from South Africa but more of a Brit now given how long I have been living here. Married to a gorgeous Russian girl and we have a daughter. If anyone is going down the FLMR route we feel your pain as we have the T shirt!!


----------



## JStich

Hi all! I'm Jasmyn, a west coast Canadian gal now living in south-east Surrey. I met my Brit almost 4 years ago, so I moved over in October 2014 to be with him. Now we're figuring out how to keep me here!
Looking forward to seeing y'all on the forum


----------



## Myra1986

Hi I'm Myra and living in the UK for more than 5 years from the Philippines.


----------



## ameliabysea

I'm an Australian, married to a Brit - both living in Australia and wanting to move to the UK asap.
He's applying for UK jobs right now - as soon as he gets an offer I'll apply. I think our 'situation' is pretty straightforward so I'm hoping we have no problems with my visa but who knows!!


----------



## Madgrrl

Hi everyone, I'm a Scottish girl in a relationship with a Kiwi (living in Aus) who I met online in 2014, looking to close the gap between us asap and hoping I'll get some good advice here!


----------



## bubblegum87

hi my name is sadie i new to this but was after some information about sponsoring a family visitor... please could someone direct me to the correct page... thankyou


----------



## TMSM

Hi I'm British living in USA, my husband and 2 kids are just starting to navigate the journey of settlement visa to move back to Britain. So glad I have found this forum it has already been a great source of information!

?


----------



## haggisman

Hi I'm Peter living in Edinburgh, got married in 2014 to a wonderful Taiwanese girl, we are currently going through an appeal for FLR(M) extension application. Glad to have found this forum gives a feeling of support and is a source of a lot of information in these difficult and stressful days.


----------



## bpharaoh

Hi all, I am wanting to find out as much as possible about the difficulties/hurdles with moving to the uk from Australia. I am an experienced senior teacher who earns $100k+ and want to relocate my wife and 5 children to north west England. Does anyone have any experience with moving their family overseas to England and any special advice. Please help!


----------



## Maliyah

Hi iam Maliyah from Uganda and the applicant. .my hubby is on ILR and we have been long distance since 2012 , married in April 2015 and hope to apply this month..This forum is truelly heaven sent


----------



## zephyrus17

Greetings all! My name is Gary and I'm a resident in Australia, trying to get a job in UK...


----------



## yulismaa

Greetings all!

I just moved to the UK on EEA (FP) now I am waiting for my residence card.


----------



## NomiKaay

Hi Everyone,

Username is NomiKaay (NK). Have been living in the UK since Summer of 2009. Graduated in Summer of 2013 and now working as a professional in Project Management since beginning of 2014. Lots of hard work on the way!

My transition from an International student to a, somewhat, successful professional has been appraised by many. I had to overcome language, culture, personal and professional barriers to be in the state I am now. 

Anyhow, if anyone requires help with an aspect they think I might be familiar with - happy to help!


----------



## geminihunter

Greetings everyone!

Moving to the UK to join my wife in June '16, and although I've been there numerous times I'm still nervous about what living there will be like, especially taking care of my young family and finding a friendly community to engage with. Hope to learn as much as I can from the good people on here.

regards,


----------



## ehayes21

*Hello There!*

I am currently in the US and engaged to be married in October of this year. Originally we were planning on settling in the states after the wedding, but the universe decided to throw us both a couple of curve balls and I will be moving to the UK. Unfortunately, my situation is no longer straight forward either - I need to move quickly, with two dogs and I need to be able to work. I joined this forum in hopes the good people here could steer me in the right direction, share their experiences on what I can expect and perhaps teach me how to make a proper cup of tea.  

Cheers.


----------



## fb2009

Hi, 
I am Fahad Khan, from Pakistan, moved to UK few years back. Joined this forum to get answers about my wife's settlement visa application 2 weeks ago ( which she got  ) and this forum has been very helpful regarding any query I had. 
It was a settlement visa as a self employed / sole trader sponsor from UK for my wife in Denmark. 
I really appreciate Joppa who is always there to help people  
Stay blessed.


----------



## mpgalante

Hello. Michael here. Will be relocating to the UK working out of the Maidenhead office of my company. Am thinking about looking for a flat in nearby Reading. Excited for the move and thankful for any advice/suggestions about anything. 

I've been in NYC the past 10 years, play the drums, love to cycle and travel.


----------



## PrivateHeart

Hi all. I'm PrivateHeart, I'm new to this forum though I've been reading up for some months now.
I am living with my kids here in Huddersfield, but we're planning to relocate to Spain probably next year.
This forum is very helpful and provides good information. Thank you in advance for answers to questions I might post here in the future!


----------



## CodyLoia

Hi all!

New Mexico American here, with potential plans to relocate to the Wiltshire region with ideal location being around Swindon or Chippenham. 

I'm a bit confused as to how to go about this, to be honest; I'm doing some good hard planning, so it's not so much the tales of a potential ex-pat as the tales of someone making plans to make a trip to consider whether or not they're a potential ex-pat. Haha!

Well, either way, I think and hope my questions will all be relevant and not to hair-pullingly annoying. I've managed to calculate the bigger things such as air fare and lodging for a two-month visit ideally scheduled for spring/summer of 2017 (though in my current situation, 2018 might be more realistic).

It's not just childish wishful thinking prompting my overseas, though it is about 75% of the matter. I'm getting started on a degree in Wind Technology at one of the few American schools where on-the-job training also occurs, since we have our own turbine on campus. My hopes in obtaining this degree is that it can pave the way to getting me a foothold on the international job market.


----------



## Joppa

You should post specific questions in the main forum, but welcome nonetheless.
Just getting a US degree doesn't open the UK job market for you. You need to be sponsored, and the employer must demonstrate they tried to recruit within UK but without success.


----------



## CodyLoia

Yeah, apologies; I tend to be a bit on the verbose side. I am aware of the requirements in terms of a job; my point there was more that wind-tech is one of the businesses that has a large export/import market for jobs, so I'm thinking the combo of the degree and the worksite experience could help open doors.

I'll get busy putting together a topic for the main forum; thanks for the warm welcome.


----------



## imadeddine

Hello everyone, I am imad from Algeria, I am industrial engineer, at the moment I am working and studying in moscow (Russia), I am planning to move on in the future, one of the destinations in my plan is UK, I will be very pleased if you share with my some tips about laws, visas, studies...etc in UK. Thank you


----------



## southernbelleinscotland

Hi guys! I'm Rachel, and I'm from Alabama and have been living in Scotland for 2.5 years. I married my Scottish husband in 2012, and came to the UK on a spousal visa in 2013. We're about to apply for FLR(M). Nice to meet all of you.


----------



## Bossangel39

Hi my name is Simon I'm currently visiting my Russian wife Svetlana and her daughter Viktoria for 2 weeks. I'm happy to meet you all and look forward to bouncing off of one another


----------



## thekentishwife

Hi ladies and gentlemen, I'm Emily, a Hong Kong city girl who married to an Englishman last year and moving to Kent next month! My man was born and bred in the UK and then moved to HK 6 years ago. After experiencing a different lifestyle, he decided to move back to Kent, which led me to this amazing online resource!


----------



## Evert0nian

Hello! First post! I am Cher, I am delighted this site exists! I hope to share and get experience via the site. Glad to meet you all. I am from the USA and my husband is English. I had a few speed bumps upon arrival and am better for having had the experience but it can be scary and heart wrenching...as you folks probably know. I have many questions...MANY. Until I begin this next chapter, I pray you all continue to pursue happiness and find joy in each day!


----------



## Ldog2623

Hello all!

My name is Leng. I'm a US citizen and my wife is is UK citizen. We're apart now and I'm hoping that we can be reunited this year once my UK spouse visa is filed and approved. Glad to land on this forum to meet similar people!


----------



## Mehvishk89

Hi I'm mehvish I moved to the uk from Pakistan on spouse visa back in November 2013, I got the visa for 33 months and it's coming to an end in August , so hopefully I can get plenty of support from u guys to help me with my application. I heard the knowledge on this site is great so look forward to speaking with u peeps.


----------



## Whatwhy

Hey, I'm Lithuanian male married to an Albanian girl. We lived in Lithuania for many years already. However we see ourselves in UK in the near future. We both studied international business, my mife going into economics and management, and me into finance. I've read this forum now for couple of weeks as a non-registered user and I am impressed of how much information there is in here. Decided to join it, because of the fact that we are applying for EEA family permit, and hopefuly we will find assistance here. Nonetheless, good vides people, spread the good vibes.


----------



## Missfunks

*hello everyone*

Hi everyone, Nigerian female now living in the UK, newly married and hoping my husband can join me here in the UK soon. Recently applied for his visa and been having sleepless nights since beginning the application process (lol). I didn't realise how stressful it would be navigating these waters! I was introduced to this forum by a friend who found it helpful during her successful application and i have found it has been helpful to me as well so far and so i've just decided to register. Thanks to everyone in advance for any help


----------



## Avenuex

Hi everyone! 
I`m Natalie, I`m 24 and I am from Russia. I met my fiancee in Paris, France in July, 2013. We met loads of times in person and I am currently in a process of waiting for my Fiancee/Settlement visa so we can get married in Septemper as we`ve planned. Can`t wait to get a positive result because the last time we`ve seen each other was in the beggining of September last year:Cry:
My hobbies: travel, music, films, hiking
In ~1,5 months I will get my degree in Interpreting.:nerd:


----------



## Ineedyouradvice

Hi
I am a Turkish national living in the U.K. Since 2008,I came to this country on a student visa n stayed on student visa till April 2013 during this time I was dating my soulmate and on his will we entered into a civil partnership in 2013
It's been 3 years we are in civil partnership n loving every single second of it
This forum is full of generous people who are willing to help you regardlessly 
Thank you so much for your time !


----------



## Ivy0623

Hi, I'm Ivy from Taiwan. I'm in the relationship with my boyfriend(British) for 1 and 5 months now, and we lived together since 07/2015 which is for 10 months now.
We really hope we can apply for the unmarried partner visa before my student visa expired which will be 10/2017, and that's the main reason we live together now.
We have joint account, share-bill and tendency agreement as evidence but it still seems not enough. We will try to find more information here and also ask everyone's advice, and hope we can apply for it successfully.
So happy to join this forum.


----------



## azaliarazor

I am an American and I go by Azzy. I moved to Belfast to be with my Dutch soulmate. We got married a bit over a year ago. I had traveled for years back and forth from USA to NL before he found a job in Belfast and we were able to close the distance with the freedom of movement EEA2 laws. I am hoping for my UK card soon since we had a delay with him having to go back over to NL and get a renewed passport( His only had a few months left on it). We have now and they took cash and we are waiting for my biometric appointment letter and COA. We happily live in UK now with our cats we got as kittens our last summer in Holland in our new life in Northern Ireland.


----------



## azaliarazor

ehayes21 said:


> I am currently in the US and engaged to be married in October of this year. Originally we were planning on settling in the states after the wedding, but the universe decided to throw us both a couple of curve balls and I will be moving to the UK. Unfortunately, my situation is no longer straight forward either - I need to move quickly, with two dogs and I need to be able to work. I joined this forum in hopes the good people here could steer me in the right direction, share their experiences on what I can expect and perhaps teach me how to make a proper cup of tea.
> 
> Cheers.


We moved with 2 cats and brought them to UK. If you want any help with how we did it. Please feel free to PM me.


----------



## jacquelinemsy

Hi I am Jacqueline. I am new to the forum. I came across this forum from one of my client who uses the forum. I am an immigration advisor from a law firm who loves to help people. I know there are thousands of Brits whom have foreign spouses and British children whom have to stay abroad because they cannot meet the financial requirements or English requirements.

I have huge sympathy for them and would like to be able to help them. I know many law firms charge consultation fee and many people will come to the forum to look for an answer. I am happy to provide FREE advice because I understand how anxious it can be not knowing how to deal with immigration problems.

For anyone who needs help, feel free to message me or if you're more open, in a post here so everyone can benefit.


----------



## jacquelinemsy

Hi Ivy, I understand you would like to apply for unmarried partner route. Do you mind if I advise you here? I'm happy to PM you but if others could make use of the information it would be worth sharing.


----------



## MissmyKids

Hi everyone my name is Julie. I currently live in America with my American husband and planning our move back to the UK where my son and daughter, four grandaughters and one grandson live. I have lived in America for getting on for 14 years because I love my husband but I miss my country and my kids.

I joined another forum but did not find it as friendly or informative as this one so here I am!


----------



## Exewhyzeee

Hello all! I’m Jenn. I have lived in California 95% of my life (the other 5% was in Florida.) I am currently working for a company that is probably (90% sure) to our London office for a new position that just opened up on a 2-year contract with an option to extend.

I have a boyfriend of 5 years (we do not live together, never have) and a 9 year old daughter. I am trying to get an idea of what is feasible and what is not by way of taking them both with me. (My daughter will definitely be coming with me, but the boyfriend is still up in the air.)

I was so excited to find this site as everyone seems so helpful and it is great feeling you aren’t alone navigating these waters!

Thanks to everyone who has helped me thus far and those that will undoubtedly help me in the future!


----------



## BULLDOG111

Hi everyone my name is bulldog111. I live in uk . from uk. just about to start spouse visa and hopefully get help if needed as it seems to me there is some clever people on this forum more advanced than my solicitor :fingerscrossed:.


----------



## Ivy0623

*Thanks for your reply*



jacquelinemsy said:


> Hi Ivy, I understand you would like to apply for unmarried partner route. Do you mind if I advise you here? I'm happy to PM you but if others could make use of the information it would be worth sharing.


That'll be great if you can give us some advises about unmarried partner visa. My boyfriend and I are really worry about this, and that's why we want to prepare for this earlier.


----------



## luthienj

*luthienj*

Hi All,
I'm Luthienj, my husband moved in Chelmsford one month ago and we'll follow with all the family in august.
I'm both scared and excited, it's a big change for us...
Happy to be here in any case


----------



## onceanexpat

Hi I'm Tracey! 
Australian who has lived in the UK previously, now back in Melbourne. I am looking to move to the US in 12-18 months so I will be mostly in the USA forum but I will lurk around here every now and then and participate where I can.
Thanks for having me


----------



## JessV

Hello everyone,

I'm Jess. I'm Canadian and currently living Canada. My husband is from the UK and currently living there. We've been dating for about 2 years and were married in Canada a couple of weeks ago. I'm hoping to submit my spouse visa application in a couple of weeks. We're expecting a child towards the end of July, and I'm aiming to join my husband in the UK while it's early enough in the pregnancy that I'm still allowed to fly, so that gives me about 7 weeks to get everything submitted and (hopefully) approved.


----------



## Joppa

Congratulations on your pregnancy. You do know that giving birth in UK means the child will be British otherwise than by descent, giving them transmissible citizenship which is always useful to have?


----------



## JessV

Thanks Joppa! We're both really excited, but also a little nervous. We're really hoping my visa application will be accepted in time for me to give birth in the UK so that my husband and I can be together for that. 

I'll admit I haven't had a chance to look too closely at the different ways in which one can be British (aside from those related to settling visas), so thank you for pointing that out. That does look like it will be a nice thing for my child to have.


----------



## AnOceanApart

Welcome, Jess, and congratulations on both your marriage and your pregnancy!  I'm from the US but I live in Toronto, too! Best of luck and I hope you're in the UK for the birth


----------



## lizbth

Hi all,

I'm Liz. I'm Canadian, currently living in Canada. I'm about to graduate from university and start college for early childhood education. After that, I'd like to move to England to teach, but I'd figure I'd get a jumpstart on the whole process because figuring out qualifications is pretty confusing, and then there's still the day to day stuff (housing, healthcare, transportation, etc) to figure out. I'm hoping to be able to figure out as much stuff as possible before I go to actually apply


----------



## JessV

Thanks for the welcome, AnOceanApart! I hope Toronto is treating you well. 

Welcome Liz! Best of luck with all your preparations.


----------



## lizbth

Thank you, Jess V! Congrats on both your marriage and pregnancy


----------



## whatahw

Hello everyone,

I'm Irish living and working in the UK. My fiancé is Japanese and we plan to get married in Japan this September. After that we'll apply for the EEA Family Permit so she can join me in the UK. We've been together for nearly 2 years but never actually cohabited... :fingerscrossed:

I hope to learn from all of your experiences. Thanks!


----------



## Ticklefish

*Hello from Cape Town*

Hi, I'm May from Cape Town. Making a move to the UK in July. Still busy with all the sorting, selling, giving away and research needed to enable a smooth transition. Good to meet you all and thanks for sharing your experiences to help us all along!


----------



## Joppa

Welcome all. Any questions will be answered on the main discussion forum.


----------



## wongong1902

Hi there! I am currently in Malaysia and married to a fellow Malaysian on ILR in the UK. I just filed my application yesterday and this forum provided many valuable guidance along the way! 

I am happy to share my experience and would keep this forum updated. 

Just a note that I thought of sharing - If you own a Singapore driving license, it is convertible to a UK driving license. Malaysian license, on the other hand, is not recognized :eyebrows::eyebrows:


----------



## TRobHux

UK citizen based in London, currently going through the UK spouse visa process with my American wife. Met in London in 2010, married in the US in 2016. Still based in respective UK and US cities pending visa process!


----------



## RavenOaxley

*Hi to everyone!*

Hi, I'm Raven, I am from the Philippines married to a very loving and undeniably handsome British man named Gab :eyebrows: I hope to meet new friends here in this lovely forum. Cheers! :cheer2:


----------



## Mark Fleeman

*New but not really to the UK*

I'm an American married to a British citizen and I've lived in the UK now on my second year. I work in aviation and travel a bit around Europe which is very enjoyable. I have a stepson here in England and my daughter lives in the US. 
I'm looking forward in traveling around Europe a lot more and seeing Scotland.


----------



## Rauskel

Hey everyone!

US citizen applying to be with my husband in the UK in about a month. We met a little over two years ago while traveling, have been married for about a year, and separated for nearly 6 months while he works in the UK to build up all the docs we need to apply.

I've been reading the forum for a few months trying to pick up info, and now am ready to ask a few questions and we start collecting the final versions of everything.

Thanks for what I've been able to pick up so far, and in advance for your help!


----------



## LetiSparkles

Hi all.
I'm a young South African, Zimbabwe resident trying to figure things out to get to UK for a better potential future for myself. 

probably rushing things, but i feel cant stay 'here' any longer.

help me, please and thank you for your assistance.


----------



## Chaotic84

Hello, my name is chaotic as reflected by my feelings about all these..

Moved to the Sydney Australia from Singapore at 18 for Uni, stayed on for work for another decade. Got married in this time, moved to Melbourne for my hubby's job and now in Perth for the same reason. In this time we have had 2 kids and 1 on the way. We are now looking at the UK potentially 3rd/4th quater 2017. 

So many things to research on- our visas, schooling, day care, professional work associations, finances ????

Help!!!


----------



## moving mum

Hello! I am kind of new to the forum much, much too late! I am posting just when we are leaving! We are an American family of 4 plus a dog who have been living near Manchester. We are about to depart for the U.S. and have lots and lots of UK electronics to sell. I hope to use the classified section of the forum to do this. Happy to take any advice! Thanks.


----------



## ccolts

Good day all! 

My wife, 5yo son, and I are researching options as I have been asked to apply for a position in London w/ my company. Looking forward to researching, learning, and asking questions about this exciting potential move for our family!


----------



## mansi.p

Hi I am Mansi, and I am planning to apply for settlement visa as wife, and my husband is a British national.
Want to know the requirements and probably as a couple of questions regarding the situation I am in.

Regards


----------



## josephroyfredricks

Hello, 
As recently as on June 11th I got Further Leave to Remain (M). I have been a reader of this forum after an initial rejection of Unmarried Partner Settlement applied from outside of UK. I followed Joppas' suggestions and learned from the other members got Entry Clearance for marriage and then FLR-M as well. I owe my success in this process to this Board. So I decided to share my experience and further help people in this forum. 

JRF


----------



## Coquiazul

Hello, U.S. citizen wanting to relocate to the U.K. or any other Western European country. I don't know what's needed to relocate to Great Britain as an American citizen. I'm 23 years old and would really appreciate any information that I can get before doing this. It's greatly appreciated.


----------



## nyclon

Coquiazul said:


> Hello, U.S. citizen wanting to relocate to the U.K. or any other Western European country. I don't know what's needed to relocate to Great Britain as an American citizen. I'm 23 years old and would really appreciate any information that I can get before doing this. It's greatly appreciated.


Welcome. 

Please ask your questions on the general forum.


----------



## freemangirl

Hi! I just discovered this forum!  I'm looking forward to getting to know everyone.


----------



## Jmwhite

I just retired the Army (U.S.) and plan to move abroad (narrowed to Britain and France) in 2018 for a couple year stay. I have a few questions about the british visa process (if i am eligible for a long term one) and medical coverage questions. I have a wife 2 kids (and one on the way) a dog and a cat!!!

My kids Love soccer (ya I said soccer haha) so we need to move somewhere they can still play and be in good schools while my wife and I get some R&R!


----------



## lewmable82

*Simple introduction of me!*

Hi everyone, I'm Mable, a Malaysian who recently married (registration) a British citizen and is now looking to work on our Spouse visa application. I'm new and am still trying to manoeuvre my way around this amazing forum but it has been super helpful so far! 

Starting on our Visa4UK online application and would appreciate if anyone can share their personal experience on how to apply for this visa. Also, just making friends would be great too as relocating is quite a daunting experience.

Thanking you guys in advance and looking forward to getting to you!


----------



## agentstar

Hi I am Agentstar British male, married Indian wife in 2013. She is here and we are now due for FLRM. 
Immigration is a living subject with so many balls up in the air and any one of them could fall with a bang with disastrous consequences so kind people like Joppa and this forum are a Godsend angels. I want to truly help as much as I can


----------



## Attilone

*Hey <.<*

Hi I'm Furio, I'm thinking about moving to UK soon, well that's it for the moment :juggle:


----------



## r3dbar0n

Hi to everyone ! I am living actually in Italy, but I'm willing to expat to uk, or some other places where bigger career opportunites are possible and where would be normal and possible to create international, world wide, social and professional bonds, to share different ideas ! 

I am looking forward to give some advice from you and to give some other else to you too !!!


----------



## Summerfruits

Hi all

I live in the UK and have done since I was a couple of months old.

My wife is from Pakistan and what lead me here is the initial spouse visa application I did over 2 years ago.

Only joined a few days ago as I am stuck and need some advice and I hope I can be of some help to the other users out there


----------



## Toby1988

Hi all I'm Toby originally from India and I've found this forum to be a platform for people like me figuring head around visa application. Even though I didn't use much information from here for my application it's good to know what all you can expect in the process.

So I've been approved of marriage visa and will be joining my partner from 19 August and getting married on 1 October. 

Happy thoughts for everyone who is awaiting response from home office but I do believe that if you've got good paperwork then you need not worry about the outcome. And I do plan on getting my FLRM around 4 October as I would need to resume my career 



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## kirbo

Hi! I'm kirbo and I'm from the US. My boyfriend lives in the UK. I'm hoping to eventually move to the UK to be with him and I've been reading up on the marriage visa rules which is why I've joined this forum. Nice to meet you all!


----------



## BinaH

*Mrs Bina Hasssan*

Hi, This is Bina. I need to register myself here but i cant able to complete registration.
Have applied for my spouse visa on 18th June 2016. I am still waiting for HO reply


----------



## BinaHassan

*Mrs B Hasssan*

I am new to this Forum. would like to register here. I have applied for my husband spouse visa along with his two dependants on 18th June and still waiting.


----------



## sherlock1986

*Introduction*

Hi All, 

My name is Emil, I am from Johannesburg, South Africa and hopefully moving to the UK within the next month or two. 

My husband is a UK citizen and will be heading to the UK next week, and my application appointment for my visa is for tomorrow (17/08/2016). 

We both work in the medical field, we recently married 30/07/2016, and both of us are cr#pping ourselves for the application.


----------



## Rohnai89

I am Roh. Just had the dreaded visa rejection for my fiance and though I wasn't a member of this forum previously.. always read as many comments as possible to help us with our process. Now I've finally registeded so I can ask for my own help and hopefully help others from our mistake! Look forward to joining the community


----------



## CarlaMohamed89

Hi, I'm Carla. I'm a British citizen and my husband is Egyptian. My husband is living in the UK on a spousal visa since January 2016. We are currently expecting our first child this November


----------



## aw93

*Brit with American Wife*

Hi everyone,

I'm a British citizen lamenting how difficult it is for his wife to come join him living in the UK.

We eloped last year, and now she's living in the US and I'm based in London. We're just about to cross the 6 month point where I've worked for long enough to satisfy the financial requirement for her visa and are preparing her application in anticipation.

This is proving to be a lot of work, and we have *a few questions* that I'm sure the community will be able to share helpful experiences on. 

*Is there anywhere in particular I should be posting these, or should I start a new thread?*

Thanks!


----------



## AnOceanApart

aw93 said:


> Hi everyone,
> 
> I'm a British citizen lamenting how difficult it is for his wife to come join him living in the UK.
> 
> We eloped last year, and now she's living in the US and I'm based in London. We're just about to cross the 6 month point where I've worked for long enough to satisfy the financial requirement for her visa and are preparing her application in anticipation.
> 
> This is proving to be a lot of work, and we have *a few questions* that I'm sure the community will be able to share helpful experiences on.
> 
> *Is there anywhere in particular I should be posting these, or should I start a new thread?*
> 
> Thanks!


Hello and welcome! 

Starting a new thread is the way to go!


----------



## MarryingAHighlander

Hello all,

I am an American citizen who has been in love with Scotland forever. I met my Scottish fiancee almost three years ago when I was studying abroad, we have been long distance for two years, and we are getting married next June in the US! I have been reading through the forums for a while now, preparing myself for the journey ahead next year. As difficult and expensive as the process is, I know it will be worth it and I can't wait to be living in the Scottish highlands with my husband. I already have a thousand questions, but for now I thought I would introduce myself. I'm glad I found such an informative community!


----------



## LoveRedNBlack

Hi! And congratulations on your upcoming nuptials. I fell in love with England nearly three years ago as well. I have a few friends there and I can't wait to get back. You will find that lots of people on here have such wonderful advice and willing to help in any way they can. I wish you continued success and many blessings!


----------



## itir_al

*Thinking of moving to UK*

Hi,

This is Itir from Turkey and me & my husband is looking forward to moving to UK with in 5-6 months. We are both translators so we are planning to carry out our business from UK but will establish a new business there to be able to get more work. We have been to UK, mostly to London for 5 times in the last few years and we fell in love with the country.

Though moving is somewhat easy for us, we have a big issue that refrains us from just packing and moving. We have 10 dogs and 15 cats that we are home to and since these are all badly treated, abandoned and abused animals, we do not want to leave them behind. Our initial plan is to leave them in Antalya for a couple of months (a friend is gonna stay with them), find a place to settle and have them transferred to UK asap. I know this is gonna be costly but I am willing to take all the burden because these 4-legged joy bundles are not young to be rehomed and we do not want to do it.

Anyway, the question for us is, where do you guys think we can find a reasonably priced farm, bungalow or a cottage house that is somewhat 2 hours to London. Any advice is needed  

We are looking for a place that has a garden of 10.000 sqm at most and without a restriction to build kennels and preferably fenced with no neighbours very closeby because the cats are both indoor and outdoor cats and the last thing I would want is to disturb my new neighbours 

Best,
Itir


----------



## itir_al

Oh and it is to let not to buy


----------



## keefm5a

Hi folks, I'm Keith from Canada. My English wife and I just got married in Iceland (it's basically "halfway" between our two countries, so we made both our families travel to attend), but now I'm back in Canada and she in England.  

I'm waiting for a new Canadian passport and the official marriage certificate from the Icelandic government and then I'll be wading into the visa application process. I have many questions and know I'll likely have more, so I'm very glad to have found this forum. Thanks in advance!


----------



## kikibd

*Hello!*

Hi all,

I'm an Australian citizen but have lived in the UK for 7 years now (5 years on student visas and almost 2 years on the Youth Mobility Scheme visa). My British fiance and I are getting married at the end of October this year and my YMS visa expires two weeks later, so we will be making a premium application a few days after our wedding. I have a few questions and concerns about the switching process - is it best just to start a new thread?

Thanks!

Kiki


----------



## VisaTime

Hello my name is James, nice meet you all, look forward to speaking to you all here


----------



## Cakeybear

*Hello =]*

Hello I am ortal an Israeli wife of a british man, we have been together since feb 2012.
Currently I am applying for a spouse visa to settle in the UK.:fingerscrossed::fingerscrossed:
Me and my Husband beenhappliy married since july 2014.

Nice to meet you all , i have been checking this forum for long time now and finally decided to create a user and to be more involved. 


Cheers,

Ortal.


----------



## cobus3

Hi Guys.
I`m Cobus married to a stunning English Rose for the past 5 Years,We have beautiful nine month old Baby Boy,We Currently Live in Cape Town South Africa but are Looking to move to the U.K I just figured We Need all the Info we can get,to make our transition and move as comfortable and informed as possible.

Looking forward to hear from you guys.

Thanks 

Cobus


----------



## mlmeyers

*New here*

Hello everyone, I'm engaged to a beautiful woman that lives in Wales, and I'm currently in the US. I am planning on moving to the UK and am very glad to have found this forum. I'm currently overwhelmed with everything and am hoping to find some good information here.

Thanks everyone in advance!


Mike


----------



## BigRachel

Hi my name is Rachel i have been living here in the uk for a couple of years now. i moved from america to live with my partner and our 2 children. I am still getting settled in over here and want to start doing a few more activities to get me out a little more. I currently live in the leicester area and wondering if anyone has any suggestions?


----------



## BigRachel

Hi Mike, where abouts in U.S are you moving from? if you have any questions that might help you out feel free to ask.

Thanks Rachel


----------



## mlmeyers

Hi Rachel, I'm in Southwest Missouri - Springfield area. My biggest concerns are moving stuff from here to there, and health insurance - getting medication. Thanks!! Mike


----------



## BigRachel

Hi Mike, with moving your stuff over here have you had a look round your local moving companies in your area to get you the best price for moving over here? i would suggest getting a few quotes before choosing one. Regarding your health insurance when you arrive here you need to register for a NHS Number, once doing so your number will arive in a couple of weeks. once the number has arrived you can start to look in to registering with your local GP'S, dentists etc. once on the nhs any doctors appointments and emergency care will be free with the NHS. Any medication you need will be chargable this is normally around £7.00-£8.00 per prescription. if you want private health care this would be chargable also you would have to give a few companies a call about this. 

Hope this helps.

Rachel


----------



## BigRachel

If you have any more questions, just let me know.

Thanks


----------



## AnOceanApart

Hey Mike and Rachel, welcome!  

Rachel, I'm going to be living in the Leicester area too! What parts? My husband lives between Coalville and Ashby de la Zouch (not too far from the city... 8 or so miles west of it I believe?), and we'll be moving into central Leicester once I move over there!


----------



## BigRachel

Hi,

i currently live in the Aylestone area, when are you going to be moving there?


----------



## hip-hoperation

Hi Everyone,

I'm from the UK, living in Japan right now, but moving back to the UK soon with my Japanese wife. Finding a community with so much helpful advice for navigating the UK visa process is a huge unexpected surprise. I'll be making my own post soon for a reality check on our situation and some specific questions about the visa we'll apply for.


----------



## Canuck15

Hi folks 

I am a Brit living in Canada wanting to move back home to England with my Canadian spouse. This site is an amazing find and looking forward to reading and learning more. What a fantastically helpful community!


----------



## AnOceanApart

BigRachel said:


> Hi,
> 
> i currently live in the Aylestone area, when are you going to be moving there?


Hopefully in the next month or so, depending when I get the visa!  Applied priority so I hope to hear something soon!


----------



## TheFelineManiac

Hi all! I'm an American who married a British citizen last month. We're starting the process of gathering all documents needed for the spouse settlement visa. We've been long distance since the start of our relationship in 2013 so we are both very eager to be finally able to live together. Hoping that the awesome advice of members here will help ease the stress during this process.


----------



## sgkalina

Hello all, my name is Shawn and I'm an American female (currently living in Las Vegas, NV) engaged to a male Brit  (who lives in Egham, UK).
Wedding is set for next April, and I will be applying for my fiance visa end of this coming week (after next pay check clears). Hoping to get back to the UK by end of the year (just before Xmas/Chanukkah holidays would be ideal). Cannot afford the 'priority' processing, so here's to hoping the regular processing gets me a fiance visa prior to the end of the year. 

I know that the UK site says 100% cleared by 2 months, but after reading the threads here, I'm not going to hold my breath. But I will keep my fingers crossed, just in case, I hate the thought of going another 'major' holiday without my snugglebear! (I remember when I did this for a student visa, they told me the turn around time was 4-6 weeks, and I had my passport with visa back in less than 2 - however, that was being sent inside the USA, and this one is being sent to the UK).

Will just have to wait and see ... these threads are full of some amazing and helpful information and I am very glad that I have 're-found' them 

Thank you everyone for your patience on any and all questions I may have !

Sincerely, 

Shawn


----------



## FaNtKa

Hi all! 
I'm an Italian who is trying to understand the right process to obtain an UK EEA Family Permit. I was looking around for any kind of information and I founded this forum. There are so many threads on this subjects, so let's start to read everything!


----------



## clem75

*presentation*

hi I'm clem from france I'm 20 and I have been an expat in GB and spain and wishes to live in many more countries lane:


----------



## sgkalina

EDIT: (as I don't know how to edit my own posting) -- I wound up paying the extra and filing "priority" processing. Fingers crossed


----------



## andydmarsh

I'm English and planning on returning home with my American wife, I am about to be offered a job paying more than the required amount to support her. My question is, do I need to live there for 6 months before she can apply for the spouse visa?

Thanks all, looking to learn all I can from you.

Apparently I cant follow simply instruction when I completed the sign up, I really am English but living in the USA currently (ignore the flags).


----------



## Omlette

Hi All

We currently reside in Johannesburg, South Africa. I'm married to an amazing woman and we have two great daughters. The family and I will be going to the UK in December for a visit to decide on a good place to settle. We shall be making the permanent move in May 2017. Hobbies are Mtbing, rugby and being with the family. The decision to move to the UK is for a better future for our daughters.

Regards


----------



## RobUKVisa

Hello, I'm Rob. My wife and I have been together for about 5 years. We spent one year together while she was at school in the US, one year apart while she finished her degree in the UK and I worked in Australia, and then lived two years in Vietnam. A year ago we left Vietnam and went our separate ways to begin this visa process. It has been a tough time for both of us but I hope to have my passport back soon and be on my way to the UK. The lack of information and support through official channels has been frustrating so it has been nice to join this community and communicate with people having the same problems.


----------



## Ornithocheirus

*Hi from Colorado*

Hi, My name is Steve and I'm a Brit who has been living in Colorado with my lovely wife for the last 14 years. We are hoping to move back to the UK to live in a few years and I am hoping the expatforum will become a useful resource for me.


----------



## JohnRalphio

Hello! I am Maria and I an engaged to a British citizen. We met when he was on a study abroad year at my university in 2014. I then took a study abroad year at his university and now we are applying for a settlement fiance visa after he proposed at Stonehenge! This forum has been a fountain of helpful information for us as we prepare for my application!


----------



## stirroo

American woman here, in love with a man from Northern Ireland. I will be trying to settle in NI with him. 
I've been reading the forum for the last month, and am happy to find a community that can relate to and support the process. 
I'm a former teacher, 40 yrs old. Quit my job last year and have spent close to eight months of the last year with him, traveling three separate times (July-Aug 2015, Sept 22-Nov 16 2015, and April-Aug 2016). Most recent trip was with a 6 month visit visa which was granted on entry in Belfast (almost didn't get in, and was detained for a few hours). I've sold and given away just about everything I owned, and now live with my parents to save money for the big move, and application fees.


----------



## Walden27

Hi all, I am a British Citizen who has lived in South Africa since before I was 1, planning to move to Edinburgh next year with my South African wife.


----------



## LordFlash

Missblissbear said:


> Hi I'm Kelly, I'm an Aussie and my hubby is dual UK/Aussie as are our kids. We have lived in Australia all our married life and have decided to head to the UK to join hubby's family business. We are hoping to head over first week of March, so the last 3 months I have been madly selling off all our stuff, organising passports and trying to get my visa. Still waiting on the visa.... Hopefully will have in back in the next 2 weeks so we can organise flights and finalise schools for the kids apon our arrival....soooo much to do!


Hi Kelly, I'm looking to do the same thing --same deal, I'm dual citizen --so my kids are eligable also ,but like you ,my wife is Aussie.
Would you mind giving me an overview of what requirements there were please -as I've received various info. Do we need certain savings etc.. I would have a job waiting for me there . My dad (born in uk) may well sell up & come with us.
Know your busy, so whenver you have a moment. 
Thanks heaps, Gary


----------



## TrixieStephens

Hello. I'm from the US where my Scottish husband and I have resided together since our marriage in 2014. After careful consideration, we have decided to settle in Scotland to be closer to his young children. He has returned to Scotland to find a job and I hope to follow in the next few months.


----------



## nyclon

LordFlash said:


> Hi Kelly, I'm looking to do the same thing --same deal, I'm dual citizen --so my kids are eligable also ,but like you ,my wife is Aussie.
> Would you mind giving me an overview of what requirements there were please -as I've received various info. Do we need certain savings etc.. I would have a job waiting for me there . My dad (born in uk) may well sell up & come with us.
> Know your busy, so whenver you have a moment.
> Thanks heaps, Gary


You replied to a nearly 2 year old post and the poster hasn't posted for over a year. Please start a new thread with any questions you might have about the visa process as this thread is for introductions.


----------



## LordFlash

ah....thanks, was a bit late when I found this forum....neglected to check dates.


----------



## Ro8ynSA

Hi my name is Robyn. I am from South Africa. My maternal grand parents where both born in England so I am looking into the Ancestry visa.


----------



## rgilkes

*BR to UK*

Hello I am current living in Brazil and waiting for visa process to move with our daughter (my husband is English). I would like to exchange info about visa process and met another Brazilians in the same situation. Thanks!!


----------



## Webmommy

Hello everyone. I wanted to post a message here to introduce myself. I'm a young(ish) widow living in the USA with my two children 19 and 12. I am in a long term relationship with a British man, born and bred citizen. I've long been interested in moving to Europe and we've spent extensive time exploring the options.

I'm trying to learn as much as I can, but I'm still confused, so here I am! I won't get into my questions until I find an appropriate post or start one if I can't find my issue. I look forward to learning and meeting new people.


----------



## 3littlebirds

Hello! My name is Jennifer. I'm a 37 yr old US citizen, married for 16 years and we have 3 daughters (under 12). 
My husband is currently working on his MBA and just accepted a job offer (2 yr contract) in the U.K. (MANCHESTER).
We thought that it would be an amazing experience and opportunity for our family. 
I just started to research the daunting task that is...the "VISA". Before researching, I had the foolish idea that the only thing to worry about was how much it would cost to move our furniture. Oh no, so much more than that. It's so overwhelming and my heart breaks for those who can't be with their loved ones. 
I've only been on this site for less than a week but what I've learned so much already. I pray for everyone and their journey!


----------



## TikoV

*Quick Intro and looking for insight...*

Hi folks...

Quick introduction. Name is Tiko and from Scotland. Been coming to Dubai for years but recent visit has finally got me thinking that it was time to re-locate there. No other half to worry about either....

Working background is Car Sales and looking to continue my trade there too. Any Sales Execs here? Is it worth the move?

Tiko


----------



## brunny

*Canadians in London?*

Hi there! My husband and I, along with our son, may be transferring to London via my husband's company (we're all Canadian citizens). We're trying to learn as much as we can about the UK healthcare system, international health insurance, preschool/school system, moving costs, moving family pets, the application process... pretty much the whole works. Looking forward to meeting folks and learning more about our (potential) new home. We went to London on our honeymoon and loved it. On the other hand, we absolutely love the city we live in here in Canada and our families are close by. My husband's grandfather is from outside of London and my great-grandfather is from outside Cardiff but neither of us know any of our UK relatives. The current plan is to have an extended working visit (2-6 weeks) to explore London and get used to the idea of a permanent move, if that's what's in the cards. Looking forward to meeting all of you and checking out the threads!


----------



## Joppa

Welcome. Remember your husband can get ancestry visa on the strength of his UK-born grandfather and being a Commonwealth citizen. It's something to consider. If you want to carry on this discussion, start a new thread in the main forum.


----------



## leisa2

Hello!

I'm Leisa. I'm from Japan, living in London for 6 years (with 1 year gap in-between, going back to Japan). I'm working for an Architect's office and they are my current sponsor. My husband (British) and I recently got married and we are trying to switch my Tier2 visa to spouse one (which is not straight forward!).

This will be my 4th visa since I came here, first with youth mobility scheme, second student visa for my Master then the current one with my company.

I only registered here yesterday but I am so thankful for what everyone's sharing, I wish everyone's good luck and I look forward to see you all in the threads!


----------



## kjohn101

Greetings!

I currently live in Seattle, WA. I am a Customer Service Manager at a specialty fashion retailer with hopes to land in London. Recently, I was able to be recognized as an Italian citizen by ancestry which (at least maybe for a few months/years longer in the UK) allows me the ability to work and live throughout the EU.

My husband works at a company that has an office in London and is also a closet Anglophile. I have been with the same company for over 10 years since I graduated high school. I have a BA in Business Administration from the Foster School with a focus in Information Systems. Although my work experience has not been in this field, I have grown my professional abilities in my current company, holding multiple leadership positions managing diverse initiatives.

I know my foundation could be in worse shape, but I'm hoping to find some good information about job prospects for Americans and individuals with similar experience and backgrounds.

Happy to be here,

John


----------



## parsifal

Hello!

I'm Alex from Greece. Thanks to a job offer I accepted a couple of days ago, next month I'll be moving with my soon-to-be wife to the U.K. (N.I., specifically).

I'm hopeful that the wealth of information on this forum will help in our preparations and during our transition period.

Cheers!


----------



## PmRivera

Hi! Im Phoebe from the Philippines but currently working in Thailand. I have been reading information about the EEA permit and lead me to the forum. 

I would like to ask for a suggestion or recommendation for my case.
My partner is Portuguese working in the UK. We have been in a Long Distance relationship for almost a year now. He came to visit me here in Bangkok once. We have constant communication through messenger, viber, line and Skype. 

He will come to visit me again next year on May 2017 and we are planning to get married by that time. After the marriage, i would like to request for an eea permit so that we could finally be living together in the UK.

Will it not be an issue of marriage of convenience if i am going to immediately apply for it? Hope you could enlighten me with this concern. 

Thank you,
Phoebe


----------



## nyclon

PmRivera said:


> Hi! Im Phoebe from the Philippines but currently working in Thailand. I have been reading information about the EEA permit and lead me to the forum.
> 
> I would like to ask for a suggestion or recommendation for my case.
> My partner is Portuguese working in the UK. We have been in a Long Distance relationship for almost a year now. He came to visit me here in Bangkok once. We have constant communication through messenger, viber, line and Skype.
> 
> He will come to visit me again next year on May 2017 and we are planning to get married by that time. After the marriage, i would like to request for an eea permit so that we could finally be living together in the UK.
> 
> Will it not be an issue of marriage of convenience if i am going to immediately apply for it? Hope you could enlighten me with this concern.
> 
> Thank you,
> Phoebe


This thread is for introductions. Please start a new thread on the general forum to ask your questions .


----------



## feliciab

Hi everyone,

My name is Felicia and I am currently in a relationship with a British citizen. Currently, I am looking for work to obtain a tier 2 visa in order to move there. I've also previously thought about pursuing postgraduate study and am now exploring this as an option in the UK. Will leave my questions for the other threads, but I wanted to do a quick intro


----------



## BritishToTheEnd

My name is BritishToTheEnd, i am trying to bring my other half over on a fiance visa from Pakistan.... best of luck to everyone


----------



## Damomoog

*Hello*

Hi all, my name is Damien and I'm British but have been living in Brazil for the last three years. I'm originally from Blackpool but now live in the North East of Brazil and I'm married to a Brazilian lady and looking to come back home with her shortly so searching for help and advice about how to do that (will post details in the appropriate thread). I love Newcastle United, decent music and anything edible. I'm an English teacher / Driving instructor / Pizzaoli / photographer and after three years of sun I'm actually looking forward to feeling the cold once again.


----------



## lonelyhappyjoy

Hello I'm joy! I'm always reading this forum. And I really need advice. My appeal was dismissed on human rights. Applied for unmarried partner visa and not living together for less than 2 years. Now we need to decide if we re-apply or appeal again. Thank you.


----------



## Crag Rat

Hello! Crag Rat here in the USA, working on relocating to the UK (my ancestral home, so my user name should technically be Crag Rat Son). Been viewing the Forum for the past year, and it's been helpful reading the various stories of Forum members. Hopefully there will be good news to share in 2017, but time will tell. Onward!


----------



## Clairey

Hi everyone,

I'm Claire from the UK. My fiancée is an Indian national and our wedding is next month, in India. Whilst I am obviously very excited about the wedding. This visa business is at the back of my mind, and is a little worrying! As ideally we would like for him to get a spouse visa for the UK. 
I have read a lot of posts so far which have been really helpful. I have many other questions! though will continue to browse, just in case they have been asked before!


----------



## UKPhil

*Great Site*

Hi, I'm Phil. I am from the UK and my fiancé is in the Philippines.
This is a great site so thanks for providing this resource.
I have quite a lot of questions with the visa requirements for allowing my fiancé to come to live in UK and to marry so I will create a new thread.
Thanks again,

Phil


----------



## koriel

Hello, I'm Michael from the US, my fiancee is a UK citizen and I'm looking to apply for a fiancee visa. I work as a Software Developer. Found this site in looking for information and it looks incredibly useful.

- Thanks, Michael


----------



## Lil Kimchi

I'm Kim. I'm American but have always wanted to move to England. My boyfriend is British and lives in Oxfordshire. I'm currently job hunting so I can get a visa. With my job experience, I'm looking to work for the NHS. 

I'm excited to finally immigrate to the UK. (Though I am worried that something is bound to go wrong.) I'm here to feel a little less lost in the process.


----------



## cassie77

*Hi*

I'm Cassie I'm currently staying with my boyfriend in the UK on a visitor visa. I am returning to Australia in May to apply for an ancestry visa and I'm hoping this site can help me out with a few questions/concerns I have regarding my visa.

Thanks


----------



## 3nmarsh

*US National with UK Partner*

Hello, you can call me Nat. I've been on the forum for a few months now, just reading over all of the information and experiences of people in similar situations. My boyfriend and I have been together for three years now, but we met online, which proved a challenge for a FLR(M) visa. I'm originally from California, and he was born and raised in England. We don't want to just go and get married on a whim, although that is a part of our future plans, because our relationship is genuine and strong, and why should we rush it? But the UK government isn't convinced that our relationship is genuine and subsisting because we haven't been living together for two years. How can you legally live together for two years if they refuse your visa? Anyway, thank you to everyone who has posted their stories, as they have been immensely helpful!


----------



## Joppa

People who live together in UK with a British citizen or settled person is usually on a different visa such as work, study, or (though not eligible for US citizen) UK ancestry or Tier 5 youth mobility visa. If you aren't in any of these positions, then getting married is just about the only way.


----------



## 3nmarsh

*Nice to meet you*



Joppa said:


> People who live together in UK with a British citizen or settled person is usually on a different visa such as work, study, or (though not eligible for US citizen) UK ancestry or Tier 5 youth mobility visa. If you aren't in any of these positions, then getting married is just about the only way.


I understand that now! It is unfortunate that the government is essentially both cracking down on immigration, and pressuring couples to jump into marriage to avoid the stress and exorbitant costs of having a committed, long-distance relationship. The U.S. isn't any better in that regard, either.


----------



## nctami72

Hello everyone,

I'm Tami, originally from North Carolina, USA. I am engaged to a Scot and will be submitting my fiance visa application on Feb. 2nd, as soon as I return from my current trip to Scotland. We plan on being married in May. 

This forum has been an invaluable source and most of my questions have been answered just by using the search feature. 

I look forward to sharing my visa experience with you all. 

Take care,

Tami


----------



## Mr.Scarface

Hey there, my name is Marco and I'm a German who went to Canada on a Working Holiday visa and got stuck in the city of Toronto because there was this special girl I just couldn't leave behind. Fast forward 3 1/2 years and we are now married, I'm finishing up my college diploma here and before settling down for good in Canada, we are planning to live and work abroad in the UK for some time.


----------



## Caitie125

Hi there! My name is Caitie and I'm an American currently just trying to figure out what exactly the whole visa application entails. My fiance lives in England (born and raised) and is currently trying to find a second job to meet the financial requirement. 

This forum is going to be very helpful, although I get confused very easily when it comes to legal matters. Hopefully I can get my head on straight and not worry too much about the process. We have a solicitor in Nottingham who is very helpful, and very nice. I am grateful for the forum because it's more personal. 

I hope that this forum will help to ease my frustrations and anxieties, as I have A LOT of them. <3


----------



## TSRHM

Hi Im British Citizen who 16yrs ago went through the whole visa Process to Become a Resident of the United states and be with my American Husband ...2 kids and 16yrs later ironically, we are now going to be going through the whole process again to live in the UK lol
We always said we would eventually retire in the uk but retirement came a lot sooner than planned when my husband was injured on the Job (police officer)
We have decided to turn a not so good turn of events into a positive adventure. I finally get to go home and raise my children 9 & 7 with my amazing mum and family!! 

Wish everyone on here the best of luck with their Visa Process!!


----------



## nahd

*introducing myself*

Hello my name is nahd from algeria got married in april 2014 and moved to the Uk in feb 2015 .I live in east london

Respect all


----------



## 302993

Hi. I am Missis D and I have been on this forum since 2013.I am originally from Kyrgyzstan or Kyrgyz Republic (former Soviet Union republic)and my husband is British (born and bred) and we've got one child.We have been together for over 10 years now. This forum,in particularly Joppa and Nyclon helped us a lot in the preparation for my first entry clearance application back at the end of 2013. As a result I got my spousal visa in January 2014 and since then we've been living in the South West England.
I have recently been granted my second 2,5 years FLR (m) and we can relax for a while...

Wishing everyone a lot of luck and patience to deal with the visa process.


----------



## Bski

Hello, I'm B and I'm a native Kiwi. My British husband and I recently married in NZ after 3 years of long distance. He's in the British Army so we applied using the Armed Forces Appendix - the rules are the same but you include more about their service details. We first meet when I travelled to the UK on a gap year(s). We are hoping to move back to NZ but not before I get a British passport so we don't ever have to do this again.

We applied using a combination of salary and dividends. For anyone else doing this, the taxation laws around dividends were updated last year but the UKVI documents to not reflect that change when they specify the requirements. Feel free to ask me more about this.

We are relying on Service Family Accommodation as part of our application and that is the only thing playing on my mind. I've used a combination of unorthodox documents to prove that we have SFA lined up (again, ask for more info if needed). Hopefully, you will see me posting good news in the timeline thread shortly. Right now I am so stressed about the application that I am figuratively inhaling every word on this forum.


----------



## lalit66

*Hellos*

Hello I am Lalit, from India. I came to UK ten years ago. Working as doctor in UK. Now I wish to bring wife from India here. Will need all your help you can provide. thanks.


----------



## Uballeja

*Coming to England*

Hi Folks: My name is Jim Uballe and I currently live in Texas. My wife of 32 years (Patricia) is a British citizen. We are beginning the process of moving to England to live out our retirement days near Patricia's family. Most of the sites I have looked at are confusing as to the type of visa I need to have. Can anyone point me to a good source of immigration information? Many Thanks...


----------



## nyclon

Uballeja said:


> Hi Folks: My name is Jim Uballe and I currently live in Texas. My wife of 32 years (Patricia) is a British citizen. We are beginning the process of moving to England to live out our retirement days near Patricia's family. Most of the sites I have looked at are confusing as to the type of visa I need to have. Can anyone point me to a good source of immigration information? Many Thanks...


Um? This forum. Ask your questions on the general forum.


----------



## Uballeja

Your reply is much appreciated. Being new, I am trying to learn my way around. Sorry if my query was inappropriate. Many thanks...


----------



## nyclon

Uballeja said:


> Your reply is much appreciated. Being new, I am trying to learn my way around. Sorry if my query was inappropriate. Many thanks...


This sticky explains how to start a new thread:

http://www.expatforum.com/expats/br...ad-dont-post-same-comment-multiple-times.html


----------



## mcras

Hi everyone.

My hubby (married December 2016) is in the US, I'm stuck here in the UK with my 2 children desperate to be together over there. I keep going over for a couple of weeks every few months but cant do it anymore its to expensive. looking for best way to do it...so we can all be together asap.


----------



## somebody314

Hello

I am Mahdi, an IT professional. 

Will come to UK (London) with my family on March. My General Tier 2 visa was approved about two weeks ago.


----------



## Lizz94

Hello everyone, my name is Lizz & I am a 23 year old South African. I am very excited to be moving to the UK in a few weeks. Sending my application for Ancestry Visa for me & my partner through today - so fingers crossed! We'll be moving to North Wales to join my father & the rest of the family.


----------



## alexjvr

Hi. I'm Alex (female), South African, currently living in Switzerland. I'm married to a Brit who lives in SW England. I'm planning to join him there as soon as I can get all the paperwork sorted out!


----------



## Stefan&Nick

Hi everyone,

My name's Stefan, I'm from the US. My fiance, Nick, and I getting ready to submit my fiance visa application sometime in April. It's a little overwhelming at times, so you may find either him or I on here from time to time trying to find out what exactly we should be doing. I've been lurking this forum to read up on the visa process since I bought his engagement ring last summer, so hopefully I can learn even more since I'm actually going through it myself! Thanks in advance for any help you all may give us!

Thanks,
-Stefan


----------



## RayEmz

*New Member*

Have a nice day ahead , 

My name is Emz from Philippines. I am newly married to a British guy. Now we're planning to apply a spouse visa until we get the Marriage Certificate on June . For now we need help and advice regarding financial requirements. Ill let my husband use this account so that he can ask here about our situation .TBH I'm bit confused using this forum lol I need to familiarize it. Anyway, Thanks to my friend Glenn he refer this forum coz he knews this is very helpful site specially seeking advice. God bless.


----------



## SylviaD

*New kid in the block*

Hi everyone I'm SylviaD female and absolute beginner of this site , which as been suggested to me by a friend of a friend who find me in a very stressful situation due to the difficulties of dealing with the permanent residency in the U.K.
This forum is my last hope and i really hope it will work for me as I heard as worked for many people before.


----------



## D4N

Hi all, just joined a couple of minutes ago after referencing these forums for years. 
Currently waiting for the outcome of my wife and stepson's FLR(M) application submitted 2 weeks ago today. :fingerscrossed:


----------



## CuraFina

Hello everyone! I am Jasmina from Serbia and I have been reading this forum for quite some time now. I am applying for fiancé visa which will be granted. Hopefully. Thank you all in advance for assisting us on this journey.


----------



## Ashpowpow

Hello everyone !

This Forum is super great and I hopefully look forward to becoming an expat in the UK. I submitted my application today for my tier 5 youth mobility visa. I really hope to be able to come over! Fingers crossed!


----------



## Timshep

*Newly minted*

hiya
Have seen some good advice on here so am hoping to jump in as we plan our retirement to the UK. Have been an expat for 47 years in the mid east and Singapore and now intend to switch roles back in the uk with my Singaporean wife of 42 years...


----------



## psegani

Hello am Punit, UK Citizen. This website and everyone on here has helped me a lot with completing my wife's Fiance visa and first FLR(M) Application both successful. Happy to help in any way i can and answer any questions to the best of my ability.


----------



## Timshep

Thanks Punit

I think I am basically sorted with what we need to do. It still is infuriating that all this time has to be spent on this.


----------



## HelenQueen

*Hello!*

Hi!

My name's Helen, and I've just moved from the USA to the UK after years of trying! I'm super happy to have found a forum where I can ask questions about my new home!

Chat soon!

Helen


----------



## hippoman

Hi everyone! I recently joined the forum, but have been using it for advice for quite a while. My American wife's Tier 4 Student Visa is coming to end this summer and we are looking to apply for a spousal visa once our financials meet the requirements (they should do in by the end of April_.

This forum is a wealth of knowledge and it's great to see other's successfully going through a somewhat daunting process and I hope to be of help once we have secured our visa!


----------



## Leigha

Hi, I'm an American married to a Brit. I realized the other day that I already had an account here I'd forgotten about. When I just saw how long ago I made the account I thought "Journey is far too nice of a word for the BS length of time this has taken." -_-

Hopefully it will all pay off in the next couple of months.


----------



## szymonworldwide

Hi,

My name is Szymon, currently living in Singapore with my Filipino wife and 3 kids (1 biological and 2 step kids - all girls). Planning to move to UK within next 2 months - by end of May 2017. My company is relocating me from Singapore to UK and covering most of the costs including accommodation, flights, relocation costs, future rental and other expenses.

Currently working on EEA Family Permit Application, however having huge and got here for some help! 

Thanks
Szymon


----------



## Sunha

*Hello friends.*

Hi all, i am sunha from japan. I need help so i joined this group. I need help with my spouse visa process to the uk . Everyone here seems very helpful. Thanks for reading .


----------



## kbrade

I'm kbrade. I'm from Louisiana, USA and have a British fiancé. I plan to move to the Leeds area with him after we get married this year, so I'm beginning the super fun (!) process! I joined because I can tell that I will need the wealth of information that's here


----------



## Ztephanie

*Hey*

Hi, I'm Stephanie, originally from California, but I've lived most of my adult life(nearly 4 years??) in the UK. 

I'm currently on my second student visa, and hoping for a third next year!

I have a wonderful English boyfriend who has cemented my beliefs that I want to live here forever. (Along with Arctic Monkeys and the fact that I'll probably never need to learn to drive...)

I've used old posts in this site a million times to get visa info I needed, so I thought I'd finally actually sign up and join the conversation!


----------



## uhuglue

Hiya folks! Before going any further, I'd just like to say thank you to all the mods and posters for your help (shout out to Joppa and nyclon) - absolutely brilliant stuff.

How's it going? I'm Lee from Malaysia, and I have been in the UK for almost 33 months now - time for the dreaded renewal application! But hey, we've had about 5 consecutive days of sun now, so at least there's that...


----------



## ukpakspousevisa

Hi I am Imran, from Pakistan originally and have lived in the UK since the past four years, working as an engineer. I'm living near Cambridge and here to get advice on spouse visas.


----------



## basalganglia

Hi, I'm Bryan. My wife and I are moving to the UK from the US in August for a position I got at a University.


----------



## USA2017

Hi, my name is Lin and I joined this group to find out if anyone would be intereste to sponsor me to live in UK.


----------



## Big Daz

*Howdy*

Hi folks,

I am a Brit living in the USA with my American wife & daughter. Applied for a settlement visa for all of us to move to the UK. Paid loads of money for the 10 to 15 working day priority processing. Currently on day 18 without word.... Hope to get there before the UK hosts its next Olympics!


----------



## WestCoastCanadianGirl

Big Daz said:


> Hi folks,
> 
> I am a Brit living in the USA with my American wife & daughter. Applied for a settlement visa for all of us to move to the UK. Paid loads of money for the 10 to 15 working day priority processing. Currently on day 18 without word.... Hope to get there before the UK hosts its next Olympics!


Hi, welcome to Expat Forum!

Just to clarify about priority service... the only thing that it guarantees is that your wife's application goes to the front of the queue when it's received in Sheffield (as opposed to joining every other non-priority application that arrived on the same day as yours, at the back of the queue) - there's no guaranteed "10 to 15 working day" turn-around time with priority processing... in fact, there hasn't been 10-15 business day turn around for settlement applications originating in North America since July 2012 (I applied via the UK consulate in New York on 05 July '12 [i.e. before the 09 July '12 rules change] and at that point, the turn around time for _non-priority_ applications was >15 working days.

Sorry to disappoint, but please keep your chin up - at least you got in before the fees went up at the beginning of the month.


----------



## Big Daz

Thanks WCCG, your response has made me feel much less stressed.

The 10 to 15 working days came from my legal advisor from Immigration Advice Service.

"£450 priorty service per person 10-15 working days average" (spelling mistake theirs)

Based on this we have quit work (No income or health insurance!), sold cars & personal belongings & moved into temporary housing (at much expense). I hope the reply is not too long in coming as we are unable to keep this up for too much longer or we will have spent our savings that we needed to qualify for the visas in the first place.


----------



## sprite75

really appreciate being able to read other people's success stories in this forum, and get some confusing bits of the application cleared up.

long, boring, complicated story (possibly i made a mistake somewhere) but in a nutshell, but after 12 yrs in this country, i am finally only 2.5 yrs away from ILR!
about to extend my FLR-M (unmarried partner).

didn't know about the health surcharge until today, shock of my life, let me tell you.


----------



## Don Dee

Hi, I'm Ike and a spouse of an EEA national from Germany. I am originally from Ghana where my spouse and I lived for 4years after marriage before deciding to relocate to the U.K. We decided on U.K. Because the first language of our children is English and we thought it would be a smooth transition for them language-wise in England than in Germany. I obtained two EEA Family permits for the first two travels which were for feasibility studies(for my spouse and I) and initial movement (for the whole family). I went back to my home country after settling the family to sell some properties and to finalize all arrangements regarding our relocation hoping to apply for a third EEA Family Permit to bring me back into the country to apply for my residence card but was refused the third application. This is what got me signed up with this forum and I must say I'm loving it and will continue to be a member evenafter my issued is resolved.


----------



## jasminesenga

Hi my name is Jasmine and I post here on behalf of my fiance James and I. He is currently a resident of the USA and we applied for a fiance visa in February so he can join me in Scotland and celebrate our wedding. We are due to be married in June however no sign of our visa so our plans may change! 

Thank you to all who take the time to post on this forum. It truly helps us to feel less alone in this (very long and emotional) process! So happy for everyone who has received their visa and is joining their partner/family.


----------



## NZcricketfan

*Hello*

Hi, I am a New Zealander with a partner who has dual citizenship for NZ and UK. We have moved to the UK for work opportunities and I am applying for my further leave to remain. I have 3 beautiful children who also hold dual citizenship.


----------



## Izmirian2017

Hi my name is Richard and my wife and I are looking to return to the U.K after more than 23 years living and working in the Turkish republic. How does one deal with reverse culture shock?


----------



## DCT

Hi I'm DCT from Korea. I read loads of helpful threads already, and now I am practically jumping into the forum to solve mine.  Good luck to everyone who's dealing with a visa!


----------



## TonyHamid

*Hello All*

My name is Tony and I have moved from Pakistan to the UK. My wife is Pakistani, and I am British. Hoping to get some much needed help here.


----------



## LongDistanceMarriage

Hi my name is Paul and i'm looking to bring my wife from china over . It would of been three years of saving but i had to give up work to look after my mum after she fell ill in october , now I found out i can bring my wife over without financial requirement . Just like some adivce from people on here and Joppa with any luck  

Nice to meet everyone and best of luck to everyone with their visas.


----------



## Scott&Trish

Hi there guys, Scott here. 
Me and my girlfriend have been together for about a year now. She is an American National and I am British. She is looking to come here in early September for 6 months and then after that we will be looking for a more solid situation. Just want to drop a huge thank you already, I have had so many questions answered from just browsing these forums and I/We hope to help/get answers for further questions. Great website and great community


----------



## rijab

*visa reply*

hey guys am rijab from Pakistan , my husband is a british national.my husband have applied for settlement visa for me in the start of april 2017.we havn't got a reply yet am a little worried about my visa do pray for me.


----------



## BethP

Hi everyone,

I'm new here! I'm here because my dream is to move to Germany, as I have some family and a couple of friends there and I can speak the language moderately well.

Looking forward to meeting you all


----------



## mefal

Hi, I am American and my partner is English. After 4 years of living in NZ, we have decided to submit a settlement visa so I can settle in the UK with him as his partner.


----------



## Eva322

Hi I'm Eva. My husband is English and I am American. We are currently living in the US but in July he will be leaving to go the Uk to find work and for us to start our VISA process.


----------



## KyaraAthena

Hi!

I'm from mexico, my husband from the UK, we have been together since 2014 and I hope we'll be applying for the spouse visa this July. I'm really nervous because I'll be doing all the paperwork as my husband simply refuses and says he's useless with it... I obviously speak English and I'm relatively good with paperwork, quite a good organizer and usually don't get frustrated, but there are soooo many technical things like the financial requirements that are simply beyond me... Anyway, I hope I can find some answers here and with your help I can only wish everything will go just fine and I'll be finally with my husband before the end of this year. 

I tend to write too much, sorry, but nice to meet you all and thanks for your help in advance


----------



## Gaurav Kumar

Hey everyone!  This is Gaurav Kumar. I've recently joined this community.
I am a British Expat from India. I love travelling. Any travel lovers here? Would love to interact.


----------



## Giras

Hi all, I'm Ross. I'm from the UK and my wife is from Kazakhstan. We live in the Czech Republic and we are very happy here, it's a nice mix between our two cultures and offers a great place to start a family. We visit the UK to see my family, but the visa situation is often less than friendly to our situation


----------



## vana11

Hi I'm originally from India and settled in India. My husband works both in the Middle East and India so we keep traveling around the world. I got through one of the most prestigious universities in the UK, so planning to finish my studies and come back after that. I am here to get some idea about the British life to help me through my student life when I join. Also with the visa process and the time frames as I'm keen on a smooth transition to start school.


----------



## eternale

Hello ! I am from Turkey and my husband is Uk citizen, waiting my settlement visa atm so we can be together again after a long time ...


----------



## Freya123

*Freya123*

Hello all,

My name is Freya and I am a Dutch living in the UK for more than 9 years now. 
My husband is from outside the UK and we are in the process of renewing his spousal visa. I hope to share experiences and get to know new people!


----------



## OddLion

Hi everyone - Odilon in Hong Kong here. I'm originally from the US, but living in HK for 8 years now and planning to move with my wife and kid (who both have UK passports) to London. I applied "priority" last month, unfortunately just after they shifted to processing everything in Sheffield instead of Manila, which was famously quick (1-2 weeks).


----------



## Shanen1604

Shanen - Germany - Studying in Cambridge


----------



## megjncl

Hello, I'm Megan. I'm from Colorado, USA. My daughter and I are planning to move to the UK this fall to join my fiance in the Northeast.


----------



## Airshow

Hey guys,

I'm David. I've been in the UK for a year and a half on a YMS visa - now I'm trying to get a family card with my European Partner.


----------



## 11143

*Introduction*

Hi I'm 11143,

I'm Canadian and my Fiance is a British citizen. We met in college in Ireland 6 years ago and he's since moved back to the UK. I'm applying in hopes to get the Fianceé visa. All of this is very overwhelming, but am slowly getting there...


----------



## Chezy08

Hi everyone  My name is Cherie, we are hoping to relocate from Australia to Scotland with our family next year, Looking for a snow change  We have lived in various places in Australia, mainly Tasmania and currently Queensland. 

I am finding it difficult to navigate which is the best way to go with the visas and citizenship stuff, so I will post a thread and hope you can all shed some light on the subject! Then of course I would like to know all about living over there so I will read all your threads enthusiastically!  Bye for now!


----------



## scottishgal

*Scotland Bound*

Hi I am Rebecca and new to the forum. I am of Scottish, English, and German descent. Scotland calls me home. I also have a boyfriend who is born and bred in Edinburgh which I have visited just two weeks ago. I love it!! We want to get married but he falls just a wee bit short of the £17,600 income requirement. So, I am here to stay abreast of any and all changes to the rules of immigration. I am happy to meet you all. :smile:


----------



## kaiamber

I'm Kai and my husband's name is Mike. I'm from the US and he is from the UK. We've only just applied for my UK visa this week and it already feels too long. It's so hard to be apart. I stumbled across this forum only after I'd applied. Wish I'd found you all sooner!


----------



## evercelt

*Dual nationalit*

Hi everyone, I'm Pete. Im a dual citizen of the US/UK and have just moved back to the UK after 44 years in the US. I'm hoping to find the correct forum to get some tax filing information.


----------



## Joppa

Try Expat Tax - Expat Forum For People Moving Overseas And Living Abroad


----------



## Amd1

Hey everyone, am Amdidi, born and raised in the U.K. And family from Ghana, currently working on submitting my husbands visa from Ghana 🇬🇭 🤗😊, nice to meet you all and good luck to everyone ✌🏼


----------



## Toastipiez

*Hi!*

Hi I'm Stacey, 34, originally from NZ, living in Melbourne and looking to move to Dublin within the year, I'm a Business Analyst in the IT/Banking sector and my fiancé is a builder and tattooist..

Made the decision to move within the last month so very new to all this....When I moved from NZ to Aus all I did was get on the plane!!!

Loving all the info on this site!

Any one got any helpful tips re immigration?? We are both over 30 so working visa out the window??

I'm hoping to get a transfer with my current employer, but if that doesn't work do we try for skilled migrant?


----------



## junglebaby

Hi, 

I'm Jeff. 30+ years old, American, living in Thailand. My fianceé is English and we have finally decided to move to the UK. We are in the process of researching finaceé- and family-visas now, and I am sure that this site will be an invaluable source of information! Thanks in advance to everyone  I really can't wait to start a family in the UK!!


----------



## comebackseason

Hey I'm originally from Canada, born and raised, I am now living in the UK to join my spouse. I have been here for almost 1.5 years now


----------



## Melodika

Hi I'm from Turkey,
I have been married to a British citizen for 8 years and lived in Turkey for 10 years together. We have 2 lovely kids and last year we decided to raise our children in the Uk so a year ago in july my husband had to go first to sort out the job and financial issues... we have seen eachother since then but miss more. especially the kids miss their daddy.
I've rencently applied for a spouse visa (27.07 priorty) hope it wont get as complicated as I read on several forums.
Finally good luck to everyone who is on the stage of waiting for any good outcome of their visas.?


----------



## bbezerra

Hi everybody.

My name is Bernardo and I am from Brazil. My wife was born in Brazil and her family moved to the UK about 20 years ago. She lived there for about 10 years and got an UK passport. After those 10 years, she decided to come back to Brazil and her family is still in the UK.

We married in 2014 and now are in the process of moving to UK. We already hit a few bumps in the road (thought we could apply for a Spouse Visa while in the UK) but we are going to get it done.

Already browsed a bit around and I can tell there will be a lot of help here.

Good luck for us all!


----------



## Insa4138

Hey Everybody! 

I'm Brandon, my partner has dual citizenship US/U.K. and we already made the move to the U.K. in March. I'm now back in the States waiting for a decision on my Settlement - Partner Visa. It's a big waiting game now! Found this site and wish I stumbled on it earlier in the process. There is an incredible amount of useful information! 

See ya around on the boards

Brandon


----------



## harasdlw

*Hi Everyone*

Hi, I'm Welsh, other half is American and in Michigan. We're waiting for the applicaiton for settlement/ join spouse to be processed.

Met Sept 2014 in USA, married Jan 2015. I came home to UK 1 week later, Wade came over Nov 2015- May 2016 to experience UK. We were apart until May 2017 when I went over for a month after uni finished. Applied in June online for visa and now doing the waiting game. Been married 2 years 7 months and only lived together 7 months in that time. 

Really struggling with the long distance relationship now but we did say maybe 3 years to be able to live together in the UK from when we decided what country to live in.

Some helpful info on here even though application is already in.

Good luck everyone.


----------



## stark1

Hello, 

I am moving to the UK for a semester as a part of an internship program and am hoping to have full time opportunities after I graduate. I'm very excited to live in a different country!

-Chris


----------



## christinetc

Hello,

I am Christine currently in the UK on T5 Visa but switching as partner soon. Excited to hopefully permanently stay in the country!

Christine


----------



## eastofetern1ty

I'm Jacquelyn, and my husband and I are headed to the UK in about a week from the US! T5 and T5 Dependent visas -- I work on music staff at ROH, husband works in TV. Really excited to move!


----------



## stewsuz2017

Hello everyone, my wife and I are retired and both are living in the U.K. I am a U.K/U.S citizen holding both passports and rights of abode in both countries. My wife in a U.S citizen residing here on a spouse visa that run out in a couple of months. I hope that there will be some clever folks here who can just steer us in the right direction for time etc on renewing my wife's visa for another term. Thanks


----------



## se_88

Hi everyone!

My name is Serena, I'm a 29 and I'm from Sorrento, Italy!

I would like to move to the UK in winter, I'm looking forward to your advices


----------



## j4v3d

Welcome to the forum everyone


----------



## Emily873

Hi i'm Emily or as my friends call me Em or Emmie. I am hoping to live with my boyfriend of 3 years in the UK. We met online and currently planning to get married. He is from South African and I live in the UK.


----------



## j4v3d

Emily873 said:


> Hi i'm Emily or as my friends call me Em or Emmie. I am hoping to live with my boyfriend of 3 years in the UK. We met online and currently planning to get married. He is from South African and I live in the UK.


Welcome to the forum Emily.


----------



## tenaciouslee

*Cheers*

Hi everyone, my wife and I are in the midst of planning a move for October. We'll be moving from the USA to Belfast, NI for a 36-month position with my work. I'll be on a Tier 2 ICT visa, and she'll be on a dependent visa. Thanks for being such a helpful, supportive forum!


----------



## Mojo22

Hello everyone! 

I'm in America and my husband is in the U.K. We've been together for close to 3 years now. We first met November of 2014. Our relationship quickly went from friends to being completely in love. We've kept in constant contact ever since and have visited each other in both countries on several occasions. In June of this year we got married. We spent 2 months together afterward. Now we're apart again but hopefully for the last time. We are putting together our documents for my spouse visa to move to the U.K. So we can finally begin our life together. 

The whole application process is new to me and quite overwhelming. Although I feel I'm getting a better understanding of it since reading this forum and doing research online. I've got lots of questions still. I'm wondering if I should post new threads as questions come up? Or should I stick them all in one "Mojo22's Many Questions" thread? ;-)


----------



## Joppa

You can do either, but put related questions in the same thread.


----------



## Mojo22

Joppa said:


> You can do either, but put related questions in the same thread.


Thank you!


----------



## delicia

Hello everyone!

I'm Delicia from Cape Town, South Africa and my Husband and two daughters (all British except for me) and I are planning on immigrating to the UK. 

Thank you for creating and moderating this amazing forum - so much useful information.


----------



## 1995_CG

Hi I'm CG, filipino by birth, im living in the Philippines. Im a college student, in a Long distance Relationship with my British bf for 3 years now. We already met in person 5 times now too. I'm glad I found this forum helping me out to answer all my questions, shoutout to Ms Kimi for answering my question about my standard visitor visa. As my bf is planning to take me in the UK next month. and we are both clueless how this new rules about the supporting documents thing sending to Sheffield Uk or be scanned in vfs global.


----------



## PILLOW88

*Introduction*

Hi all

I am South AFrican Expat living in TUrkey and married to my gorgeous British husband. I am now on working day 42 of our wait and its really getting to the both of us as many of you know. Is there a thread here where we come up with distractions to take away from the wait?


----------



## ViLu

*Hello!*

I'm an American, living in the UK with my husband for just over two years now. I'm planning to apply for FLR and am gathering information about that process. Hello and thank you for this forum.


----------



## twee

Put in the wrong place... Sorry


----------



## twee

Hi everyone,
I first joined the expat forum in 2013. Applied for a spousal visa in Feb.2015 and moved to the UK in May of 2015. I'm a Canadian and husband in British.
It's now time for me to apply for my FLR visa and once again I'm praying I can get through this second phase of visa applications. 
I really miss the old expat forum app. For some reason the iMac won't allow me to get the Tapatalk app and I want to use our iMac for all visa work. My old iPad is sooooo slow, but oddly it allows me to use this Tapatalk app. Anybody else able to acquire the Tapatalk app and install it on their iMac? If so, what do I need to do, please? 
Looking forward to perhaps seeing names of a few of the people I got to know when we were all applying for our original spousal visas in 2014/2015. 


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk


----------



## zzondo

*uk pension fund*

hi my name is Zanele in 2006 I worked in the uk as a care giver it was a permanent post. I moved back to south African and was wondering if they don't owe me any pension of provident fund for the time I worked there. who can I contact to find out


----------



## SRChand

Hi all. 
I am Chandni from Nairobi, Kenya. Iv joined expatforum a few weeks back and have not yet introduced myself.
I applied for my visa to settle with my spouse in the Uk where he is from in August 2017. So now I'm on the waiting journey.
Hope it goes through


----------



## marthac64

Hello, 
I am Martha from Florida, USA. The plan is to move to the Norfolk area in Feb/March 2018. My husband is being transferred with his company for 2/3 years. Thank you for this forum since I know I will need help.


----------



## Samwllmsn

Hello everyone!

My name is Sam and I am a British citizen living in England. I am married to a U.S. citizen and our plan is to apply for a UK spouse visa so we can be together.

Thank you for all of the useful insights and anecdotes on this forum. It is nice to know there is a community of people in similar situations to us.


----------



## Deb93

Hi everyone,
my name's Debora.

I'm 24 and I'm an italian Uniersity student.
I'm planning to get my bachelor’s degree on March this year, after that I would like to move in the UK to find a job and continue my studies.

Thanks for this forum and for all the useful information!


----------



## lharper

Hi everyone,

I am a Canadian living in Canada with my British husband. He has been living in Canada with me for the past year and a half with Permanent Residence. However, we are now wanting to move to the UK permanently next year. Just starting looking at all the paperwork and application process. Not excited to apply for Visas again but it looks slightly faster than trying to get a Canadian visa. 

I am sure I will need some help down the line so thank you in advance 

Laura :smile:


----------



## sanscheese

Hello, I'm an Australian looking to climb the mountain of the UK Unmarried Spouse visa... here's hoping for a smooth process.


----------



## devtrev

*Florida Keys to UK*

Hello, all.

I'm an American guy in my 30's married to a British girl. We have one child together. We're most recently of the Florida Keys.

I'm applying for a spouse visa very soon. I've just about finished compiling my list of required documents and will commence my application just as soon as I've acquired all of them. My goal is to eventually earn a British passport.

My wife is also very nearly finished with her path to American citizenship. Our collective goal is to be a family "without borders".

I'm looking forward to being a part of the community. Thanks in advance for all of the advice and encouragement. I hope I can return the favor.

T


----------



## CRon

Hi, this is Ronald. I am migrating to the USA for Job. Thanks for letting me Introduce myself


----------



## ninajay

Hi! I'm Nina from India. I've been living and studying in Germany for a few years and now I'm planning to go to the UK for further studies. Wish me luck!


----------



## emackintosh8

Hello everyone~

My name is Eileen and I'm an American married to a dual UK/US citizen from Scotland. We've been married 11 years, having lived in the states for the whole of our marriage.

My husband has been terribly homesick for the Highlands so we travelled back to Scotland in January 2017. He found employment and a place for us to live so I'm now back in NY in the middle of the Settlement Visa process...
This forum has been so helpful!

I look forward to connecting with those of you in the same boat~


Eileen
_To God be the Glory!_


----------



## warlock

Hello everyone!

I am an Indian citizen with New Zealand Permanent Residency looking to migrate to UK. 

Thank you for all for having this wonderful forum here for all of us. It would be nice to hear experiences and suggestions about how I should tackle this situation. Thanks again.


----------



## mobiledan

Hello, I am from the US, met my UK born Welsh wife 8 years ago, married 4 years ago, 3 daughters, 5,3,1 all dual citizens (USA/UK). Wife became US Citizen maybe 4 years ago. We are moved already to South Wales (except for me and the dog  ) Been very confused in the process and found this forum and am so happy I did! Thank you! Best of luck to everyone!


----------



## kiende

Hello,
I am a Kenyan and my fiance is British. we Just submitted our fiance visa application. Looking forward to interacting with you all and particularly those on the same boat as me.


----------



## UkraineLove

Hello,

I am a British citizen and live in northern England. Recently married my Ukrainian girlfriend, and our long-term plan is to live together in the United Kingdom. She is planning to apply for a spouse visa early next year. Pleased to join this forum as there is so much good information and experience from like-minded people.


----------



## brittcole1

*Looking for London*

Hi All! My name is Britt and I'm an American currently living and working in Italy (purely on a visa and sponsored - no marriage, no dual citizenship).

I am desperately seeking a way to move to London in 2018, and was kindly suggested this forum for some insight. If you have any tips on searching for work, getting sponsored, or any other mode to make a transition to the UK - I would greatly appreciate it


----------



## Gaurav Kumar

*Contact any immigration company*

Hi, 
I do understand your point and think that you can give it with little bit struggle. You have a stamp on your passport of Italy and since it falls under UK nations then therefore you can come to London through contacting any immigration companies in London. 
As per now, I can recommend you Rapid Visas in Piccadilly, London. Give them a call through their contact us form. They are best at their services and I have tested them once. You can read their reviews on:
Reviews UK


Good Luck


----------



## Tropical_coconut

Hello there! I'm Tara. Hubs and I currently living in US but strongly considering a move to the UK in the next few year. We have an 8 year old daughter who is homeschooled. It seems our only hope for moving will be with husbands work in the finance industry. Just started looking around and thinking about options so any suggestions are helpful!Anyways just wanted to drop in. Ta Ta!


----------



## Imran333

Hi my name is Imran and I’m British born citizen and recently married which my wife is from Philippines, and I just need help on spouse visa application so I hope this forum can help me


----------



## 786sona

Im alia iv been visiting this forum fr about 2 years love the advice of joppa im from uk my spouse is in pakistan looking to apply spouse visa via carers route


----------



## chicka

Hi, I'm Charlie, 21 y/o, Australian, hoping to go to UK as a duel citizen to work for an extended period of time, maybe stay.
Not sure how it all works so its more than a bit daunting to say the least,
hoping this forum can help me out a lot


----------



## Thepetterssonway

Hi, 
my name is Dan and I am about to move to the UK from Malta in a few months together with my family, Czech wife and a 3 year old son. 

Swedish citizen who spent 6 years in Prague before the 7 years I have spent here in Malta now.

The wife has been offered a good job in London so we are looking for accommodation around Sevenoaks for her to commute.


----------



## Madoolous

Hello,
my name is Magda and I'm married to a Turk. We are currently filling the application for an EEA family visa, hoping that one day we're gonna make it through the bureaucracy.


----------



## dr_Jake_tokyo

Hi guys,

Just in the process of applying for my Japanese wife's vIsa to come to UK.
Will be looking for some advice over the next few days/weeks!


Thanks in advance,


----------



## brucelieb

*hi*

hello- I'm Bruce. I'm an artist/painter from NY with a pension from teaching. We are thinking of retiring to the UK. Looking at homes now. Worried about health care and taxes.. all new to us.


----------



## fcwright

*Hello*

Hi I am fc and currently living in the UK for 2 years.Soon applying for visa extension together with my child.Thanks for accepting me in this forum


----------



## juniaarsh01

Hey! i am Junaid . I have been married to a girl who is a UK national .I want to join her in UK for that I have to apply for UK spouse visa. Actually i m married to my cousin so now I dont know what to do what steps to follow. I have heard that its bit hard to get a spouse visa for arranged marriage. I am really scared and worried about it . Please can someone help me ?


----------



## TamLiv

Hi! I'm TamLiv. I just created this account yesterday but I used to be a regular visitor 2 years ago when I was applying for my spouse visa in Japan. The forums were a great source of information and comfort during those days. I'm back now, in preparation for the renewal (FLR (M)) and I hope I can contribute a bit this time around. 

I'm Japanese by birth, spent most of my childhood in the states (NJ), and I'm now living in Liverpool with my husband (British).


----------



## jacob1215

Hiya guys, I have recently joined this forum to try and get some help with my Visa application for my partner (Colombian) and I (British). And where possible from my own experience I could try and help others too.


----------



## BlueMyrrh

Hi, I'm English born & bred, my girlfriend is Filipino, living in the Philippines. She is applying (at first) for a visitor visa to visit me here in the UK. I will be providing her accommodation and funds while she's here, but it's unclear exactly what evidence I need to provide for her visa application to be accepted. 
We're not immediately thinking about marriage, but it is the plan in the long term for her to settle here. Has anyone got any advice?
Thanks.


----------



## LD_Boy

Hi, I'm British and my wife is Thai. I live in Blackburn, the North West of England and work as an Instrument Technician. My wife and I have been together for 4 years and married for 18 months. I have visited Thailand over 15 times and love the place and plan to retire there... but that will be another 10 years or so at the earliest. She has visited the UK on a Tourist visa last year for 3 months. We are now looking to get a settlement visa.

Nice to meet you all


----------



## RossFiore

*Hello*

Here is an official hello from me too.

I am from Bulgaria originally. I have moved to UK last Septemeber for my Master studies. My husband who is from US originally joined me as well. It worked great as he continued his newsroom work here in London. We met in New York where I lived for the past few years. 

We are right now in a process of applying for EEA RC as he needs this in order to remain employed.

Thank you all for the help, I hope I will be able to help someone here as well in the future. 

Cheers.


----------



## ness_inver

Hello everyone, my name is Ouma, I am a female artist and soon to be architect, from Morocco, with great love and passion for England and Scotland. I have only just joined this forum in order to try and get some guidance concerning my Visa application for the UK.


----------



## Abed92

*Hello eveyrone*

I am Abed A Jordanian medical doctor , I fall in love with a very nice British girl , and now we are engaged . We gonna get married in Jordan in March and then I'm going to apply for the spouse visa . I am really grateful for finding this great forum since I guess it gonna help us to understand the visa documents in a very well-explained way .
warm regards .


----------



## HappyTurtle

Hello, everyone. I am a Filipina, living in the Philippines and my boyfriend is a British national living in the UK.

I recently came home to the Philippines after staying in the UK for 6 months on a Visitor Visa. My boyfriend is in the UK for work but we are looking at options for me to settle in the UK... thus, I stumbled along this forum!

I'm looking forward to connecting with other people who are going through the exact same thing as we are!


----------



## girlandcoconut

*Hi hi!*

I'm Carrie, currently living in Washington State, USA. I have been a lurker on this forum off and on since 2007 with a long-standing dream to spend time living overseas at some point in my life. 

Last year I left my 18 year corporate career in telecom/IT to pursue things that bring me joy instead. It has been an interesting 15 months of soul searching and trying some different things. That time of discovery led me on a path to consider going back to get an education in a subject area I'm passionate about. For some reason after a while the thought occurred to me to consider studying abroad. I never got around to doing that the first time around so figured why not look into it. 

Interestingly enough, while I find some mentions of "mature students" here there and everywhere on the interwebs...typically these "mature students" are still in their twenties. I have only found a few stories about anyone my age or older returning to school and NONE so far of anyone my age or older doing so by studying abroad! I'm happy to share the discovery phase and process, etc to trying to make this dream happen at my ripe old age of 42 haha

No significant other at the moment, no children and have some money saved from my corporate days...the only challenging part outside of school apps and visa will be getting my pets safely over and in the least stressful way for them. Happy to be here, learning lots every day xx


----------



## GoldenGirl1982

My name is Frances and I'm originally from the U.S. and still living in the U.S. I'm just here looking for guidance and advice for eventually leaving the states and working in England. 

That would be a dream come true, lol.


----------



## evercelt

If you make it Frances, make sure you don't end up paying UK taxes, it will bankrupt you!!! Good Luck anyway.


----------



## JefePedro

Hey, I'm Ian and been dating an English woman with two kids for 2 years now. I've been a poker player for years and been a dealer recently. Currently in the UK being unemployed. Looking for a way to get a partner visa and these forums are amazing. Looking to apply and get more involved. Evercelt, are taxes really high?


----------



## shadovv123

Hello, I'm a British national living in the UK since birth. I recently got married and have come here to get some advice and guidance


----------



## Gympinion

Greetings all. I'm Rob, an Aussie originally from rural Queensland but I'm living in the north west of England now and working on making that a permanent arrangement.


----------



## Lou-to-Woo

Hi - I'm American, married to a Brit for 20 years. We've lived in the USA all this time, but plan to move permanently to the UK in 2026, when we're both retired. I'm already obsessively studying for my Life in the UK test. We're looking at living in the Worcestershire area, but anywhere other than East Anglia would be fine with me. I love North Wales and Scotland and Wiltshire and, well - just about everywhere.


----------



## lama16

Hi - I'm Indian and been here for university followed by work on a Tier 2 general visa. I'm applying for my ILR in December or in Jan but I might also go back to university to looking at options.


----------



## ahiorns

Hello all, I'm a UK national, in a relationship with a US national, and looking for advice for the best way for us to make our life together in the UK.


----------



## FantasticFrank

Hi, I am Frank Opoku from Ghana. My wife is a UK citizen. Looking for the best advice that help us apply for spouse visa to the UK


----------



## sergiosena

Hi everyone!
I'm Sérgio, a portuguese living in Scotland since 2012.
Looking forward to participate in the forum 
Cheers


----------



## progpen

*Going to UK for school*

Hello. I'm Steve and my wife and I will be going to school in Edinburgh beginning in 2018. My wife is going for her Masters degree and I am going to trade school at Chippendale Furniture School. We have both been accepted but have not received our CAS yet, so we are researching and preparing.


----------



## malena05

Hi! 
Im Malena from Argentina, currently working on my EEA Family Permit application.

Best to all of you guts


----------



## frenchjordan290

*Hello*

Hi I am Jordan from Manchester. I am hoping to apply for UK. Can you please tell me what essential documents I must be requiring.

Thanks
Jordan French


----------



## JonandSophietravel

Hi everyone!

My wife and I are just starting our 489 journey now and it's very exciting but scary too. We're 33/31 from Southampton and will be applying to South Australia for state sponsorship as we lived in Adelaide on a working holiday visa in 2011 and absolutely love the city. Been dreaming of 'coming home', as Sophie calls it, ever since.

I'll update my signature with the timeline as soon as I've done my first 5 posts 

Jon


----------



## Alamx

Hello I'm alam from London I'm at the last stage of my partners 5yr spouse visa, ilr stage which is due in September 2018.. this site has been incredibly useful during flrm stages.


----------



## rgporter

Hello.. I'm a USC and hubby is a UKC. We both live in the US (currently) but hoping to get back.


----------



## Aida_S

Hello all!! My name is Aida and I'm from Malaysia. My fiancé is from Scotland. Like many of you, I'm here digging for Fiancé Visa info and approval timeline. My fiancé will submit my application to his lawyer tomorrow. :fingerscrossed: I guess you must know the feeling! :fingerscrossed:

I hope I don't have to wait for 2-3 months for the approval. I can't wait to be with my fiancé as I'm already in love with Scotland.


----------



## reza1990

Hi all! I'm from the UK and my girlfriend is from Thailand, we are currently living in Australia on Working Holiday visas.

We still have another year of living together before we qualify for the Unmarried Partner visa back in the UK, so I'm here for any help and advice with preparing for the application.

Thanks!


----------



## Iovita

Hi, 

I'm Andreea and live in the UK since 2016. Now I'm in West Midlands and don't think I'll move too soon from here. 

I'm here for networking and to practice the Greek language (Romanian is the native one).


----------



## 2humans

Hello all - UK and US partners here, hoping to secure an unmarried partner visa in the near future.

Good luck everyone!


----------



## Shereen22

Good day

My name is Shereen. I am from Nairobi Kenya. I'm married in Poland and I am looking forward to join my Husband who works in London. I have been browsing around for a few months and I must say a big thank you to everyone especially the moderators for all the help you provide, especially the daunting visa application process and every other questions that we can't find answers anywhere else.


----------



## SpiderEve

Hello! I'm a Mexican expat currently in the UK, hopefully to stay for good. I'm applying for my first visa extension as spouse/unmarried partner soon and this forum has been a great help!


----------



## mrkesh

Hi all,

I am a Portuguese citizen living in the UK for almost 7 years and I am getting married to my Argentinean girlfriend later this year. This forum has been a great source of help!


----------



## RadAim

*Israel to UK*

Hi, I'm from Israel and my fiancee is British in the UK. We have been in a relationship for over 6 years long distance but now we want to take the steps to be together so are beginning the process of applying for a fiance visa. We won't be using a solicitor due to the costs so we will be doing it all ourselves which is a bit daunting. Hopefully, this forum will be a great help to us, as the governments' instructions are pretty vague!


----------



## Drish

*Hi all... please guide in ACS assessment*

I'm starting with ACS assessment form submission..
Is it required to notarize if we r scanning the originals( not Xerox copy) of certificates & ref letters..? 
Please guide


----------



## K.Hart

*A quick Salute!*

Hello there!

My name is Kate. I live in England with an occasional week or so somewhere else to handle some work related shenanigans. Anyway, I am working for a relocating business and have some experience on different topics that I am willing, and will be glad to share in threads of the forum 

See you out there!

KR

Kate


----------



## lizbth

Hi all,

I thought I'd (re)introduce myself. I'm Liz, I'm a teacher candidate hoping to move to England after graduating to teach primary school. I just met with a recruiter from a teaching agency which a professor recommended me (she had gone through the same process). They take care of hiring you and your visas, I'm more here to get a sense of the more technical aspects -- moving your things trans-atlantic, flying into a country and kind of just getting settled. Much appreciated any advice anyone has


----------



## umar17

*new to this site*

Hello everyone, have been looking at this site for some time which provides great help to many. Now decided to join. From UK, West Yorkshire area.


----------



## umar17

I am not sure which thread my questions are supposed to be in so please forgive me in advance. I am planning to bring my wife (to be) over (spouse visa). I will be using employment and cash savings option. My family has gifted me money to make sure the financial side of visa application will pass. They transferred the money over on 15 August this year. My question is, can my wife apply for spouse visa only after 15 Feb 2018? as you need the savings to be in my account for 6 months? Secondly, can I use my employment (HMRC) and cash savings option to make up the shortfall?


----------



## Aida_S

First you have to apply for Fiance Visa (if you're getting married in UK) then after you're married, you have to apply for Spouse Visa. First, they'll look at your salary. You gotta pass the min requirement. They don't really bother about your saving.



> =umar17;14655050]I am not sure which thread my questions are supposed to be in so please forgive me in advance. I am planning to bring my wife (to be) over (spouse visa). I will be using employment and cash savings option. My family has gifted me money to make sure the financial side of visa application will pass. They transferred the money over on 15 August this year. My question is, can my wife apply for spouse visa only after 15 Feb 2018? as you need the savings to be in my account for 6 months? Secondly, can I use my employment (HMRC) and cash savings option to make up the shortfall?


----------



## ProfessorOptics

Hi, I'm Tony, from South Africa. I don't know if I am considered an expat since I have dual nationality (SAfrican/British). I'll be moving to the UK early next year, and joined the site to find out what I can before the move. I have lived in the UK from '09 to '13, which is a little while ago, but this time, I'm going to be on my own. I have asperger's, and well... I want to be sure I have ironed out my plan before i move. hence why i am here. Thanks for reading, and nice meeting you all!


----------



## N6ZY

*Moving from Cape Cod*

We are planning on moving from the US to the UK as soon as we can sell our house, and this forum is going to be invaluable. I am a Brit with dual UK/US nationality, have been in the US for 25 years, and have now retired. Actually I have spent more than half my adult life overseas, counting my service in the RAF. My wife has US citizenship, and we have been married since 2005, so should qualify for the 5 year option. We look forward to getting assistance on the site.


----------



## ExpatUStoUK

Hello! My wife and I are both US citizens having always lived in the US. We've discussed the idea of moving overseas to the UK with Scotland as our destination. We have two school aged kids as well. Both of us have ancestry from the UK with my wife having primarily Scottish ancestry which is why Scotland is where we'd like to go.

We don't even know where to start. My wife is concerned about the long process of doing this and of course we both just want to make sure our kids would be able to adjust to living in a new country should we decide to do so. 

I'm assuming I would need to find an employer who can sponsor me for my visa? We've been looking at the different costs for things like housing and food and even what salaries are for what I do but we are not sure how well it compares to where we are now in the US. 

We do have three cats that would need to move with us as well. 

For those who have been through this process what do we need do or at the very least where do we need to start? Thank you in advance!


----------



## 66marlin

*My return to this group.*

I was a member of this group when I lived in the US. I have been in Scotland for almost 2 years now. In the months to come I will be applying to extend my visa for another 2.5 years. I cannot believe they make you go through the entire process once again. After all, they have everything in their files. Why can't we just pay the fees? But, I understand the need for this as immigration is indeed a hot topic these days. I will be looking for answers about the renewal application here.


----------



## Aida_S

ExpatUStoUK said:


> Hello! My wife and I are both US citizens having always lived in the US. We've discussed the idea of moving overseas to the UK with Scotland as our destination. We have two school aged kids as well. Both of us have ancestry from the UK with my wife having primarily Scottish ancestry which is why Scotland is where we'd like to go.
> 
> We don't even know where to start. My wife is concerned about the long process of doing this and of course we both just want to make sure our kids would be able to adjust to living in a new country should we decide to do so.
> 
> I'm assuming I would need to find an employer who can sponsor me for my visa? We've been looking at the different costs for things like housing and food and even what salaries are for what I do but we are not sure how well it compares to where we are now in the US.
> 
> We do have three cats that would need to move with us as well.
> 
> For those who have been through this process what do we need do or at the very least where do we need to start? Thank you in advance!


Since your case is not straight forward, I suggest you hire a solicitor. Plus, you have to work at least 6 months in UK.


----------



## onlineMouse

hi, I am originally from Hungary, moved to the UK in 2011. I have a family here with 2 kids and recently become a British citizen. I've been through a lot within these years and would be happy to help others with advice


----------



## jamesdarrenpga

Hi im James,

MY US fiancee is Kira been looking around this forum and cant appreciate enough how much some of the info posted is helping us in our process of applying for a visa.

Look forward to sharing our experince


----------



## bluetail14

I'm a Russian living in the UK on a student, work, spouse... visas


----------



## Rocprets

*US to UK*

I am a US citizen awaiting a couple of visas to be able to live and work in the UK with my Brit husband.


----------



## LW1980

Hi, I am a British born Citizen, my name is Lorraine due to apply for my husbands spouse visa this week.


----------



## Schwaa

Hi, I am British with a Brazilian wife here on a student visa, we have a one month old baby together. Looking to apply for a spouse visa, self employed through a limited company so that makes the application difficult - looking for advice about the evidence required for the application.


----------



## NYTOUK1991

Hi, I am a US citizen with British fiance. We have been together for 7 years and we are looking to apply for the family/fiance visa in the UK. We are planning a very small wedding and I'm looking for advice on supplying enough 'intent to marry' evidence.


----------



## sahil_sahil_sahil

i am nepal citizen got spouse visa recently i am happy


----------



## umar17

Hi. Does child maintence payments to a previous partner effect spouse visa application with regards to finances (£18600)? Sorry if this is in the wrong thread. Not sure which to write in


----------



## Ben.10

US citizen, musician, Cornish wife. I've lived and toured throughout the UK (and Europe) for the last 7 years. Finally got spousal visa. Nightmare, I'll tell y'all about it sometime.


----------



## fellington

*Hello*

HI

Felicia here, I'm a business manager/graphic designer from NYC, US. Escaping Trumpism to live with my husband a translator (from Leeds) in London. We're currently just traveling together every time my 6 month visitor visa runs out but eventually would like to make it permanent.


----------



## Korny

Hi - I'm an Aussie living in the UK - I moved here on a work visa, then met my (now) wife - and now have a lovely 2-year-old Aussie/British boy!


----------



## LondonShadwa

*Hello*

Hi there, I am Shadwa, an American who has lived and worked in the UK for 40+ years. I recently had a BPR application rejected and my Indefinite Leave revoked. I joined this forum for information and guidance!


----------



## PotatoTemple

Hi there, I'm from the UK and looking for advise around getting a visa for my future wife to join me!

(I'm trying to post a thread, but I keep getting an Error 500?)


----------



## Landfall

I'm a US citizen that is retiring soon. The wife and I are considering retired life in So. Wales and doing some pretty heavy research over the near future. We find the Welsh to be warm and friendly and, of course, the scenery can be spectacular. We just have to finish up a few months of work obligations, sell our home, and start working on that retirement visa process.


----------



## Shaz_123

Hi everyone, I'm Shaz. Moved to the UK around 6/7 months ago with my husband and 2 children to be closer to his family. Living in London, still getting used to the weather, but very in love with the city.


----------



## Shaji Memon

*Introduction*

Hello
My name is Shaji Memon. I am a British + Pakistani dual national. Have recently moved to UK from Pakistan 4 months ago and have joined this group today as I wish to apply spouse visa for my wife who is in Pakistan.


----------



## exclamation

Hi, my name is Malo. For a few years, my plan was to go from Calif to London in 2021, when kids get big enough. Hopefully we will know more about brexit effects by that time. Alternative is northern part of EU, unless political situation gets unstable.


----------



## matt_c

Hi all! 

My name is Matt. My partner and I are currently living in Melbourne, Australia.

We've just returned from a holiday/visit family trip to England (my fifth visit since I was born, his first). We are now considering our options for a (semi)permanent move there for both a change in scenery and also to be closer to my family.

Hopefully everything works out  

Cheers!


----------



## sam_k1785

*Hi all*

Hi all,

I'm Sam from Sri Lanka. My wife is a doctor and she will have to go to UK for 2 years to complete her training. I joined this forum to get more details about the process and restrictions I have to face. I have 2 kids and hope to move them as well.

Thanks for reading.

cheers!


----------



## Rustean

Rustean here I am Australia in UK on last leg of 5 year spousal visa, British/Australian hubby. It has been quite a long journey so far and hoping the end is near. We have settled in lovely Cheltenham after lots of moving with hubbies job. I work in real estate and hubby in IT development. Finally making friends after 7 long years.


----------



## samwoodblack

Hi!
Nice to meet you all!


----------



## mkpash

*Moving to UK finally*

Hello dear members,

I have finally got the decision from the judge in my favor to settle permanently in UK with my wife under spouse visa. 
I will be moving to London for good by end of October. Currently im working in UAE and cant wait to settle down with my family in UK 

Regards,
Mustafa


----------



## lfranson

*Migration advise*



Joppa said:


> I'm Joppa, male, regular on Expatforum for over 5 years and mod for the last 4. Have experience dealing with UK immigration since early 1970s, when visa cost nothing(!) and applications were sorted in a matter of days (except settlement) or on arrival at UK border. Have lived in London, and now in the North West of England for 25 years. Married with grown-up children. My hobbies are travel, culture, and I am a practising Christian.


Hi,
I am a newbie on this forum here so would be great to startup with some info. Basically an Indian national residing at Lagos, Nigeria. I wanted to know whats the best way to check if the migration adviser is genuine and charges information. I have been on the hunt for a reliable migration advisor for almost an year now. Planning to migrate with my husband and kids (14/10yrs) to UK.
Would appreciate if you can put some light into it.

Thanks,
Lata


----------



## delharvey

I'm Del, older American looking to retire in the UK with my wife. We are very new to this. Have traveled to the UK over the years and love it. Both with English ancestry. Have reviewed the GOV.UK site and are well aware we may never be able to do this, but hope we might find a way through talking to like-minded folks. We're five years from retiring. I'm a university teacher and she's a lawyer. Look forward to learning as much as we can.


----------



## DaveStark

Hello! For so many years there were thoughts that you chose the wrong country for immigration?


----------



## DaveStark

Hello! I also love to travel, but I like the warm countries of Asia. Why Britain?


----------



## DaveStark

I remember I was also very happy to receive a visa. That is a wonderful feeling. Congratulations


----------



## DaveStark

Hello! I am also British and also recently joined. Now I have opened a business in Asia. I want to try to help people in this community get the necessary answers.


----------



## shawnglory

Hello, 

I've not been active here for just about 10 years now. I'd like to converse privately with a moderator in regards to the removal of an old post. How do I go about doing just that? I'm unable to send messages on the moderator's user page.

This is pretty urgent as it is currently interfering and disrupting my daily life. Both professionally and personally.

Thanks!


----------



## cbhovey

*Hello!*

Hello All,

My name is Carl an I've been dreaming of relocating to NZ since I visited as a child. I'm finally in a position to hopefully make the move either this year or next, and am looking forward to learning what I can and also to connecting with everyone on the forum. 

All the best,

Carl


----------



## confusedbrit

*Hello!*

Hi all, 

First of all, I hope everyone is enjoying the festivities this time of year. I'm joining this forum as I've read a lot of great information about visa's on this site and will in the next 6 months be looking to have my non-EU girlfriend join me in the UK (I'm a UK citizen) and will no doubt have plenty of questions about the process  

Thanks! 
CB


----------



## Jalaleh Soltani

*UK spouse visa for sole traders*

Hello
My husband and I applying for UK spouse visa, we married in Feb 2019.
now I had one general question, about this 18600 GBP that he must prove to the Home Office, as a sole trader does it have to come with some deposit documentation?

If this 18600 was not transferred little by little, does it matter that he had to have some sort of deposit to prove it?

He is a sole trader in Amazon and eBay selling cosmetics since 6 years ago, he has been VAT registered and he got his VAT certificate as well and we are proving it to the Home Office through our Visa process, He has also paid his tax in July 2019 and I must add all his transactions so far were Online and nothing in Cash.

And the money he had in his account was £18,910 
He has all related documents through his bank statement and his got two bank accounts on his names actually but only using one of them for his business transactions.

The only thing that it GOT US TOO WORRIED is that he has not got enough deposits for this 18,910 that he put in his account because his business is online.
We have got some more letters from his accountant and one more support letter from his accounts explaining everything about his accounts and transactions.(I attached below).

We are terribly confused and not sure what to do now?

We really need one only answer to find out whether we can apply now or wait until April 2020.
A solicitor, Mr. Philip Krylov, he mentioned that this might cause to a rejection through our visa process and he recommended to wait until April 2020, until the tax return. 

Now we are both very confused and disappointed as we have been together 8 years now and it is way too difficult for us to be apart like this.


Your reply is highly appreciated.


----------



## Rocket112

*Hello All!*

My Name is Jill and I moved to the UK in 2014 from the US on a fiance visa. My husband and I have been married for 5 years now, and I'm to begin my ILR application next month. It's shocking how the costs keep going up! I opted for the 5 year plan. I'm studying for the Life in the UK test and was wondering will there be a new set of questions to study for 2020?
Many thanks!


----------



## pjlx

Hi all,

I'm from the UK my husband is from Malaysia. he came here in Jan 18 on a Fiance Visa which was converted to FLRM after we married in Mar 18.

He is here on 5 year route and we are due to renew before Sep 20. Hopefully will be easier now we have done it twice but checking back here to see how it now all works through the Sopra Steria system as that didnt exist last time.

We will be looking at doing it all priority again, couldn't stand the waiting for other methods despite the amount you have to fork out for it not to even be the same day as we used last time.


Sent from my SM-G9750 using Tapatalk


----------



## twee

Hello, I am twee.

I'm a retired, Canadian lady who now lives in Scotland.
I came to the UK on a spousal visa and soon will be doing my ILR final visa application.

This forum has been very helpful and the moderators so generous with their time and patience in helping us with questions and formalities of filling in applications.

Thank you all, very much. 
I find these visa applications extremely stressful and confusing.


----------



## onuo

Hello all,

My name is Onu. I'm a naturalized US Citizen (of Nigerian origin), successfully applied for a spousal visa (FLR (M)) in 2017, and getting ready to extend.

During my original application, the forum was very helpful in providing stories of people in the same boat, and I decided to become a more active participant as my extension is coming up, and with all the craziness in the world.


----------



## shunamite

*Hello*

Hello Everyone,

I live in UAE with my family and would like to move to UK before the deadline of Dec 2020.
I hold EU nationality,born in India, but my family holds Indian nationality.

This forum has been very helpful. Appreciate all your help and advise.


----------



## lfranson

Hi,
I am Lata Franson, living with husband and kids in Lagos, Nigeria past 17 years. I am planning to migrate and hope this platform will help me to take the right steps.
Thanks to all.


----------



## ialexpw

I'm Alex from the UK with my partner coming from PH currently looking through the spouse visa, this forum has been a lot of help so far with browsing, so thought I'd sign up and introduce myself as I'm sure I have extra questions - good to be apart of it.


----------



## rdegannes87

Hi, Robert from Trinidad. aiming to move to the UK for a few years with my wife to give my kids the UK passport. I expect to be there about 5 years. 
I have UK citizenship but I've never lived there. Hoping to find out what I need to be aware of regarding heading over to live there for a few years
and secondly, naturalizing my wife so that my children will get the UK passport as well.


----------



## jay.joshi.3

Hi!

I am Jay Joshi from Gujarat, India. I hold Bachelors in Mech. Engg. (Jul’09 pass out) with First Class grade. After then, I started working in steel industry in India for 5 years. In Nov’14, I came to Gulf (First UAE and now Oman) and working till date. In total, I have 10 years of working experience. While I was employed in India, I did distance learning course in Operation Management from 2011 to 2013. 

I am trying to secure student visa – General Tier 4 for UK. I gave PTE - Academic in Dec’19, and my scores are as under,

PTE-A EXAM SCORE	
DATE	24-Dec-19	
Listening	83	
Reading	87	
Speaking	89	
Writing	81	
OVERALL	84	equivalent to IELTS 8.5

Could anyone please suggest how I could proceed to apply for General Tier 4 visa in Jan’21 intake? 
Could there be a problem to secure student visa due to study gap of almost 11 years. I did distance learning in between, but, I am not sure whether it counts. In my defence, I can prove my work experience with necessary documents. 

Just in case, if I secure my student visa, is it possible to take my mother (56 age) and my maternal grandmother (age 83) along with me on standard visitor visa. My father passed away in Aug’97, hence, I am the sole earner in my family. 

Please suggest. 

Jay


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## htlane

Hi - I am Helen. I live in NYC in the United States. My husband holds dual US/UK citizenship - has UK Passport. We would like to move to the UK but I would like to find a job there immediately, I am wondering if my status as the wife of the UK Citizen holds any privileges when we don't actually reside there yet?


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## dblue23

Hello everyone,
I'm from India and just finishing my 5 year residence on a Tier 2 General visa in the UK. I'm getting ready to apply for ILR as the next step. While I looked into using a solicitor, after reading some of your experiences, I have decided to tackle this process head on and do it myself. So, please bear with me as I go through the process. Hopefully at the end of it I can share my experience of the do's and dont's.
Cheers
dblue23


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## clever-octopus

htlane said:


> Hi - I am Helen. I live in NYC in the United States. My husband holds dual US/UK citizenship - has UK Passport. We would like to move to the UK but I would like to find a job there immediately, I am wondering if my status as the wife of the UK Citizen holds any privileges when we don't actually reside there yet?


No it doesn't, you don't have the right to work in the UK. You will need a spouse visa if you want to live/work in the UK. If you have questions you should start your own thread


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## JT Chi

Greetings, All! I'm JTChi, an expat from the US who arrived to "visit" my darling Brit native hubby of 16 years, who was renovating our little terraced house in Somerset, in March 2020. When I found myself in lockdown and COVID-retired, our solicitor advised that I could go ahead and apply for my spouse visa from the UK. So I did. Application and support docs were submitted 09 July, biometrics taken on 14 Aug, and I'm still waiting for the Home Office notification and that magic work permit. I emailed the "special assurance" office since my visitor status has obviously expired. I've call the Coronavirus Help Office at Immigration and has been advised to just keep waiting. The savings that are the proof of financial stability may have to be tapped soon... sigh... I would gladly welcome any tips -- or at least moral support -- from the Forum.


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## nyclon

JT Chi said:


> Greetings, All! I'm JTChi, an expat from the US who arrived to "visit" my darling Brit native hubby of 16 years, who was renovating our little terraced house in Somerset, in March 2020. When I found myself in lockdown and COVID-retired, our solicitor advised that I could go ahead and apply for my spouse visa from the UK. So I did. Application and support docs were submitted 09 July, biometrics taken on 14 Aug, and I'm still waiting for the Home Office notification and that magic work permit. I emailed the "special assurance" office since my visitor status has obviously expired. I've call the Coronavirus Help Office at Immigration and has been advised to just keep waiting. The savings that are the proof of financial stability may have to be tapped soon... sigh... I would gladly welcome any tips -- or at least moral support -- from the Forum.


I would like to be supportive but I think you got some bad advice. There was no reason you couldn't return to the US to apply. Travel to the US was never curtailed for a US citizen even during lockdown. Additionally, you applied in July when lockdown was lifted. This is just my opinion, but unless you had a very compelling reason other than lockdown for not returning to the US to apply, I wouldn't be too optimistic about your chances.


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## Crawford

nyclon said:


> I would like to be supportive but I think you got some bad advice. There was no reason you couldn't return to the US to apply. Travel to the US was never curtailed for a US citizen even during lockdown. Additionally, you applied in July when lockdown was lifted. This is just my opinion, but unless you had a very compelling reason other than lockdown for not returning to the US to apply, I wouldn't be too optimistic about your chances.



+ 1 US citizens have never been unable to return to the US. So many have tried this route - probably a huge backlog.


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## JT Chi

nyclon said:


> I would like to be supportive but I think you got some bad advice. There was no reason you couldn't return to the US to apply. Travel to the US was never curtailed for a US citizen even during lockdown. Additionally, you applied in July when lockdown was lifted. This is just my opinion, but unless you had a very compelling reason other than lockdown for not returning to the US to apply, I wouldn't be too optimistic about your chances.


Thanks, Nyclon, you are correct about the travel not being completely restricted. Might I have a shot since there was a waiver posted on UK.gov advising that due to COVID, that applications would be accepted from here? That was why I made the application last summer. Additionally, I am primary caregiver for my husband who was shielding due to his high risk status as a cancer patient. We both submitted supporting statements to that effect. If I'm denied, wouldn't they notify me?


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## JT Chi

Crawford said:


> + 1 US citizens have never been unable to return to the US. So many have tried this route - probably a huge backlog.


Understood, Crawford. I'm hoping I haven't shot myself in the foot.


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## Crawford

JT Chi said:


> Understood, Crawford. I'm hoping I haven't shot myself in the foot.



You probably haven't and will get the visa eventually. It just annoys me and makes me sorry for those who do it the proper way - waiting in their home country - while others take the opportunity to get around the system.


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## JT Chi

Crawford said:


> You probably haven't and will get the visa eventually. It just annoys me and makes me sorry for those who do it the proper way - waiting in their home country - while others take the opportunity to get around the system.


Hadn't intended to "get around" the system, I had projects booked in the States through January 2021 when I left last March -- if fact it was going to be a banner year that entitled me to finally pay off the hospital bills for 9 months of hubby's cancer treatment. When it was brought to my attention that UK Immigration was temporarily waiving the requirement that family members be in their home country to apply, my only thought was to move fast when presented with the waiver - a change in the standard system. Without COVID, I would have completed my visit, returned to the States as scheduled in June and applied from there. But in addition to putting my already vulnerable husband at risk, the pandemic destroyed my business that I spent 30 years developing, and to add final insult caused a flight cancellation to the June flight that I was attempting to rebook. I apologize to you and those already in the standard process for any unintentional slight, but I didn't want to leave my man alone during this time.


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## smurf786

Hi Guys, 

I am from the UK and i have a spouse from India. Currently going to be applying for her ILR SET M.


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## HLassell

Hi Everyone 

I'm Heather. I'm Canadian born but also hold British citizenship (via my Scottish born mother) and am planning to move to Scotland in July 2021! I am bringing my daughter so we are currently in the process of her visa. Not a lot of fun as I can barely find anyone doing this same visa so I had stressful time trying to make sure I was doing it correctly. Biometrics were just done on Monday (March 22) and VFS confirmed via email that our documents were forwarded to UK Visas and Immigration that same day. I'm assuming we will get an email in 2 weeks or so when it's officially received there. Happy to have found this forum today!


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## mControl

Hello Friends! I'm Michelle (mControl because I tend to err on the control freak side - but working on it daily Ohmmmm ☺) 
Currently, in the middle of a Sole Rep Visa debacle from the US > UK | Submitted docs this week after biometrics appt. Monday. (Paid for Priority via VFS website for a quicker turn and now kicking ourselves for paying extra given that there is likely NO WAY for them to get through our apps, (Husband is sole rep + me and our 13 yo Daughter) in a 5 day turn (VFS's promise for the extra $$) given the sheer volume of documentation required etc. And, of course the day after the documents arrived in NYC for scanning we received the 'Not Straightforward' email for all three of us. Well, of course it is not straight forward... oh and this was an 'auto response' (bottom of email) odd. They couldn't have even had a chance to look over our documents in the time they received and then shot off this email. So, I really think that VFS should do a better job of letting people know there isn't a chance for something so complex to be accomplished in 5 short days in exchange for an extra fee. I am kicking myself for feeling even remotely excited for the possibility of an answer in such a short time. 

+++
_"Unfortunately, the processing of your application has not been straightforward and we will be unable to decide your application within our customer service targets. We are continuing to work on your application and aim to make a decision as soon as possible."

"This is an automated message - please do not respond to this email address as incoming mail is not answered. UKVI contact details can be found at www.gov.uk/contact-ukvi-outside-uk" 
+++_

We worked with a solicitor in the UK who specializes in this type of Visa the guidance was certainly invaluable and frankly, the app IS straightforward - all documents are in order, as are financials. We've met all the requirements. But given the likely current backlog, I can simply deduce that we'll still be waiting after our flight is due to depart 7th June, and our planned location for quarantine (10-day) will need cancelled. (all things our solicitor said we had to have on the books for an answer... fortunately, all easily remedied or changed I suppose. 

Well, that's my story and I am truly grateful for all the advice already given here in the forum and look forward to continuing to read even more. Best luck to all of us! -m


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## Crawford

mControl said:


> Hello Friends! I'm Michelle (mControl because I tend to err on the control freak side - but working on it daily Ohmmmm ☺)
> Currently, in the middle of a Sole Rep Visa debacle from the US > UK | Submitted docs this week after biometrics appt. Monday. (Paid for Priority via VFS website for a quicker turn and now kicking ourselves for paying extra given that there is likely NO WAY for them to get through our apps, (Husband is sole rep + me and our 13 yo Daughter) in a 5 day turn (VFS's promise for the extra $$) given the sheer volume of documentation required etc. And, of course the day after the documents arrived in NYC for scanning we received the 'Not Straightforward' email for all three of us. Well, of course it is not straight forward... oh and this was an 'auto response' (bottom of email) odd. They couldn't have even had a chance to look over our documents in the time they received and then shot off this email. So, I really think that VFS should do a better job of letting people know there isn't a chance for something so complex to be accomplished in 5 short days in exchange for an extra fee. I am kicking myself for feeling even remotely excited for the possibility of an answer in such a short time.
> 
> +++
> _"Unfortunately, the processing of your application has not been straightforward and we will be unable to decide your application within our customer service targets. We are continuing to work on your application and aim to make a decision as soon as possible."
> 
> "This is an automated message - please do not respond to this email address as incoming mail is not answered. UKVI contact details can be found at www.gov.uk/contact-ukvi-outside-uk"
> +++_
> 
> We worked with a solicitor in the UK who specializes in this type of Visa the guidance was certainly invaluable and frankly, the app IS straightforward - all documents are in order, as are financials. We've met all the requirements. But given the likely current backlog, I can simply deduce that we'll still be waiting after our flight is due to depart 7th June, and our planned location for quarantine (10-day) will need cancelled. (all things our solicitor said we had to have on the books for an answer... fortunately, all easily remedied or changed I suppose.
> 
> Well, that's my story and I am truly grateful for all the advice already given here in the forum and look forward to continuing to read even more. Best luck to all of us! -m


I suspect the processing of your application has 'not been straightforward' NOT due to the application and the volume of its documents, but due to the fact that many VFS offices have been closed, staff not available and the UK Immigration offices also closed and on skeleton staff. 
As far as I understand 5 day turnaround has only just been re-introduced, but, as per normal times, no guarantees ........


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## LMH71

Been here before in the last 5 years.. However this is hopefully the last time you see me. WE are getting ready to apply for our final visa, thankfully this journey is about over for me its been a longgggggggggggggg 5 years. I'm ready to celebrate and tear up immigration paperwork for the rest of my life after this.


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## mControl

Crawford said:


> I suspect the processing of your application has 'not been straightforward' NOT due to the application and the volume of its documents, but due to the fact that many VFS offices have been closed, staff not available and the UK Immigration offices also closed and on skeleton staff.
> As far as I understand 5 day turnaround has only just been re-introduced, but, as per normal times, no guarantees ........


Oh my - I totally forgot to update!
We are now moved to our new flat in Edinburgh - after that email arrived, the next day so did our visas! The box of our documents showed up with our vignettes attached to our passports. 5 days it was and nary a problem. Thank you for this forum, it has been such an eye-opener and I am grateful to have read so many posts that helped us navigate the process along the way! Appreciate you and cheers! 👍🏻


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## AussieDJ

Hi, I'm an IT developer from India, planning to move to UK via ICT visa. Looking for some pointers around benefits and challenges with ICT & Skilled Worker visa.


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## xinadawn

Hi, I'm an American, my husband is English (married 8 years) and has lived in the states for the last 21 years. We recently sold our home and are preparing to submit my application for a spouse visa, hoping to push it through by paying for priority service and move to the U.K. by mid-August. I am joining here hoping to get a few questions answered (which I will post elsewhere if I do not find a thread already answering them) regarding official financial documents required and confusion with some of the questions on the application. Grateful to find this forum, looking forward to learning. -Christina


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## Crawford

xinadawn said:


> Hi, I'm an American, my husband is English (married 8 years) and has lived in the states for the last 21 years. We recently sold our home and are preparing to submit my application for a spouse visa, hoping to push it through by paying for priority service and move to the U.K. by mid-August. I am joining here hoping to get a few questions answered (which I will post elsewhere if I do not find a thread already answering them) regarding official financial documents required and confusion with some of the questions on the application. Grateful to find this forum, looking forward to learning. -Christina


Post in the UK forum to obtain answers regarding spouse visa questions.


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## zina_ql

Hi everyone, before the introduction, I'd like to say thanks to this forum and to all members who have been helping and clarifying all others' questions. Because of that, after doing lots of reading on the forum, I was able to proceed the application on my own. As a result, 1 month after the BRP appointment, I have received the approval letter. Now waiting for the BRP card.

Intro: Vietnamese national, came to the UK with the Fiancee visa, got married, and switched to the Spouse visa. 
The process time for my application was surprisingly quick. 20 days for the Fiancee visa (out of the UK), and 1 month for the Spouse visa (inside the UK).
For the 1st Fiancee visa, my then-fiance and I decided to involve the solicitor service due to our super urgency mixed with the unprecedented Covid-19 chaos. But honestly, during the preparation, it's just us who did everything. And so, for the next application, I decided take it on our own (forget the solicitor's discount). Did quite a lot of researches on this forum 
And here I am, making the official introduction right after receiving the decision letter.

Eventually, I hope that I can also make some contribution to this forum anytime there's relevant questions which I might have had the experience.

Again, it's nice to be here in this forum with everyone. 
Cheers,
Zina


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## aquitaine

Hey all : ) From India and on the spouse route - just filling my ILR papers!


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## ozlaceuk

Hi there hubby is a POM and I'm a kiwi on an Aussie passport. Been watching the forum for years and finally joined. Just filed the ILR , so annoyed as I had it years ago and with work and travel lost it so had to start the whole process over again and pay out all that money! So definitely going to get citizenship this time!


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## Crawford

ozlaceuk said:


> Hi there hubby is a POM and I'm a kiwi on an Aussie passport. Been watching the forum for years and finally joined. Just filed the ILR , so annoyed as I had it years ago and with work and travel lost it so had to start the whole process over again and pay out all that money! So definitely going to get citizenship this time!


If you lost ILR years ago how have you just applied for ILR? You don't get ILR until you have lived in the UK for 5 years (under some other visa) ....


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## ozlaceuk

Crawford said:


> If you lost ILR years ago how have you just applied for ILR? You don't get ILR until you have lived in the UK for 5 years (under some other visa) ....


Because the rules were different 20 years ago. It took less time, but I was out of the UK for more than 2 years and lost the right to permanent residency so when we came back we had to start again


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## Adi325

Hi everyone, I am Nick from USA, looking to move to UK next year.


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## expatKat

Hi Everyone, I'm Kat from the States. Hoping to move our family back to the UK (Husband is British) in 2022.


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## linlin64

Hi - I'm Rose and I'm an American living in the UK. I love it here, always describing it as 'more humane' than in the US. I've been in the UK for over a decade, glad that I made the change back then. I'm not sure I'd have been able to get in now under the new rules. I'm permanently settled in the UK now and am relieved to be so! I really feel for people going through the process now, as it has only gotten more complicated and more expensive over the years.

Anyway, really looking forward to having a place to ask questions and hopefully answer some as well.


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## Steve2022

Hi, I'm Steve, an American who has lived in the UK for 25+ years. I've got ILR (my wife is English), but I have not taken the time or spent the money to be come a UK citizen. What do others think ? Are there advantages ? I'd like to vote in the UK, but other than that, I'm settled, happy, and love life here. 

I'm looking forward to contributing to this forum.


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## clever-octopus

Steve2022 said:


> Hi, I'm Steve, an American who has lived in the UK for 25+ years. I've got ILR (my wife is English), but I have not taken the time or spent the money to be come a UK citizen. What do others think ? Are there advantages ? I'd like to vote in the UK, but other than that, I'm settled, happy, and love life here.
> 
> I'm looking forward to contributing to this forum.


Hi Steve, voting is a big advantage - I personally decided to naturalise as British because it was important to me to have a say in the government that represents me. There's also the fact that you automatically lose ILR if you leave the UK for more than 2 years, and if you've had ILR for a long time now, keeping the status up to date is kind of a pain. It's a personal choice though and by no means necessary to continue living in the UK.


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## Chigawallaby314

Hi I made this account a couple of years ago but my moving plans wound up being on hold until now. 

I am currently in the planning stages of moving and have started my visa paperwork. My situation is not straight forward I guess, because my husband and I both have disabilities.

I’m new on the forum. I will be looking for information about moving to Scotland and also probably share sometimes. Thank you fo reading this.


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## HomesickAus

Hi there, my name is Is, I am from Australia and moved to the UK December 2020. I moved here for love and am so happy with my boyfriend, We are going to settle in Australia, we go back in September. But i am really struggling with being homesick and I don't know if here is the right place to share it, just signed up to expat forum. I know it is only a few months away, i just feel so down at times and I can't even imagine us getting there in just 4 months time. I miss it so much. UK is beautiful but Australia will always be my home


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## venkat sai

Hi there! I love this forum for all the help and advice people give. I am venkat I am an Indian. i am planning to settle in the UK. I got admission to master's in engineering from two universities. but I am worried about getting a job after graduating.if not, I want to work part-time during my PSW visa, save money, or do a Ph.D. or join the Royal air force.
i need some advice regarding this.


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## Stelesque

Hello,
I've been an expat in the US now for more than 20 years. My spouse is American and my children and I are dual-citizens. It now seems that we have to move back to the UK. I will be here hoping to get information on how to deal with the paperwork side of things for my husband, plus general tips on moving transatlantically (I have a LOT more stuff now than when I moved here, lol) and for settling into a country you should know, but don't! Thank you.


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## iampollyanna

Hello all!

Aussie citizen married to a brit! We were living in the UK for 2 years together before moving to Aus where he gained his PR (Citizenship this year- yay!) however we are moving back to the UK for 5 years in Jan so we can get my citizenship sorted on the other side too! We have a little girl who bears the luck of dual passports now! 
I'll be on here as we are about to embark on the UK Spouse Visa process


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## goakes

Hi, all.
I'm goakes, and I'm a freelance writer, editor, and multimedia content producer (social, audio, video). Will be moving to England in a couple of months with my husband, a UK citizen. Happy to find this forum!


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## edteja

I'm Ed. I write fiction and teach karate. I've lived in Venezuela, Cambodia, Hong Kong, Japan, Germany, and traveled to a lot of the globe (a lot of my fiction comes from travel). I'm currently in the USA (US citizen) but my wife and I are looking into the possibility of moving to Botswana. Trying to find out as much as possible about the place beyond what's online. 









Find books by Ed Teja at your favorite digital store!


Books by Ed Teja




books2read.com




www.edteja.com is my web site


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## Ankit Mishra

Hello all,
I am Ankit and recently joined this forum. I went to the UK for 4 months in 2017 on a Tier 2 ICT Visa. Currently, I am living in Pune, India, working as an IT professional for one of the world's leading banks. I am searching for work opportunities in the UK. If offered a job, I can move to the UK in the next two months. I am available to work as a permanent employee or as a contractor (outside IR35). I’m new to the forum, I will be looking for information about moving to the UK . Thank you for reading this.


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## hnoel79

Hi all! I'm from Georgia in the USA and dream of living in the UK. Hoping to meet others like me and get some advice. I'm just starting this journey and it seems so overwhelming.


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## Thepizzawhisperer

Hello all, My name is Briana and I just joined the forum. I'm from America and living in the UK with my husband. I'm currently unemployed but looking for work in my current city, on my journey to become an electrician but I'm just starting out and looking for people that have either gone to school for it or just jumped right into the work. I'm pre settled status and unsure if I will continue the process to become settled as I have to make a big decision to stay in the UK or head home to America. I look forward to hearing from other people and their stories.


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## vasco

Hi there! I'm from France, and currently looking for opportunities in London  I basically want to know a little more about the city (cost of life, etc...)


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## jeffrey.dator

Greetings all! i am hoping for work at Manchester. looking ahead, want to ask what are the procedures so that my kids (under 12) can enter local primary schools?


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