VISA Q: I'm US, husband UK, kids dual. Moving from US to UK

Hi, I'm new here and I couldn't find anything on my specific question posted already, but I apologize if it is already there.

I'm a USC and my husband is a UKC. Our kids were born in US, but have dual citizenship (have two passports).  We live in the US and my husband is applying for jobs back in the UK. I have a few questions and I couldn't find clear answers by looking at the UK gov websites (and the UK embassy and visa hotline number were useless). 

1. I think I can apply for Cat A by showing husband's employment in US for past year that meets financial requirement and offer letter for UK job that also meets financial requirement. Is this correct?

2. Is it correct that I cannot apply for a visa until he has on offer letter? What about the "proof of dwellings" (or something like that) requirement? If he has an offer letter do I need proof that we have a place to live in the UK first? I guess I'm trying to figure out my trigger when I can apply - is it when he accepts an offer or when we have a place to live lined up (which we wouldn't do unless he has a job first)?

3. Our kids have UK passports. Do I need to put them down as dependents on my application?

4. What do I need to do to get the kids signed up for national insurance, identification numbers, etc?

Thanks!!

1.  Yes

2.  Yes you need the job offer and yes you need to know where you will live.  Or have corporate housing or arrangement made.

3.  You'll list your kids on the application but as UK citizens, as you are not applying for visas for them.

4.  How old are they?  If over 16, they'll need to apply for their NI numbers through the job centre after they've arrived and have proof of address.

Thanks, KFDancer. My kids are under 16. Will I still have to wait to apply for NI for them until after we get there?

OK, so need proof of offer and residence (of some sort) before I can apply. Thanks!!

For the first question, you can apply Category A if all of the following apply:

1) He is STILL employed at his US job on the date of application, and he has been earning at least £18,600 at that job for a minimum of 6 months
AND
2) He has a job offer in the UK paying at least £18,600 and starting within 3 months of the application date

In this case, you only need to provide 6 months of payslips and bank statements, along with the job offer confirmation and/or new contract.


If he has left his US job by the time you apply for the visa (or has not been working there/earning £18,600 for 6 months), you will need to apply under Category B instead.

For Category B, you need to show:
- he has earned at least £18,600 in the US over the last 12 months
AND
- he has a job offer in the UK paying at least £18,600 and starting within 3 months of the application date

For Category B, you provide 12 months of payslips and bank statements, along with the job offer confirmation and/or new contract.

Thanks, KFDancer. My kids are under 16. Will I still have to wait to apply for NI for them until after we get there?

NI numbers are for employment purposes and for paying income taxes.

People born and raised in the UK are not issued with an NI number until they are 16 years old (the NI number is usually issued automatically a couple of weeks before your 16th birthday).

So, your children will not need an NI number until they turn 16...in fact, I don't think you're even allowed to apply for one until you turn 16 anyway.

If they are still living in the UK when they turn 16, I'm not sure if they will be issued one automatically (i.e. if they will be in the system), or if they will need to apply for one when they are ready to start working.

See here: https://www.gov.uk/apply-national-insurance-number

For your kids, just take them to the doctor you want to register with when you move with a proof of address. The doctor's office will sign you up then you receive a letter in the mail with their registration information and a first appointment if needed.

We recently returned to the UK for a few months and registered my two kids. My 4 year old was born in the uk so already had an NHS number. My 7 month old was born in Korea and they just mailed us his NHS number after we signed up at the doctors office.

You'll also be assigned a health visitor who comes to check on the kids and meet with you if your children are young enough. We also went over my kids' vaccination schedule with the health visitor and she passed on the information to the doctors office.

We recently returned to the UK for a few months and registered my two kids. My 4 year old was born in the uk so already had an NHS number. My 7 month old was born in Korea and they just mailed us his NHS number after we signed up at the doctors office.

You'll also be assigned a health visitor who comes to check on the kids and meet with you if your children are young enough. We also went over my kids' vaccination schedule with the health visitor and she passed on the information to the doctors office.

Brits are not allowed to use the NHS for free if they are only visiting. Did you tell them that you don't live in the UK?

Visiting Brits are treated the same as any other visitor to the UK and must pay for most healthcare at the point that they use it, with 50% added to the bill (bill for the parents) if they don't have insuranace to pay.

If the Brit (and someone with ILR) resides in the UK, then they can use the NHS for free.

Brits are not allowed to use the NHS for free if they are only visiting. Did you tell them that you don't live in the UK?

Visiting Brits are treated the same as any other visitor to the UK and must pay for most healthcare at the point that they use it, with 50% added to the bill (bill for the parents) if they don't have insuranace to pay.

If the Brit (and someone with ILR) resides in the UK, then they can use the NHS for free.

As far as the UK is concerned, my husband and children are settled in the UK and are just on a long holiday to the U.S. 

It's an odd situation but we were living in South Korea for the last 4 years and decided to return to the UK. The online application system wouldn't let me apply from Korea, despite being a legal resident, so we returned to the UK to get my son a place at primary school (we were on a bit of a timeline with that). I stayed for 3 months on a tourist visa to get our house (owned by us) set up and what not and then we came to NY to do my visa.

I haven't been an actual resident of the US for nearly 10 years now but because of this visa system, I get to move in with my parents for the summer. Hurray!

We've started paying council tax on our house and other bills (and my husband is returning to England this week). So while perhaps unusual, it is all legal.

And sorry to hijack the original post.