Spouse Visa - Question for those who returned shortly after BRP pickup

Evening all,

I was talking with my DH earlier, and was thinking that perhaps planning to submit a priority spousal settlement application in November to land in December (my passport is still out having the name updated, I expect it and my marriage certificate back 1st week of November), but with the possibility I may need to come back home to the US after picking up the BRP. I have *so* much up in the air with my health right now, but with Brexit looming I feel very insecure about our long term plans. I might need (minimally invasive) heart surgery on a valve before I move for good, along with all the downsizing of a house & getting it ready to rent. Are there any issues I would need to be aware of if I needed to come back home for a few weeks after picking up the BRP card?

We're aiming to get me over there for good in December, but I want to make sure I have a solid plan B just in case. I've already sent him the very helpful document checklists from here and it'll be no problem to get everything together to tick all the visa boxes for relationship & financial requirements. You've all been really helpful, and I've seen on other posts that if the landing date would need to change (getting a new vignette sticker) you've suggested picking up the card and coming back. Thanks!

You would have no issues at all.

Best of luck with your medical needs.  I'd recommend getting as much taken care of as possible in the US before moving.  NHS wait times are very real.  And they'll likely want to "start from scratch" with diagnosis, etc., after you make the permanent move.

Why would they want to start from scratch when it's all clearly documented with imaging etc? EDS is a really complex condition, to start from scratch would be ridiculous, expensive, and honestly would be abuse - I have PTSD from my medical treatment here so it's a very sore subject. It took > 15 years to finally get a diagnosis, I'm not going back down that road of being told it's all in my head and having to fight for care when it's been confirmed by genetics. I have another genetic condition that requires monthly phlebotomy to keep my iron levels down, there's also no questions about that - fully documented with blood tests. If part of being an immigrant is starting anew (besides just getting set up with the right doctors in the location) when you have a complex medical condition, I'd need to reconsider this move.  I'm not going through that again, my case is not unique with EDS - the average time to diagnosis globally is over 20 years with 97% of patients being told they have a psychiatric diagnosis for the majority of that time - all while in excruciating and disabling pain with injuries that could be minimized if given the right care.

Hopefully you will find a wonder GP who doesn't want to start from scratch.  Everyone's experience is different.  Some want you tested using NHS standards, etc.  Some are happy to use other doctors reports.

Even though I have had ten cancerous moles and two melanoma, I cannot receive dermatology care on the NHS.  It blows.  I tried a private dermatologist here (£250 for the appointment and I had to travel to London).  It was SUCH a waste of time and money.  I plan to go to a dermatologist when I'm next in the US in January.  My uncle is terminal with Melanoma, so it's really woken me up.

Many people have had much better NHS experiences than I have. I just can't believe they don't take skin cancer seriously.  It does kill!

Bring all your notes and 'shop around' for doctors when you arrive.  Don't stop until you find one who listens to you.  Advocate for what you require in care, and I'm sure you'll get it.

Even though I have had ten cancerous moles and two melanoma, I cannot receive dermatology care on the NHS.  It blows.  I tried a private dermatologist here (£250 for the appointment and I had to travel to London).  It was SUCH a waste of time and money. 

You will get free treatment if they turn out to be cancerous. Not everything is free on the NHS and never has been. The NHS being 'free at point of use for some people'  doesn't mean that we don't have to pay if the NHS does not give that for free.

Plus each of the four countries in the UK has it's own NHS, Each countries NHS is run by a different political party and they each decide how much of their budget they will use on their NHS and what treatment/drugs their NHS will fund.
http://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/582935/Ex-Welsh-NHS-boss-denied-cancer-patients-drugs-moves-England-own-treament

I recall another post on here the other year where a poster said she was happy to be moving to the UK as she had always wanted an operation that she couldn't afford in the US. Then when here, she was disapponted to be told that it wasn't free here either and said the NHS consultant told her that they didn't know why Americans thought that everything was free in the NHS. I took that comment to mean that this was perhaps a myth that is mainly in the US?

It's this 'not everything being free' why many people have private healthcover or savings to pay for treatment that is not free, or to jump NHS queues even if it is free.

The UK does not give full cover under the UK EHIC either, used if we visit another EEA country. The same with any reciprocal health agreements the UK has with some non-EEA countries. We need full travel health insurance for everything that isn't covered by the UK.

the NHS consultant told her that they didn't know why Americans thought that everything was free in the NHS. I took that comment to mean that this was perhaps a myth that is mainly in the US?

No it is a bigoted statement.

I wouldn't expect everything, especially something elective to be free. But to have to go through the very long process of being diagnosed a second time when you already know what's wrong and what follow up care you need is a waste of money and incredibly stressful. On the local group for the disease on FB they actually said the same - that I'd need to get the "UK" diagnosis from dr Kazkaz (I think) in London, for a private expense of £300 if I didn't want to wait up to 18 months. I'm ready to throw in the towel before even applying because I can't go through this sh*t again. It took over 14 years from the onset of more severe symptoms to get the diagnosis, I can't go back to doctors not believing I'm sick unless someone in your country has agreed I am. And having to wait that long to be set up with cardiology etc for ongoing monitoring will put my health at risk. With pre-existing conditions you don't qualify for private insurance in the uk - they will only cover things that develop after you signed up, so I apparently would've been better off not pursuing answers before moving thinking the transition in care would've been smooth if you already had a complete medical record. How naive of me to think anything in the UK would go smoothly.


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You will get free treatment if they turn out to be cancerous. Not everything is free on the NHS and never has been. The NHS being 'free at point of use for some people'  doesn't mean that we don't have to pay if the NHS does not give that for free.

Yes, my GP explained that if a private doctor discovered more Melanoma that I would be transferred back to the NHS for care.  What kills me is that Melanoma is SO easy to treat if caught early.  Simply cut it out and have sufficient margins.  MUCH more cost effective to have a skin check a couple of times a year by a trained eye than have full cancer treatment.

My GP is a nice guy but doesn't specialise in skin.  My two melanomas were a big surprise to me as I wouldn't have questioned them.

Margo, don't give up before you try.  Just know that the NHS is not perfect and often the squeaky wheel gets treated.  You'll need to advocate for yourself but just be picky in your doctor choice.  Select a GP that will listen and do what you ask (referrals and such).  GP's are the gatekeepers for specialist care.  Unfortunately in my case, their hands are tied as dermatology is not covered under the NHS.

Yes, my GP explained that if a private doctor discovered more Melanoma that I would be transferred back to the NHS for care. 

I just had a conversation with my husband about this all. He said that BUPA through his office covers a number of things that the NHS doesn't, like physiotherapy etc, but only for new conditions. One of the women in the EDS forum said they were able to convince them to cover physio because it's a significant part of the recommended preventative care. It's just going to be more of the same fight I've had, I'm just running out of energy to keep pushing for care in the medical system that seems bent against it when my body is already giving out. It's the same everywhere, especially as a woman. Hopefully I'll have better luck with the GP's there than I have in my own hometown - I had to self refer to get anywhere because she kept telling me I had anxiety and the pain was in my head, and then after the diagnosis she was quite apologetic because she only had one other patient with it. If you watch this week's greys anatomy they have a patient with EDS and her reaction is pretty much what we all go through, setting our own dislocations and all. (A woman with EDS met Shonda Rimes at a TED conference and told her about it, and she decided it was a good story line.)

Is there a section of the forum with a detailed description of what NHS covers, what private insurances are recommended, things like that? I've tried looking online and had a very hard time coming up with answers because it's so different to the US system.

Is there a section of the forum with a detailed description of what NHS covers, what private insurances are recommended, things like that? I've tried looking online and had a very hard time coming up with answers because it's so different to the US system.

THB, your best help will be that FB page as they will know. Don't forget to tell them which country you are moving to as we each have our own NHS with different rules on what is and what isn't given for free. They may even know which areas/GPs in that country are the best for you.

If they are telling you to go to that doctor in London first of all, then don't write that off. I have often gone private with my children and then back to the NHS to jump the long queue. Or NHS and then private for the same reason.

Yes, my GP explained that if a private doctor discovered more Melanoma that I would be transferred back to the NHS for care.  What kills me is that Melanoma is SO easy to treat if caught early.  Simply cut it out and have sufficient margins.  MUCH more cost effective to have a skin check a couple of times a year by a trained eye than have full cancer treatment.

In a perfect world we would, but the NHS is funded from taxpayers money.

On another forum the other month, they put up the fiqures from the office of statistics that showed that over the last decade there have been a rise of 5 million in people, but that less people pay taxes now then they did a decade ago!  Plus the welfare bill is now billions every year and not long ago that bill reached crisis when, for the first time ever, it was more than the government took income tax, which is why that annual welfare bill has had to be capped - for the first time ever.

In a perfect world we would, but the NHS is funded from taxpayers money.

On another forum the other month, they put up the fiqures from the office of statistics that showed that over the last decade there have been a rise of 5 million in people, but that less people pay taxes now then they did a decade ago!  Plus the welfare bill is now billions every year and not long ago that bill reached crisis when, for the first time ever, it was more than the government took income tax, which is why that annual welfare bill has had to be capped - for the first time ever.

I get that.  I watched the program 'NHS £2 billion a week and Counting'.  Truly an eye opener.  I know they have major budget challenges.  And I would NEVER want to be in the board room deciding who gets care and who doesn't.

It's just my own personal moan.  I pay in the highest tax bracket (and have for many many years), I pay the silly NHS levy, and I carry private insurance.  But two things my family needs - dermatology and allergy care are not covered by the NHS.  So I moan! 

It's just my own personal moan.  I pay in the highest tax bracket (and have for many many years), I pay the silly NHS levy, and I carry private insurance.  But two things my family needs - dermatology and allergy care are not covered by the NHS.  So I moan! 

  Ditto, apart from the IHS, but I have been paying in for longer that you. The things my children needed weren't covered by the NHS either or the queues were just too long to wait. One problem based on US research, wasn't even recognised by the UK government, yet they recognised it for their figher pilots. I paid, and it was worth every penny.

I worked out years ago we were going to get less and less for free, so I save and then it won't matter 

Like KFdancer said, you do have to shop around for the right GP for you as well as being your own advocate, but it's not all doom and gloom.  I have a couple of on-going conditions- granted, none of them sound as though they require as much treatment as yours- but they do require continual medication to manage.  I explained my medical history with the GP on my first visit and what treatments/medications had worked in the past.  She was more than happy to continue those treatments here in the UK immediately. 

If possible, it might be a good idea to get a travel-size version of your medical history to share with a GP over here.  Generic medication names and medical speak may help facilitate your experience over here.  Hopefully everything will fall into place for you.