Both of us live in USA, but would like to move to U.K.- Visa Help

Hello,

First post here! My husband was born in the U.K. And has an English father. He lived in the U.K. until his teenage years when his family moved back to the USA. He has dual citizenship. I am a US citizen. We both have great jobs here in the US, but we are interested in moving to the U.K. We have been together for 2.5 years and have been married since July 2015.

Looking over the Visa application requirements, it appears that we may not be able to apply for a spousal visa with both of us still living the USA? Is this correct? Is it necessary for him to move to the U.K. first and get a job that makes the minimum income amounts? This seems extraordinarily risky as we do not want to quit our jobs without assurance that I will be able to move with him. Also, if we have money in savings totaling the monetary requirement is there a way to avoid having him move their first to find work?

Thank you for any guidance that you can provide. Very appreciated!

Welcome to the forum .

Looking over the Visa application requirements, it appears that we may not be able to apply for a spousal visa with both of us still living the USA? Is this correct? Is it necessary for him to move to the U.K. first and get a job that makes the minimum income amounts?

No, it's not necessary for him to move to the UK first, and yes, it is possible to apply with both of you still living in the US. However, it depends on whether you can meet the financial requirement without him moving back to the UK first.

Also, if we have money in savings totaling the monetary requirement is there a way to avoid having him move their first to find work?

Yes, of course - if you can meet the savings requirement, then there is no need for him to have a UK job.

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The ways you can meet the financial requirement without him moving to the UK first:

Category A or B: Salaried/Non-Salaried Employment
- he has a guaranteed job offer in the UK, starting within 3 months of moving home and paying at least £18,600 per year
AND
- he has earned at least £18,600 in the US in the previous 12 months before applying for the visa

Category C: Non-Employment Income
- between you, you have at least £18,600 per year in non-employment income, which will continue in the UK (income from property rental, interest from stocks/shares, child maintenance payments, academic stipend etc.)

Category D: Cash Savings
- between you, you have at least £62,500 in cash savings, that have been held in your bank account(s) in full for at least 6 months. A 401K can be used if the money can be immediately withdrawn.
- Proceeds from the sale of property can be used to meet the requirement without needing to have held them in your account for 6 months, provided you owned the property for at least 6 months before the sale

Category E: Pension Income
- you have been receiving pension income of at least £18,600 per year for a minimum of 28 days

Category F/G are for self-employment income but it sounds like he is not self-employed anyway, so I won't go into details.

See here for more information about each category: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/525708/Appendix_FM_1_7_Financial_Requirement.pdf

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If you can't meet any of these categories, then he would need to move to the UK first and secure a job first... he might not have to work in the UK for a full 6 months first (Category A) - if he has earned at least £18,600 in the previous 12 months,you can apply under Category B.