New to UKYankee - Visa expired, back stateside

Will that be difficult visa wise since he is from the EU and not the UK? So many obstacles and hurdles in the way! Just gets worse every year it seems, unreal!

You probably won't want to hear this, but it's actually very, very easy visa-wise if he is from the EU.

Being married to an EU citizen gives BertineC the automatic right to live and work in the UK without a UK visa.

All they have to do is apply for a free of charge EEA Family Permit, proving that they are married and that the EU citizen is exercising EEA Treaty Rights in the UK (by working, studying, looking for work or being self-sufficient). This will give them the right to live and work in the UK and claim any and all UK benefits.

After moving to the UK, they then pay £55 to apply for a 5-year residence card and then after those 5 years, they automatically become permanent residents...  they just pay another £55 for confirmation of permanent residence.

My plan for now is to accept a job offer and save up for a few months. If I save up enough for the legal visa fees a company said they would send in the application for tier 2; however, will see if that still stands in 6 months time.

What legal fees do they need to cover? Are they already on the Tier 2 Sponsor register? If so, then all they should need to do is carry out the resident labour market test (by advertising the job in the UK and EU for 28 days) and then pay £184 for a Certificate of Sponsorship for you.

If they are not yet on the Tier 2 sponsor register, it will cost them about £1,000 to apply for a sponsor licence - last I heard, it was taking more than 6 months to process the licence applications - and then £184 for the sponsorship certificate.

Again also not sure how this Labour Market Test will work. It could screw me over big time!

For the resident labour market test they have to do one of the following:

- advertise the job in the UK for 28 days. If they find no suitable UK or EU workers, they can hire you.

OR

- advertise the job in 2 stages, for a total of 28 calendar days and each stage must be for at least 7 days. I.e. advertise for 14 days, then they can appoint a UK worker immediately if one is found... or if no one is found, they must advertise it for a further 14 days before they can hire a non-UK/EU worker.

The main problem to overcome with the Resident Labour Market test is the fact that unemployment is still high and there are a lot of UK and EU workers (especially new graduates) looking for jobs... so the chances of a company not being able to find a suitable UK/EU worker and having to hire from overseas are fairly low... unless the job is quite specialised and there aren't many people who are actually qualified to do it.

You probably won't want to hear this, but it's actually very, very easy visa-wise if he is from the EU.

Being married to an EU citizen gives BertineC the automatic right to live and work in the UK without a UK visa.

All they have to do is apply for a free of charge EEA Family Permit, proving that they are married and that the EU citizen is exercising EEA Treaty Rights in the UK (by working, studying, looking for work or being self-sufficient). This will give them the right to live and work in the UK and claim any and all UK benefits.

After moving to the UK, they then pay £55 to apply for a 5-year residence card and then after those 5 years, they automatically become permanent residents...  they just pay another £55 for confirmation of permanent residence.

What legal fees do they need to cover? Are they already on the Tier 2 Sponsor register? If so, then all they should need to do is carry out the resident labour market test (by advertising the job in the UK and EU for 28 days) and then pay £184 for a Certificate of Sponsorship for you.

If they are not yet on the Tier 2 sponsor register, it will cost them about £1,000 to apply for a sponsor licence - last I heard, it was taking more than 6 months to process the licence applications - and then £184 for the sponsorship certificate.

For the resident labour market test they have to do one of the following:

- advertise the job in the UK for 28 days. If they find no suitable UK or EU workers, they can hire you.

OR

- advertise the job in 2 stages, for a total of 28 calendar days and each stage must be for at least 7 days. I.e. advertise for 14 days, then they can appoint a UK worker immediately if one is found... or if no one is found, they must advertise it for a further 14 days before they can hire a non-UK/EU worker.

The main problem to overcome with the Resident Labour Market test is the fact that unemployment is still high and there are a lot of UK and EU workers (especially new graduates) looking for jobs... so the chances of a company not being able to find a suitable UK/EU worker and having to hire from overseas are fairly low... unless the job is quite specialised and there aren't many people who are actually qualified to do it.

Well another one of my friends had to pay the legal fees to get sponsored. It cost the company more than 184 for a work permit. I know the company I would go through would be about 1500, including their visa consultant. I'd have to cover all that.

As for labour market, can't companies just say no to everyone even if they apply and hire they overseas one they want, simply just stating he's a better fit or meets the skills better.?

You probably won't want to hear this, but it's actually very, very easy visa-wise if he is from the EU.

Being married to an EU citizen gives BertineC the automatic right to live and work in the UK without a UK visa.

All they have to do is apply for a free of charge EEA Family Permit, proving that they are married and that the EU citizen is exercising EEA Treaty Rights in the UK (by working, studying, looking for work or being self-sufficient). This will give them the right to live and work in the UK and claim any and all UK benefits.

After moving to the UK, they then pay £55 to apply for a 5-year residence card and then after those 5 years, they automatically become permanent residents...  they just pay another £55 for confirmation of permanent residence.

Boy, that really does hurt.  Between the difference in money, effort, and time it really is a whole different ball game.  *sigh* 

But, then again, it's very nice for those that qualify and I don't want to have "sour grapes" as we used to say.   

Hmmmm, I'd better work on that... I still sound a wee bit sour don't I? 

Boy, that really does hurt.  Between the difference in money, effort, and time it really is a whole different ball game.  *sigh* 

But, then again, it's very nice for those that qualify and I don't want to have "sour grapes" as we used to say.   

Hmmmm, I'd better work on that... I still sound a wee bit sour don't I? 

I think it is all relevant.  I may have the 6 month entry visa now, but getting the resident card means putting my life in the hands of the UKBA for 6 months and hope that comes through the way it should, without a hitch, while already having moved. It gives me the right to work, but some employers don't understand that.  Its not as cut and dried as a spouse visa.  Also, we don't have family or an established situation to slip into.  We show up and it will be a hustle those first two weeks to get living accommodation sorted, phones, bank accounts, etc.  Our stuff is following next year..sometime, but before we deal with getting it shipped we will be back to living with nothing for some time.  On the face of it the EEA looks easier and cheaper, but there is quite a bit of ambiguity,cost, and risk, it just comes in a different form.

Back to the OP - I think that is a solid plan and you are being very responsible in not taking on additional debt!  Its really hard to box up the dream for a little while, but getting on with things now will set you up much better for the future.  And my fourteen years.....7 of those were due to a completely unexpected turn of events in 2005.  The 7 before that I was stuck in a little city with few, if any, international connections and people who couldn't relate to even wanting to live in a big city.  Give it some time back where you are, get back into the swing of things, then see how you feel and what your options are after a few years.  You could be surprised!

Having a job, having money and having your own place to live will certainly help you to feel better about things. It's tough moving back. You put so much time and effort into building a life, and then you have to give it up and start all over again. It takes a toll and it's a lot to deal with, especially when it wasn't up to you to move back.

But it also doesn't help to wallow. Just try to do the best with what you have and try to find things that will allow you love New York, even if it's not as much as London. It's been almost 2 years since I moved back. I love Glasgow and miss it terribly sometimes, but I've managed to build something pretty great where I am now and have recently started to feel like I couldn't imagine not being here. So, just know that with time, you might be surprised to find that you will start to feel pretty alright with things here.

I think it's good that you have plans, and it's good that you're at least in a comparable environment even if it isn't exactly want you want and miss.

Good luck!

I think it is all relevant.  I may have the 6 month entry visa now, but getting the resident card means putting my life in the hands of the UKBA for 6 months and hope that comes through the way it should, without a hitch, while already having moved. It gives me the right to work, but some employers don't understand that.  Its not as cut and dried as a spouse visa. 

Of course you are right, things are seldom as simple as they sound.  I truly didn't mean to insult in any way, and I'm very sorry if I did.  I also should not have derailed the thread.

Back to the topic at hand...... 

Thanks again every for the responses. I got received some bad news, basically the tier 2 job won't be an option anymore. This basically means I'm stuck here, most likely forever! I've somehow got to learn to accept this and forget about the UK, which seems impossible at this point in time. Thanks though everyone.