Wife has just arrived in the UK - We have questions!

Hi there!

I moved to the UK from Florida in October 2013. Here is my experience:

Q1) My wife doesn't want to keep carrying her passport around for ID.  Is there any other forms of ID that are acceptable?  I seem to recall hearing about getting her a provisional driving licence.

I got the provisional driving licence a few weeks after arriving. It was an easy application. I waited a few months before taking the test and getting the actual driving licence as the US licence is valid in the UK for a year.

Q2) We went to Barclays (my bank) today and tried to get my wife added to the account as a joint account holder.  We were told that although they could do this, they wouldn't be able to issue her with a contactless debit card.  To be able to issue her with a debit card of her own they would need to downgrade my own card to a 'normal' debit card so that both cards were on the same 'level'.   This is because she does not have any credit history here.  I can't understand what credit history has to do with debit.. Has anyone else experienced this?  Is there a way around this or another bank someone can recommend?

This sounds really strange to me. My husband and I went to the Barclays branch in Sedgley (Black Country) and I showed my US passport with the spouse visa vignette and they added me no questions asked. I was added to his regular bank account plus several others (bills account and some savings accounts). I received the contactless debit card no problem. Additionally, after a few weeks, I returned and explained that I wanted to start building up my credit as husband and I wanted to apply for a mortgage. They offered me this credit card with the condition I pay all of it each month; again, no questions asked. You should investigate this further.

Q3)  While my wife is here on the initial entry clearance, am I able to get her added to the mortgage on our home?

I arrived in October 2013 and immediately was able to start working as I was lucky and transferred my position to the UK offices of the company I work for. Husband and I waited 6 months after my UK job start date and getting the credit card to go to a mortgage consultant to see if we could apply for a mortgage. NatWest offered us a good deal and we took it. We bought a house together April 2014. I only had my US passport with the initial spouse visa vignette.

Q4) Does my wife still need to file taxes in the US?  If so, how does she go about doing this?

She definitely does. I recommend Turbo Tax. You do need to pay around $56; however, filling it out by yourself is a pain in the ass. The $56 are worth it. That's what I've done ever since I got here and have not had any issues. I suggest you research first on the forms you need to fill out and get comfortable and then do it through Turbo Tax to make sure you know what do answer to certain questions.

We bank at Santander and they refused to put me on my husband's account, which earns interest. So I had to go with a basic account where I have to transfer money from my account onto a top up debit card every time I need to use it/the funds get low.  I feel like a child when it comes to banking now.


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DH has maintained his HSBC account from the age of 16 through now. I banked with credit unions when I lived in the US (which remain open accounts). Upon moving here, thanks to the advice of many people here, we went to HSBC and showed them all the necessary documents (passport, proof of residence which is in my in-laws, mail with my name on it) and for half an hour I had to fill out loads of paperwork. They issued me a bank card (chip and pin), upgraded DH's account (though I don't know to what or from what) by virtue of him now having earned income flowing into the account, and last week informed me that they couldn't confirm my tax obligation status and that I needed to fill out more papers.

As far as credit, again following the advice of members here, I used American Express' global transfer to be issued a UK AmEx, and even though it's not widely accepted everywhere, it's given me a start as far as credit history here.

Generally, I think my experience was easier than some people's, but I do find banking here more cumbersome (primarily because I could do almost everything online before as opposed to going into the branch and making an appointment with a banker).

Eritrea does too.

Very true, but very poor company to be in. US tax law is trash.