We're moving back! Where to begin?

After over 3 years of living together in the US, my DH and I have weighed the pros and cons and have decided it makes more sense in almost every way for us to move back to the UK.

The lease on our rented house expires at the end of March 2010, which is when we're aiming to move.

1. Does this give us enough time to get everything in order or are we being too optimistic?

2. As his wife of over 3 years, what sort of visa will I need to join him in the UK (namely Scotland) on a permanent basis?

Thank you very much in advance. Any advice about this is much appreciated. We are pretty clueless about the whole thing right now.

I would think that should be enough time.  If you use an expediter you can get your visa in less than a week.  You need to collect information about your relationship and all that for the visa, but I suppose it depends on how quickly you can wrap things up.

You will need to apply for spousal visa. 

I believe you need to be married for four years outside of the UK in order to get a permanent visa.  So right now you will apply apply for your visa and then you will need to apply for another in two years and then in three you can get your citizenship. 

HOWEVER, there are lots of changes going on in the visa world right now, but look around here and you will see more about it all.

Honeybee,

As the immigration rule is changing in July 2011 which will affect how you will be able to proceed to permanent residence and citizenship in the UK, it may be in your best interests to remain in the US until you have been married 4 years, visit the UK and take the Life in the UK test that way you can immediately have permanent residence (Indefinite Leave to Enter - ILE) for the UK before you leave the US.

If you apply before your 4 year mark, you will apply for the standard UK Spouse visa. You can find the information about what type of information you will need to do the application: http://www.londonelegance.com/transpondia/spouse/.

Thank you bookgrl and WebyJ.

I had no idea it was 4 years of marriage for a permanent visa... I thought it was only 3. Shows how clueless I am. It seems like it would be a lot less hassle in the long run to just wait until then, especially with the rules changing, and that gives us a bit more time.

WebyJ, so if I were to wait until the 4 year mark (end of July 2010) and passed the test while visiting, it would be an automatic permanent residence without any further steps beyond that? Where do I go to arrange to take the test, and how soon after taking the test would I know that I've passed? (Or didn't pass, for that matter?)

I'm taking my test through my local council I believe that you're told then and there if you pass or not, you get your certificate immediately and it doesn't expire.
http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/policyandlaw/immigrationlaw/immigrationrules/part8/spouses_civil_partners/

(b)(i) the applicant is married to or the civil partner of a person who has a right of abode in the United Kingdom or indefinite leave to enter or remain in the United Kingdom and is on the same occasion seeking admission to the United Kingdom for the purposes of settlement and the parties were married or formed a civil partnership at least 4 years ago, since which time they have been living together outside the United Kingdom;

When you do that, you go back to the US and apply for a normal spouse visa (currently £585/$995) and notate on it that you are requesting Indefinite Leave to Enter - ILE then you provide proof of your marriage & co habitation for (usually 4 years worth of tax return documents and leases etc) and that's it plus the normal spouse application stuff which is covered on that link I gave you. Potentially by doing it this way you're saving a couple thousand dollars in visa fees, since permanent residence applications IN the UK can currently run as high as £1020 or about $1,600 and these fees are expected to DRAMATICALLY increase in the next couple of years.

Once you receive that visa you won't be required to obtain another visa since you will have permanent resident status. Citizenship, however is another application.

I took mine thorough a local test centre.  http://www.lifeintheuktest.gov.uk/

I would find out when you are coming back next and then call all the test centres in your general area. 

For instance, I am in Cambridge (ish anyway)  and there was only one place that give the test and they only gave it once a week on Fridays.  That place has now closed and I would need to go to Peterborough now.

But all you had to do was call the centre and book the test.  They took your cc information over the phone and you need to be ON TIME!  So you can wait for over an hour while they log people in, but nevermind that part.  HA!

You find out right away, if you fail you need to wait a week to take the test again.  Also, you need to protect that flimsy piece of paper.  If you lose it you need to do it again.

After over 3 years of living together in the US, my DH and I have weighed the pros and cons and have decided it makes more sense in almost every way for us to move back to the UK.

Wow, what made you decide to move back?

Don't faint when you see the current visa fees, considerably more than you paid last time around! 

Thanks again WebyJ and bookgrl... hugely helpful.

So hypothetically, would it be possible to arrange to take the Life in the UK Test on a visit prior to the 4 year mark, just to get it out of the way?

And what is the turnaround time like, roughly, for ILE applications?

Wow, what made you decide to move back?

There are toooo many reasons to list here... we realized it just makes so much more sense for us in almost every way.

So hypothetically, would it be possible to arrange to take the Life in the UK Test on a visit prior to the 4 year mark, just to get it out of the way?

And what is the turnaround time like, roughly, for ILE applications?

1. Yes. I'm planning on taking mine next month and I can't apply for ILR until February. People do it all the time.

2. If you use a visa expediter you could submit your app online, do biometrics and have your visa back in a week or 2. It all depends on how long you have to wait between the time you submit online and the next available biometrics appointment. The expediter gets your stuff to the Consulate for immediate processing rather than you mailing it into them and then it goes to the bottom of the pile and they process it when they get to it.

Can anyone tell me if there is a window in which you must activate your Leave to Enter? (I'll be applying for the ILE)

I know when hubby got his US Visa we were told it had to be activated within 6 months. I seem to recall something like that when I received my fiancee entry clearance to the UK but it's been a while and I'm not sure. 

I do not believe so. However if you have ILE or an ILR it becomes invalid after a 2 year break in residence from the UK (and this doesn't mean just popping back to the UK for a quick visit now and then either).