Why i left the US

Okay,now i do realise that ive made a bit of a mess here. I think its just the fact that ive somewhat been taken over by my anglophilia,so yes im a bit of an idiot. I am on a working visa at the moment,but how do i have to wait for me to be applicable for British citizenship? In terms of my family,they didnt need any convicning,as we are all anglophiles. My friends just generally want to explore the world,not necessarily the UK though. No i dont have it yet,but now i realise i wont get it 

I am on a working visa at the moment,but how do i have to wait for me to be applicable for British citizenship?  

Realise that you'll need to extend your current visa AT LEAST once and then apply for ILR (permanent residence) which you'll need to hold for at least 1 year and THEN you can apply for Naturalisation. The applicable NATURALISATION information can be found here:

There are seven requirements you need to meet before you apply:

■You must be aged 18 or over.
■You must be of sound mind.
■You must intend to continue living in the UK, or to continue in Crown service, the service of an international organisation of which the UK is a member, or the service of a company or association established in the UK.
■You must be able to communicate in English, Welsh or Scottish Gaelic to an acceptable degree.
■You must have sufficient knowledge of life in the UK.
■You must be of good character.
■You must meet the residential requirements (see below).
Residential requirements

To demonstrate the residential requirements for naturalisation, you must have:

■been resident in the UK for at least five years (this is known as the residential qualifying period); and
■been present in the UK five years before the date of your application; and
■not spent more than 450 days outside the UK during the five-year period; and
■not spent more than 90 days outside the UK in the last 12 months of the five-year period; and
■not been in breach of the Immigration Rules at any stage during the five-year period.


Immigration time restrictions

You must be free from immigration time restrictions when you apply for naturalisation. Unless you are married to or the civil partner of a British citizen, you should have been free from immigration time restrictions during the last 12 months of the residential qualifying period.

If you are free from immigration time restrictions, there will probably be a stamp or sticker in your passport saying that you have indefinite leave to enter or remain or no time limit on your stay. But you may have a letter from the Home Office saying that you are free from immigration conditions. See The documents we require for naturalisation applications for details of how to prove you are free from immigration time restrictions.

But, by the time that you can even start THINKING about Naturalisation, work visa holders may not be able to...depending on what the government does with immigration law between now and 6 years from now.

How could you even fill out the application without knowing this stuff? It asks for evidence of your 5 year residency, having passed the Life in the UK test, etc. Did you even read the guidance?

Which working visa are you here on?  There are different ones. 

No,and now i realise what a mistake ive made. The fact of the matter is,it was just a silly mistake on my behalff because i simply rushed into the application without realising the requirements. Thanks for correcting me now so i know whats going to happen because now i can work towards the requirements for it...

You're going to find that it may not be so easy for your family to move here either.  Just as naturalisation isn't as simple as deciding you love the UK and filling in a form, neither is moving here as simple as buying a house and a plane ticket.  Do a bit of research on the recent government proposals concerning Tier 1 and Tier 2 visas.  You will find it enlightening.  

Thanks

Brownale92, you know, the good people on this website are pretty darn savvy when it comes to UK visas and citizenship (more so than the majority of the British population is!), and things about life in the UK.  It's very hard to put one past us.

Specifically what type of working visa are you here on? (xposted with bookgrl)  Are you doing archaeology work over here?  Where?  What sort?  I know we have some other members of the forum in that field of work over here, on a postgraduate basis.

And your family & friends that are moving here, what sort of visas are they coming over on?

A lot of us moved over here to be with British significant others, and we share your love for so many things in the UK.  But as someone else pointed out earlier, we probably do have a bit more balanced view of things in the US compared to the UK than what your posts have conveyed.

So hey - we're happy to celebrate all the wonderful stuff that is the UK with you!  But we're not fools either. 

Which working visa are you here on?  There are different ones. 

Tier 2 Work Permit Visa

Working towards the requirements is sort of pointless given the political situation.  Just do what you need to do to maintain your current visa and check back when it is closer to the time to renew.  

Because by then it all might have changed completely.

And it's nothing new that it is nearly impossible to bring relatives that aren't dependent children or spouses over with you.  It's just not something that happens for non-EEA applicants.  The waiting period for ILR and citizenship is nothing new either.  I don't want someone to stumble onto this site and think that these are limitations that weren't there for years and until May 2010, immigrants were given a red carpet welcome at Heathrow and the keys to a million pound flat for them and their extended family.

But if you're on a Tier 1 or 2 visa, you should look into the changes as Histoyenne mentioned.

Brownale92, you know, the good people on this website are pretty darn savvy when it comes to UK visas and citizenship (more so than the majority of the British population is!), and things about life in the UK.  It's very hard to put one past us.

Specifically what type of working visa are you here on? (xposted with bookgrl)  Are you doing archaeology work over here?  Where?  What sort?  I know we have some other members of the forum in that field of work over here, on a postgraduate basis.

And your family & friends that are moving here, what sort of visas are they coming over on?

A lot of us moved over here to be with British significant others, and we share your love for so many things in the UK.  But as someone else pointed out earlier, we probably do have a bit more balanced view of things in the US compared to the UK than what your posts have conveyed.

So hey - we're happy to celebrate all the wonderful stuff that is the UK with you!  But we're not fools either. 

Oh gee thanks,im not a fool just naive,which is a bad thing...

Of course in some ways the US is better,but then again it does differ from person to person. Ill admit there may be good things about the U.S but i didnt get the full 'American Dream' feeling at all. Im on a tier 2 work permit visa,with all of my friends doing that too. I work at Castle Keep in Newcastle as a curator/archaeologist for the local group. The archaeology is more of a hobby than a job as the museum job pays but i graduated from uni hoping to become a full blown one. I get paid for the digs i do but they are not every day. I do however hope to become a leading figure at the Vindolanda digs.

Tier 2 Work Permit Visa

Work Permits haven't been issued in a long time.

Tier 2 General with a sponsor is most likely what you have. Basically your visa is tied to your employer. So if your job ends, your visa will end as well and you'll have to go back to the US so you better not renounce your US Citizenship any time soon.

Your Tier 2 is probably good for 2 years, so you'll need to renew in the future like bookgrl mentioned and to reach ILR you may have to renew again, but that's all contingent upon your employer deciding to keep you as an employee.

Considering that the government is reducing the number of non-EU Economic Migrants it will be more and more difficult for people in your situation to even be able to reach the point where you can even start realistically thinking about Naturalisation.

Oh and don't forget you need to file US Income tax returns on worldwide income (even if you renounce -- for 10 years afterward I believe)..so best get started on that soon.


Edited for spelling--spellcheck is your friend

Good point Legs.  The only way an adult parent can come over is if you can prove they get over 50% of their support from you (and that basically means they can't own a house because they could sell it) and there are no other relatives that can take care of them in the US.  And not that there aren't relatives who they don't like, but no one else at all.  

I'm not even sure it is possible to bring over any other relatives that aren't immediate family.  Could you bring over say an aunt, even if they were dependent on you?  A sibling you could, but once again they would need to be totally dependent.  

Work Permits haven't been issued in a long time.

Tier 2 General with a sponsor is most likely what you have. Basically your visa is tied to your employer. So if your job ends, your visa will end as well and you'll have to go back to the US so you better not renounce your US Citizenship any time soon.

Your Tier 2 is probably good for 2 years, so you'll need to renew in the future like bookgrl mentioned and to reach ILR you may have to renew again, but that's all contingent upon your employer deciding to keep you as an employee.

Considering that the government is reducing the number of non-EU Economic Migrants it will be more and more difficult for people in your situation to even be able to reach the point where you can even start realistically thinking about Naturalisation.

Oh and don't forget you need to file US Income tax returns on worldwide income (even if you renounce -- for 10 years afterward I believe)..so best get started on that soon.


Edited for spelling--spellcheck is your friend

Thanks for your help. I actually do feel like a complete moron now because of all this stuff.