NY to London, eventually........

Hello everyone,

I stumbled upon this site a couple of weeks ago when looking for information about visa's, this is such a great site! I am living in NY and my partner lives in London, not planning to make the permanent move to London for a couple of years, but we thought, well actually I thought  and he agreed that we should find out as much information as we can about me immigrating to the UK so we can be somewhat prepared when the time comes!  We are both lucky enough with our jobs that we are able to see each other every month or so, he is able to come here quite often, I can only get over to London 4 or 5 times a year, but when I am there I feel like it is home, it feels like home because I am with him and also because his house is like my house now, its our house and the same here, so we joke around about our London house and our New York house. I have been reading some of the posts in LDR and it is very comforting to know that other couples are going through the same things we are, we naively thought we were the only ones! Trying to explain that your boyfriend/girlfriend lives in London or NY, you only see each other every month or so, telling people you will be "off the radar" for a couple of weeks because he/she is in town and you want to spend every single second with them and them alone and then explaining that in a couple of years you will be moving to another country to be with the one you love, people look at you like you are crazy!  Its also interesting to read how other people are coping with things like driving and the grocery store and television, so many things that I take for granted here, sometimes I stand there in the UK like a complete idiot trying to figure stuff out! So thank you everybody for posting your advice and help and letting people like me know we aren't the only ones!

Welcome to UKY!
It is a wealth of information but as you may or may not have realized it the visa/immigration stuff changes so quickly - every 6 months for some of it.
It is a great place to get an "idea" and save up for the costs but don't tattoo it anywhere ;-)

Its great you see each other that much - makes it a little easier ;-)

Hello and Welcome!
   This place has been amazing for me, hopefully it will be the same for you!

Hello and welcome!  Good luck with all your plans! 

Thank you for the welcome and yes, from the little research I have done, visa/immigration info seems incredibly confusing, that's why I am glad I have found this site!  I do know everytime I go through border control at heathrow, I get grilled on why I am here, where am I staying, what are you doing while you are here, how did I manage to meet someone in London, how long have you been together, etc..., just what is needed after a long haul flight when I am so exhausted I am lucky if I remember my own name haha!   So I am definitely not looking forward to dealing with immigration when the time comes, but I know that it will be all worth it in the end.

I’m New York to London as well, but I’m hoping that I’ll be flying over permanently by the end of September.

Immigration is definitely a pain, but since I learned what documents to bring with me when I haven’t had any problems.  I actually think that the IO’s do understand that you’re tired and maybe a bit confused. 

Oh lucky you and congratulations!
What other documents do you bring with you for immigration? I was told by one of the agents a while ago to have a copy of my itinerary showing my return flight so I could prove that I was returning back to the US, other than that and my passport I wouldn't know what else to bring to prove that I am not going to overstay and that this is just a visit.... Oh and tired and a bit confused is putting it mildly haha!

Welcome to UK-Y !

Oh lucky you and congratulations!
What other documents do you bring with you for immigration? I was told by one of the agents a while ago to have a copy of my itinerary showing my return flight so I could prove that I was returning back to the US, other than that and my passport I wouldn't know what else to bring to prove that I am not going to overstay and that this is just a visit.... Oh and tired and a bit confused is putting it mildly haha!

Basically, you need to be able to prove that
a) you have a return ticket
b) you have enough money to last for your entire trip (bank statements)
c) you have ties in the US that you must return to, such as a job and a home (so you would need a letter from your employer giving you the time off and stating what date you are due back at work and a copy of your rental agreement or homeownership papers to show you have a home in the US).

The UKBA website gives a definitive list of what you need to show to be let into the UK as a visitor. You may not be asked for all the documents, but it's a good idea to have them with you in case you are required to show them: http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/visitingtheuk/visitors/documents

You know that you won't overstay, but the immigration won't necessarily take your word for it, so you can use your documents to prove that you have a reason to return home and that you have no reason to overstay or work illegally in the UK.

Thank you for the info, I never would have thought to bring all that documentation with me, I just grab my passport and go!

I think I almost got bounced when I flew in to Manchester -- It was my first time out of the country and I'd put my itinerary in my checked bag without thinking about it, which wouldn't have been a problem but the gent at immigration heard I was visiting my boyfriend and found I didn't have a job in the US (I'd just graduated from college, what can you expect?)...I think he thought I was going to stay... I got through, but I never expected something like that!

I guess my extreme accuracy in stating how long I was staying ("27 days, sir") let him know I was serious about going back.  I can't imagine being turned away!

Good luck with moving eventually, Minty!  Visas are overwhelming, good to get an early start and at least get familiar with how it works in general.  So nice to get to see your partner so often!

Also, welcome!   

Oh my gosh, I think I would lose my mind if they turned me back at immigration!
It seems like every time I go through border control I am literally staggering because I am so tired from the flight, its weird, I am so exhausted, but yet so excited because I will be seeing my boyfriend so very soon that my mind is all over the place that by the time I am called up I am just a jangling mess and stumble my way through the questions...  So I guess I have been pretty lucky the amount of times I have gone over there! I feel so bad for you that you have only been able to see your boyfriend for two weeks since September, we often talk about that, as we realize how lucky we are that our jobs allow us to squeeze in a week or two or a long weekend here or there, the longest we ever have gone is 44 days and that was just torture, so I can just imagine what the two of you are going through.  I know you are counting down until June, it seems since we have gotten together that all we do is count down to the next visit, they are good countdowns! I ended up getting big erasable yearly calendar on ebay so I can keep track of who is off when and plan our visits, it does make it a bit easier and I like crossing the days off! 
You are right, the visa's are soooo overwhelming, I am glad I have started looking into it now, if I waited until I was actually making the move, it would have been very confusing. 
Good luck with your move and visa's and especially your marriage! So exciting for you! 

Hi everyone here at the forum, Me joining newly here at the forum. Wanna say hi to all of the buddies and all the member's..... Wanna know about the topics and discussion's on the forum.....