How do married US citizens get work permits?

Both my wife and I are US citizens (and have never been citizens of another country) and we are uncertain if we would both be allowed work if we were to relocate to the UK. I had read somewhere that only one spouse can work but I have read elsewhere that the UK allows both spouse to work. Much of the information that I have found is regarding a UK citizen and their US spouse. Another work related question is that my wife is a registered nurse. Does anyone know if she would be able to work in the UK as a nurse or would she have to go back to school once in the UK? I am sure that she would have to take some sort of an exam similar to what she took when she first became a nurse. How would we find out if her degree would be accepted?

We also have a child who would be entering 9th grade here at the time we would be looking to move. Does anyone know how the school transition would work and how difficult it would be for him to attend college in the UK? We debated postponing the move until he is off to college but we also think that the move could be a positive for him.

If anyone knows the answers to these questions and/or could provide some links to answer these question we would really appreciate it.

Thanks,
Brian

You need to start with one of you finding a job that will sponsor you.  Your wife may get traction as a nurse.  Sponsored work visas are difficult to get and fewer are leading to long term settlement in the UK.  Yes, if one of you has a visa the other would be permitted to work, though there is talk of them removing this.

Tackle everything else after you've secured work.  9th grade would be a tough year to transition but if you waited until after he graduated, he would not be able to come with you (if he was 18).

Thanks for the help. We assumed it might be a challenge for him since he will be nearing the end of his pre-college education. Do you, or anyone else that may come across this, know what some of the specific challenges might be with this type of school transition? I think I understand the basic structure of the school system in the UK but it is more challenging to put it into context. Our son is on a track so that most, if not all, of his junior and senior years of high school classes will be taken at our local community college as dual credit. Is that similar to the English system? The way I am interpreting what I have read is that schooling for 17-18 year olds is either university prep or vocational/job placement studies. Is that an accurate  interpretation of the UK school system? Finally, are there any restrictions getting him enrolled in public schools once we are there or would we be forced to look into private schools?
Thanks again,
Brian

Figure out the visa stuff first. It might not have occurred to you that you cannot *just* move to the UK...

In terms of education, 9th grade is extremely important in the UK!! We call it Year 10, but it when most of the GCSE courses, which are two year courses, begin. Some will have started in the previous year, and he may well need to catch up work that he has missed. At the end of Year 11 he would sit very important exams (GCSEs) which are considered to be equivalent to a high school diploma.

After GCSEs, he would choose 3, maybe four subjects in which to specialise for the next two years. These are his A-Level studies (during what would be his junior and senior years).

The obvious times to start UK education would be at the start of 9th grade or at the start of 11th grade. It is very frustrating for children (and teachers) to start courses half way through which will be externally assessed. The results will stay with him forever (most people put their results on their CVs for every job they apply to). UK education is high stakes in testing.

Thank you. It is incredible how fast the responses have been. That does put the education system into context for us. The one piece of information that has been unanimously emphasized on every website that I have visited is the importance of having visas taken care of first and foremost. The questions that we had regarding our son's education were a little more challenging to find.
Thanks,
Brian

The one piece of information that has been unanimously emphasized on every website that I have visited is the importance of having visas taken care of first and foremost. The questions that we had regarding our son's education were a little more challenging to find.

And there's a reason for that... there's not a whole lot of point in figuring out your son's UK education options if you don't even know if you will actually be able to get a visa to move to the UK yet.

It can be extremely difficult to qualify for a work visa for the UK, and in some cases it can take months or even years of searching to secure sponsorship for a visa... if at all.

In order to secure sponsorship for a visa, the UK company has to prove either that:

a) The job is listed on the Tier 2 Skills Shortage List at the salary stated on the list. Nurses are on the list, but ONLY for the following job in Scotland: "specialist nurse working in neonatal intensive care units"

b) They have advertised the job across the UK and all other EU countries for a minimum length of time (4 weeks, I believe) and haven't been able to find a single suitable applicant. If that's the case, they can hire someone from the US (this is called passing the Resident Labour Market Test)... however, with unemployment still relatively high and 500 million people in the EU, unless the job is extremely specialised or highly skilled, the chances of getting sponsorship for a visa this way are slim to none.

As a nurse your wife would have to go through the governing agency for nurses in the UK.. Which is the NMC( Nursing and Midwifery Council)

Not sure what hoops she'd have to jump through as lots have changed since I came to Scotland 16 years ago.

It would be the starting point for her....
http://www.nmc.org.uk/