Easiest route to move US to UK with family of a UK Citizen

[FredMorse]

I'm so glad that this forum exists, and I've learned a great deal from reading through all the helpful topics already. This is probably painfully obvious to everyone but me, but here goes:

1. I am a UK Citizen (British born, living in US for 10 years)
2. I married my US Citizen wife 7 years ago
3. We have two US Citizen children age 3 and 5
4. We are all resident in the US
5. We want all to live work and move to the UK in a few months.
6. My wife does not need to work in the first year we are in the UK, and we have some funds in the bank

There seems to be two ways of getting us all over there. Applying for visas and heading over OR just flying over there and then applying to stay.

My understanding is:

A. my children are entitled to a British passport / citizenship at birth since I'm their dad, on their birth certificate, and am British
B. I can apply for kids' passports and they can just get on a plane and start living in the UK with me with no visa
C. My wife can get a "join family settled in UK" visa if we set off a week before her.

I'd appreciate any thoughts! Thanks so much

[MPH80]

A. there are certain criteria around this (such as you have to have been born in britain for example) - but yes - in principle, providing you never renounced their citizenship as part of their US citizenship - they are british.

B. Yes.

C. Actually - she could get it before you set off. However, you need to be aware that there are qualifying financial criteria. You will have to be able to prove that you have an income stream of over £18,600 in the UK. That means you'll need a job offer in the UK - and you'll have to prove you've been earning over that amount in the US for the last 6 months. Note that if you go ahead of her - then you'll need to show 6 months earnings in the UK before she can come!

[FredMorse]

A. there are certain criteria around this (such as you have to have been born in britain for example) - but yes - in principle, providing you never renounced their citizenship as part of their US citizenship - they are british.

Ah - the devil is in the detail. So

A1. I was born in Britain and hold a British passport. I was British when my kids were born, and when I was put on their birth certificates
A2. I did become a US Citizen after our US kids were born. I have a US passport
A3. At the US Naturalization ceremony I did "renounce my allegiances to other potentates"

D. Can I still apply for a UK passport for my kids?

C. Actually - she could get it before you set off. However, you need to be aware that there are qualifying financial criteria. You will have to be able to prove that you have an income stream of over £18,600 in the UK. That means you'll need a job offer in the UK - and you'll have to prove you've been earning over that amount in the US for the last 6 months. Note that if you go ahead of her - then you'll need to show 6 months earnings in the UK before she can come!

Got it. Thanks! I'm wondering if my becoming a US Citizen has loused up my ability to go and take up residence back in the UK, and bring my family over though .

E. Since I'm a US Citizen, can my wife still apply for settlement with me in the UK?

Thanks so much for giving me the straight answers on this. I've been bouncing around between different UK official government websites for hours trying to get a clear picture, and you have saved me so much mental anguish in your response. Thank you!

[MPH80]

AIUI (having just done some reading up) - when you became a US citizen you didn't automatically lose your british citizenship - which should automatically make them british too.

I will qualify this with that I'm not an expert on US citizenship law! But this suggests that the 'renounce' statement has no effect in british law: http://uk.answers.yahoo.com/question/in ... 948AAWD3JR

So this should mean you can continue to treat yourself as a british citizen - and your kids as you were born in the UK.

[maxdemon76]

I'm almost positive that your wife will need to obtain her partner visa before she comes to the UK. I immigrated to the UK from the US as a partner of a British citizen, and the process required applying for the visa from within the US. The application process took about six weeks for me, but can take longer than that, so you should definitely apply for your partner's visa ASAP as it requires mailing your partner's passport to a British embassy within the US.

[Wanderer]

Bear in mind too that as a US citizen you are taxed on your Worldwide income, so when you start earning in UK, IRS will want their cut.

[maxdemon76]

Bear in mind too that as a US citizen you are taxed on your Worldwide income, so when you start earning in UK, IRS will want their cut.

True, but only if you make more than a certain amount. You are still legally required to file your taxes in the US, but you only have to pay taxes if you make more than around $97,000.

[anniecc]

Just to note that you can also meet the income requirements for your wife's spouse visa on the basis of savings - which may be relevant as you indicate in your original post that you have sufficient savings for your wife not to work for the first year. If you have over £62,500 in savings you'll qualify immediately, and won't need a UK job offer.