Should I exercise Surinder?

[SiobhanC]

Hello,

I am a dual British/US citizen. I was born in the UK before Jan, 1983 to military parents from the US. I haven't lived in the UK since I was about 3 years old. I don't have a British passport or any other standard paperwork a "normal" British citizen might have. I do have my British birth certificate and I am currently working on getting my British passport. I plan on moving to Scotland with my husband and 3 children. But upon doing some research, I have found that getting my husband to the UK is fraught with problems, many of them financial. Following the "standard" route, the financial burden is excessive and out of reach. And it is not like we don't make decent enough money. We currently make nearly 40k pounds a year. But the required amount held in savings is ridiculous! We are considering moving to Ireland for a year in order to pursue the Surinder Singh route. I have a couple questions I hope you can help with.

I currently do not have my passport. Once I have my passport, do I need things like a National Insurance Number, driving license, etc. from the UK before I can exercise my treaty rights in Ireland? In other words, because I haven't lived in the UK since I was a child, will this make things more difficult?

What about my children? They were born in the US. Would I be better off going through the process of getting their British citizenship confirmed before making the move to Ireland, or would it be alright to just use their US passports until we are nearer a passport office?

Does that fact that I have not been living in the UK present a problem? Does someone attempting to follow the Surinder Singh route have to have been living in the UK prior to moving to an EU country for the process to be legitimate?

This site is great, and I am glad I found it. But the information can be dense and confusing. I am having trouble just familiarizing myself with all the acronyms and terms. I am hopeful someone can help, or perhaps at least point me in the correct direction.

[357mag]

As it all pivots on you getting a UK passport you should concentrate on that before worrying about the other stuff. Dont run till you can walk, good luck.

[Jambo]

Surinder Singh doesn't require you to live in the UK before.

[Obie]

Given your current earning, and provided you can show you have a job offer which will commence within 3 months of your entry, you will be able to meet the requirement of UK rule for your spouse.

Well a passport is not what makes you a British but the fact that your were born before the commencement of the 1981 act on the 1 January 1983 .

[SiobhanC]

Obie, thank you for the reply. The problem with the earnings is that, even though we may be making that in the US, there is no guarantee of making that in the UK. Also, the required amount we have to have in saving is ridiculous. Also, I do understand that the passport is not what makes me British. But it IS the easiest and most common way of proving citizenship according to the UKBA.

Jambo, thank you for the reply. That is very helpful.

357mag, thanks for the reply. My motto though is plan early and plan often. The passport is just a step. But I am just trying to plan the next one before it rushes up on me.

[rosebead]

If you are referring £62000 in savings, you don't have to have savings if you find a job that earns above £18600. Although you and I believe your husband, once he has been granted a spouse visa, would need to be able to maintain that income for 5 years for your husband's ILR.

[357mag]

Savings over £16k can also be used towards calculating meeting financial requirement, dont have the figure to hand though.
Again dont have paperwork to hand but I think US citizen does not need visa to visit Ireland or UK so you, spouse and children could all get in easy enough whichever route you choose.
The financial requirement for the UK increases for each child so something to consider.

[Obie]

OP for the purpose of EU law, a British Citizen born before 1st January 1983, can evidence her British Citizenship by a simply Birth Certificate.

I understand you will need to get a passport to exercise treaty right, but you biggest hurdle is resolved, as you have a birth certificate, applying for a passport is a mere formality.

You can even apply for a right of abode.

Saving is needed if a person income is either less than 18,600 and wishes to use their savings to boost it up to that level, or the person has 62500 is only needed if the person has no employment, and can show they have held this amount for 6 months.

The 62500 is worked out as this.

62,500-16,000/2.5= 18600.

16,000 is the amount a person will need to have before they will become ineligible to claim any benefit.

Once the 16,000 is deducted the remaining is divided for the length of the leave that will be granted , which is 30 months, to get the figure of 18600 required to sponsor a partner.

[Directive/2004/38/EC]

Remember that you all can move to any of the other EU member states (not the UK because you have a British passport) on the basis of just your British passport and the marriage certificate.

Ireland, Netherlands, Germany, ....