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Dancebiscuits
Joined: 03 Dec 2012 Posts: 63
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Posted: Sun May 17, 2015 2:49 pm Post subject: Can a US citizen marry a UK citizen, then teach in UK/EU? |
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Hi all
Boyf is American and a primary school teacher (qualified in US, currently working in Middle East), I'm a UK citizen. Can he come to UK and marry me, and then work in the UK afterwards? And how do we get married if so? Will any schools here want to employ him given that his QTS is from America? Is he also eligible to work in the wider EU thereafter, or only the UK? Do we even need to get married these days, can he just be my partner?
I am totally overwhelmed at where we start, and lawyer fees just to ask the questions are ridiculous - plus the answers we've been given by alleged immigration specialists are completely contradictory. Would be great to hear from anyone with recent personal experience in the area. Thank you for any help you can offer.
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Hod
Joined: 28 Apr 2003 Posts: 1613 Location: Home
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Posted: Sun May 17, 2015 6:29 pm Post subject: |
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I'll jump in before the negatives get their say.
Yes. How and where you get married isn't an issue, as long as you have some sort of paperwork to show this. You/he would then be in a position to apply for the UK spouse visa. This involves a lot of paperwork, costs £800+ and there are minimum income requirements that must be adhered to.
But you asked if he could then work EU wide. Why not move elsewhere in the EU to begin with? Believe it or not, this makes it way easier.
I was a Brit (still am in fact) living in Germany. My non-EU wife joined me there and got a five-year permit allowing her to work and everything. This cost about €6 and a morning at the foreigners' department. Four years later, I got bored of Germans and started planning my return to the UK.
Using the legal speak, I was exercising my right to relocate elsewhere within the EU and bring my family with me. Someone called Surinder Singh (google him) went through a lot of hardship and court cases to bring about this ruling. The application was free, had way less paperwork and no minimum income requirement and took six weeks.
You would need to spend some time, e.g. a year, living and working in another EU country to qualify, but compared to the alternative you’ll be amazed how easy this Surinder Singh route is. |
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Dancebiscuits
Joined: 03 Dec 2012 Posts: 63
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Posted: Mon May 18, 2015 8:02 am Post subject: |
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Thanks very much for your help Hod, very handy answer there
The short answer is because I don't have a job anywhere else in Europe and am unlikely to get one given my own profession, but it's certainly something to keep in mind. |
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MuscatGary
Joined: 03 Jun 2013 Posts: 1364 Location: Flying around the ME...
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Dancebiscuits
Joined: 03 Dec 2012 Posts: 63
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Posted: Mon May 18, 2015 12:11 pm Post subject: |
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Thanks for your help MuscatGary
I'm actually trying to edit my original question now to find out more about the specifics of his employability as a teacher. Over on the TES forum the teachers are saying nobody will want to employ him because he hasn't got UK experience (and also, I think, because they believe he's trying to take their jobs!) so if anyone can add their two cents to that question, 'twould be grand. |
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MuscatGary
Joined: 03 Jun 2013 Posts: 1364 Location: Flying around the ME...
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Posted: Mon May 18, 2015 12:19 pm Post subject: |
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Dancebiscuits wrote: |
Thanks for your help MuscatGary
I'm actually trying to edit my original question now to find out more about the specifics of his employability as a teacher. Over on the TES forum the teachers are saying nobody will want to employ him because he hasn't got UK experience (and also, I think, because they believe he's trying to take their jobs!) so if anyone can add their two cents to that question, 'twould be grand. |
It would be illegal to discriminate against him on the grounds of nationality IF he has the legal right to work in the UK. I'm not sure that a spouse visa confers that right automatically though. |
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Gamajorba
Joined: 03 May 2015 Posts: 357
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Posted: Tue May 19, 2015 5:48 am Post subject: Re: Can a US citizen marry a UK citizen, then teach in UK/EU |
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I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but from what I've seen in recent times, it's VERY difficult to get non EU nationals into the EU (UK especially for some reason) and then be able to work. Several of my friends have married EU/UK nationals, and some have spent years battling deportation for reasons X Y and Z.
So please do be careful, and good luck |
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MuscatGary
Joined: 03 Jun 2013 Posts: 1364 Location: Flying around the ME...
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Posted: Tue May 19, 2015 5:50 am Post subject: Re: Can a US citizen marry a UK citizen, then teach in UK/EU |
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Gamajorba wrote: |
I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but from what I've seen in recent times, it's VERY difficult to get non EU nationals into the EU (UK especially for some reason) and then be able to work. Several of my friends have married EU/UK nationals, and some have spent years battling deportation for reasons X Y and Z.
So please do be careful, and good luck |
On the other hand I know several US citizens who are working in France as auto-entrepreneurs so it can be done. |
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PC Parrot
Joined: 11 Dec 2009 Posts: 459 Location: Moral Police Station
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Posted: Tue May 19, 2015 5:57 am Post subject: |
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As earlier stated there is the Surinder Singh route.
But we are taking the Surrender Sanity route. It entails spending an obscenely long amount of time in the Gulf.
3 years is obscene enough for most people, even for the rudest of people, but you'd probably have to stay for longer that that to save up the sort of cash that the UK Gov't are demanding. |
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MuscatGary
Joined: 03 Jun 2013 Posts: 1364 Location: Flying around the ME...
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Posted: Tue May 19, 2015 7:06 am Post subject: |
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PC Parrot wrote: |
As earlier stated there is the Surinder Singh route.
But we are taking the Surrender Sanity route. It entails spending an obscenely long amount of time in the Gulf.
3 years is obscene enough for most people, even for the rudest of people, but you'd probably have to stay for longer that that to save up the sort of cash that the UK Gov't are demanding. |
The problem with being out of the UK now for more than 3 years is that you have to reestablish that you have permanent residency status. |
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PC Parrot
Joined: 11 Dec 2009 Posts: 459 Location: Moral Police Station
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Posted: Tue May 19, 2015 8:18 am Post subject: |
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Do you have a link for that? |
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MuscatGary
Joined: 03 Jun 2013 Posts: 1364 Location: Flying around the ME...
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Posted: Tue May 19, 2015 8:28 am Post subject: |
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PC Parrot wrote: |
Do you have a link for that? |
No, but it's been in the news a lot recently. I think the full name for it is the habitual residency test. If I find one I'll post it. |
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MuscatGary
Joined: 03 Jun 2013 Posts: 1364 Location: Flying around the ME...
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PC Parrot
Joined: 11 Dec 2009 Posts: 459 Location: Moral Police Station
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Posted: Tue May 19, 2015 8:40 am Post subject: |
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Thanks. That just seems to be about the right to claim benefits not the right to live in the UK with one's non-EU partner .
Benefits wouldn't be an issue for us. |
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Kofola
Joined: 20 Feb 2009 Posts: 159 Location: Slovakia
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Posted: Tue May 19, 2015 8:40 am Post subject: |
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Dancebiscuits wrote: |
I'm actually trying to edit my original question now to find out more about the specifics of his employability as a teacher. Over on the TES forum the teachers are saying nobody will want to employ him because he hasn't got UK experience (and also, I think, because they believe he's trying to take their jobs!) so if anyone can add their two cents to that question, 'twould be grand. |
His lack of UK experience will go against him, whichever part of the UK you are headed for. This is because he will have no knowledge of the curriculums nor of the conventions in lesson planning, schemes of work, IEPs, etc. The conventions are very standardised and there is a lot of this paperwork. Plus he won't know the kinds of things Offsted look for etc. This means he will initially be more of a burden on senior management teams and mentors who have to check all the paperwork. This applies only to the state sector as free schools and private schools are different.
Ultimately though it will depend on the schools and what they are looking for. I don't know where he would start on the pay scale but if it's at the bottom that might make him attractive to schools looking for cheaper teachers. Anecdoctal evidence of a lot of that going on in some areas at the moment and I would expect it to continue as teaching budgets are still being reduced in real terms. However, he would still find it hard to compete with NQTs since they will be familiar with the curriculum, planning requirements etc.
It really depends on the area you will be looking at. The areas with shortages will be easier. Some London boroughs employ a fair number of teachers from other countries because they just can't get the staff. |
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