International Nesties
Dear Community,
Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
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Thank you.
Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
If you have questions about this, please email help@theknot.com.
Thank you.
Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
99% sure we are moving from US to England...
Hello all! My husband (English) and I (American) are in the US. He's had his green card for awhile, but we've always been open to moving back near his family in Hampshire. Now we are 99% sure we are moving to England this fall and I'm really excited but very nervous! There are so many knowledgeable ladies here; any advice/things you wish you knew before moving countries? We don't have children or own a home, but we will be moving our small dog with us. My husband has a few guaranteed jobs through family and friends and I would be looking for work in the vet tech/zookeeping field or possibly teaching (I have a masters in a scientific field). I know this is a pretty broad subject but I don't know anyone who has done this, so I'll take any info or wisdom! Thanks 
Re: 99% sure we are moving from US to England...
I have no advice on the UK but wanted to say hello and welcome! DH and I live in Switzerland, he's Swiss/Argentine and I'm American.
Good luck on your move!
for your pet I'd start looking into the UK Pet Passport thing to limit the quarantine.
UK law changed in January. No PETS scheme, no quarantine. http://www.defra.gov.uk/wildlife-pets/pets/travel/
Excellent.
Welcome! DH and I are Americans living in London.
My biggest piece of advice is to be patient with yourself in the whole process. While it's exciting (and while many people around you will treat it like one big vacation/adventure), there are a lot of changes associated with it that may cause you to react in ways you didn't anticipate. Some things will be far harder than you expected and some things will be surprisingly simple.
Related to the stress of moving to another country, are you comfortable living on your DH's income for a while during your job search? It can be easy to get resentful quickly if finances are also an issue--just one other source of stress that I'd eliminate if you can.
You can drive on your US license for up to a year but then you need to take the driving test to get a UK license. You might want to go ahead and get an international license (very easy--just go to AAA or similar and have your picture taken, show your driver's license, pay $20 or something, and you're good). This will allow you to drive most places you are likely to travel and some countries, including Germany, require this. Other countries, like Ireland, are pretty lax.
Okay, that's all my randoms. If you have more specific questions about the UK, let us know.
This doesn't really have to do with the original post, but I just wanted to note that Germany does not require an international driver's license. Americans can drive on their license for up to 6 months or up to a year if they can prove that they're leaving after a year (basically if you're staying indefinitely you have 6 months to take care of things but if you're only staying short-term then they don't make you go get one).
That was definitely not our experience renting a car. Perhaps the rental agencies then are the ones requiring the international license?
Hi and welcome.... DH and I are Americans living in Greater London -- we really enjoy it here. There are a lot of American in the UK and we'd be happy to help and answer your questions.
I agree with the pps do your homework and make sure your visa allows you the right to work, even if you plan on not working, because you will still have options. Understanding the process and having patience is critical.... the UK Border Agency is not quick to move, but overall enjoy it!
There are wonderful opportunities living in the UK!
I bet you're right, it's probably the rental agencies. Although my parents have rented cars several times and their American license has been fine... maybe it was the particular rental agency you used?
SON OF A *^%$%@(!*@&?%$&$*!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Why couldn't they have changed this in 2008? I could have had a down payment on a farking house!!!!!
Chronically hilarious - you'll split your stitches!
I wrote a book! Bucket list CHECK!
http://notesfortheirtherapist.blogspot.co.uk
Hi and welcome to the board! DH and I are Americans living in Edinburgh, Scotland for over 6 years now so we've been through the visa process a few times. It's a very different process if you're married to a UK citizen though so I'd start looking at it now - it took us ages to get all the paperwork together, the permanent visa took an entire binder of originals and photocopies!
Going to join family will make the whole thing much easier. Do you plan to live with them when you get here? I agree with the PP - make sure that you can afford (financially and emotionally) to live off of one salary for a while, the job market here is just as bad as in the states so it might take you a while. People seem to get hired through agencies a lot more than in the states (although it's been years since I've job hunted, I did get my job through an agency) so it might be worth finding some agencies now and sending off your CV to see what happens. A CV is very different than a resume so you should start working that up now as well.
Would you plan to get rid of everything and come here or do you have stuff you'd be bringing along?
Moving to the UK was the best decision we ever made, we love it here and are honestly considering staying here semi-permanently. It can be a ton of work at the start, but for us anyway, it was entirely worth it!
Good luck!
BFP Apr 2012, EDD Dec 19 2012 * twin h/b at 6wk, 9wk scan * Baby A lost at 12wks, Baby B was my rainbow born at 36wks
Yup, that was our rationale as well! Except that we left all our wedding gifts in my dad's basement and sold everything else :-)
Sounds like you have a good setup to start in England.
BFP Apr 2012, EDD Dec 19 2012 * twin h/b at 6wk, 9wk scan * Baby A lost at 12wks, Baby B was my rainbow born at 36wks
They ended the 6 month process, it is much easier to move a pet now!
Welcome to the board, I lived in London with my dh and ds for 3 years, and we are now back in the US. Good luck!
Thanks for the site, I'll check it out. We would be moving just outside Basingstoke at first. May I ask how your visa process was? Did it take a long time?
Wait - did I miss something? Could I have an International Driving License and bypass the whole UK license/test expense???
Hi, by the way! I'm an American, living with my British husband and our two half-breeds up north.
No, you can only drive on a US or Intl license in the UK for a year. Bummer
Unless you are Canadian. I am pretty sure they can just change theirs over. Lucky them!
And welcome OP. I'm an American married to a Brit. We currently live in California but used to live in London. I have no better advice to offer other than agreeing with what previous posters have said.
Good luck!
Are you planning to keep your DH's green card when you move? If so, how long are you planning to stay in the UK? You can apply for a re-entry permit before you leave that will be valid for two years and will allow him to keep the green card while you're out of the country. After two years, he can renew it for another two years, but you have to do so from the US (basically fly over there and drop the application in the mail, and fly home). I always wondered if you could just mail it to someone and have them drop it in the mail, but I was too worried that they'd check the immigration entry records and find out that he hadn't actually returned to the US at that time (though with sketchy exit records, there's no proof that he hadn't just stuck around since his last trip -- still not worth the risk IMO, considering the high application fee).
Beyond four years, the re-entry permit is only valid for a year at a time. Since it's expensive to apply and you have to fly to the US to do it, we gave up and just started making sure he returned to the US once a year. Even with the re-entry permit, we had some nasty run-ins with US border agents, so I coached him on how to answer immigration's questions to make things as smooth as possible. After all, "an absence of any length of time can be used as evidence that your residency has been abandoned," so basically the border agents can just up and say, "Wait? You moved back to the UK? Then you're not a resident of the US! Bye bye, green card!"
The people at the US embassy suggested that we voluntarily give up the green card, and then if we ever move back to the US, he could reapply, and since he had already been approved, it would be a much faster process (though they didn't say simpler or less expensive). XH didn't want to give up his green card, so he didn't. ...Come to think of it, I don't think he's been to the US in a year and a half, and he's supposed to go to the US for work in a few months. I wonder if he realizes he might not be able to get in. ETA - I forgot that he was in the US last July for a wedding, so he's good for a few more months.
Thanks for the heads up about the re-entry permit. We'd like to keep his green card at first. I knew there was a 2 year stipulation but I didn't know we had to get a permit. Although I should have expected it, and it probably costs a small fortune just like everything else from immigration!
The application for the re-entry permit is the I-131, and the application fee is currently $360.
Absolutely make sure that you file a tax return every year that includes him, since, like US citizens, green card holders are responsible for filing a yearly tax return and are subject to tax on their worldwide income.
My advice is to learn everything on this page by heart:
http://www.uscis.gov/vgn-ext-templating/v/index.jsp?vgnextoid=0c353a4107083210VgnVCM100000082ca60aRCRD&vgnextchannel=0c353a4107083210VgnVCM100000082ca60aRCRD
A few highlights:
I've asked our embassy's consular staff about the returning resident visa, and they said they almost never grant it. The only case they would is something like the person had been deathly ill or in traction and literally could not get to the US for the six months or so.
My advice for border control is that you should always toss in that the move was unavoidable and that you plan to move back to the US as soon as possible. I always made a point to mention that we moved because of my job, that it was a temporary assignment, and that my contract would expire in a few years. If they asked if we were planning to move back to the US, I would always say something like, "I hope so, but I never know what the company will decide!"
Ugh! I thought we were done with all this! I guess we never really will be. Thank you so much for all the info, it's very much appreciated. I'm glad we're giving ourselves plenty of prep time.