What a fantastic resource this forum is, thank you!

My background:

I'm a US citizen married for over 8 years to an EU citizen (Finland) with one child who is a dual citizen of the US and Finland. I have previously lived and worked in the UK for a US company on a special assignment for 9 months back in 2000. During that period my employer obtained a UK Work Permit on my behalf. I am a rather experienced Computer Systems Analyst/Engineer and have been steadily employed in the same profession for the last 9 years. Both my wife and I currently live and work in the US, where we own a home.

My wife and I are very interested in moving to the UK. However, since we are both currently living and employed in the US we are uncertain as to how best to proceed. From what I have read it seems that I do not require a Work Permit. And there is much information on non-EEA nationals joining the EEA national already in the UK. However I am a bit confused as to what the procedure is if both the non-EEA national and the EEA national are outside the UK and intending to immigrate together.

I've looked at the EEA Family Permit, but it seems to be geared towards the EEA national already being in the UK and the non-EEA national joining that person.

My questions:

1. Can we seek and legitimately obtain employment in the UK while in the US?
2. Does my wife have to be established in the UK prior to my joining her or can we enter together?
3. Does one and/or both spouses have to have an offer of employment prior to entering the UK for settlement? And does it matter which spouse has the employment offer?

Any insights would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you,
Sam

 

Wow, thank you for the prompt reply!

Yes, that is the impression I have gotten from reading this forum previously but I'm still a little confused. I had gone to the Visa4UK website to fill out the online application. It was all very straightforward until "Section 6 - About Your Visit" and "Section 7 - Employment and Finances". How can I say when I will arrive if I dont yet have employment and thus housing? And when it asks if I am employed, does it mean in my home country or in the UK? And when it asks about property owned, does it include non-UK property? Is it appropriate on this form when asked the purpose of the visit to put settlement or this form of entry meant only as a temporary visa used to seek employment?

I'm sorry if these questions seem a bit thick, but I don't want to provide the incorrect or irrelevant information on the application and ultimately have it rejected.

Thanks,
Sam

 

Thanks, I've just read that post from polskasweetie. However, I don't quite understand the part about getting the letter from the non-UK employer. Mainly because I would think that the employment with the non-UK employer would be terminated once moving to the UK. So I don't see how that proves that you will not be a potential burden to the social services system. Which gets back to one of my orginal questions. When it asks about employment on the VAF1, it is referring to gainful employment in the UK, right?

It seems to be a bit of a catch-22. To get an employer to hire you, you need to prove that you can legally work in the UK, which the EEA Family Permit does. However, to get the EEA Family Permit you need to have employment in the UK. Or of course, if you are independently wealthy enough to sustain you and your dependents during the requested time frame you can also get approval. Or if your EEA national spouse finds employment first and can sustain him or herself plus any dependents, this is also a possible scenario.

Am I interpreting this correctly? It appears extremely difficult to have a family immigrate together, if the non-EEA national is the bread winner of the family and you do not have a large amount of liquid capital. Unless you can get an employer that is patient and willing enough to sponsor you for employment.

Thanks,
Sam