My husband is American, and we did the UK immigration process for him, starting in the late 00s and successfully got him citizenship a bit before they changed the rules from joint income to sponsoring spouse's income. I would never have been able to afford to sponsor him – he's always earnt more than I do, which isn't an unusual situatio…
My husband is American, and we did the UK immigration process for him, starting in the late 00s and successfully got him citizenship a bit before they changed the rules from joint income to sponsoring spouse's income. I would never have been able to afford to sponsor him – he's always earnt more than I do, which isn't an unusual situation to be in for a woman, really.
However, what struck me throughout the process is how many people assumed that because he's American, he could just walk straight in. The process is (or at least, was) a bit easier if you're from a Commonwealth country so people just assumed that it'd be the same for Americans. They don't realise how much effort it is to come to the UK, all the hoops you have to jump through, all the uncertainty, the way that you're made to feel insecure and like a lesser human being. I'd wager that the vast majority of people who have 'opinions' about immigration know nothing of the process or how brutal is it.
For the record, we spent 8 years in the US and I can say that their immigration process is equally as awful, if not worse. But you'd not believe the number of people who assume the same, that for a Brit it would be easy. The entire immigration debate on both sides of the Atlantic is based mostly on ignorance and prejudice. (But, well, I suppose we knew that already.)
Yes, everyone we have mentioned it to (and we only know two people who voted leave, mind you) thought it would be a doddle for my EU husband to get a visa. "You have a British spouse and two British children, surely it's a formality" they bleat. I don't know if it's still the case, but I also found it odd that Australians (and presumably other Commonwealth citizens) with a British grandparent could easily get a visa.
My husband is American, and we did the UK immigration process for him, starting in the late 00s and successfully got him citizenship a bit before they changed the rules from joint income to sponsoring spouse's income. I would never have been able to afford to sponsor him – he's always earnt more than I do, which isn't an unusual situation to be in for a woman, really.
However, what struck me throughout the process is how many people assumed that because he's American, he could just walk straight in. The process is (or at least, was) a bit easier if you're from a Commonwealth country so people just assumed that it'd be the same for Americans. They don't realise how much effort it is to come to the UK, all the hoops you have to jump through, all the uncertainty, the way that you're made to feel insecure and like a lesser human being. I'd wager that the vast majority of people who have 'opinions' about immigration know nothing of the process or how brutal is it.
For the record, we spent 8 years in the US and I can say that their immigration process is equally as awful, if not worse. But you'd not believe the number of people who assume the same, that for a Brit it would be easy. The entire immigration debate on both sides of the Atlantic is based mostly on ignorance and prejudice. (But, well, I suppose we knew that already.)
Yes, everyone we have mentioned it to (and we only know two people who voted leave, mind you) thought it would be a doddle for my EU husband to get a visa. "You have a British spouse and two British children, surely it's a formality" they bleat. I don't know if it's still the case, but I also found it odd that Australians (and presumably other Commonwealth citizens) with a British grandparent could easily get a visa.