Search Q&A
moving to UK with husband
I have been living in Belgium with my French husband for over ten years. We would like to move to the UK shortly. My pension is under £10000 so I would not have earnings high enough for him to move with me, BUT he has a generous pension (over £20000), would that mean he could move to the UK or do I have to have the income.
I effectively have just done the same thing, I am British and moved to the uk after 10 years in belgium with my non eu wife.
We used the surinder singh route rather than the non eu spouse route.
No income test is required for that.
Google surinder singh immigration for details.
As he is french and you are british, you are also eligible for free movement anyway I think. No financial test on that route either.
I used an immigration lawyer to make it more smooth. They know what is required for the forms. Its easy to get them wrong!
You are British so you have an absolute right to live in the UK. Your finances do not enter into it.
Your husband also has that right - for the time being! - as an EU citizen even if he was not your husband. There is no question of yours being a marriage of convenience in order to get someone into the UK so there are no problems there either.
However, I would do some research into how far your finances will go. If you are planning to live, for example, in the London area and have to rent, you will absolutely not enjoy the same standard of living that £30K will give you in Belgium.
There is no issue with you moving to the UK. You're British, and your husband is EU, so there is no reason whatsoever for them to not allow you to stay, even after Brexit and everything, he'll still have a right to reside as your husband. However, as KASSEISTAMPER notes above, you should think carefully about where you are moving to in the U.K. especially if you have to factor in housing costs.
I'm not understanding the question if you are asking can you afford to live or is there a finically limit that you must meet?
If the first there that's a big one because you don't state where you wish to reside whether buying or renting be aware nice places to retire it cost a lot for housing because lots of people want to retire to say the seaside. If moving to a new place it can be daunting finding friends unless you have friends or family yhetenalready and reticent can be a shock even in ones own culture.
Otherwise the cost of living here is high as far as food and utility bills the uk is much more competative for some markets like food and clothing etc. However it also depends on the exchange rate if your pensions area in euro.
Health care is of course free in the uk but that means finding a.GP or dentist and getting certain tests ot treatments is difficult because they have to justify it by budget unlike here waiting lists can be horrendous. As your husband is French and you're British you are currently entitled to this but who knows what brexit brings.
Firstly and as some others have noted, you have an absolute right to live in the UK and as far as I can tell, your husband has every right to go with you.
Secondly, if your pensions/ assets /savings are in Euro, I believe it's an excellent opportunity to move to the UK if that's what you want to do. 1 Euro = about 90P. Though you need a crystal ball to see where that goes.
Lastly, I'm just back in the UK for a couple of years for work after many years away.
Despite the often repeated horror stories of how I would not be able to see a doctor, huge waiting lists, 5 minute appointments, no dentist, appalling housing costs.......
I registered at the local health centre for a non urgent appointment to get a regular prescription and found myself with a full one hour health assessment with a nurse, complete with bloods done. That was two days after registering.
And of course, it cost nothing.
Secondly, my elderly father in law visited and complained of being short of breath. After calling the NHS number, he had an appointment at the local primary care centre 2.5 hours later.
I registered with a dentist yesterday, no problem at all.
My temporary house is £550 a month (615 Euro), nothing flash but perfectly fit for purpose.
Yesterday my wife and I ate out with one drink each, a very nice pub Sunday lunch for £18 (20 Euro) for both of us. A pint in my local pub is £3 (3.5 Euro.
In other words, I'm finding it far cheaper to live here than in Belgium and despite the scare stories about the health care, I've been pleasantly surprised.
I'm in the North of England where the countryside is stunning and the traffic low. Your millage may vary if you tried to move to somewhere in the south east.
