Has anyone told you how kind you are lately? Only thing I would've done differently is read this first this am—pleasant way to start my day. Thank you.
Are you English? The hoops are outrageous with compliance expectations that are very challenging for us to justify. Because of the refugee influx at the moment, God bless them, asylum seekers receive first attention which means no amount of money qualifies me for immediate action. That means the husband of a UK citizen with a chronic illness must wait 8 months for processing but wait, it gets worse.
That's not a typo—32 weeks.
I can't be in England during application process, wait for it.. wait for it... My wife must be. Figure that out. D-words! She must remain in UK alone for 8 months to maintain National Insurance # with proof of residency as well so I can prove I have somewhere to stay when I get here (That's the short version). The fees are astronomical too compared to most places other than Dubai.
Eight months apart, I can't be in the country, nearly £5k in fees with no guarantees. I wish I was making this up.
Somewhere, yes. If not Spain then 'somewhere.' Portugal is fairly close in distance too. First covid and now this. I think traveliving days are numbered like my British days. = }
Thank you.
aw you are lovely, thank you... I am actually South African by birth. Born in Durban. Grew up 30kms from the coast. Moved to the UK with my husband (who had dual nationality at the time) when I was 29... so I came on a spouse settlement visa back then... many moons ago lol. So... now I am British by naturalisation. I lost my South African citizenship because of another government's ridiculous, inequitable rules and regulations which were not published at the time. I also checked in with Home Affairs in South Africa before I proceeded with my new citizenship application and they told me it was perfectly fine. After I had applied, they told me it wasn't! That I needed to apply to retain my citizenship of South Africa before I apply for British. I told them...sure...ok I will pause my application or withdraw it... do the correct process and then re-apply. Their response. Too late!!! meh! I will always have permanent residency rights because of my birthright... so let them do them.
I do hope you guys manage to find your home in the world. It's appalling how governments treat their own citizens. They have a lot to answer for. May the people make that happen through the use of their voices and their votes.
Sending love x
ps: Portugal is lovely... only been there once on holiday (weird right? it's so close... ) but definitely want to go again and again...it feels so much like home (South Africa) to me, and it seems to be one of the easier places t get into in the EU if one is looking to move.
!LUV !PIZZA
Oh how interesting. Very neat. Where about in England are you guys? We've stayed in all four corners, each has its perks but if we were forced to pick, we'd say Liverpool.
We're in Manchester now. For now. It'll be in the rear view in October. Got a couple short trips between now and then. Looking forward to that! But TSA already gave me grief my last re-entry from Hungary. D-words.
Portugal. From what I've investigated, residency is even easier there. And close too. Opportunity wise and the fact no one has ever said Spain sucks, we're curious to scope it out first. I've been back n forth with the Spanish embassy back home—easy peazy. So they say. Much quicker, too, 7-10 days vs eight months and about 1/5 the cost.
oh wow that does sound a lot easier and far more compassionate and family-friendly. Sounds like you have a couple of great options there... plan C's so to speak 😉🙄
Aah Manchester! I am nowhere near there lol... but then in the UK nothing is ever too far away... hehe... I drove back home from Edinburgh in an evening once! Granted it was a long ass drive... but still doable. I am in Berkshire, near Windsor. My road used to be in Burnham, Buckinghamshire... but they rezoned it and drew a fake line around our neighbourhood to facilitate voting mechanics... how unlike the politicians haha. So now I am in Berkshire 🙄 It's the Royal Borough...and Lillibet lives down the road so... not all bad, right? My hubby and I used to drive up to Manchester every other weekend for the football. We had season tickets to Old Trafford at one point - before kids! But then road trips have never phased me. I quite like them...time to chill and let my mind wander and wonder...
Would love to know where you end up and how easy it ends up being... making the move across the channel. You mentioned previously that your wife is American-British... what is your nationality that it requires you to seek spousal visa... did I read between the lines... American? Spanish?
Meh, you're only 5 hours by train, see you for breakfast. Why didn't you make that little meet-up they had in Halifax a month ago? I was pleasantly surprised how fun that was.
:confession: I'm unaware who Lillibet is so I googled the name. Is that Hairy / Meaghan's daughter? Are you laughing? You think that's funny don't you? It gets worse, watch, why isn't she in LA with her parents?
Speaking of LA, that's my hometown. DanDays comes from Here. Pura, yes: American/British. Me, no: American/not British.
There was a meet-up in Halifax??? I had no idea!!! who should I be following to find these things out? lol.
haha yeah, Manchester was like a 3.5-hour journey up the M6 for us... not far at all. We used to drive up... chill for an hour or two before a game... watch the game and drive home haha. We may be up in the area towards the end of August to see friends... I'll let you know if I am!
Lillibet - aka HRH Elizabeth II - aka the queen lol... her official home is Windsor Castle... about 10-minute drive from my front door. So nope...not a reference to Harry and Megans' daughter !LOLZ
Aah Long Beach, CA... I never made it there. It looks really lovely. I was in LA in March... made it to Venice Beach (eclectic and heavily scented with flora of the rolling kind haha although I did spend a quiet 1/2 hour watching the waves roll in from the dunes) and Santa Monica (the Pier was heaving - I didn't stay long)... spent an afternoon on an open-top bus around the city. I was severely jetlagged at the time. I was happy to be rescued by Dreems and whisked away to the mountains via Universal Studios haha.
!ALIVE
Oh man had you known me sooner, I could've given you the best tour ever even from all the way over here. That's where I grew up.
I'd hate to think you were in California and not overwhelmed by weed aroma. This apartment smells like that right now. = } Where I'm from it's just a photosynthesis derived plant like all vegetation. Blows me away how socially acceptable cigarettes are in UK and EU but only a few EU countries legalized weed. You can't even have CBD flower here! CBD?! Lol like an honest "lol," not one of those straight faced kind. Hashtag ItsJustAPlant.
Lillibet. Nice, I'm glad you got a good laugh out of that. That's ok, it gets funnier.
I had no idea who Boris Johnson was who, come to find out, was born in New York City, until last time we got here in 2018. About the same time I found out who Donald trump and Nancy Palosi were. I care less than this about Americans on pedestals, I definitely don't care about oligarchs or monarchs.
I probably shouldn't say that here, huh?
England meet-up things you'll wanna follow Shanibeer, LivingUKTaiwan, StevenWood and PlanetAuto. That's a good start.
Fab! thanks for the peeps names... I am following LivingUkTaiwan already... have added the others! Lol I don't mind people smoking Zol haha...it just was pretty overwhelming on the boardwalks of Venice Beach... 🤣