Before you permanently move to the US

[rocks 494]

correct - its the calculated excess plus the base amount of 18,600

Have to sell a few 'big issues' to raise that - or a kidney

That's a lot of curry but I reckon the regs will be circumnavigated by those motivated to do so - and who have semi-literate victims to exploit

Trapping people into these debt circumstances promotes human trafficking

I have studied these rules but I haven't paid very close attention to breaking down the figures. What made them come to the conclusion that we need 18,600*2.5 + 16,000? If the amount you need to earn per year is 18,600, surely all you should need is 37,200 for any size family? Where does this additional 16,000 come in to it?

[Captain Oates 910]

I have studied these rules but I haven't paid very close attention to breaking down the figures. What made them come to the conclusion that we need 18,600*2.5 + 16,000? If the amount you need to earn per year is 18,600, surely all you should need is 37,200 for any size family? Where does this additional 16,000 come in to it?

The gov moves in mysterious ways

Perhaps they just tacked it on gratuitously

My mother used to give me a final slap "for next time"

[rocks 494]

The gov moves in mysterious ways

Perhaps they just tacked it on gratuitously

My mother used to give me a final slap "for next time"

That is as good as any other excuse. Just wanted to check I wasn't missing something or being stupid.

Perhaps I will get my dad to ask that question to his local Tory MP.

[Rebecca Jo 1,962]

The figure comes from the benefit system.

If a UK citizen has £16K in savings, that eliminates them from a couple of goodie benefits. Housing Benefit and Income Support, I think.

So that's where £16K comes from.

The multiplication of 2.5 comes from the 2.5 years until the non-EU citizen would file for their second leave to remain. The theory being that you are a lazy scrounger who has no intention of seeking a job in the UK and have only immigrated for the benefits. Your wad o'cash in the bank will prevent you from drawing benefits.

There's a couple of things wrong with this, not the least of which is the nonsensical notion that someone with that kind of money is LAZY. It's also NOT like beneifts for the normal UK family, because the £16K alone would stop benefits.

But wait, it gets stupider because they expect you to show them the money three times. Once when you enter; at 2.5 years when you file for Further Leave to Remain; and at 5 years when you file for Indefinate Leave to Remain.

Any shortfall from the $18600 annual income requires a savings "take up". The base will always be $16K plus 2.5 times the shortfall.

Think of it as quals for the I-864 (but at 2.5 times income shortfall instead of three) with a £16K layer on top.

[rocks 494]

The figure comes from the benefit system.

If a UK citizen has £16K in savings, that eliminates them from a couple of goodie benefits. Housing Benefit and Income Support, I think.

So that's where £16K comes from.

The multiplication of 2.5 comes from the 2.5 years until the non-EU citizen would file for their second leave to remain. The theory being that you are a lazy scrounger who has no intention of seeking a job in the UK and have only immigrated for the benefits. Your wad o'cash in the bank will prevent you from drawing benefits.

There's a couple of things wrong with this, not the least of which is the nonsensical notion that someone with that kind of money is LAZY. It's also NOT like beneifts for the normal UK family, because the £16K alone would stop benefits.

But wait, it gets stupider because they expect you to show them the money three times. Once when you enter; at 2.5 years when you file for Further Leave to Remain; and at 5 years when you file for Indefinate Leave to Remain.

Any shortfall from the $18600 annual income requires a savings "take up". The base will always be $16K plus 2.5 times the shortfall.

Think of it as quals for the I-864 (but at 2.5 times income shortfall instead of three) with a £16K layer on top.

The fact that they need to see the money three times is where I saw a problem. You have to have huge savings and not spend any of them for the first 27 months. If I remember correctly the amount needed for ILR is lower than FLR, somewhere around 35,000. Somehow you have to move to a country, find somewhere to live, buy a car etc and not spend anything for 2.5 years, but then after that it is OK if you have spent some of your savings?

[Captain Oates 910]

The figure comes from the benefit system.

If a UK citizen has £16K in savings, that eliminates them from a couple of goodie benefits. Housing Benefit and Income Support, I think.

So that's where £16K comes from.

The multiplication of 2.5 comes from the 2.5 years until the non-EU citizen would file for their second leave to remain. The theory being that you are a lazy scrounger who has no intention of seeking a job in the UK and have only immigrated for the benefits. Your wad o'cash in the bank will prevent you from drawing benefits.

There's a couple of things wrong with this, not the least of which is the nonsensical notion that someone with that kind of money is LAZY. It's also NOT like beneifts for the normal UK family, because the £16K alone would stop benefits.

But wait, it gets stupider because they expect you to show them the money three times. Once when you enter; at 2.5 years when you file for Further Leave to Remain; and at 5 years when you file for Indefinate Leave to Remain.

Any shortfall from the $18600 annual income requires a savings "take up". The base will always be $16K plus 2.5 times the shortfall.

Think of it as quals for the I-864 (but at 2.5 times income shortfall instead of three) with a £16K layer on top.

Definitely a tall order for the kind of people who are young and would be a benefit to the UK economy. It is more defensive and aimed at benefits rather than UK growth promoting

Yet it is no hurdle for gimmers of my ilk. I have 3 private pensions in payment guaranteed 100% by the UK government, and the lowest is more than 18,600. Also I have quite a wad which would easily reach the line. Yes, I can spend into the economy and no I wont be claiming benefits, but the country doesn't need older people who are not working, and when I die, my yankee wife will hoof it back to the US and spend my wad there, so they aren't going to get rich on my spending!

That, plus the ease with which determined immigrants from close knit communities who work together (you know the ones) will get past this using shady agents, while young valuable 1st world candidates from the US/Australia/NZ/Canada etc etc will be excluded

Conservatives always pander to people like me who can flash their check book and go round it. That's no good and they need to be cleverer and fairer and try and imagine what being human feels like.

[Trompe le Monde 1,107]

This is an interesting article on another element here that is part of the immigration overhaul

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2012/jul/01/uk-migrants-patriotic-citizenship-test?commentpage=2#start-of-comments

Although the Knowledge of Life in the UK test has been in place for some time they seem to want to overhaul it into a history test. I've taken a sample test online and I doubt many natives would do very well on it.

Anyway, this comment was interesting on that article

My wife of six years, the mother of our British Citizen three year-old daughter and step-mother to my British fifteen year-old son, failed her first Citizenship test two years ago by one question. One of the questions she didn't know the answer to was 'How many members are there of the Welsh Assembly. Her failure might have been down to us being overworked parents running a business in which she was a full partner, employing British people and paying British tax.

This might seem humorous to some of my band-wagon-jumping compatriots but let me explain the consequence. Because she couldn't secure another test appointment before her visa expired, she could not apply for her Indefinite Leave to Remain Visa. When I called the Home Office to ask if she could apply for her visa a week later, when she would have hopefully passed her Citizenship Test, I was told that she must spend over £600 on another temporary visa instead or face deportation. When I challenged the Officer and said that my wife could not be deported because she was breast-feeding my daughter who was a British Citizen who could not be deported with her mother, I was told 'Whether or not your wife takes your daughter back with her would be up to her.'

Makes you proud to be British doesn't it?

[Trompe le Monde 1,107]

There's lots of interesting/funny comments on that article. This is one of my favorites.

Then I had to learn the first verse of God Save the Queen, because I was supposed to sing it when I went to take my oath of allegiance. I looked it up on YouTube, where the first few entries are all the Sex Pistols version - I wonder if anyone ever gets confused and learns that.

I didn't know that I had to learn only the first verse, so I learned the whole thing including the bit about scattering enemies and confounding their politics and sod them and their knavish tricks, which I assumed referred to the French given your history, but Wikipedia says it's probably about the Gunpowder Plot. Anyway, you don't have to sing that, which is a shame because it's a badass vers

[rocks 494]

There's lots of interesting/funny comments on that article. This is one of my favorites.

Then I had to learn the first verse of God Save the Queen, because I was supposed to sing it when I went to take my oath of allegiance. I looked it up on YouTube, where the first few entries are all the Sex Pistols version - I wonder if anyone ever gets confused and learns that.

That would be hilarious.

Does anyone here know God Save the Queen? I know I don't!

[Captain Oates 910]

There's lots of interesting/funny comments on that article. This is one of my favorites.

Then I had to learn the first verse of God Save the Queen, because I was supposed to sing it when I went to take my oath of allegiance. I looked it up on YouTube, where the first few entries are all the Sex Pistols version - I wonder if anyone ever gets confused and learns that.

I didn't know that I had to learn only the first verse, so I learned the whole thing including the bit about scattering enemies and confounding their politics and sod them and their knavish tricks, which I assumed referred to the French given your history, but Wikipedia says it's probably about the Gunpowder Plot. Anyway, you don't have to sing that, which is a shame because it's a badass vers

"and her fascist regime" excellent choice !

The whole deal appears to be a blocking tactic and I am just surprised they don't require you to sing the national anthem backward and in Welsh while performing a morris dance while dressed in mummers costume

[Trompe le Monde 1,107]

Considering you need to know how many people are in the Welsh Assembly to be considered integrated into British society that's not so far fetched

[Captain Oates 910]

Considering you need to know how many people are in the Welsh Assembly to be considered integrated into British society that's not so far fetched

...and what kind of shellfish, the fishermen of the Island of Mull prefer to eat

..and what percentage of East Yorkshire people have red hair

I mean - don't people know anything about the UK - it's not a very big place so what's the problem ?

[Trompe le Monde 1,107]

Some of the sample questions I have seen is what is the percentage of the population that are muslim and how many people are under the age of 18.....which really isn't different from what percentage of people in Yorkshire have red hair.

[Captain Oates 910]

Some of the sample questions I have seen is what is the percentage of the population that are muslim and how many people are under the age of 18.....which really isn't different from what percentage of people in Yorkshire have red hair.

Not much red hair in Yorkshire nowadays...

[Boiler 44,862]

Isn't that the truth.

Ex Doncaster.