I’m pretty sure that the US spouses of UK citizens have pretty lenient requirements for UK residency.
Ugh, the UK - rainy cloudy days would kill me. There isn't enough coffee in an entire Starbucks store to get me through the day. I'd love to visit though!
Hmm, there is a Visa option for US citizens who's grandparents are from the UK; which my maternal grandparents are.
Hmm, there is a Visa option for US citizens who's grandparents are from the UK; which my maternal grandparents are.
DigDog
Lifer
- Jun 3, 2011
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Visa requirements in the UK broadly fall into 2 groups; group A where you are basically guaranteed to get permanent residence, short of going to afghanistan to kill british troops for the taliban, and group B, that you better be a millionaire to have a chance.
If you have *some* relation to a UK citizen, you are in group A.
Jokes aside, it's not terribly difficult to immigrate to the UK, but i cringe every time i read something like this on social media, because it tends to come mostly from those people who can't find new zealand on a map, or can't do fractions, you know? Like Bill Maher says, i dont know it for a fact, i just know it's true, that 90% of people who say "i will move to X country" think they are just gonna buy an airplane ticket and that's it, they now live in another country.
edit: apparently, there's a subreddit for that https://www.reddit.com/r/ukvisa/
If you have *some* relation to a UK citizen, you are in group A.
Jokes aside, it's not terribly difficult to immigrate to the UK, but i cringe every time i read something like this on social media, because it tends to come mostly from those people who can't find new zealand on a map, or can't do fractions, you know? Like Bill Maher says, i dont know it for a fact, i just know it's true, that 90% of people who say "i will move to X country" think they are just gonna buy an airplane ticket and that's it, they now live in another country.
edit: apparently, there's a subreddit for that https://www.reddit.com/r/ukvisa/
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MrSquished
Lifer
- Jan 14, 2013
- 26,067
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It's frustrating, i have EU citizenship, and so does my family. But what the hell am I going to do there. You'd have to have specific corporate role in a certain corporation to transfer you somewhere without speaking their language. Otherwise it's really hard to get going. Most of my work experience is hyperlocal.
I mean it's a dream to leave this country when it all goes to shit in four or five years but it's really difficult.
My sister's friend has roots in the Caribbean and she's willing to relocate her family there. My sister even though she has EU citizenship is more thinking Costa Rica. Sell everything here and purchase some property there like a farm. Obviously has to do more research on that but they have the intelligence, my brother-in-law is a scientist and they are very nature type people. But I don't want to live there for years especially without a long-term partner.
So I'm shit out of luck. I love New York City in this area so I'm going to enjoy it while it lasts and my family is close by.
But yeah moving overseas isn't just easy. In most European countries you need to know the language and same with Central and South America.
I mean it's a dream to leave this country when it all goes to shit in four or five years but it's really difficult.
My sister's friend has roots in the Caribbean and she's willing to relocate her family there. My sister even though she has EU citizenship is more thinking Costa Rica. Sell everything here and purchase some property there like a farm. Obviously has to do more research on that but they have the intelligence, my brother-in-law is a scientist and they are very nature type people. But I don't want to live there for years especially without a long-term partner.
So I'm shit out of luck. I love New York City in this area so I'm going to enjoy it while it lasts and my family is close by.
But yeah moving overseas isn't just easy. In most European countries you need to know the language and same with Central and South America.
We are actually serious and looked into it a while back. My spouse is a British citizen so she can legally move back any time and us along with her. Of course, it will take some time to get things in order and I wasn't expecting it would just happen overnight. UK is an obvious choice for us because she has family there.
That does seem to be the historical pattern.
Staying on-topic, though, Johnson seems to be getting close to being dislodged. That his main contender for the job has now quit the cabinet is very significant.
Funny that it seems they might get round the rule forbidding another non-confidence vote by just changing the rules.
He really clings on like a limpet, though. They'll have to pry his fingers from the doorframe of Number Ten. Stupid thing is he shows little sign of having any particular thing he actually wants to _do_ as PM. Seems quite different from Thatcher in that respect.
mikeymikec
Lifer
- May 19, 2011
- 21,019
- 16,269
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He's a Trump-lite. The 1922 committee will likely put the ultimatum to him that they'll change the rules for another vote or he goes first. To him that's probably worth the gamble since the conservative party usually needs a cult leader and without one they flounder, and the tories know that.
DigDog
Lifer
- Jun 3, 2011
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i disagree. Like, really, more than disagreeing i have to hug you and shake my head with a long, friendly (but condescending) nooooo.
Boris was educated at Eaton.
Boris is actually smart.
mikeymikec
Lifer
- May 19, 2011
- 21,019
- 16,269
- 136
"Educated at Eton" does not mean "smart", it means his parents had lotsa money and sent their boy somewhere that exchanges money for 'CV bling' (and in some cases an education).
I'd say Boris is "smart" compared to Trump, but frankly so is almost everyone on this forum relative to Trump.
I'd be very surprised if you managed to managed to find anything that strongly suggests that Boris is remarkably intelligent.
As far as I'm aware he's an entitled moron with a nobby background who blathers and blusters in a way that to some appears as intelligent conversation, and to appeal to the unintelligent he has a moron's haircut and says non-PC things so *clearly* he isn't a typical nobby career politician.
the london economic said:
1982 of course was a long time ago, and people do change, and Boris shows how much he's changed when after lying on the record to parliament and being fined by the police for multiple breaches of pandemic laws regarding the same event, he proceeded to rewrite the ministerial code to remove all references to honesty, integrity, transparency and accountability.
What kind of smart person thinks they can be leader of a country and then be involved in multiple booze-ups that tonnes of people went to, contrary to the rules they set up, and then think they can lie about it and it would just "blow over"? Of course it suggests a lack of personal scruples and principles, which a smart person can also lack, but a smart person would surely do something worthwhile in exchange for such risk. Instead, Boris had multiple booze-ups. Ignoring for a moment the pandemic and the importance of the lockdown laws, it's like getting caught photocopying your arse on the Parliament photocopier and still claiming it never happened.
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DigDog
Lifer
- Jun 3, 2011
- 14,650
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I gotta tell you, it's taken me some courage to write this, because i reeeally dont feel like defending BJ. But here we are.
1. i absolutely do believe that BJ is a smart person.
I'm not calling him honest, or moral, or any other good quality we normally would attach to the idea of a smart statesman, but he is an intelligent man.
It was explained to me that the hair, is a tactic.
Bojo wants to get away from THIS
among modern conservatives, he is one that most harks back to old'england, where Class was an insurmountable barrier.
2. BoJo passed a Vote of No Confidence: https://www.theguardian.com/politic...nce-vote-despite-unexpectedly-large-rebellion
that's it. There is NO arguing with this.
See, in GBR, there is a tradition of PMs stepping down once your own appointed ministers resign. But, it's a tradition, there's no rule attached to it. The only way that you can be removed as a PM is via a no conf; you can be impeached or otherwise arrested, a thing which has never happened in the UK https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Impeachment_in_the_United_Kingdom
The reason .. follow me on this one ..
The reason why BoJo did not lose the vote of no confidence, is because BoJo is doing an EXCELLENT job as Prime Minister.
george_carlin.gif
Now, you and me have a different idea of what a PM's job is, from, say, the people who support Boris Johnson.
3. BoJo makes money for those who control the UK.
you cannot argue with the blingblings, and bojo has managed to keep the country afloat and has managed to keep the corruption going through the world's worst pandemic of the last 100 years, WITHOUT raising the wages of the NHS staff, WITHOUT passing WFH regulations, without impacting the servitude of the populace.
this is worth a lot to the government, not as an entity, but as a collection of people who have other invested interests.
Partygate and all that bullshit means nothing. Lying to Parliament means nothing, it's almost a tradition.
Lying to the Queen is far, far more serious, we're talking a world of difference, and he survived even that. Despite people's misconception that the royal family "serves a ceremonial role", the truth is that the Queen IS THE GOVERNMENT and she can dismiss the PM "at her pleasure"; the UK government is "The Queen's government" which means they are basically hired to do a job, and the crown could, in theory, dismiss Parliament and resume direct rule.
You don't survive lying to the queen unless you are really fucking good.
he might be good at staying in office but his tenure as far as leading the country has been a catastrophe.I gotta tell you, it's taken me some courage to write this, because i reeeally dont feel like defending BJ. But here we are.
1. i absolutely do believe that BJ is a smart person.
I'm not calling him honest, or moral, or any other good quality we normally would attach to the idea of a smart statesman, but he is an intelligent man.
It was explained to me that the hair, is a tactic.
Bojo wants to get away from THIS
among modern conservatives, he is one that most harks back to old'england, where Class was an insurmountable barrier.
2. BoJo passed a Vote of No Confidence: https://www.theguardian.com/politic...nce-vote-despite-unexpectedly-large-rebellion
that's it. There is NO arguing with this.
See, in GBR, there is a tradition of PMs stepping down once your own appointed ministers resign. But, it's a tradition, there's no rule attached to it. The only way that you can be removed as a PM is via a no conf; you can be impeached or otherwise arrested, a thing which has never happened in the UK https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Impeachment_in_the_United_Kingdom
The reason .. follow me on this one ..
The reason why BoJo did not lose the vote of no confidence, is because BoJo is doing an EXCELLENT job as Prime Minister.
george_carlin.gif
Now, you and me have a different idea of what a PM's job is, from, say, the people who support Boris Johnson.
3. BoJo makes money for those who control the UK.
you cannot argue with the blingblings, and bojo has managed to keep the country afloat and has managed to keep the corruption going through the world's worst pandemic of the last 100 years, WITHOUT raising the wages of the NHS staff, WITHOUT passing WFH regulations, without impacting the servitude of the populace.
this is worth a lot to the government, not as an entity, but as a collection of people who have other invested interests.
Partygate and all that bullshit means nothing. Lying to Parliament means nothing, it's almost a tradition.
Lying to the Queen is far, far more serious, we're talking a world of difference, and he survived even that. Despite people's misconception that the royal family "serves a ceremonial role", the truth is that the Queen IS THE GOVERNMENT and she can dismiss the PM "at her pleasure"; the UK government is "The Queen's government" which means they are basically hired to do a job, and the crown could, in theory, dismiss Parliament and resume direct rule.
You don't survive lying to the queen unless you are really fucking good.
DigDog
Lifer
- Jun 3, 2011
- 14,650
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Don't be too sure about him surviving that vote. They are already working on changing the rules to allow a second attempt at it.
And whether he resigns or not, presiding over a government in chaos, with multiple empty ministerial posts, is not a recipe for winning elections. I'd rather he didn't resign and just carried on like this - that will ensure a massacre of Tory seats at the next general election.
Asking whether he's "smart" or not just demonstrates the lack of substantive meaning in terms like 'smart' or 'clever'. I am not sure those words actually mean anything. Who cares, really? He's articulate and is a perfect exemplar of the public-school talent for blustering and 'winging it' and getting through things by means of bluffing and sheer self-confidence. Plus he has the 'luck' that usually goes with privilege.
He approaches every task with an "essay crisis" attitude - cobbling something together at the last moment and expecting to get away with it.
(All I would say is I don't think he's _quite_ as psychologically-damaged as Trump is.)
And whether he resigns or not, presiding over a government in chaos, with multiple empty ministerial posts, is not a recipe for winning elections. I'd rather he didn't resign and just carried on like this - that will ensure a massacre of Tory seats at the next general election.
Asking whether he's "smart" or not just demonstrates the lack of substantive meaning in terms like 'smart' or 'clever'. I am not sure those words actually mean anything. Who cares, really? He's articulate and is a perfect exemplar of the public-school talent for blustering and 'winging it' and getting through things by means of bluffing and sheer self-confidence. Plus he has the 'luck' that usually goes with privilege.
He approaches every task with an "essay crisis" attitude - cobbling something together at the last moment and expecting to get away with it.
(All I would say is I don't think he's _quite_ as psychologically-damaged as Trump is.)
Do you think the UK is a better or worse place since he got involved in your national politics? Seems a lot worse to me as an outsider.
It’s interesting. His party is clearly telling him GTFO but he’s trying the trump move of just brazening your way through.
DigDog
Lifer
- Jun 3, 2011
- 14,650
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i see little to no change.
1. i can only report on what i experience personally; others may have other experiences, but even then you cannot tell one is more relevant over the other. Statistics indicate that, we are pretty much on the same slope we've been for the past 15 years.
This leads me to believe that BoJo was neither effective nor detrimental to the UK
2. i cannot really say what Brexit has done for the UK.
the shipping issues were temporary and they really only caused problems to logistics companies. there's no visible change at the supermarket.
i cannot really say if there is now more demand for language-based skills, as there should be, but the difference is not visible. in *theory*, we should have less competition now that immigration is more difficult, but again we are talking about statistical differences which are not felt day by day.
3. the value of the currency i get paid on is based on stats which the common man will never see.
the UK is still the N1 country in the world for financial piracy. Barclays and HSBC will happily help you hide your wealth, we're a heaven for tax dodgers, there is even a law that says any UK resident can simply decide to NOT pay taxes, and it's, like, legal.
also, 3b. we are politically stable and non-interventionists
which makes the UK even more investor friendly, props our currency, and invites long-term investment.
i suspect that there is some interest in painting BoJo as a quasi-Trump, mostly to be able to say "see, every country has a Trump, he's not THAT bad".
Johnson is not Berlusconi (a known mafia associate and the historical receiver of the single most corrupt political movement to have ever existed in italy), he's no Erdogan, and he sure as fuck ain't no Trump.
I would say he's better than Brown, who was completely clueless as to how the UK operates as a european power.
having said that, i don't really care if they throw him out, but i can't see really who could possibly take his place.
Does this make you reconsider? Brexit was an almost comically bad idea. Still amazed a country was so stupid as to do this.
DigDog
Lifer
- Jun 3, 2011
- 14,650
- 3,010
- 136
no, it doesn't.
I absolutely agree with your definition of "comically bad" idea, but the losses due to Brexit were, so to speak, more "Quality Of Life" than anything.
Some exporters have had their life complicated; almost all have had their profits reduced.
None have been bankrupted.
Prices for the typical consumer have remained the same. There have been SOME bumps, but nothing that we've not had before Brexit.
The real issue with brexit is that, there have been .. let me do the math ... ZERO advantages.
But, this isn't the first time something stupid has been used as a political platform. The very vote for the independence of Scotland, that i would support today (they want to join the EU), was a soapbox when it was originally launched, and i opposed it back then.
I cannot really speak for the statistical analysis of what a yearly cost to an average family is, but, i remember when Italy first adopted the Euro, we had overnight poverty. i remember the 2007 housing crash, the icelandic bank crash, people were losing jobs left and right; *I* lost a job because of it. I remember the wage stagnation of the early 2000 in Italy, where people couldn't feed themselves with full-time jobs. Brexit has done none of those things.
My take of BoJo is that he is inoffensive, as a PM. He's doing what every PM has been doing before him,
1. making sure the rich stay rich,
2. making sure the UK maintains a permanent state of antagonism with everyone, including his allies
3. try to dominate global economics and try to manipulate the EU market
to quote someone who knows more than we do,
I don't have a clear picture of what the effects of Brexit have been. Economically there's so much noise, with the pandemic and the Ukraine war, that it's hard to tell. Certainly doesn't seem that anything good has come of it, and it seems to have created a huge mess with respect to Northern Ireland (though maybe that was always unfinished business anyway, just kept in a relatively-painlesss kind of stasis as long as we were all in the EU - like freezing someone in a cryogenic chamber till a cure for their terminal illness can be found.)
But I'm not sure exactly how much economic harm it's caused either. Probably has done, but there are so many other things going on it's hard to quantify.
What I mostly see is that the UK state is almost non-functional. No part of it is currently working properly (particularly the NHS, but everything else as well, from the passport office to the DVLC to the DWP and the Home Office and the Court system and the prisons - everything is in crisis with huge backlogs). And the economy is also in a mess.
That seems to be due to some combo of the pandemic, Cameron/Clegg's austerity, the Ukraine war, and Brexit. Much of the blame for that lies with Boris's predecessors - Cameron and Clegg (the Lib Dems should never, ever be forgiven their part in austerity - for one thing it helped bring Brexit about - parts of the country that were hardest hit by austerity are the same areas that then voted Brexit - so the Lib Dems have a bit of a nerve blaming everybody else for the outcome of the policies they facilitated).
But Johnson's administration seems to be mostly characterised by paralysis and inertia. It seems as if he's not very interested in actually governing, it seems to bore him, he just likes the title and the trappings of office.
They certainly didn't put up a particularly impressive performance in the pandemic, with their constant impulse to open everything up to keep the money flowing in for the rent-seekers and owners of capital (just how crazy was that "eat out to help out" scheme?), plus the utter carelessness over awarding PPE contracts to their mates and handing out taxpayers' cash to gangs of criminal fraudsters. The only thing that gets them, slightly, off that hook is that so many other countries made a mess of it as well.
But I'm not sure exactly how much economic harm it's caused either. Probably has done, but there are so many other things going on it's hard to quantify.
What I mostly see is that the UK state is almost non-functional. No part of it is currently working properly (particularly the NHS, but everything else as well, from the passport office to the DVLC to the DWP and the Home Office and the Court system and the prisons - everything is in crisis with huge backlogs). And the economy is also in a mess.
That seems to be due to some combo of the pandemic, Cameron/Clegg's austerity, the Ukraine war, and Brexit. Much of the blame for that lies with Boris's predecessors - Cameron and Clegg (the Lib Dems should never, ever be forgiven their part in austerity - for one thing it helped bring Brexit about - parts of the country that were hardest hit by austerity are the same areas that then voted Brexit - so the Lib Dems have a bit of a nerve blaming everybody else for the outcome of the policies they facilitated).
But Johnson's administration seems to be mostly characterised by paralysis and inertia. It seems as if he's not very interested in actually governing, it seems to bore him, he just likes the title and the trappings of office.
They certainly didn't put up a particularly impressive performance in the pandemic, with their constant impulse to open everything up to keep the money flowing in for the rent-seekers and owners of capital (just how crazy was that "eat out to help out" scheme?), plus the utter carelessness over awarding PPE contracts to their mates and handing out taxpayers' cash to gangs of criminal fraudsters. The only thing that gets them, slightly, off that hook is that so many other countries made a mess of it as well.
The conservative media hasn't attacked him much. The Express - as befits a paper aimed almost entirely at northern pensioners - is still supporting him. Some of the rest seem to regard him as not reliably right-wing enough. He doesn't seem very strongly ideological, I think all he really cares about is the image and income of Boris Johnson. And winning the 'game' against his former Bullingdon pals.
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