It’s finally happened—I’ve emigrated to England! Find out more about what it’s been like to move to the United Kingdom and live abroad. In this blog series, I share what prompted the transition here, getting married in the UK, everything I’ve learned about the immigration and spousal visa application process, how the United Kingdom is different than the United States and my plans for the next few years.

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After twenty-something years of growing up and living in Minnesota, and then multiple years of traveling, I’ve finally settled down in England with the wanderful husband, aka Dan!

Truth be told, I’ve been here for a few years now but life has just been so busy that I haven’t had the opportunity to share this experience with you!

Not to mention, the immigration process to get from the United States to the United Kingdom is truly harrowing, stressful and costly. (I wouldn’t wish it on my worst enemy… not that I have any.) So that’s fun.

But I digress… moving and living in the UK as an American has been a dream. For real, I’ve been dreaming of living in Europe since I was a teen—ever since I visited Germany, Austria and Switzerland for the first time in 2015.

The best part, though? Being in the same country as my partner.

For four years, we did long distance, only seeing each other for a few months at a time and then spending several months apart. Those who have done long distance know how just incredibly hard this can be. Especially during the pandemic, which was already a tough time in itself.

But, fortunately, Dan and I made it through that horrific time period and came out on the other end married and living together in the UK. Let’s dive into what that journey has looked like.

Why Did I Move to the UK as an American?

Dan, my lovely, amazing and wonderful husband, was the catalyst for my big move to the UK as an American. It’s a pretty interesting love story, if I do say so myself.

Let’s go all the way back to 2017—I’d just graduated from the University of North Dakota, Business degree in hand, and I’m BORED. So bored. I feel stuck, depressed and unhappy with where I’m at in life.

So, what do I do? Go traveling, of course. I booked a one-way ticket to Bali, Indonesia, for a solo backpacking trip across Southeast Asia.

This trip was the start of an amazing journey through Indonesia, Thailand, Laos and Vietnam. I experienced incredible things and met phenomenal people, including my now husband, Dan!

The two of us met on the street of a small island in Thailand called Koh Phi Phi. Though it wasn’t love at first sight, there was an instant connection. (For the first day, I actually though his name was “Donny” because of his British accent. LOL.)

That instant connection spurred us to spend the next 1.5 months together, backpacking around Southeast Asia and experiencing incredible things.

After that time, he needed to go back to the UK for work. I continued onto Vietnam, where I then spent a month with other people we’d met on our travels.

As you can imagine, I missed him like crazy. So, further perpetuating my reputation of being spontaneous and unpredictable, I bought a one-way ticket to London to meet up with him. This worked out great, as it gave me an opportunity to explore what is now my home!

For the next 2.5 months, myself—along with Dan and some others, including one of my cousins from Minnesota—explored Pembrokeshire in Wales, the Scottish Highlands, various parts of North Wales, the vibrant city of London and so much more.

Between that time period and when we got married, Dan and I spent much of our relationship apart. Long distance is definitely not for the faint of heart. But it was all worth it, as over the years, we’ve created a relationship built on trust, exploration and loyalty.

With that background out of the way, let’s get to the fun part—getting married in Wales!

Getting Married in Wales, UK (Cymru) 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿

The first step towards getting my UK spousal visa was getting married. While it’s FAR easier and cheaper getting married in the United States (seriously, my friend did it with her British husband and it cost like $50 and took around 15 minutes), we chose to get married in Wales.

This was so his family could attend and my family could make a trip out of the event. It was perfect. My family flew to London and we spent three days exploring the capital city, two days wandering about York, a few days checking out my home city of Chester, and a couple days visiting the gorgeous coastal town of Caernarfon in North Wales.

In between all of those things, they also attended mine and Dan’s wedding in the small Welsh village of Gwytherin. Specifically at The Gwenfrewi Project, which was formerly St. Winifred’s Church but has now been deconsecrated and transformed into a magical wedding venue!

It was the perfect place to tie the knot.

Getting a Marriage Visitor Visa

In preparation for our wedding, I had to get a “Marriage Visitor Visa” for the UK. Though there is a visa route for fiancées, the MVV route was better for our circumstances, as I needed to work while my visa was processing and it’s illegal to work in the UK while on a fiancé visa.

A Marriage Visitor Visa for the UK costs £115 to apply. This ensures you are able to give notice of a marriage in the UK and apply for a marriage license. My MVV was approved within a few weeks by UK Visas and Immigration.

With that approval out of the way, it was time to get married! Because we knew we’d be going this route, we planned the wedding months beforehand, securing a venue, photographer (Claire Penn)and room at a small restaurant for our wedding dinner.

The day of our wedding went perfectly, aside from the weather—it was storming like crazy in North Wales!

But this only added to the fun, as we took our wedding photos in Snowdonia (Eryri) National Park in what seemed like the storm of the century. (It was so windy our umbrella broke!)

Once we were officially married, it was time for me to head back to Minnesota in the United States! Because I got married in the UK on a Marriage Visitor Visa and not a Fiancé Visa, I was required to go back to the States and apply for my Spousal Visa from there.

Next up in this series? Part 2: Obtaining a Spousal Visa to Live in the UK as an American! (That’ll be published soon!)

Have questions about getting married in the UK or applying for a Marriage Visitor Visa? Ask away in the comments below!

Sophie xx

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