Comment by peterburkimsher | Hacker News Reader

Comment by peterburkimsher | Hacker News Reader

Parent Full thread

peterburkimsher

Immigration policies already set a very high barrier to entry, especially considering that 20% of the US population is functionally illiterate [1].

Immigration is the only hope for me to ever have a family. I was born in Switzerland to British parents who lived in France (in Geneva this is not unusual). Because I'm a citizen by descent, I can't pass on nationality to future children. My girlfriend is Taiwanese, and I'm a conscientious objector who will not take on Taiwanese nationality because of their mandatory conscription.

My life plan revolves around immigration visa requirements. I studied Electronic Systems Engineering at Lancaster University in the UK. That got me a Masters degree from a Washington Accord accredited university, in an English-speaking country (language requirements), in a STEM field (usually on the skill shortage list). Then I used Working Holiday visas to get experience in many countries, before deciding to stay in Taiwan for 4 years to get years of continuous relevant work experience.

Now I have the pre-requisites, I'm trying to find a job, but the majority of job listings require me to already have a visa.

Any leads for jobs would be helpful. I was focusing on New Zealand, Canada, or Australia, but by now I'm getting desperate and I'll take anything.

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Functional_illiteracy

Can someone who understands the mechanics of this ELI5 how this works?

so the parent is a UK citizen but can't pass his citizenship on to his children? And his future wife is a taiwanese citizeen, but because he would have to enlist in the taiwanese army to become a citizen, they cannot raise their family there? Can someone flesh out the details for the clueless and unworldly like myself?

What part do each of these things play in the parent posters predicament vis a vis starting a family:

a) Being born in Switzerland b) Parents being British c) Parents being French residents d) Girlfriend being Taiwanese e) Mandatory Taiwanese Conscription Laws

What UK law prevents parent from marrying his GF and raise his children in the UK? Why can't he live in Taiwan as an expat and not join the army?

> What UK law prevents parent from marrying his GF and raise his children in the UK?

It is very difficult to immigrate into the UK. This is because fucking idiot racists appear to be influential in the polls, and governments keep tightening the requirements to appease the racists.

OP is a British citizen. OP is a British citizen by descent, which means their children are not automatically British citizens. OP's future wife is not a British citizen.

If OP wishes to move his wife and children here for more than 6 months they need a family visa. https://www.gov.uk/uk-family-visa

The family visa has minimum income requirements. https://www.gov.uk/uk-family-visa/proof-income

For the spouse you need a combined income of £18,600. If you already have children you need an additional £3,800 for the first child, and £2,400 for each additional children.

The rules for who is or isn't a UK citizen are quite complicated. Being born in the UK is neither required nor sufficient to get citizenship. If British parents give birth abroad their child will be British by descent. That child's children will be British if born in the UK, but not if born outside the UK.

My girlfriend does not already earn £18,600 and we haven't been living together for a year. Therefore I can't sponsor her to go to the UK.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/139807999382936/

The APRC offered to foreign residents of Taiwan expires if I move overseas for more than 2 years. So it's not really permanent e.g. if I moved to another country to look after ageing parents, I could never go back. The only "permanent" status is citizenship, and Taiwan requires foreigners to forfeit their previous citizenships to naturalise. It's not only the military issue.

> I was focusing on New Zealand, Canada, or Australia

You should look into this for Canada and Australia. You don't need a job to apply for these if you meet the criteria:

https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/se...

https://www.immigrationdirect.com.au/work-visa/skilled-indep...

New Zealand's Skilled Migrant Category, Canada's Express Entry, and Australia's 186 & 187 visas are the focus of my hopes right now. Requirements are similar.

Even if I get an independent visa, I still need a job to pay for food and shelter. My current savings would only last about 2 months, far too short for the 5 years of residency to get citizenship there.

> My current savings would only last about 2 months, far too short for the 5 years of residency to get citizenship there.

Right, but this will help you get there legally first, which gets you through the first hurdle. Then you obviously need to find a job there.

During my travels I visited Japan for 2 months and the Netherlands for 1 month, moving there before finding a job.

It was an expensive mistake. Being physically present didn't help me at all, and companies still ignored my emails. Meanwhile I was busy trying to figure out how to eat, where to go to church, where to buy a bicycle, etc. so I had less available time to apply for jobs. Don't move before getting a job offer.

If you work in software (not clear from your post) you should be able to easily find a job in the UK. Companies will usually take care of VISA sponsorship.

Otherwise, France now has a new VISA policy for talented engineers and similar profiles ("Passeport Talent"[0]).

[0] https://france-visas.gouv.fr/web/france-visas/passeport-tale...

Yes, I work in software (industrial control systems and network admin). For now I could work in France while the UK is in the EU, but I would need that visa after it leaves.

Have you considered living an another EU country? The Netherlands for example is very easy to live and work in as an English speaker and the language is not too difficult. Ireland is also English speaking.

By living in an EU country with you, your girlfriend should not have any visa problems.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com