EU husband/US spouse move to Scotland to live and work?
June 8, 2016 12:39 AM   Subscribe

If hubby is successful with Italian citizenship, is he allowed to live and work in Scotland as a member of the EU? Can I live with him in Scotland, and work there as his US citizen spouse?

My hubby and I currently live in the US and are US citizens. But we'd like to move to Scotland in about 4-7 years. Hubby is working on obtaining Italian citizenship - we expect it to be a lengthy process of obtaining and translating old records. (Hubby's father was born in US to a couple who had not yet denounced their Italian citizenship at the time of the birth.)

(Let's pretend that either Brexit didn't happen, or it happened and Scotland followed by voting for independence and stayed in the EU.)

He has a daughter who also has her sights set on Scotland - she's in high school now but hopes to attend undergrad there.

Probably irrelevant, but we both have graduate degrees (PhD and MSEd) and work in govt contracts/grants worlds. One in education and one in health care research, at the level of program management.

If hubby is successful with Italian citizenship, is he allowed to live and work in Scotland as a member of the EU? Can I live with him in Scotland, and work there as his US citizen spouse?

(Posted anonymously because we haven't shared our plan with family or friends.)
posted by anonymous to Law & Government (6 answers total) 1 user marked this as a favorite
 
If hubby is successful with Italian citizenship, is he allowed to live and work in Scotland as a member of the EU? Can I live with him in Scotland, and work there as his US citizen spouse?

Yes, absolutely. On both counts.

He can just enter with his Italian passport and start working.
For you, from outside the UK, you'll want to get an entry visa known as an EU Family Permit.

Once in the country you apply for a Residence Card.

I entered the UK as an American spouse of an EU national in 2008. I just got my UK citizenship last year. Let me know if you have any further questions.
posted by vacapinta at 12:59 AM on June 8, 2016 [3 favorites]


BTW I think that if your spouse successfully obtains Italian citizenship, you'd be eligible for citizenship a year later, giving you the ability to work as an EU citizen.
posted by kat518 at 1:16 AM on June 8, 2016


All I can say is Welcome to Scotland and we should have a MeFi meetup one day.
posted by kariebookish at 4:17 AM on June 8, 2016 [2 favorites]


Bear in mind that if Brexit does happen then we are probably going to be looking at maybe 2 years of getting it into British law and dicking around renegotiating treaties before an actual split.
posted by biffa at 5:27 AM on June 8, 2016


My understanding of this is absolutely yes.

(I am in the same process as your husband, and for the same goal. MeMail me if you'd like to compare notes.)
posted by minervous at 8:05 AM on June 8, 2016


Yup! You're all set.
posted by lecorbeau at 9:59 AM on June 8, 2016


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