We advise on these immigration options for Americans moving to Britain
We help many American individuals, families and firms enter the UK for business engagements and identify the best immigration options for the UK. We work with many sectors, from music, film and entertainment to finance and tech firms.
Americans do not generally need a visa to come to Britain as a Visitor for up to six months for purposes such as tourism, visiting friends or family, carrying out a permitted business activity or undertaking a short course of study. Permitted business activities include negotiating and signing deals and contracts; carrying out site visits or inspections; servicing machinery sold to a British customer or promoting your business at trade fairs (though you cannot sell things or carry out unpermitted work). If you don’t have a visa and you are visiting or transiting the UK on or after 8 January 2025 you will now need to fill out the new Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) – which operates much like the US ESTA.
For more long-term ways to live, study or work in the UK, we have outlined the major options below. Please contact us if you want to identify the best immigration solution for you, your family or your business.
Vanessa Ganguin Immigration Law is highly regarded in legal guides such as Best Lawyers in the UK, The Times Best Law Firms, Who’s Who Legal, The Legal 500 and Chambers & Partners for our personal and business immigration advice. The Legal 500 2025 ranks Managing Partner Vanessa Ganguin and Senior Counsel Philip Trott in its Hall of Fame for UK immigration and all our friendly solicitors are always happy to discuss any of the UK’s immigration routes outlined below in greater detail with you.
What visa options do US citizens have to relocate to the UK?
Below is a breakdown of the main relevant immigration routes we can advise on if you want to move to Britain. For more information on any of these UK immigration options, call on 011 44 207 033 9527 (02070339527 in the UK) or write to us at enquiries@vanessaganguin.com. Some will be more suitable than others and there are various requirements, though US citizens need not worry about the English language requirement, as a US passport is proof enough for the purposes of the visas below.
Skilled Worker visa
If an organisation has a Home Office sponsor licence it can employ and sponsor you as a Skilled Worker in the UK. To obtain a Skilled Worker sponsor licence, the organisation must:
- Be active and trading in the UK
- Have at least one settled worker in the UK who will assume sponsorship duties
As a Skilled Worker, you must be ready and qualified to carry out the UK role. The job must pay a guaranteed salary of at least £38,700 pa or the median ‘going rate’ for the occupation, whichever is higher.
Route to settlement: After five years.
Dependent family members permitted: Yes (NB: Dependants include a married spouse, partner and children under 18).
Expansion Worker visa
If an organisation doesn’t yet have an existing branch or subsidiary in the UK, it may send senior members of staff to establish a commercial presence in the UK market. To obtain an Expansion Worker sponsor licence, the overseas parent organisation must be able to demonstrate that it:
- has been active and trading for at least three years
- has a credible expansion plan, including a genuine commercial reason for expanding into UK markets, sufficient market research and sufficient cash to fund the expansion.
The overseas organisation must establish a UK presence, usually a corporate subsidiary.
Route to settlement: No – a 12-month Expansion Worker visa can be extended once for a further 12 months. However, this work visa allows switching into other immigration categories.
Dependent family members permitted: Yes.
Global Talent visa
The Global Talent visa is the highest accolade that Britain’s immigration system awards those recognised as experts in their field. Globally talented individuals in the fields of academia or research, entertainment, arts and culture or digital technology may apply for recognition by an approved endorsing body as a leader or potential leader. On a Global Talent visa you do not need a job offer.
Applicants who can demonstrate a proven commercial, investment, or product expertise in building digital products or leading investments in significant digital product businesses, may also qualify for the digitech stream of the Global Talent visa, for which the endorsing body is Tech Nation.
Route to settlement: After three years (five years for emerging talent).
Dependent family members permitted: Yes.
High Potential Individual visa
Graduates (within the last five years) from a list of around 40 top global universities may apply to come to the UK on a High Potential Individual visa. They do not require a job offer. The HPI visa is granted for two years (three years for those with PhDs). A new list of universities that qualified graduates on the year they attained their degree is published every November.
Route to settlement? No, though the HPI visa allows switching to another immigration route that may lead to settlement in the UK.
Dependent family members permitted: Yes.
Innovator Founder visa
A person with an original business idea may come to the UK to set up and run an innovative business. The business must be assessed by a Home Office licensed endorsing body, as being viable, innovative and scalable. The Innovator Founder visa reflects the fact that businesses often have cofounders with more than one founding team members able to apply for this visa for a single business plan if it qualifies for endorsement. Every Innovator Founder will have to demonstrate they have generated the ideas in the business plan (or significantly contributed to them) and will be involved in their day-to-day role fulfilling the business plan.
Route to settlement: Potentially after three years if the business has met certain targets.
Family members permitted: Yes
Student and Graduate visas
Students accepted by an education institution which is a Home Office licensed student sponsor can apply for a UK Student visa for the duration of the course. Once an international student has successfully completed their study at graduate or postgraduate level they may apply for a Graduate visa, allowing them to stay in Britain and work for two years after the end of their course. (Three years for a PhD or other doctoral qualification.)
Route to settlement: No. Switching to a work visa is allowed, but only after a course has been successfully completed.
Dependent family members permitted: No, apart from those on a Student visa studying for a PhD or other doctorate or a research-based higher degree. Dependants can only join those on a Graduate visa if they were already in the UK on the Student visa that preceded it.
Family visa
British nationals and UK permanent residents may sponsor a spouse, civil partner, unmarried partner or children to be with them in the UK on a Family visa.
British nationality will in some cases transmit to the second generation born outside of the UK. (See below.)
If you are joining a loved one in the UK on a spouse or partner visa they must meet a financial requirement which rose significantly in 2024: in most cases they will have income in the UK of at least £29,000 pa, or the two of you will have £88,500 in cash savings.
Route to settlement: After five years.
British citizenship through ancestry
Due to changes introduced in 2022, those born in the USA before 1988 may now be able to claim British citizenship if their mother or grandparent was born in the UK. This is because of new immigration routes dealing with historical gender discrimination against women in nationality by descent.
Route to settlement: Direct to British citizenship
Dependent family members permitted: Family members can then be sponsored on a Family visa.
Can I hold dual UK and US citizenship?
Dual and multiple citizenship is permitted under both UK and US law. US citizens are required to enter and exit the United States using a valid US passport and you should use your UK passport to enter and leave the UK. To apply for British citizenship, you will need to obtain permission to remain in the UK until your application is granted. You will also need to pass requirements such as the Life in the UK test, which assesses your knowledge of UK life, history, and current affairs.
Contact us: contact our friendly immigration experts on 011 44 207 033 9527 (02070339527 in the UK) or enquiries@vanessaganguin.com to discuss the best UK immigration route for you.