Benefits of Returning to UK with a Thai family?

[FrankThePlumber]

Hi all, as the title suggests, I am thinking about returning to the UK with my Thai wife and child. The main reason for this is education. I'm wondering if anyone else has moved back to the UK for schooling can share some other benefits of being in the UK to better sell the move (to my wife and also me).

 

Here are a few that I am thinking of so far:

• Great education for free for my child
• Access to free healthcare
• My child can form better relationships with my family and understand their heritage
• Automatic national insurance contributions
• Ability to save using a Lifetime ISA
• Cleaner air
• Safer traffic
   

I would be really keen to hear from other people who have made the move, or have thought about it and decided against it. Many of the things that kept me in Thailand for so long now don't bother me too much anymore - girls (I'm married), weather (too hot for me now), nightlife (I'm too old for that). The things I would definitely miss is the liveliness of the place, the incredible condos and their price (I would be going down the public housing route in the UK), the food, and the overall feeling that I am doing something with my life as going back home would definitely feel quite mundane to me (normal job, family car etc.)

I hope this question is clear and I haven't rambled on too much. Looking forward to reading your replies!

[VinnieK]

Are you employable back home?.

[FrankThePlumber]

I would be looking at below £30,000 per year. My wife would be working also. I believe between us we would bring in £50,000 per year before tax. Living up north in a small town so COL will be considerably lower than London.

[soi3eddie]

Many potential issues to consider and they depend on a lot of factors:

• What part of the UK do you intend to live?
• Public housing - What do you mean by that? You won't get a council house if that's what you mean
• Does your wife have settled status in the UK? Indefinite leave to remain or citizenship? A settlement visa is expensive and takes a long time to obtain 
• Education at British schools is not universally good and depends on area. Good areas are oversubscribed and you may not get a choice of school
• Your wife may not like living in the UK - then what? 
• Thais can get very homesick being away from family and friends
• Summer weather in the UK can be lovely; but dark, cold, damp winters? No thanks!
• The UK is now extremely expensive to enjoy life. Can you get a good job or already wealthy?

So many things to consider. Others here will likely add their comments. Good luck whatever you choose.

 

[scubascuba3]

Haven't you got to be earning a minimum amount now? in order to bring wife and family back. I vaguely recall someone posting it was 30k

Edited October 20, 2022 by scubascuba3

[FrankThePlumber]

1 hour ago, soi3eddie said:

Many potential issues to consider and they depend on a lot of factors:

• What part of the UK do you intend to live?
• Public housing - What do you mean by that? You won't get a council house if that's what you mean
• Does your wife have settled status in the UK? Indefinite leave to remain or citizenship? A settlement visa is expensive and takes a long time to obtain 
• Education at British schools is not universally good and depends on area. Good areas are oversubscribed and you may not get a choice of school
• Your wife may not like living in the UK - then what? 
• Thais can get very homesick being away from family and friends
• Summer weather in the UK can be lovely; but dark, cold, damp winters? No thanks!
• The UK is now extremely expensive to enjoy life. Can you get a good job or already wealthy?

So many things to consider. Others here will likely add their comments. Good luck whatever you choose.

 

Thanks for your reply. You have raised a few things that I need to consider.

Edited October 20, 2022 by FrankThePlumber

[proton]

2 hours ago, scubascuba3 said:

Haven't you got to be earning a minimum amount now? in order to bring wife and family back. I vaguely recall someone posting it was 30k

18.600 plus a bit more for each child is what is was unless they changed it. Of course for those brought in a a rubber boat no amount and straight into a hotel at no charge

[blackcab]

I would second what has been said about the cost of living. Believe you me, 50 thousand pounds before tax with a wife and child will not go far. That is 42 thousand pounds a year net after tax and NI, based on you earning 30 thousand pounds (24,500 pounds net) and your wife earning 20 thousand pounds (17,500 pounds net).

 

The average cost of running a basic home at the minute is 1,500 pounds a month, or 18,000 pounds a year. That's for rent, council tax, electric, gas, water, TV license, mobile phones and landline internet. Your food bill will be a minimum of 100 pounds a week, so that's another 5,000 pounds a year. In reality, if you are not careful, your food bill could easily double.

 

Let's talk about fuel: 100 miles, at 25 miles per (UK) gallon with fuel at £1.62 a litre will cost £29.46 or 29.5 pence per mile. For just fuel. If you do 100 miles per week that is 1,500 pounds a year on fuel alone. It's easy to do that sort of mileage with a school run, commute, shopping, general running about, etc.

 

We are already at 24,500 pounds, and that is your entire net salary from a gross of 30,000 pounds gone. So far you haven't purchased clothes, school uniforms, toiletries, household cleaning products, gone anywhere or done anything and there is no allowance for entertainment. No trips back to Thailand, no birthday presents, no cinema, no beer, no purchases or repairs of household goods, etc. No car tax, insurance, repairs, etc.

 

Perhaps rent in your chosen area is a lot cheaper and you will find spare income that way. Clearly, the key to making it work is your wife getting employment. The money she earns will be buying everything else, so you need to make very very sure she understands this, and that her plan is not to save all her money for herself, or to send portions of it back to Thailand for her family. She will need to be totally committed to both working and putting all of her income into your UK life.

 

Not having enough money for daily living can put a lot of pressure on a relationship, especially with a child involved.

 

That's just the financial side of things to think about. You still need to research your school area and actually call the schools you have in mind and see if they are taking on new students. It's not like 30 plus years ago where finding a space was fairly easy. A lot of schools are quite dire, so the decent schools are hugely over-subscribed.

[FritsSikkink]

Your cost in the UK will start from day 1, how long would it take for you and your wife to get a job?

How is the job market in the UK for you 2 at the moment. It would be best to start looking for employment way before you want to move.

[GinBoy2]

I can't in any way comment on the UK as an American.

 

But if you are focussing on your child, education is a huge downside of living in Thailand.

 

Our son was born in Singapore and was educated there through middle school in an excellent school system

 

When we moved to Thailand we enrolled him in supposedly the best International school in Khon Kaen.

 

Total disaster. Ultimately he moved to the US for college and thankfully he lived with my eldest daughter who coached him through some of the serious gaps in his Thai High School education.

 

In hindsight I would never have put him through it, and as my wife often reminds me, she wanted to move from Singapore straight to the US, for the very reason of our son's education.

 

From everything I read the UK educational system is one of the best, so focus on your child

[theoldgit]

3 hours ago, scubascuba3 said:

Haven't you got to be earning a minimum amount now? in order to bring wife and family back. I vaguely recall someone posting it was 30k

 

The sponsor needs to be earning £18,600 per year, or you can use cash savings. There is an aditional cost for children, but only if they are not entitled to British Nationality.

 

As has been pointed out the application fee and NHS Surcharges are quite high, and applications are currently taking in the region of six month, they blame the fact that the UKVI are concentrating on processing those displaced by the invasion of Ukraine 

[howerde]

What are your wifes qualifications and english, a 20 000 pounds job would seem optimistic to me especially up north (hope i am wrong) there have been huge changes to employment terms  fixed term  contracts, casual work zero hour contracts are normal unless you are qualified and have experience.

consider heating bills my gas/elec last year was 1300 i have just had the company contact me asking me to update my direct debit to 364 per month!

but without doubt the education and health must be a strong reason to return, i have no kids but if one did come, i would not hesitate to return

Edited October 21, 2022 by howerde

[brewsterbudgen]

Good topic.  I have a 7-year-old son so I have considered it, but as I no longer have a home in the UK, and couldn't afford to buy or rent one (a decent one that is, like I can here), it's a non-starter for me.  As a teacher in my 60s, I can also earn more here than in the UK, with a much lower cost of living.

 

Good luck to the OP, though. 

[HauptmannUK]

A huge amount is going to depend on where you live and how much your accommodation costs will be.  UK can be heaven or hell, according to your location.

My wife and I have split our time between Thailand and UK for quite a few years. My wife loves the UK. She has made many Thai friends there. She loves to cook and is really impressed by the quality of free range chicken and the outdoor-reared pork etc.  There is an oriental supermarket about 15-20 miles away and she can buy everything she needs - including fresh Asian vegetables etc.

We have a house in a village close to a small town. Lots of retired residents - its very friendly and clean. I've no doubt the local schools are good. We go on lots of walks in the local countryside and its generally very pleasant.

My wife has invested in a UK business (small hotel) and she's preoccupied with that about four long days a week when we're in the UK so she's never bored.

I don't work but I do know that there is a big shortage of labour in the UK right now. One of my daughters runs a restaurant and is really struggling to get staff. Another daughter is a doctor and tells me that there are huge shortages of medical and care staff throughout the health service.

I love being in Thailand - weather, sea, travelling around (cheap hotels, coffee shops and restaurants etc) but I think opportunities to earn a good living and bring up children are much better in the UK. Just choose a nice area to settle in - not one of inner city hellholes..

[Kwasaki]

9 hours ago, FrankThePlumber said:

Looking forward to reading your replies!

Up to you but does your wife want to. 

The main problem in the UK at the moment is finding a job that pays enough money for accommodation and utility household costs.

[BritManToo]

1 hour ago, HauptmannUK said:

I don't work but I do know that there is a big shortage of labour in the UK right now. One of my daughters runs a restaurant and is really struggling to get staff. Another daughter is a doctor and tells me that there are huge shortages of medical and care staff throughout the health service.

I love being in Thailand - weather, sea, travelling around (cheap hotels, coffee shops and restaurants etc) but I think opportunities to earn a good living and bring up children are much better in the UK. Just choose a nice area to settle in - not one of inner city hellholes..

Sadly you're wrong,

When a job is advertised that doesn't pay enough to allow staff to rent local accommodation, you won't be able to find staff. Housing in the UK has become too expensive for normal people to work and live. Advertise for staff and offer them accommodation as part of their wage and you'll find plenty of people to work for you.

Edited October 21, 2022 by BritManToo

[BritManToo]

5 hours ago, blackcab said:

I would second what has been said about the cost of living. Believe you me, 50 thousand pounds before tax with a wife and child will not go far. That is 42 thousand pounds a year net after tax and NI, based on you earning 30 thousand pounds (24,500 pounds net) and your wife earning 20 thousand pounds (17,500 pounds net).

 

The average cost of running a basic home at the minute is 1,500 pounds a month, or 18,000 pounds a year. That's for rent, council tax, electric, gas, water, TV license, mobile phones and landline internet. Your food bill will be a minimum of 100 pounds a week, so that's another 5,000 pounds a year. In reality, if you are not careful, your food bill could easily double.

 

Let's talk about fuel: 100 miles, at 25 miles per (UK) gallon with fuel at £1.62 a litre will cost £29.46 or 29.5 pence per mile. For just fuel. If you do 100 miles per week that is 1,500 pounds a year on fuel alone. It's easy to do that sort of mileage with a school run, commute, shopping, general running about, etc.

 

We are already at 24,500 pounds, and that is your entire net salary from a gross of 30,000 pounds gone. So far you haven't purchased clothes, school uniforms, toiletries, household cleaning products, gone anywhere or done anything and there is no allowance for entertainment. No trips back to Thailand, no birthday presents, no cinema, no beer, no purchases or repairs of household goods, etc. No car tax, insurance, repairs, etc.

 

Perhaps rent in your chosen area is a lot cheaper and you will find spare income that way. Clearly, the key to making it work is your wife getting employment. The money she earns will be buying everything else, so you need to make very very sure she understands this, and that her plan is not to save all her money for herself, or to send portions of it back to Thailand for her family. She will need to be totally committed to both working and putting all of her income into your UK life.

 

Not having enough money for daily living can put a lot of pressure on a relationship, especially with a child involved.

 

That's just the financial side of things to think about. You still need to research your school area and actually call the schools you have in mind and see if they are taking on new students. It's not like 30 plus years ago where finding a space was fairly easy. A lot of schools are quite dire, so the decent schools are hugely over-subscribed.

Best answer!

[BritManToo]

10 hours ago, FrankThePlumber said:

I'm wondering if anyone else has moved back to the UK for schooling can share some other benefits of being in the UK to better sell the move (to my wife and also me).

 

Here are a few that I am thinking of so far:

• Great education for free for my child
• Access to free healthcare
• My child can form better relationships with my family and understand their heritage
• Automatic national insurance contributions
• Ability to save using a Lifetime ISA
• Cleaner air
• Safer traffic

2001-2009 I worked as a teacher in UK 'estate' schools.

Abingdon, Oxford, Bodmin, and assorted Cornish mining town schools.

These schools were rife with gangs, violence, drugs, in fact they were so bad they often couldn't employ regular teachers, but needed to employ specialist people like me who were employed to work more as 'prison guards' than educators.

 

If you return to the UK without enough money to live in a catchment area for a good school, your kids will end up in the sort of school I used to work where the education was realistically non-existent

Edited October 21, 2022 by BritManToo

[Kwasaki]

9 hours ago, FrankThePlumber said:

I would be looking at below £30,000 per year. My wife would be working also. I believe between us we would bring in £50,000 per year before tax. Living up north in a small town so COL will be considerably lower than London.

Do you know if your wife get into UK and work right away. 

[Kwasaki]

1 hour ago, HauptmannUK said:

A huge amount is going to depend on where you live and how much your accommodation costs will be.  UK can be heaven or hell, according to your location.

My wife and I have split our time between Thailand and UK for quite a few years. My wife loves the UK. She has made many Thai friends there. She loves to cook and is really impressed by the quality of free range chicken and the outdoor-reared pork etc.  There is an oriental supermarket about 15-20 miles away and she can buy everything she needs - including fresh Asian vegetables etc.

We have a house in a village close to a small town. Lots of retired residents - its very friendly and clean. I've no doubt the local schools are good. We go on lots of walks in the local countryside and its generally very pleasant.

My wife has invested in a UK business (small hotel) and she's preoccupied with that about four long days a week when we're in the UK so she's never bored.

I don't work but I do know that there is a big shortage of labour in the UK right now. One of my daughters runs a restaurant and is really struggling to get staff. Another daughter is a doctor and tells me that there are huge shortages of medical and care staff throughout the health service.

I love being in Thailand - weather, sea, travelling around (cheap hotels, coffee shops and restaurants etc) but I think opportunities to earn a good living and bring up children are much better in the UK. Just choose a nice area to settle in - not one of inner city hellholes..

All very well for you but is OP able to do the same. 

[Kwasaki]

6 hours ago, blackcab said:

I would second what has been said about the cost of living. Believe you me, 50 thousand pounds before tax with a wife and child will not go far. That is 42 thousand pounds a year net after tax and NI, based on you earning 30 thousand pounds (24,500 pounds net) and your wife earning 20 thousand pounds (17,500 pounds net).

 

The average cost of running a basic home at the minute is 1,500 pounds a month, or 18,000 pounds a year. That's for rent, council tax, electric, gas, water, TV license, mobile phones and landline internet. Your food bill will be a minimum of 100 pounds a week, so that's another 5,000 pounds a year. In reality, if you are not careful, your food bill could easily double.

 

Let's talk about fuel: 100 miles, at 25 miles per (UK) gallon with fuel at £1.62 a litre will cost £29.46 or 29.5 pence per mile. For just fuel. If you do 100 miles per week that is 1,500 pounds a year on fuel alone. It's easy to do that sort of mileage with a school run, commute, shopping, general running about, etc.

 

We are already at 24,500 pounds, and that is your entire net salary from a gross of 30,000 pounds gone. So far you haven't purchased clothes, school uniforms, toiletries, household cleaning products, gone anywhere or done anything and there is no allowance for entertainment. No trips back to Thailand, no birthday presents, no cinema, no beer, no purchases or repairs of household goods, etc. No car tax, insurance, repairs, etc.

 

Perhaps rent in your chosen area is a lot cheaper and you will find spare income that way. Clearly, the key to making it work is your wife getting employment. The money she earns will be buying everything else, so you need to make very very sure she understands this, and that her plan is not to save all her money for herself, or to send portions of it back to Thailand for her family. She will need to be totally committed to both working and putting all of her income into your UK life.

 

Not having enough money for daily living can put a lot of pressure on a relationship, especially with a child involved.

 

That's just the financial side of things to think about. You still need to research your school area and actually call the schools you have in mind and see if they are taking on new students. It's not like 30 plus years ago where finding a space was fairly easy. A lot of schools are quite dire, so the decent schools are hugely over-subscribed.

Can OP get his wife into UK to be able to work straight away, if it is her first time to UK i don't think she is able to work for 2 years. 

 

Maybe things have changed but my friend took his wife back about 5 years back and his Thai wife was not allowed to work. 

[Denim]

Might not seem relevant to some but with Europe currently facing the possible threat of nuclear war I would keep my family here for a while to see how the next 6 months pan out. Thailand is pretty safe and cost of living is not so high. As for education , best schools in the world can't stop your children falling in with the wrong people.

[HauptmannUK]

33 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

Sadly you're wrong,

When a job is advertised that doesn't pay enough to allow staff to rent local accommodation, you won't be able to find staff. Housing in the UK has become too expensive for normal people to work and live. Advertise for staff and offer them accommodation as part of their wage and you'll find plenty of people to work for you.

No, wrong.  My daughter's restaurant is in a very nice and (relatively) low-cost rural area. She can assist with low cost accommodation.  She is currently looking for a couple of shift managers - the pay is well above minimum wage.  There just are not the workers around to do these jobs. A lot of these types of roles were previously undertaken by East Europeans and many have left the UK. 

There is plenty of money circulating around in the UK economy. Her restaurant is not cheap and she's increased prices quite sharply recently but its still surprisingly full most days. Getting enough staff is the issue.

[HauptmannUK]

20 minutes ago, Kwasaki said:

All very well for you but is OP able to do the same. 

I don't know, he may or may not - but that doesn't change the veracity of my post.

[blackcab]

54 minutes ago, Kwasaki said:

Can OP get his wife into UK to be able to work straight away, if it is her first time to UK i don't think she is able to work for 2 years. 

 

Maybe things have changed but my friend took his wife back about 5 years back and his Thai wife was not allowed to work. 

 

I honestly don't know, but I'm fairly sure @theoldgit will be able to give us an answer on that.

[blackcab]

5 hours ago, howerde said:

What are your wifes qualifications and english, a 20 000 pounds job would seem optimistic to me especially up north (hope i am wrong)

 

Minimum wage is £19,760 per year (based on minimum wage of £9.50 per hour, with a full time contract of 40 hours per week).

[Kwasaki]

11 minutes ago, blackcab said:

 

I honestly don't know, but I'm fairly sure @theoldgit will be able to give us an answer on that.

I only asked because back in 2001 it was a h ell of a job getting my Thai wife into UK.

It wasn't easy for my friend who now lives with his Thai wife in UK as recently as 5 years ago. 

[theoldgit]

1 hour ago, Kwasaki said:

Can OP get his wife into UK to be able to work straight away, if it is her first time to UK i don't think she is able to work for 2 years. 

 

Maybe things have changed but my friend took his wife back about 5 years back and his Thai wife was not allowed to work. 

A wife joining joining her husband to settle in the UK can work from day one, or at least as soon as the Home Office “right to work” database has been updated, potential employers have to check online or the persons documents before they can employ them, the online checker should be updated fairly quickly updated.

 

The same applies to living in rented accommodation, potential landlords need to obtain proof of the right to rent, failure to do so can result in a substantial penalty, including a custodial sentence. 

[Kwasaki]

45 minutes ago, theoldgit said:

A wife joining joining her husband to settle in the UK can work from day one, or at least as soon as the Home Office “right to work” database has been updated, potential employers have to check online or the persons documents before they can employ them, the online checker should be updated fairly quickly updated.

 

The same applies to living in rented accommodation, potential landlords need to obtain proof of the right to rent, failure to do so can result in a substantial penalty, including a custodial sentence. 

Thanks for update. 

Things have changed for Thai wives then, years ago my wife was given the right roundabouts and swings getting to join me in UK. 

 

Backwards and forwards to UK embassy 4 times to get 2 year visa,  and from Sukhothai to Bangkok was an arduous journey back then. 

[Mac Mickmanus]

54 minutes ago, theoldgit said:

A wife joining joining her husband to settle in the UK can work from day one, or at least as soon as the Home Office “right to work” database has been updated, potential employers have to check online or the persons documents before they can employ them, the online checker should be updated fairly quickly updated.

 

The same applies to living in rented accommodation, potential landlords need to obtain proof of the right to rent, failure to do so can result in a substantial penalty, including a custodial sentence. 

Landlords will usually want to see bank statements and three years worth of salary pay slips to show you can afford the rent