Due to the length of time it takes to reach the Sunshine State from the UK, British owners of Floridian property tend to spend longer periods making use of their home than, for example, a European home owner might. A majority of non-resident property owners in Florida spend between three weeks and a month there, but it is not uncommon to spend up to half a year in the state. Six months is the maximum period a foreign national is permitted to stay in Florida on a B-2 visa – the visa you will need to live temporarily in the United States. In order to obtain a B-2 visa, you will need to schedule an interview with a consular officer and convince them that the nature of your trip is temporary and that you have full-time residence outside of the US. However, it is not your visa that actually grants you permission to enter the US. When you arrive in the country as a non-immigrant, an immigration inspector will examine your passport and visa and then give you a small white card – the I-94 Arrival/Departure Record. This record, and not your visa, will indicate the date you must leave the country by. Take note: the date is at the discretion of the inspector.

If you are planning to stay in Florida for 90 days or less then you will be eligible for the Visa Waiver Programme (VWP), meaning you will not need a B-2 visa for your stay in the States. However, in order to be eligible for the VWP, your passport must be machine-readable. You can check this by turning to the personal information page of your passport and looking for a line of chevrons: if they are there, you have a machine-readable passport. If they're not, it is advisable to renew you passport in good time before your planned trip across the pond. Furthermore, if you are travelling to the US between 26th October 2005 and the same date in 2006, your passport photo will need to be a digitised image, not an original photo. If your passport has an original photo stuck beneath clear plastic, you need to renew it, even if it's machine-readable, to comply with this new requirement. On 26th October 2006 the requirement will change again.

If you wish to relocate to Florida full-time, you should be prepared for the long and arduous task of emigrating through the US immigration system. Should you then become a full-time resident of the US, it is essential that you apply for a social security number as quickly as possible. Without this you will not be able to open a bank account or even buy a car – an absolutely essential possession in the US. As British migrant Jarrod Randle says, "you can't be a 'real person' in the States without this number."

The Floridian Lifestyle
If you are planning to stay in Florida for at least a few months, you will need to make an effort to adapt to the Floridian way of life. You know that it's going to be warm and sunny and that there are likely to be either beaches or theme parks near to your property, but this knowledge will not help you with your daily living. "People who only stay in Florida for only a matter of weeks or a month don't really need to adapt to the lifestyle", says Peter Stanhope of Florida Brits Realty. "Their greatest obstacles will be getting used to driving on the wrong side of the road, handling the curious names and words for certain things and telling a US$1 bill from a US$10 one – they look identical. It's only when you start to spend longer periods over there that you feel the need for acclimatisation", Stanhope continues. "This can be something of a chore and a challenge. Their banking systems are so far behind the UK model that you can get really frustrated with money movement in and out of the country. "Their bureaucracy is so deadly slow, that for us 'non-resident aliens' it is almost impossible to get a US credit card and now quite impossible to get a drivers licence for any longer duration than that of your stay in the country, meaning you have to renew it each time you return. "However, the key is to relax: don't try and fight the 'culture shock' because you won't win. Never say 'it's not like this back home, because nobody cares and nothing is more calculated to annoy a 'yank' more than a moaning Brit", Stanhope concludes.

Working in Florida
If you need to supplement your months spent in Florida with some regular income gained while you are out there, then don't expect to simply walk into a local job centre and be offered a part-time position on the spot. Unfortunately, it's not quite as simple as that, and you will require further visas before taking employment in the US becomes an option. Permanent emigration to the US based on employment is covered by the EB (employment based) visas. However, many applicants find that this one-step approach is a step too far, and opt instead to obtain a temporary work visa as a means of getting their foot in the door, then attempt to adjust their status from within America to make their move permanent. The most popular of the temporary visas are the H1-B for speciality workers such as systems analysts and computer programmers, the H1-C for nurses and the L1 for intra-company transferees. Another option is to set up a business in the US for as little as US$100,000 via the E-2 visa. And if none of these options are applicable to you, you could always marry an American citizen!

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Article first published in August 2005