Working in the Uk

Hi,
My husband was born in the UK and holds both a UK passort as well as an Australian passport.
We want to return to the UK next year for two to three years, but to do this we both have to
work once there.
We have already had a job offered to us in hospitality. As well as experience in reception, bar etc,
I am also a qualified secondary teacher.
What do I need to do to be able to legally work in the UK?

As a British Citizen, your husband can work without restriction. Unless you qualify for a work permit with sponsorship from an employer you will have to apply for a spouse settlement visa, even though you only intend to stay for a few years. This will require your husband to show that he has been earning the equivalent of £18,600 per annum in Australia for the 6 months prior to applying and has a confirmed job offer in the UK to start within 3 months of arrival, again meeting the £18,600 annual salary condition.
Only savings over £16,000 will be considered to meet any shortfall. With no earnings you would need savings of £62,500.
Alternatively, your husband could come on ahead and after working for 6 months showing he meets the £18,600 minimum per annum and then apply for you to join him on a spouse settlement visa.
If the spouse visa is granted you would be given a 2.5 year visa after which if you choose to stay you would have to apply for a 2.5 year extension. Visa fees are applicable for each application. If you decide to remain in the UK, after completing the 5 year probationary period you would qualify for permanent residence (ILR).

If you are under 30 you may be able to apply for a 2 year Tier-5 YMS working holiday visa.

Thank you for that. It's as we read, but we tend to be sent in circles when we try to read the government site.
Unfortunately I am no longer under 30.....

I guess we would like to go down the Tier 2 track, but we can't find what the sponsor is required to do. Are you able to shed any light?

One of the main conditions for a Tier 2 visa is the following;
You must have a job offer and a Certificate of Sponsorship from an organisation that is
a licensed sponsor in the UK. You can only have a job offer if you will not be displacing
a suitable settled worker. This means that employers cannot offer a job to a non-settled
worker if it means that a suitable settled worker will be turned down for the job or made
redundant.

This link to the guidance may help;
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/s ... _08-14.pdf

Thank you.... that link does help as each time we went to the government site, it wouldn't let us open the guidelines, but just gave us snipperts. It's not a really user friendly site.

Our biggest hurdle is that we no longer have the ability to just ring someone in immigration and talk to them. Most times we go online we get pushed to agencies, where of course there is an enormous cost to get their help.

Our situation is basically that we are in the position to come across to the UK in February 2015. My husband has been offered employment in Devon at a caravan park, but only on condition that I am available to work too. We would be there from March to November and then do the next one or two seasons. Our accommodation is included in the deal and at this stage we do not know what salary is being offered. At the end of the season, we have the opportunity to leave the country and reside in Spain until the next season. Will this be enough?

Do you mean only if you are available to work in the caravan park as a couple (which is normal practice in the UK)? If so and taking into consideration the fact that accommodation costs will be included, I doubt very much that the salary for your husband alone will be £18,600 a year.
Your earnings won't be included in the calculation. This type of employment wouldn't qualify for Tier-4 sponsorship. The leisure and hospitality sector in the UK has no shortage of workers, especially with seasonal workers coming in from the EU states.

Also the case worker will want to see evidence of permanent employment for your husband, not seasonal. You have something of a 'Catch 22' situation. Your husband's prospective employer wants to see evidence of your right to work before formally offering the position and your spouse visa requires a confirmed job offer in writing before a decision is made.

You have another option. Go to Spain first and take up employment there for at least 6 months. You'll need to show that 'the centre of your life' has been transferred there, rental contract, paying tax etc. Then move to the UK together under the 'Surinder Singh' route. No visa fees and no financial minimum on UK earnings. You would apply for an EEA2 5 year family permit when you're ready to leave Spain.