Correst me if I'm wrong but didn't his wife have trouble gaining a visa for the UK?
My bird is an Aussie and we couldn't apply for a visa for her to live in the UK (two year waiting period for partner visa's), so we moved to Australia instead, (where they are a lot less strict with requirements for the same class of visa), with me quitting my job at very short notice in the process.
So I empathise with him to an extent.