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How to emigrate to the UK from the US?
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a wit so dryit shits sandRegistered User regular
a wit so dryit shits sandRegistered User regular
So earlier this summer I very nearly got basically a dream job in the UK, and only failed to get it because they were unable to offer a work visa. And in the process, I did a lot of research into UK immigration law, to see if I could get the right to work without their sponsorship, and then later just to see if I could live in the UK at all. It is literally my only life's goal to move there permanently.
I've spent a lot of time on the UK government's website trying to find any method that I would be eligible for: https://www.gov.uk/browse/visas-immigration/work-visas
I have been really distraught with what seem to be my lack of options - it seems that other than a work visa, my only options would be to marry someone from the UK (which is difficult if for no other reason than meeting them to begin with), or to just to have 50,000 pounds to start a business in the UK (entrepeneur) or two million pounds of investments in UK businesses or government bonds (investor). I definitely don't expect to have that sort of capital any time soon, so those are out.
None of the other options, based on ancestry or anything, apply to me. The only ones I seem to have any chance of eligibility for would be the temporary worker ones, which defeats the purpose anyway because they cap the maximum amount of time you can spend in the UK below the number of years required to gain naturalized citizen status.
I've trawled that website and others trying to find any possible way to figure this out, and have come up empty. Does anybody have any information I may be missing, or suggestions for other avenues to pursue?
I've spent a lot of time on the UK government's website trying to find any method that I would be eligible for: https://www.gov.uk/browse/visas-immigration/work-visas
I have been really distraught with what seem to be my lack of options - it seems that other than a work visa, my only options would be to marry someone from the UK (which is difficult if for no other reason than meeting them to begin with), or to just to have 50,000 pounds to start a business in the UK (entrepeneur) or two million pounds of investments in UK businesses or government bonds (investor). I definitely don't expect to have that sort of capital any time soon, so those are out.
None of the other options, based on ancestry or anything, apply to me. The only ones I seem to have any chance of eligibility for would be the temporary worker ones, which defeats the purpose anyway because they cap the maximum amount of time you can spend in the UK below the number of years required to gain naturalized citizen status.
I've trawled that website and others trying to find any possible way to figure this out, and have come up empty. Does anybody have any information I may be missing, or suggestions for other avenues to pursue?
"I am not young enough to know everything." - Oscar Wilde
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If you have ancestors who were denaturalized during the Nazi government, you are for example eligible for German citizenship. This might not be the case for you, but I'm bringing it up anyway since there are probably millions of people in the US to which this applies.
Your best bet might still be a getting a visa as a skilled worker. If this is your life goal, you might even consider spending some time to get a degree in a field which will allow you to move and work fairly freely.
Why do you want to live in the UK and more importantly where do you want to live? Some places and fields will be a lot easier.
If you get a temporary worker visa it may be easier to then get a longer term visa if you come over and then apply for jobs in person, plus give you a chance to decide if Britainland is really all that.
Pretty much. Unless you can get sponsored to work, marriage is the best bet. Just like for UK people trying to get into the US.
It's a ridiculous system, but won't change any time soon.
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Your best bet aside from marriage or family is to find a big multinational based in the City who likes you. They are one of the few businesses that can easily navigate sponsored work visa. Basically they are the only people who have the means and time to do the hard work
This is what I was going to suggest. It's much easier to find a job actually being there than overseas. My friend did this to move to Japan.
Also, have you looked into U.S. military bases in the U.K.? If you are a U.S. citizen, you can get hired in one with SOFA as a civilian employee. It's hard to get into, but much easier than trying to get a work visa. You don't have to keep working there long term, it buys you the time you need in the country to get the job you want.
Its not easy, either you get married or you study or you get a job in a field that the UK is specifically looking for. Just because you study here doesn't mean you'll be able to stay unfortunately but it might be a good start. The cost of education is a lot lower than the the US, even for foreigners (it all might be negated if you live in london though).
Maybe if you make close enough friends on a course you could even go the "marriage" route!
I don't think that is right. Used to be the case, but likely before most of us were born. My aunts and uncles were able to use this back in the early 70s. I'm from NZ and certainly it wasn't that easy, nor, from what I can tell from a few Canadian friends was it for them.
The easiest option as a young Commonwealth citizen, from a list of specified countries (NZ, Canada, Australia and maybe one or two others) is the Youth Mobility/Working Holiday track. That category basically usually is as simple as being under a certain age (30-36 usually), filing a fee and supplying clear record check in some cases. Then, if there is enough quota (I think they all have a cap on annual applicants), you can be granted the visa in a matter of days. Which is much easier than the alternatives.
However, it doesn't count towards residency and it is increasingly hard to convert from it into another visa type, as so few exist. Usually people either enter into a long term relationship with someone from whom they can piggy back, or they find an employer who likes them enough to go through the Work Permit route, once they've proven themselves under the above. That latter option used to be really easy (my sister and her friends all did it).
Why would this be your life's one goal? It's a nice country, but kind of soggy, and nothing you can't get anywhere else.
http://www.immigrationboards.com/
This part is not helpful. Why would you put down his goal like that?
I've considered going on a short-term visa for sure, and I guess it is true that it would probably make finding more permanent jobs easier.. something to consider in more depth for sure. I wish it was as easy as finding someone to marry, but apart from the fact that I'm not much of the marrying type to begin with, I'm also gay so my options are rather limited.
Thanks for everyone's help input!
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I mean I live here and love the UK, but the grass is greener and all that. Best to check the reality matches the dream.
If he can't cope with random negative humour, he can't cope with the British.
Do it!
Good news! Gay marriage counts for immigration to the UK just fine. You may say you are not up for marriage now, but who knows who you will meet?
It counts for the US too. Depending how flexible you are, trading citizenships is a nice bonus.
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The way she explained it, sponsoring someone to stay in the country is a bit of a hassle for companies. They have to fill in paperwork and stuff. That means you have to be a significantly better choice than any local who turns up to be worth the extra effort. Also the job has to pay above a certain amount, which is high enough to rule out most entry level positions even in skilled fields.
I definitely think you should go for it anyway if it's your best option, but wanted to give you a bit more info about what you would be letting yourself in for.
I figured the work shortage angle would be your best alternative to marrying into it. The other major avenue is the "highly skilled worker" route where a company sponsors (spends money and files paperwork to be able to employ you instead of a local, not sure what is involved in UK but have a lot of H1-B's at work and it's 5 figures each to start/renew them). Not to put too fine a point on it, but this is typically targeting a somebody who can pull big pay already through education and experience. My sister emigrated some years back via finance angle, but she was doing a masters there already so a lot of ducks were aligned such that she could network to land an internship/offer to a firm that would sponsor and help her get certifications.
Like any other wealthy western nation, they do not want you unless you are vacationing or some company ponies up and sponsors you.
Yup. There's a lot of anti-immigrant sentiment in the UK at the moment, which is largely directed at those of a darker hue, rather than American Anglophiles, but the restrictive laws enacted as a result apply to everyone.
Not to derail the thread with a debate, but this is definitely not going to happen so the OP should not take this into account.
Nope, @Kalkino is right, being from a Commonwealth country is no longer at all advantageous unless you can qualify for a youth work visa. But the cut-off is something like 29, and it severely restricts the type and length of work you can do.
As others have said, it's not trivial for companies to qualify to employ non-EU workers, so unless you're applying for a large firm, your US citizenship will almost always count against you. If you don't have a set of skills that mean the benefits of employing you will (for them) outweigh the costs, then the study route might be a good option. You will have additional qualifications, from an institution that is locally understood and recognized, and it will enable you to 'try out' living here. You can probably hunt for jobs as you wind up your study, too, though even if you get one you will certainly have to return to the US to wait out a visa application.
also yeah customs can be a mite aggressive here. I never had any problem when living in germany, but just last night coming in through Gatwick I was getting the third degree. "So how did you qualify for your visa?" etc etc (me: "I filled in some paperwork and then waited for a bit.")
Not only is it a question of once you're accepted into the EU it will be easy or at least easier to move between EU countries, there is also the fact that in many EU countries pretty much everybody speaks English and in some of the bigger companies you may even find that English is the company language used. In other words don't let language be a barrier as it may be much less so than is expected.
Also some food for thought on the gay and where to live:
pewglobal.org/2014/04/15/global-morality/table/homosexuality/
Denmark, where I live, wasn't included in that survey, but would expect us to have scored well.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LGBT_rights_in_Denmark
This isn't really true. Actually, it really ISN'T true. It is true that once you have permanent EU residency then it's easy to move around and get jobs wherever, but permanent residency is a hugely different deal to a working visa, and much more difficult to acquire - essentially impossible if you have no family ties to the country, do not work there and do not speak the language.
For a non-EU citizen, your visa is only valid for the job/place/period you have been hired for. If you quit that job, you will need to apply for another visa before being hired by another company, and still go through whatever immigration rules apply to that specific country (and they will differ). Additionally, most countries will not issue you a visa unless you are resident in a place you have citizenship (definitely true for the UK), so if you do find a different job, you will likely still need to return home to the US in order to go through the paperwork. It's not that going elsewhere in the EU is a bad idea in and of itself, but it doesn't shortcut the process at all.
The school route is definitely a good suggestion, I'm just not sure how feasible it will be for several reasons. But I'm definitely going to start looking into it.
One interesting thing I discovered while revisiting some of my research was that the entrepreneur visa actually allows two people to apply for that visa while 'sharing' funds, i.e. they're going into business together. So I guess another theoretical option I'd have would be to partner with someone who actually has the capital.
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Not that grim. People do it all the time. It's not as easy as just wanting to, but if you make it a goal, it will happen. How about going to university in the UK for an in-demand profession, then getting a work visa? Simple, takes a while, should work.
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/308513/shortageoccupationlistapril14.pdf
Video game coder is on the list
Cost of university is the barrier to entry here. You might get more accurate help if we knew more about you. What skills and qualifications do you currently have? Where are you currently located?
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The main one is to open a savings account and deposit the equivalent of £945 in there, and leave it untouched. It needs to be aged for at least 90 days, and given that the exchange rate can fluctuate you are best to go for £1,000. Right now that would be about $1,500.
The job you are looking for needs a salary of £20,500 or above. About £11 an hour. Depending on skills there may be something that can be done here.
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Anyone likely to be willing and able to sponsor would likely not bother unless you are some sort of low income yet specialist they cannot find in UkEU.The 1000 or so you should easily be able to have in place well before you apply as it will take a while to sort out finding someone willing to sponsor.
In any event almost all visa categories have some requirement to demonstrate funds for maintenance. Sometimes they'll even ask you to show a bank statement at the border. Even after you've been approved and proven it during that process. They will send you back if you can't. Happened to some friends some years back.
The savings is the one that is time dependant. Even if I could offer a Tier 2 certificate through my company tomorrow the "maintenance" requirement would still exist.
If a company is determined to hire a specific person, they can write the job advert so that only the candidate fits the description. But still, that 90 day clock needs to have run out first. The points system isn't exactly great right now.
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As for my demonstrable skills, they are admittedly not the kind that's particularly appealing to most employers. My work experience is running a buffet in a restaurant and working as (in a simplified term) a tour guide at a state park. So I have experience in customer service and public speaking, more or less. And no schooling to speak of, although I would like to change that if possible. I've just been kind of stuck working full time and have never had the money nor time to do it.
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