Has Anyone moved to UK?

[tcsparky]

I have decided that I want to move to the UK. I have friends there who are encouraging me to come, and I have always loved my visits. I also have a place to live- one of my friends has a large house and willing to rent to me.

I have started applying for teaching jobs. Many of the schools offer to sponsor an international candidate if hired. I found information on applying for a work Visa. I *think* this is the process: get written job offer, send in job offer with completed application and a check for $900. Wait 8-12 weeks for an answer.

Has anyone else done this? What does the process actually entail? What do I need to know that I probably

Thanks everyone!!!

[jolene]

I don't have any info to share but we visited there last summer and have friends in Scotland. Love that place. Want to go back. Jelly, Xister.

[Sassmofi]

I have been living in the UK for over 4 years now.

1. After you receive your job offer and the company agrees to sponsor you, the company must first prove they cannot fill the position from within the UK. Usually the company will write a job specification particularly tailored to you. The company is required to to advertise the position for a month (could be 6 weeks as it has been some time since we went through the process).
2. If the only suitable candidate is yourself, the company will need to submit an application to the employment tribunal which only meets once a month and the application has to be received 2 weeks before the tribunal or it will be reviewed in the next month. The tribunal will review the application to make sure the criteria are met.
3. After the tribunal has approved the application for sponsorship, the visa application process begins. Your offered salary must minimum requirements in order for you to support yourself (I believe it is now just under 20,000).
4. You will fill out information online for your biometrics (some of this will include information on your parents). They will also want copies of your bank account balances. Marriage/Divorce Documents, birth certificate, etc
5. After you submit the visa application, you will receive notice to get photographed and fingerprinted. I believe the location was the local social security office which will send the information to Home Office.
6. Once all is complete, the time to complete the visa can very. DH's company paid for an expediter. Our completed information and passports needed to go to the embassy in New York and the expediter personally walked them into the embassy and received our visas in about 3 days. If you don't have an expediter, I believe it can take several weeks to get your passport and visa back.

DH works for a large global company with headquarters in the UK. They do sponsorships all the time. The advertisement was posted in August. The sponsorship application just missed the deadline for the September tribunal and was processed during the October tribunal. We submitted our visa application in October with the biometric appointment at the very end of October. We had the passports and visa in our hands in about a week with the visa start date at the end of November.

[tcsparky]

Sassmofi- W.O.W.

You gave me a lot of great info. And it is a lot more involved than I originally thought. I'm glad you responded. I am looking to apply for a teaching position (there is a teacher shortage there now), so if I want to start for the Fall term, I need to get hired soon!

Thank you so much!

My friends were a lot more clueless than I am. They said, "Just move over here first and then get a job. " I didn't want to be an "undocumented immigrant" and told them that I would follow the proper procedures, even if it meant waiting longer.

[navane]

I used to live in the UK. I was initially there on a student visa to complete my postgraduate studies. After my student visa was up, I looked into going back on a work visa. I had been in an 8-year relationship with an Englishman and, at the time, getting married, doing another degree or having a work visa were our options for me legally remaining in the UK long-term.

I found it very difficult to obtain a job as the rules were very strict back then (appx 2005). As Sassmofi explained, the employer needs to be able to convincingly articulate why a British citizen cannot fill the job. The UK government did have a reduced requirements list for some international hires - but those were for jobs in areas of great need such as technology, medicine and engineering (not my fields).

I did find a *perfect* job in London that was as an international/American student adviser for UCLA at a satellite office in London. The requirements were that the applicant have a strong background in academic advising (check), knowledge of the American/California university system (check and check) and also international student experience (check). I applied and they were very interested in me.....but then they got all hung up on the fact that they were going to have to petition the government for permission to hire me. So, it ended up being a no-go. I ended up not ever moving back as there was no justification for it and marriage wasn't on the horizon.

If the UK is in desperate need of primary school teachers, then you might be in with a shout. Sassmofi gave an excellent run down. Good luck!

[tcsparky]

Navane,
Thanks for the info. It was very helpful. I am actually applying for High School Science teaching positions. One is with a managed Academy chain. Right there in the application is a note about letting them know if I will need a sponsor to work in the country. HOPEFULLY that means that they are familiar with the process and are prepared to do it.

Fingers crossed!!

[navane]

That sounds promising!

[tcsparky]

I've applied for three teaching positions this week. And the Passport Office cashed the check I wrote to renew my passport. So....progress!! With them not getting out of school for the summer until mid-July, there will be ongoing vacancies being announced. Hopefully a few will be willing to do Skype interviews.

[tcsparky]

I have a job offer!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So now the process starts. The school interviewed me and several other foreign teachers, as well as several local teachers. Due to the well-known Science teacher shortage, the principal is sure she will be able to get permission to hire me.

Now to apply for a Work Visa. I won't give notice to my current employer until I have the Work Visa in hand,k because that apparently is not a sure thing.

But.............if all goes well...........I'll be moving in July!!!!

[Tom Earp]

Odd isn't it that easier for Brit's to move into USA than Americans to move to Britain!

[navane]

Originally Posted by tcsparky

I have a job offer!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So now the process starts. The school interviewed me and several other foreign teachers, as well as several local teachers. Due to the well-known Science teacher shortage, the principal is sure she will be able to get permission to hire me.

Now to apply for a Work Visa. I won't give notice to my current employer until I have the Work Visa in hand,k because that apparently is not a sure thing.

But.............if all goes well...........I'll be moving in July!!!!

Wow, congratulations! In which city/region would you be living?

[NYCMS]

Congrats on the job offer! Here's my two cents from having friends who've moved from the US to the UK...of course, those on this board who've done so can speak to this best, but I've not seen these things mentioned so thought they're worth a post. And given the timeline from when you first posted about this, you may have already checked into this!

Look into the tax situation so there are no surprises. My understanding is that you are dually taxed: you are taxed by the U.S. and also pay taxes to the UK.

I'd also investigate fully the cost of living wherever you might go - London, for example, makes living in NYC look cheap. Not sure how other parts of the UK stack up, but it's worth doing. You're fortunate to have a friend who will rent you a room but even so, I'd get the details on that (how much is the rent) along with other cost-of-living items like groceries, transportation (the tube/bus in London is pricy or will you need a car?), etc. so that there will be fewer surprises when it comes to how far your salary will go.

Your friends over there - if they're American and understand how living costs translate - can help as well. There might be online calculators that can help, I know you can find them for comparing cost-of-living among US cities.

Keep us posted and good luck!

[tcsparky]

Tom, you're right- it is definitely easier for a foreigner to get a job here than for an American to get one in the UK. I guess other countries are pickier??

I'll be living in the eastern region of Essex on the coast, about 2 hours north of London by train. It's a lot of rural, with little towns and villages scattered around.

As for the tax situation, from what I can find out, I would only pay US taxes if my income exceeded a certain amount. I'm not sure exactly what that amount is, but I was told that as a teacher, I'd definitely make under that threshold. A friend who just moved back from there was making 45K (pounds) a year, and he never paid US taxes.

I'll be living with a friend, and sharing expenses. From what we're working out, it will definitely be cheaper than living here by myself! Most of the bills are less than what I'm paying now, and I'd only be paying half.

Applying for the work Visa is expensive, though. $900. That's a pretty good sized chunk of change. My teaching certificate and driving license will be valid there, so that's two less things to have pay for immediately.

The job starts in September, so I *think* I have enough time to get everything done and applied for / passed through by then!!

[NYCMS]

Originally Posted by tcsparky

I'll be living in the eastern region of Essex on the coast, about 2 hours north of London by train. It's a lot of rural, with little towns and villages scattered around.

While you're there you should drive north of Essex to Norfolk - specifically Holkham Beach, this vast, incredible beach on the North Sea that has been called the most beautiful in all of England. The whole area - small villages along the coast - is spectacular. Norfolk is the 'county' just north of Essex.

Wishing you lots of luck - sounds like it's really coming together - and hope you will post about your adventures from time to time!

[tcsparky]

I filled out a lot of employment paperwork and emailed it back. Today they asked for a scan of my passport. Not sure what else is happening, though. I can't apply for the Work Visa until they have received approval to hire a foreigner. However, school doesn't start until September!