silam

Lets start this out on the ground with the quick facts:

• I'm a US Citizen
• I currently do not possess work visas/permits for any other country
• I am interested in working and living abroad

I've applied for several jobs in London that are related to my knowledge specialty as there happen to be more openings there than anywhere else in the world (including US). I'm aware that for smaller firms they might not want to go through the hassle of sponsoring me, and unfortunately most of these firms are smaller in terms of personell. I do not currently meet the requirements by the home office (not enough points) for a visa without being sponsored. I went through the process and it looks like I either need schooling in the UK or I need to have a graduate degree. I have the max points from all the other categories.

My language knowledge is Spanish (which has deteriorated from conversational, but I'm using rosetta stone to take it back up). Any tips or tricks on getting a job overseas? I know the more information I provide the more helpful but I'm not sure how much resume type information I want to provide here.

User Name

Suggest the UK-Yankee website forum (Americans in the UK) for good, first-hand experience of qualifying to move to the UK.

chrissxb

please continue to follow this thread in our UK & Ireland forum which may fit better than communitybuzz!

regards

chrissxb
co-moderator
communitybuzz!

bensyd

I'd say you're pretty much out of luck. With the unemployment rate near on 8%, it's unlikely that a UK company will go through the cost and risk of sponsoring someone when there is a vast pool of available labour. You may have more success if you have a specific set of skills that are in high demand.

alanR

1) Get a job with a US company that has offices in the UK, wait several years for a transfer opportunity
2) Get a graduate degree (note though that the UK government is tightening up on skilled visas as too many of the visa holders end up flipping burgers)
3) Marry someone from an EEA country
4) Hand over extremely large wads of money and become a student
5) Find that you had a parent from an EEA country and get citizenship through them
6) Find you have a Canadian parent, get Canadian citizenship, then use the Canadian citizenship to get a UK Ancestry visa

Option 3 is probably the easiest - especially if you scratch their back to get them a Green Card

Your problem is that you are up against 500 million people who have an absolute right to work in the UK andthe UK economy is still in the doldrums

As for your Spanish, suggest you practice Castilian rather than South American

gtownguy

1) Get a job with a US company that has offices in the UK, wait several years for a transfer opportunity

Even this route is a really long shot as well. I used to work for a major international hotel chain whose European HQ are in London. They wouldn't even consider you for a transfer to the UK unless you already had permission to work in the EU. I'd say this option probably only works for the most senior of executives.

silam

Thanks for the replies - I'll look into the UK-Yankee website. I see a bunch of job postings for my skill set, so I think there is some sort of demand...

Quick update. I had received a raise and hadn't calculated my point total for about a year. When I recalculated, I now have 80 points so I qualify for a highly skilled visa without a sponsor.

Should I indicate somewhere on my resume/cover letter/both that I qualify for an unsponsored visa? I would just apply for the visa except for the fact that its a little over $1,000 USD and has a limited life span.

jamieqpr

i would expect that any company interested in hiring you would suggest you apply for the visa off your own back then come back to them once you have received it...

there may be a possibility of you striking a deal with an employer to reimburse you the $1k once you have received the visa and started employment but to be honest with the way the job market is over here at the moment you may struggle to find an employer willing to pay your fees...

i would suggest you apply off your own back for said visa. For the $1k visa fee you will be entitled to 2 years entry to the UK, and at the end of that period you can apply for another 3 years for $500. After the 5 years you can apply to stay permanently in the UK....

If the $1k application fee is prohibitive then you will likely be unable to attain a Tier 1 Visa as one of the pre-requisites is that you have had at least $4500 in your bank account for at least 3 months prior to your application.

silam

$1k as an "application fee" for a job (since I already have one, just looking to advance) that is only good for a few months (due to entrance requirements) sounds expensive!

Have any of you dealt with this particular decision on your own? If so how did you conclude and why?

Wadjet

The application for Tier 1 isn't a job application. Its not linked to jobs the way that the sponsered work visa is. Except in very rare circumstances, employers will expect you to already have a visa in place in order for them to consider you for the job.

If you do decide to go for the Tier 1 visa, make sure you read through the application requirements and fill in the application meticulously, and supply all the supporting documentation that is required. Missing something out because you don't have it or are sloppy will mean that you've just poured $1k down the drain.

silam

Thanks - I qualify/don't qualify based on my salary essentially, so I need to keep an eye on the exchange rate.

I'm also looking at trying to get EU citizenship through my grandparents as a way to circumvent this, but I think I might have to do a Tier 1 visa.

ajax

I am very well versed in the Tier-1 General visa (formerly known as HSMP) application process as several immediate family members have applied for and received them, most recently in August 2010.

First, it is not guaranteed and can take several weeks to process.

Second, the Home Secretary announced on Friday that she was planning to end settlement rights for students and highly-skilled migrants.

Third, the initial T1G visa is good for two years; you have limited leave to remain but can enter as you please (you have no absolute entitlement to enter, however, and can be denied entry or deported in extreme cases).

The expectation is that, if you are as highly skilled as you claim to be, then you will have no problem finding a job straightaway. At the end of the two years, you have to prove that your income has been of a sufficiently high standard to then apply for an extension, which is usually granted for an additional three years. They count income over the prior fifteen months, so you basically have to start earning very soon after the visa is granted.

Depending on which field you are in, you might be luckier than others in getting a job. Despite the fact that unemployment is high, people are of course still getting jobs. You might wish to mention to a prospective employer that you will not need sponsorship, but, although it is difficult, I would not apply for any job before I had the visa - as most employers will not even glance at your CV unless you show that you do not need them to sponsor you. Again, the field you are in might alter these circumstances slightly.

Claiming EU citizenship through your grandparents is tricky; unless you have a grandparent who was born in an EU country, I would pretty much forget it. Even then, it can be tricky if they renounced their European citizenship.

Currently, non-EEA students who receive a masters or doctorate degree from a British university are entitled to apply for a Tier-1 Post-Study Work visa (T1PSW) within one year of having got the degree. These are usually good for two years. Being an overseas student can be very expensive, however, and fees for many masters' programmes for non-EEA nationals usually start at around Ł10,000 per annum.

Aviatrix

Citizenship laws differ from country to country, so (without knowing what citizenship the OP is hoping to claim) this is possibly something of an over-generalisation.

Christopher

Absolutely. And on that point, the term "EU citizenship" is a bit of a misnomer, and misleading, here. Each EU country has its own citizenship laws and issues passports to its citizens: they are not primarily EU passports, but passports of Denmark, Italy, Slovenia, etc, etc, albeit issued in a more or less common format across the EU. And "EU citizenship" as such, while it carries some benefits that are distinct from the national citizenships, merely derives from being the citizen of an EU country.

alanR

But which EEA countries allow you to claim citizenship based on grandparents citizenship?