Moving to England work visas?
 

New to the forum.

I am wondering about getting a work visa when we move to England this coming fall. What are your experiences (if any) on obtaining one?

My fiance and I are both in our 30's, have no kids, and plan on making our dreams finally come true this year. He has his Masters in Education and I will be finished with my Bachelor's sometime this year or early next year.

He is hoping with his Masters he can secure a job sponsor to help obtain a visa. Since we are traveling together though, if I can't get a visa in 6 months, would I have to leave?

Thanks for any advice.

Have you read this: https://www.gov.uk/skilled-worker-visa

And this: https://www.gov.uk/uk-family-visa

Visa first.

If you don’t have a visa that allows you to remain in the country legally, you have 2 options.

1. Leave the country.
2. Decide not to leave the country and stay there illegally.

Only you can decide which option is right for you.

A lot will depend on your nationality. Do either of you have parents or grandparents born in the UK? That may help with visas. You need to check the UK government website for the rules pertaining to you and your partner. I obtained a UK visa because my mum was born there and my husband's visa was dependent on me. So slightly different visas (and different cost).

You can't just say you are moving to the UK. If you arrive without the correct visas, or immigration thinks you may work without a visa, or overstay, they could send you straight back on the next plane. Check visas first, before you do any other planning. I hope you get to live your dream, good luck!

If you and your partner have been living together in a relationship akin to marriage for two years, and have evidence of this, then if he gets a work visa you can apply to be his dependent.

If not, you will have to get married.

Some visa categories can't be switched in-country but not absolutely sure which. Definitely best to sort out visas for both of you before moving.

You don't say where you're from, but if you're from the us, my understanding is you need a visa first. if you go over there first, you may give the appearance that you're intentionally trying to stay on, which can get you kicked out. I've actually been married to a British citizen for 20 years - we live in the us - but even I'm not allowed to just go over and live. From my own research, the visa application has to take place here, and even if you're there but without a visa, you still have to come back here to go through the visa process.

waters2 is correct. If you don't have your visa first, your passport will be stamped not allowed to work and entry date will have a mandatory departure date.

I moved to the UK in the early 80's with my then English husband. We had to go to the British Embassy here in Los Angeles, where I had to submit all kinds of paperwork before I received a visa entitling me to stay indefinitely and to work.

Good luck!

Your fiance could begin looking for positions in his area of education in the UK from here (assuming you're from the U.S.) Possibly his school has listings of overseas positions... there used to be a number of international schools who hired faculty with masters degrees to teach but generally you apply and get the job, then they take care of the visa technicalities with you. At least that's how it worked for us back in the day. Good luck!

Regarding the work visa, it's definitely possible for your fiancé to secure a job sponsor with his Masters in Education. However, it might be a bit more difficult for you to obtain a visa since you're not married yet. You might want to look into a Tier 2 Dependent visa, which would allow you to live and work in England while your fiancé is on his work visa.

Since leaving the European Union, the UK government has introduced stricter immigration regulations. I’m not sure whether a Masters in Education would necessarily qualify for entry as schools here tend to look for teachers capable of teaching specific subjects and there aren’t that many American schools in the UK. I used to work in Human Resources for multi-national companies before retiring and usually could only get work visas for existing employees. Your fiancé definitely needs to obtain a job before travelling to the UK.

That said, the other option was/ is the familial connection, which others have already covered.

Best of luck with fulfilling your dreams.

uktravelover: The OP hasn't returned to the thread since posting back in Feb. Perhaps they've discovered the dream is harder than they thought.