Hello, I'm a US citizen living in the US, my boyfriend is English and lives in England. We've been to see each other many times and it's beginning to cost us lots of money in airfare. We decided that I should move to England to be with him.

I've looked at the UK visa websites, other expat sites, immigration sites and IND sites. I bought a few books about the subject; one called "Living and Working in Britain", I've read lots of information but everything is either very vague or very confusing.

Can anyone tell me what steps I need to take to move to England? I know I need a visa but what kind do I need? We want to be together forever but we don't want to get married out of 'convenience', I am not a 'specially skilled' worker and I am not rich.

If I do move, my boyfriend has a home for us both to live in and will be able to support me financially until it is legal for me to work (hopefully that won't take too, too long).

I would appreciate any actual direction anyone can give. I would even be happy with an email address of someone who I can contact directly about what steps I need to take to make this a reality.

Thank you!

 

Thank you, Triple H,

The unmarried partner route won't work as we've never lived together (but very much would like to).

I've got my CV on the UK monster.com and have applied on line for work. Unfortunately, there haven't been any responses so far.

I guess the work permit is the most realistic approach at this time so I'll keep at it.

Thanks again for your help!

 

Hi bird77,

Thank you for the advice.

It is SO frustrating but I guess the only thing we can do is persevere.

I did get some other helpful advice from another website but it involved becoming a student and taking classes in the UK. I suppose if you had a student visa and were able to live with your S.O. for two years while on said visa, then you'd be able to prove an unmarried partnership.

Other advice I received was if you are able to visit for a few months, go to recruiting agencies and let them know that you are serious about living and working in the UK. If a company is interested in you (I would think this would work much better if you have special skills), go to them directly so they can interview you in person. If they like you and desire you as an employee, they will be more likely to sponsor you.

I hope this has given you some hope or at least some ideas. I'm considering the latter (I do not want to be a student again) and hope that something works out.

Good luck!!

 

LDR512,

I think YOUR best bet would be to get the fiance visa. I'm not exactly sure of the rules but if you look at the UK immigration website, they should give you better details than I can. I believe the visa allows you to go to the UK for up to 6 months (but you have to get married within those 6 months). You're not allowed to work until you are married so you have to show that you and your fiance (provided he/she is a UK citizen) will be able to support yourselves without public assistance.

Hope I put you in the right direction!