Where I am and where I want to go...

Hey! It's a post outside the welcome wagon! 

Okay, so where I am and what I want to do. I want to go to England to work and play. I don't have any definable goal in mind except to experience being there. I am at the very very beginning of my paperwork, which means I'm about to go down and get my passport photos and then pay my fee. That's what I know I have to do.

So here is the next question. What do I go for next? I'm not in school, so BUNAC seems to be out. I don't have a beautiful English lass waiting for me to propose (although if there are any out there...   )  I could possibly try the "Highly Skilled Migrant" route, thought the application seems expensive and I haven't seen it mentioned much in the threads I've been reading.

There is the possibility of being hired on over there first. My day-job company seems to have UK offices, which I am presently waiting on a reply back on the possibility of a transfer. I do have some sites of UK job boards I'm just beginning to peruse.

So I have a nagging feeling I'm missing part of the process somewhere in my planning (other than finding a place to stay).  Am I missing something? Is there an easier way to go, or am I right on track?

Don't know that there is an easier way to go than the things you've suggested.  Even being the child of a British citizen, as I am, doesn't make it all that easy.

So, you need to either follow up on the HSMP, find someone to offer you a job (and the would then have to take care of all of the pricey work permit stuff), or enroll as a full-time student at a university.

If your company has UK offices, trying to get them to transfer you might be the easiest way to go. 

Once you've got one of those things lined up, you can worry about places to live, etc. 

Good luck to you, and welcome to the site!

Julie

If you even think you would qualify, I would look into the Highly Skilled Migrant Programme (HSMP).  The biggest benefit of this as opposed to a Work Permit is that you are not "married" to your job as your way to stay in the UK, i.e. if you find you hate your Work Permit job, you're kind of stuck.  If you come over on the HSMP, you can work for whomever you want and aren't tied to a specific company.

Plus, keep in mind that it is technically illegal to seek work in the UK whilst visiting on the Visa Waiver programme, so you couldn't come over to find someone willing to hire you.  You are allowed to come over for an interview if any of your UK job boards bear fruit.

Thank you so much. It's a little odd to think of myself as an immigrant, but that's all part of expanding my experience I guess! 

Also, if you have grandparents from any EU countries, might be worth investigating whether you can get a passport from one of those countries - that would allow you to live here and work or do whatever you want. eg a friend of mine was able to get an Irish passport because his grandfather was Irish, so he can live here with no restrictions.

I just fired off the first email of hopfully many to the Uk side of Unisys. Let's see what comes of it.