Looking to move

Hello,

My name is Natalia.  I am an American citizen and live in Orlando, FL.

I have just joined today.

I am a uni professor.  I am halfway through my Ph.D. and I am very interested in spending some time in England, either teaching or doing research.

I would like to know what my options are and where to start.  I want to do it all the right way... not just taking a plane and staying like some people do.  I was wondering if it is true that Americans are allowed to work in the UK for 6 months without much questioning.  I also wanted to know if there were any special considerations for those in Academia, etc.

I appreciate any help 

Natalia

Americans can visit the UK on a visitor's visa for up to six months with little hassle.  Americans cannot work in the UK for ANY period of time without a work permit.  The only way to get a work permit is to be sponsored by a UK employer, which is pretty difficult.  Also, Americans cannot look for work whilst in the UK on a visitor's visa, so you can't come over to apply for jobs.  However, if a UK employer is interested in you, you can come to the UK on a visitor's visa to attend an interview.  Confused yet?   

If you're studying, you could come over on a student visa which would allow you to work up to 20 hours a week.  Is there a particular university you're interested in attending?

after you get your PHD you may qualify for the higly skilled migrant program.

Natalia, assuming you are not looking to compete your PhD in the UK (at a UK university), I'm not sure what your best option will be. There are post-docs at UK universities though it depends upon what your subject area is as some fields are not going to have a lot. So a post-doc you'd do after you finished your PhD.

It may be possible to facilitate an exchange with a UK uni now while you are working on your PhD if for some reason there is something over here that could make or break your PhD.

Take a look at jobs.ac.uk - they post almost all the uni jobs and research positions in the UK though bear in mind this is a bad time of year to see what could really be available.

Also, unless you are a tenured professor over in the US be aware that the title 'professor' is only given to the most senior of teaching staff here in the UK. A lot of misunderstanding can arise if you tell them you are a professor when by their standards you are just a 'teacher' or 'lecturer' or 'reader'.

I'm doing PhD here in the UK, as is my husband (though he's English). Feel free to send me a PM (personal message) if you want to pick my brain at all!

Good luck!

(BTW, if you had the time and money, I don't think it would be illegal for you to come here for 6 months and spend most of your time at a research institution on a visitor's visa. You just absolutely cannot work and you'd probably have to prove you have the funds to last that long. I'm not certain of this but it might be worth investigating if all else fails.)

http://www.jobs.ac.uk/

This site lists academic vacancies, you may be able to get visa sponsorship for certain positions.

I also wanted to know if there were any special considerations for those in Academia, etc.

In addition to what the others have posted, there's a special category for "academic visitors".  It's a bit warpy, but probably something you should check out as well.

My American wife (then g'friend) got a visa to teach in the UK through the Teacher Training Agency, which also offered free courses to familiarise overseas teachers with UK practices and get them accredited.  This was some 8 years ago and I think the Agency was set up by the Government to fill a gap in teaching posts.  Have a look at www.tta.gov.uk and see what the latest is and if they can help.

Thank you so much for the wealth of info... this is very very helpful