Applying for a UK visa when living abroad

Hey all,

I'm in the process of getting a UK skilled worker visa for a position at a university. However, I currently live in Switzerland with my spouse, and I can't quite figure out if/what it will be possible to take care of all the paperwork, biometrics, etc while being abroad, or if I'm going to have to take a trip back to the US to deal with all of this.

Does anyone have any experience with this? Can it all be done remotely and/or through any embassies in Europe?

Thanks!

Hey all,

I'm in the process of getting a UK skilled worker visa for a position at a university. However, I currently live in Switzerland with my spouse, and I can't quite figure out if/what it will be possible to take care of all the paperwork, biometrics, etc while being abroad, or if I'm going to have to take a trip back to the US to deal with all of this.

Does anyone have any experience with this? Can it all be done remotely and/or through any embassies in Europe?

Thanks!

Welcome. 

You can apply from any country in which you are legally living (as opposed to visiting) so you won't have to travel back to the US.

Thanks for the reply. So in general do you just mail in all your documents? Isn't there also a need for biometrics, or does not apply for work visas?

Thanks for the reply. So in general do you just mail in all your documents? Isn't there also a need for biometrics, or does not apply for work visas?

The procedure varies according to the country of application. They are mostly, if not all online applications now though with documents being submitted electronically and only passports being sent.   But biometrics is necessary for all of them.
 
I expect you've found this page already but just in case. 

https://www.gov.uk/skilled-worker-visa/apply-from-outside-the-uk

Sorry to be so vague but we mostly see partner visas from the US here. 

Sorry I should have been more clear -- I'm a US citizen (so is my spouse), currently living in Switzerland. So the question is whether I have to go back to the US to do anything?

Sorry I should have been more clear -- I'm a US citizen (so is my spouse), currently living in Switzerland. So the question is whether I have to go back to the US to do anything?

As long as you are living in Switzerland legally and not just visiting, you don't have to go back to the US, you can apply from Switzerland.

You'll be able to give biometrics there, in Switzerland.

Isn't there also a need for biometrics, or does not apply for work visas?

I assume you have now read Larrabee's link?

As Larrabee said, this site is mainly those who use a partner to sponsor them to the UK.

immigrationboards cover all the visas.  https://www.immigrationboards.com/uk-skilled-worker-visas/

Huh, ok. Do you mean the whole uk-yankee site is for people that use a partner to sponsor? Or do you just mean this specific board (Visas & Citizenship)? And is that just by virtue of who uses the board, or is that how it's designed?

Huh, ok. Do you mean the whole uk-yankee site is for people that use a partner to sponsor? Or do you just mean this specific board (Visas & Citizenship)? And is that just by virtue of who uses the board, or is that how it's designed?

No, it’s not specifically for partners sponsoring visas, it’s just that the majority of people on the forum happen to be moving to the UK on a family visa to join their U.K. citizen partner/spouse/child/parent… so we are more familiar with the requirements for family visas than for work visas.

Also, the UK Yankee site is mainly focused on people who are applying for their visas from the US… so we know that process very well, but we aren’t very familiar with the visa application process if you are applying from another country… because the process is slightly different everywhere (for example, how you submit your documents, give biometrics, and what premium options are available to you is different if you are applying in the US than if you are applying in Switzerland).


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