Any hope for my husband and I moving to the UK?

Hello, everyone!  I am a new member of this board and looking for some help, or at least some honest answers even if they are not ones I'd want to hear.    My husband and I are both citizens of the US, but it has always been our dream to live in the UK; specifically Scotland, but really anywhere in the UK will do.  We were recently married in Scotland (Balquhidder Church) in October 2004, and during our travels fell in love with the area and people even more than we had previously done.

Our problem is that from the research we have done over the past months, it looks as though there is little to no hope of us ever being able to move to the UK.  Neither of us has any immediate UK ancestry, we have both been out of college for about 5 years (bachelor's degrees, neither of which are related to social work), and although we are intelligent people with decent jobs, we do not have the income or specialized skills which seem to be necessary for an HSMP.

Anyway, I suppose this is a fruitless effort at this point, but I'm just curious as to whether anyone on this site would have any suggestions at all about any possible routes to try.   Thanks, I really appreciate you taking the time to read this!

Could you enrol in postgraduate courses and come as students? Or what kind of work do you do? Anything that you might be able to get a work visa for?

What are your degrees in?

Hi, Britwife!  Thanks for replying.  We were thinking about the postgraduate route, though we weren't sure how difficult it would be to remain after the schooling was over.  And we weren't sure if we'd both have to be in school, because that might be difficult to afford (although if we could work part-time that might be do-able).  But it is definitely a good idea, and I will look into it further to figure out the answers to my questions, thank you.

We both work at an online publishing company, which basically makes thousands of journals available online for research purposes, mainly for libraries and schools.  It is called EBSCO Publishing and is used worldwide, one of the leaders in this industry.  It's sort of specialized, though, so I'm not sure of the possibility of a work visa from another company, although that might also be something for us to look into.  I have also been looking at immigrationexpert.com and am wondering if that would be helpful at all...not sure if their advice is worth the cost or not.

Anyway, thanks again...I will keep looking and considering what you said and will let you know what I find out!  

Hi, garry...my degree is in English, and my husband's is in journalism. 

Hi, garry...my degree is in English, and my husband's is in journalism. 

I just finished helping a woman whose spousal was in curtailment proceedings switch into a journalist visa.  It is absolutely possible but not the easiest thing to pull off because it requires *patience*.  Did you consider it?  Possibly billing yourselves as a husband/wife implant?

How about training for a shortage professions (nursing, social work, etc.) in the US and then getting a work permit?  Might be cheaper, as if you do come as a student you'll have to pay hefty international fees. 

I came over originally as a post-grad student and recently got a job teaching in a secondary school.  I'm in a shortage profession though, like nursing and social work.  Good luck on your searh and welcome to UKY!

Thanks so much, everyone, for your warm welcome and suggestions!  It's definitely given me some hope, at least... 

We were thinking about the postgraduate route, though we weren't sure how difficult it would be to remain after the schooling was over.  And we weren't sure if we'd both have to be in school, because that might be difficult to afford (although if we could work part-time that might be do-able).  

Hi, Puddleglum.

If one of a couple is a full-time student, the spouse can work full time.  The student can also work part time during school and full time during school holidays and summers.

Look at schools in Scotland.  If you earn a master's degree in Scotland, you can stay for a further 2 years to work under the Fresh Talent Intitative.

I'm trying to find a way to move to Scotland myself.  Stay tuned.  I'm down to Plan G now, I think!