UK relocation in my predicament?

Hello everyone,

I was hoping to get some assitance with the policies of moving to the UK.

My husband and I are both US citizens and are interested in moving to the London area. We're ages 23 and 21. Currently we aren't students, but my husband does have a degree.

Since we're both based in the US, what are some ways we could look into moving to the UK?

I appreciate your help. Thank you.

I'm not 100% sure but I think the only way you could do it would be to find a London based job that wants to hire either of you and get a work visa through them. Unless you have UK relatives that you can apply for a family visa through.

Nope, no relatives sadly enough.

Is it as easy as finding something on monster.co.uk? I doubt it right. haha Because I would assume one would need to physically be there to interview.

Any other ideas?

If your husband has a degree, then maybe you can apply through highly skilled migrant workers programme.

Hi again

Okay, here's the basic rundown.  Work permits are not easy to get unless you or your husband is a member of one of the shortage professions (teaching, nursing and social work are the big ones, along with some types of engineering and selected other health professions.)   You have to have a job offer from a UK company, who applies for the work permit on your behalf. If your profession is not on the shortage list your employer has to prove they have advertised your position in the UK and the EU and have to justify why you are the best person for the job...something that many employers understandably don't want to take on.  If you are in a shortage profession OR you transfer to the UK offices of your US company (another popular work permit option), this advertising requirement does not apply.  Oh, and if you get a work permit your stay in the country is tied to your employer- if you quit/are fired from your job you have to get a new work permit.

Your other major option is HSMP, or the highly skilled migrant program.  That allows you to come over with permission to work, so you can find a job anywhere you like once you get to the UK.  It's a points-based system, which means you are awarded points for education, work experience, salary, and other things and if you get any combination of points that adds up to 65 or higher, you will qualify for the visa.  There's a sample HSMP points calculator here - http://www.workpermit.com/uk/hsmp_calculator.htm.

With both of these options, there's a dependent visa available- so only one of you need qualify for any particular migration route and then the other will be able to get a dependent visa which allows unrestricted work.

This is just a basic outline....a good starting point for research is the UK Visas website- http://www.ukvisas.gov.uk.  good luck

Andrea saves the day yet again! Thank you SO much. I think this will work for me!