Hoping to get work permit -- how hard is it REALLY?

Hi,

I'm new to the forum but have been reading many of the posts before asking my question, in hopes that someone has already addressed it.

Can anyone share their specific experiences about getting a company to sponsor them to work in the UK?  Has anyone done this in a field that is not highly technical or highly in-demand?  How willing are companies to do this? 

As like others who have asked questions, I am an American who does not have a British fiancee or husband and who also does not qualify for a highly skilled workers visa.  The response to them has been that the best way to come over is through a company sponsorship.  I have also read the more formal sites, but I would really like to hear some individual experiences.

thanks!

I don't have any first hand experience with getting a work visa but from what I understand, if you aren't already involved with a company that is willing to send you to their UK branch or similar, it'll be quite a struggle.

It costs the company quite a lot of money and they have to prove to the Home Office that they advertised the position they are wanting to hire you for for at least a month (I think) with no success. The owner of the company I work for obtained a work visa for someone from Texas (already a *very* good friend of his) and they did it through an agency to handle all the paperwork which cost the company a few thousand pounds.

Also, if you don't have any special skills, they may have a hard time proving that *no one* in the country couldn't do the job instead.

Hope things work out for you and you can find a company that will get the visa for you!!   

I've moved this to the visa section in hopes it'll get you a better response than in the jobs board. 

I tried this, having a british boyfriend at the time (who is now my fiancee and will be my spouse in 2 months) and my company who is a VERY LARGE financial firm said 'No way'. 

It costs the company a lot of money in visa, lawyer and all kinds of other fees.  They were bringing back some expats from there as it was costing them too much to have them employed in the UK.  And my company is not in dire straits, it just wasn't feesible.  Plus, i believe, you have to posses some skill that a UK resident doesn't have.

It was really hard and saddening the first time i went through it.

I'm aware I don't know much about this subject, but I still have a hard time believing that this is just impossible to do.   Maybe it's just me trying to maintain a sense of optimism and not get too down about it.

I have some very important contacts at the large technology company I was formerly employed by (I reported directly to the founder and worked closely with the CEO and President).  They have offices in London, and also have close connections to other companies based or with offices in the UK.  I figure if these people can't help me, no one can.  I have meetings scheduled there in a few days in hopes that they will show some mercy on me and make some calls, etc.   While I do not necessarily possess skills that no other British person already has (I can't even imagine who does unless you're a scientist or something), I need to believe that something can be done.

Just curious, since I have only been perusing this message board for a few days, but is it possible that the people on this board are here because they are all in the same boat...looking for help and not knowing what to do?  Is it possible there are others out there who have had success in this area and we just don't know about them because they don't need the help of a site like this.  I'm not being rude, just trying to think positive.

Lizzie, it sounds like you have good contacts so do bear in mind that what I am about to tell you occurred over 10 years ago. Friends of mine did a 'year abroad' through Penn State Univ. One of them interned at the BBC office in Manchester. At the end of the year, the BBC wanted to hire her but even they could not get the government to relax the work visa rules. Now, I've heard that things have improved since then so I am crossing my fingers for you. You do need to be optimistic, but you need to be realistic, too!

People on this board are a mix of work visa types and those here because of their partners. Of course it's possible that there are folks out there who have been lucky. But what you will find here is good solid visa advice on based on what is publicly available and personal experience.

You do need to be optimistic, but you need to be realistic, too!

People on this board are a mix of work visa types and those here because of their partners. Of course it's possible that there are folks out there who have been lucky. But what you will find here is good solid visa advice on based on what is publicly available and personal experience.

That's all i'm saying!

I know the CEO's of 2 global companies, who wanted to offer me a job but their lawyers could do it for me.  If they can for you, then awesome!  Sometimes, even though they want to hire you, they can't get the paperwork passed!  I did my darnest trying, calling up the biggest contacts i knew. 

Check on visajourney.com (that's how i found here).

In my opinion, the work visa is the hardest to come by UNLESS you have superior skills and do something that's very much in-demand with a small number of candidates.  What exactly are you wanting to do over here, workwise? 

I think that the economies of the US and UK are in a bit of a downturn right now and very few companies on either side of the ocean are willing to pay for the work visa process.  It's a headache because the companies must PROVE that they've heavily advertised/recruited for the position in question and NOBODY in the country is capable of doing it, which is a pretty tall order.

It's great to be optimistic, but it really does pay to be realistic on this...I'd hate for you to be disappointed, but there's a lot of red tape, etc., built into the work visa process, which I guess there should be--otherwise everyone would constantly be moving to another country for a better job, work visa in hand!   

Lynne said:

I don't have any first hand experience with getting a work visa but from what I understand, if you aren't already involved with a company that is willing to send you to their UK branch or similar, it'll be quite a struggle.

There is alot of competition for jobs here in the UK, and companies are required by law to first hire from within the UK, and then from the EU, before considering outside this area. This is why it's so hard, unless you have an existing job already within a company that can arrange to get a work visa. And even then,, it's not as easy as it was 4 years or so ago.  It doesn't really matter who you know,, they still have to work within the boundries set for hiring from outside the UK, and the EU. 

doing research on this will help in working out what the options are tho. I am a firm believer of research.

Hopefully the contacts you have Lizzie, can advise you on what the chances are of being sponsered for a work visa.  Don't take it personal if you can't find a sponser tho, it's how the law works for work visas, and not a relfection on your abilities.  It's the same for anyone who wants to move to the US on a work visa.   Good Luck.

Have you tried searching Google with the keywords "uk oxygen work permits"? 

It's not an endorsement on my part, but I have referred people there in the past.

I'm (in a very small way indeed!) an employer in the UK and I've got the Home Office circulars about taking on workers and checking their IDs .... I've also worked for an organisation in the past that wanted to take on a USA staff member and found that it couldn't - and that was about 10 years ago, when things were much easier too.

Finance / Husband has also been mentioned in this thread, and the highly skilled program.  There's also (I think) a way in if you're wanting to invest, and if you are a citizen of another EU country you'll then be able to move to the UK and work here based on that. I've read that there are 80 million Irish people, of whom 4 million live in Ireland.  Where were your Grandparents from / born??

If a company wants to hire you - or should I say, if someone in a company makes it his or her business to make sure you get hired - their criteria for the position can be so narrowly defined as to make you the only candidate (or at least the only one likely to show up in the time in which they are required to advertise); in other words, they can tailor the ad so the job is a bespoke fit just for you. This is where your contacts might make all the difference in the world.

Interesting point...I had thought the same thing.  Have you or anyone you know had any specific experience?

Lizzie,

You might want to pm jennydee, who frequents this board quite often.  She has done just as you are trying to do and was successful in securing a job here that was not considered 'highly skilled' by the Home Office.  I have to admit that she's really the only person I have known so far that was successful  in doing this, but that's not to say it can't be done. 

Best of luck to you! 

Just curious, since I have only been perusing this message board for a few days, but is it possible that the people on this board are here because they are all in the same boat...looking for help and not knowing what to do?  Is it possible there are others out there who have had success in this area and we just don't know about them because they don't need the help of a site like this.  I'm not being rude, just trying to think positive.

I am a little late to the party, so I hope you are still checking this thread for advice.  I applied for and received a postition in the UK, with the promise of work permit, before I ever visited an expat type site.  I never even knew how difficult it was to get a work permit until I started reading others' experiences.  Now I consider myself VERY lucky.  I can only tell you my experience.  I applied to an international company.  Their website very clearly stated that 10% of their new hires each year, went to international candadites who needed work permits.  I was the first applicant of the hiring year (applied in Sept 2003, will start in Oct 2004), so I could get in that 10%.  I do have a Masters degree and good work experience for the US, but I am not sure how much that factored in, since I will not be able to rely on any of my previous experience.  It is possible they used by education and experience to gain security in my abilities, but as I said, I am not able to use any of those skills.  I am starting at the bottom of the food chain in my industry, as a result.  However, I will be in the UK and after I am certified in my industry (for the UK), I will be doing very well.

The best advice I can offer is to target the international companies that anticipate hiring international new-hires.  The employment section will clearly state if they are willing to get a work permit.  Good luck!