Moving from US (California) to London

Hi all!

Long time reader, first time poster. I currently work for a Technology MNC based in Palo Alto, CA and am in the beginning stages of accepting an offer to work out of Bracknell and live in West London. My girlfriend and I have done a ton of research so far but clearly have a million questions that I hope you may be able to help with.

1. My company will be sponsoring me to move/work to England (but not sponsoring my girlfriend), is it difficult for her to get a work Visa and come with me? She currently has her Masters degree (in Speech Therapy) and will be leaving her current job to look for work in London. How long would this process take and what are the requirements?

2. We are both in our mid-20's, looking for a fun/safe place to live in West London. We have heard of the expensive places like Chelsea and Notting Hill, any other recommendations that might be slightly less expensive but just as fun/safe?

3. I've mapped it and working in Bracknell and living in West London is roughly a 50 minute commute. I would assume that this commute is opposite to the flow of traffic, would the traffic be way worse than I am anticipating? Is there anywhere else we should consider living that isn't in London that has a similar vibe ad is close to Bracknell?

4. I will try and get my company to help me either rent/lease/buy a car. After we acquire the car, is it difficult as an expat to get insurance (I have an excellent driving record in the US but no history in the UK)?

5. Any other things that we should think about in terms of paperwork, process stuff that isn't mentioned above that someone in my shoes has experienced?

Thanks in advance for your replies, this is definitely a lot to take in!

Best,

Phil

Welcome to the forum .

1. My company will be sponsoring me to move/work to England (but not sponsoring my girlfriend), is it difficult for her to get a work Visa and come with me? She currently has her Masters degree (in Speech Therapy) and will be leaving her current job to look for work in London. How long would this process take and what are the requirements?

Have you and your girlfriend been living together for at least 24 consecutive months? If so, you may be able to apply for a Tier 2 Dependent visa for her, to accompany you on your visa.

If you haven't been living together for at least 2 years, you would either need to get married in order to be able to apply for a Tier 2 Dependent visa, or she will have to qualify for a work visa in her own right.

It can be very difficult to get sponsorship for a work visa. Unless the job she applies for is on the skill shortage list (http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/sitecontent/documents/workingintheuk/shortageoccupationlistnov11.pdf), the UK company will have to prove that they could not find a single suitable applicant in the UK or any of the other 26 EU countries before they will be allowed to hire her and sponsor her for a job. As there are 500 million people in the EU and unemployment is still high, unless the job is very highly skilled or so specialised that only a handful of people in the world will be qualified to do it, it's likely to be very difficult to find a sponsor.

In terms of how long it will take, I don't know... could be a few weeks, could be months, could be years. I have a friend in the US who spent about 2 years trying to qualify for a UK work visa and had no success (she has a masters degree in journalism) because journalism jobs aren't in demand in the UK.... in the end, she gave up and just got a new job in the US.

She could come over to the UK with you as a visitor to start with (no more than 6 months), but she would need to prove at immigration that she has no intention of living in the UK and has a job, home and a life to return to in the US within 6 months. If she does find a company to sponsor her for a work visa while visiting the UK, she would need to return to the US to apply for the visa - she would not be allowed to switch to a work visa from a visitor visa inside the UK.

I'm afraid I can't really help much with your other questions, but I hope this helps .