Study and Work Options - Spouse Visa

Hi Everyone,

My USC Wife has now been living with me in the UK on her Spouse visa for 2 months.

She has had no luck finding jobs so far, which has been very disappointing for her (there were way less applicants per job back in her home town!).

We also visited Connexions and the Adult Learning Service. We were told that even though she is 24 and has no qualifications at all, she is not able to access any of the basic numeracy, literacy, IT or GCSE courses that are publicised (usually free for UK residents). She can't even join these classes and pay privately. This is apparently because her BRP says 'no public funds' on the back.

The advisers didn't really seem to have a clue what they were doing - apparently they do not deal with 'foreign' people - ever (which I find hard to believe, living in a fairly large multicultural city!). As such, I just wanted to check what others have been able to access in terms of study and qualifications. Were we advised correctly? Are there other routes to investigate?

Any advice would be appreciated!

Thanks

Could you tell us what is she wanting to study or become from her studies? Where is it that you live? Then maybe we can tailor a response appropriately. 

Thanks for your reply mapleleafgirl72

We live in Derby. My Wife doesn't have a particular career in mind, having previously resigned herself to working in retail forever. However, she is particularly interested in working with animals, although not in becoming a vet or veterinary nurse.

Currently she is just applying for any job (pretty much all retail) because she lacks the qualifications to 'prove' her capabilities and demonstrate her potential. Whilst signing up with agencies could be of use, she would most likely only be offered factory work (she's good with technology and computers but has very little experience of using MS Office).

She is quite creative and hands-on, so probably more vocational jobs/study would suit her better. We are open to any suggestions really!

I believe that any programmes that are government funded she won't be eligible for because of her visa status, but she can enrol in a non-publicly funded course and pay the foreign student fees. She should really decide what sort of course she might want to take then investigate further.

Thanks for the reply.

She has no job and I don't have the money for international student fees for numerous courses as well as providing for both of us so it looks like studying will have to be forgotten. 

What about her doing some volunteering work?

It's a good way to gain some UK work experience that she can put on her CV when it comes to trying to find paying jobs.

Volunteering is something we suggest to people who have just arrived and are having trouble finding work... because a lack of UK work experience can be one reason for not getting jobs.

Volunteering with animals seems a logical option from what you indicate her interests might be. Try https://do-it.org/ to find something she would like. Great way to meet people with similar interests as well as boost the CV.

Good luck! 

Thanks for the suggestions everyone.

We have already looked at do-it.org and there wasn't anything much on offer in our area at the moment. WIll check back now and again.

She has also applied for a few voluntary roles but not heard anything back. Guess we will just keep trying.

What about going to Volunteer Centre Derby, if she hasn't done so already?

http://www.communityactionderby.org.uk/volunteering

The National Careers Service lists the following roles with 'animal' in the title:

https://nationalcareersservice.direct.gov.uk/search/pages/results.aspx?k=animal

What about looking for animal related roles attached to the National Trust or English Heritage nearby?

http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/

http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/

or look at PDSA directly:

https://www.pdsa.org.uk/get-involved/volunteer-for-pdsa

As an aside, does she drive? If she doesn't, that is a practical skill to work on that can help with employment.

https://www.gov.uk/apply-first-provisional-driving-licence

https://www.gov.uk/driving-lessons-learning-to-drive/taking-driving-lessons

Thanks mapleleafgirl72.

I've actually worked alongside Community Action Derby but hadn't thought of just dropping in.

Thanks for all the suggested websites. We will have a look and no doubt they will be of use at some point.

My wife has now got a job (pending confirmation of her official start date) - it's at KFC and she's not massively happy about it, but it's income and she can start saving up for courses or other things she wants to do.

She can drive, but her US license is expired so she will need to get a license here, which she is interested in doing. Thanks for the links, lessons will be a benefit as the roads here are very, very different to where she's from! Think we will have to get an automatic car though - not a big deal as I don't have a car anyway, but something else to save up for!

My wife has now got a job (pending confirmation of her official start date) - it's at KFC and she's not massively happy about it, but it's income and she can start saving up for courses or other things she wants to do.

Congrats to her . It might not be the ideal job, but it's a start - it will give her some UK work experience to put on her CV and that may help her get her foot in the door for other jobs in the future.

She can drive, but her US license is expired so she will need to get a license here, which she is interested in doing. Thanks for the links, lessons will be a benefit as the roads here are very, very different to where she's from! Think we will have to get an automatic car though - not a big deal as I don't have a car anyway, but something else to save up for!

This may not be an issue as you don't have a car, but just be aware that as her US licence is expired, she cannot legally drive in the UK at all and will need a provisional licence and will be treated like a learner driver until she can pass the tests and get a UK driving licence - so she wouldn't be able to drive on her own or on motorways and would have to display L plates and be accompanied in the car at all times.

If she is able to renew her US licence, then she would be allowed to drive on the US licence in the UK as a regular driver for up to 12 months from the date she moved here on her visa, so she could work towards the tests without having to be under the 'learner driver rules', though if she doesn't pass within the first 12 months of moving here, she would go back to being treated as a learner driver again.

Thanks for the congrats and yes it's a start.

This may not be an issue as you don't have a car, but just be aware that as her US licence is expired, she cannot legally drive in the UK at all and will need a provisional licence and will be treated like a learner driver until she can pass the tests and get a UK driving licence - so she wouldn't be able to drive on her own or on motorways and would have to display L plates and be accompanied in the car at all times.

If she is able to renew her US licence, then she would be allowed to drive on the US licence in the UK as a regular driver for up to 12 months from the date she moved here on her visa, so she could work towards the tests without having to be under the 'learner driver rules', though if she doesn't pass within the first 12 months of moving here, she would go back to being treated as a learner driver again.

Sorry I guess I wasn't clear, I realise that she needs to start all over again and pass the usual tests to get a UK drivers license. I think she would rather just get a UK license rather than try to renew the US one, seeing as she will be here for quite a while, if not forever (hopefully!).

Thanks again

Sorry I guess I wasn't clear, I realise that she needs to start all over again and pass the usual tests to get a UK drivers license. I think she would rather just get a UK license rather than try to renew the US one, seeing as she will be here for quite a while, if not forever (hopefully!).

No, that's fair enough - that's what I assumed you meant .

I just thought that if it was possible for her to renew the US licence , it might make things easier for her when she's preparing for the UK driving tests, because she would be able drive on her own for the next few months rather than having to be a accompanied by someone else at all times .

Oh I see

Well it's all theoretical at the moment, with no car!

Thanks for the pointers

Having a valid US licence (even when you have a UK licence) can be handy when renting cars outside the UK.

When we rented a car in Italy I asked the rental car guy if it was better to use my UK or US licence (both full licences and both valid).

He asked where I lived and when I said the UK, he suggested using my US licence for the rental paperwork. If I had any accidents or tickets, they'd be less likely to try and put points on my licence and even if they did, it wouldn't affect the licence that I use the most.

Also, if she's considering an automatic UK licence (rather than full), I'm guessing she'd still be able to rent either manual or automatic outside the UK with her US licence.