Moving to London as a "foreigner"

Hi,

I live in Ottawa and work as a customer support engineer in the telecom industry. I don't have a British or EU passport. Neither do I have a British ancestor.

According to on-line job databases, the job market in telecom (around London) is not that bad. But I don't know if they are given to "foreigners" from North America. Isn't there any working visa category that benefits commonwealth citizens?

Even if I get a job there, I think I have to pay for my (private) health insurance which probably costs a fortune. Am I right on this? Or companies can have you covered somehow?

I am thinking of moving to London for a few years to scratch my itchy feet and then come back to Canada again.

Why London? I think it's an exciting place for me and takes me only one hop to go to other European destinations on the weekends or my holidays.

How realistic do you think all of this is?

You can take a look at all the available programs here:
http://www.workingintheuk.gov.uk/
working_in_the_uk/en/homepage/schemes_and_programmes.html

Depending on your age you mght qualify for the working holidaymaker visa.
You could also look into the HSMP visa and see how many points you qualify for.
I don't know about insurance for visa holders but I am sure someone else will.
Good luck.

Thanks Michelle.

I am older than 30 so that's for the holidaymakers visa. But HSMP may work fine for me.

Health insurance is still a concern for me. I am not sure youd be covered through HSMP though.

I have an English friend in Canada who had a hard time finding a job here because he needed to have Canadian experience for many of the jobs he applied for. Kinda catch-22 since a new-comer doesn't have Canadian experience right off the bat. Is there such a thing in England?

Difficult to generalise, but I don't get the impression that lack of UK experience would be a major obstacle to employment here - not something I've ever heard mentioned as an issue anyway.

I should think that if your experience is relevant that it shouldn't make a difference. I haven't heard of anyone being specifically told that was the reason for not getting a job at least. I think one of the problems that people may have in finding a job is that employers may see you as a transitional or temporary person, especially depending on what visa you have.
I think it's best to really do some research on your field in the area you want to work and be sure that you have the skills needed. Depending on what you do you may find that there are different skills expected here.

Cool. I have one more question after reading different ways of getting working visa through your link and the website of the British High Commission in Ottawa.

I read that companies get work permit for the people they hire. So theoretically I should find a company that hires me. How does it work (or perhaps it doesn't work)?

Well, it is true that if you can find a company to hire you, they would get you a work permit and that would be you set.
As far as I know it's a very long shot, unless you work for a company that has branches in the UK and they transfer you.

A business would have to be unable to fill the position from the UK as well as from the rest of the EU and prove that in order to sponser you. They would also have to be willing to pay for the permit and do all of the work involved.
http://www.workingintheuk.gov.uk/workin ... _work.html?

There is no harm in looking for work this way though.