New to the site...hoping to move to the UK....any advice?

Hi everyone. I'm new to the board and I have a doozy of a situation for you to ponder.

I have an English boyfriend and am looking at moving to the Staffordshire area. Fun part is, I don't qualify for ANY of the regular visas (ancestry, student, etc.) so I think my only option is to get a job first. I'm a librarian, my degree is accredited in the UK. Or I show up on a visitors visa, keep applying to extend it, hope they let me stay, and then apply for common-law partner status. Then the problem is having money to live on for 2 years until I can legally work.

I've done piles of research and I can't find any other way to get there.

Has anyone been in a similar situation or known anyone in it? Any advice?

Thanks, this board is awesome!

I really think the best option is just a visitor's visa and applying for extensions (if that's permitted) or returning to Canada and going through the whole process again. You want to stay above board in your dealings, the Home Office takes great offence when people try to beat the system.

Hi Ruby,
Well, there are a few possibilities which I don't know the full details on but you can find them here:
http://www.workingintheuk.gov.uk/workin ... ammes.html
You may have already looked into these but there are options like the Highly Skilled Migrants Program (HSMP), I don't know whether library sciences counts or not. Basically for that program you are awarded points based on work experience, education and the like. There is also working holiday maker or fiance visa.
The only other option I can see is a work permit and that is almost impossible to come by.
Of course you could come in on a 6 month visitors visa but I don't know that they do extentions. Especially since you are here to be with a boyfriend, it will become obvious you plan on staying awhile which might be questioned.
If you gave us a bit more info then we might be able to be more helpful.

Hi Ruby,

Here is a link to the skills shortage occupations list, employer can get a work permit only for these type of professions. However, librarian is not in the list.

http://www.workingintheuk.gov.uk/workin ... rcial.html

I would say the same as Michelle, try to see if you qualify for the Highly Skilled Migrants Program.
As for a visitor visa the maximum is 6 months, there is no extensions.

You have to be careful at how you enter the UK, you can be refused entry later if you apply for the wrong reasons. For example if you enter the UK as a visitor and they find out that you are looking for jobs or trying to stay with a boyfriend permanently they may return you back in Canada and it will take a long time before you will be allowed back in !!

I would say the best way would be to apply for a fiancé visa, or course you will no be allowed to work for 6 months and you have to marry your boyfriend !
Or if you need to be able to work as soon as you enter the UK, you could get married in Canada, apply as a spouse from Canada and once they give you permission go and live in the UK !
That was the solution for my husband and I , so if you need more information on this, I should be able to help !

Joanne

Thank you everyone for your suggestions and support. I definitely want to do things through the proper channels, I wouldn't want to risk not being allowed back in. It is just very frustrating that I am willing and able to work at almost any job and I can't get anywhere because I'm six months too old for a Working Holiday visa, one generation too late for an Ancestry visa etc. There just seems to be so much red tape over such minute details.

My boyfriend and I don't want to rush into marriage either, but we may have to seriously reconsider it if that is our only option.

Did many of you go through similar problems with a long distance relationship? How did you get by day to day?

Hi there.

I'm going through the exact same thing. I met my boyfriend almost a year ago while vacationing in Cancun and now i'm trying to go over there but i was denied a WHM permit bc they thought i was just going to live there with my boyfriend. I am afraid that i will not be allowed into the UK now bc i have a stamp in my passport saying that i have applied for a WHM permit. I am hoping that if i get in the UK in August, i will find a job and then come back to Canada and apply for a work permit. Of course, the idea of a fiancee permit definitely crossed our minds but as you said, we don't want to rush into marriage bc of convenience.

It's nice to know someone else is in my shoes!

Beth

God that sounds like a pickle to be in! I was lucky enough to have a grandparent born in the UK so could come here on an Ancestry Visa. Having said that, we (my British partner, British Cat & I)are now preparing to move back to Montreal once my visa expires next year.

Having said that, although initially it was easier for me to come to the UK to live with him, I have since been doing research on how to get him over to Canada and quite frankly, it looks like its alot easier for a British national to get a Canadian Visa then it would have been vice versa (if I didnt go the Ancestry route)... In any case, its something worthwile looking into for you both.. a really good (and friendly/helpful ppl on it) British Expats website is the best place to look into it. Their website is British Expats