Wide-eyed 18-year-old in Panic

namechanger
New Member



Joined: 22 Feb 2008
Posts: 3
Location: Canada

Posted: Fri Feb 22, 2008 8:36 am

 

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Hello, I've quite recently decided to move to Birmingham, England due to some family problems. My cousin and her family are citizens and everything there so I figured the move wouldn't be so bad. until I started searching things up and becoming very, very confused.

After half of month of headaches, I decided to make a post here. So here's the deal. I finished high school here although I totally bombed my last year once things started escalating in my family so I'm hoping to redo those last years in England. (Usually I'm a 90% average kind of girl so I'm not worried about nearly failing again.) According to my cousin, the schooling system there is quite different so I'll have to go to 'college'.

I realized after some research that you cannot just suddenly become a citizen even if you have family in the UK (correct me if I'm wrong) and so I'll end up having to work for a year or so in order to have enough money to pay for the international student fees considering they're as much as university fees here. I will be living with my cousin and her family and am almost guaranteed this job at this night club and will be looking for a day job at a spa in order to get the money I need.

I also plan on getting my degrees at the universities there so I'll probably be living the rest of my life out in England although I would like to go back to Canada for extended visits at one point or another. If I could, I'd like become a citizen as soon as I could simply to makes life less complicated and less expensive so if there's anyway to do that without having to live there for five years or marrying someone, would you please let me know? Maybe I missed it in the lengthy documents I read. Not that it would would matter too much if it did take 5 years considering how long I will be living there but I'd rather be able to feel secure and not as though I'll be exported at any minute. I'm barely into adulthood and have not grown into myself yet much less make my way in life in foreign territory without some help and support. x__x

So I don't really know what visa I should apply for before I go. Or about anything else really. I've read up on opening a bank account and all but are there any other legal things I have to take care of before I go? Or anything else of import that must be done before/after the fact?

I plan of leaving for England by the beginning of summer so in about 4 months. If I could get any advice at all, I'd be eternally grateful. Heck, you'd get free drinks from me if you ever show up at my club. =P

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Tigerlea
Senior Member



Joined: 02 Jan 2008
Posts: 83
Location: London, England

Posted: Fri Feb 22, 2008 10:40 am

 

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First off, we need to know if either of your parents or grandparents are English, 'cause by the sounds of it, an ancestry visa (through grandparents) or even right of abode and -basically- automatic citizenship (through parents) is the best choice for you. Though I'm not sure if you can go to school on an Ancestry visa. I need to find that out for myself still.

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namechanger
New Member



Joined: 22 Feb 2008
Posts: 3
Location: Canada

Posted: Fri Feb 22, 2008 2:17 pm

 

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No, my parents/grandparents are not English. I'm just joining my cousin and her parents there. So the ancestry visa's out. x__x I don't think I can get citizen though them.

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riverfox
Senior Member


Meow meow meow

Joined: 30 Dec 2007
Posts: 116
Location: Brighton

Posted: Sun Feb 24, 2008 11:59 am

 

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Hey there Namechanger.

Sorry to hear about your family situation sounds complicated to say the least.

As you don't have any UK ancestry your options are alot narrower.

There is no way you are going to gain instant citizenship unfortunately. My boyfriend was born in england but moved out of country with his family for a few years when he was younger and when he returned he still had to pay international student fees even though he'd been out of the country for only a little while.

You can apply for a working holiday maker visa which would allow you to live in the country for up to two years but you would have to leave the country once those two years were up and re-apply unless you meet very specific job criteria. So this one is probably out.

The most viable option would be a student visa, however you will need to be accepted and registered at an accredited institution in order to apply for this one. So you may want to think about earning at least your first semester's tuition fees before you move over to the UK to help subsidize yourself.

You CAN work with a student visa although the amount of hours you work is limited to part time labor.

The only other options I believe are going through the points based system of the HSMP which I'm not sure would allow you to qualify -- at this time -- or finding a company in the UK that was willing to sponsor you for a working visa.

Which I had better news for you, but the best thing right now is to take a step back and consider your options and figure out what is best for you.

Oh and yes you can go to school with an ancestry visa, you will be paying international student fees until you have citizenship though.

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Tigerlea
Senior Member



Joined: 02 Jan 2008
Posts: 83
Location: London, England

Posted: Sun Feb 24, 2008 12:02 pm

 

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Ooh, thanks for that riverfox, about being able to go to school. Although you are wrong on one point; when I was looking up going to school, depending on the institution though most are the same, if you live in the country for 3 years (2 for some schools) you are considered 'settled' and no longer have to pay international student fees, whether you are a citizen or no. In case you yourself wanted to look into it later. Though it's great to know I can go to school while there. *happy dance*

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namechanger
New Member



Joined: 22 Feb 2008
Posts: 3
Location: Canada

Posted: Tue Feb 26, 2008 10:04 pm

 

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Tigerlea, Riverfox, thanks for the information. I appreciate it. =) And I'll take your advice Riverfox and think things through before I make my final decision.

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