Your advice/suggestions on living and working in the UK

[Nixxi]

Hi everyone.
I moved from Ottawa, ON to Kent on a Fiance's Visa in January 07.
I used Brytor (sorry tried to post url but since am new I can't)for my move. I found the staff there very reassuring and my stuff was delivered by Britannia Movers.

My fiance had to show most of the documents for my application basically that he would financially support me, his mortgage, employment details etc. I wasn't allowed to work for the first 6 months or until we married, claim benefits (which makes sense) and I was able to get National Health Insurance upon arrival (OHIP).
I'm allowed to use my Ontario driver's license for the first year (not allowed to drive a standard car). The only catch is you need to have someone notarize your application for a UK driver's license that has known you for a minimum of 2 years (luckily, I have a friend who has known me for 6+ years and is a dentist).

I finally landed a pretty decent job after a few months of looking. People here have been really nice and friendly with me, not making me feel like an outsider. Yes, I do get asked a lot if I am American or from America hehe

The only 2 thinks that I'm finding hard to get used to is the driving on the “wrong sideâ€

[Steven]

If you live in London, cars are pointless, certainly inside the congestion zone. I can never remember needing one the whole time I lived there. Nowadays with the price of rail travel outside the city it might be worth having one if you travel outside London frequently.

I honestly cannot fathom why any Canadian would want to live in the UK except as a short-term experience, I'm so bloody glad to be shut of it.

There's a reason Britain colonised North America.

The UK is just too crowded and expensive, and it's only going to get more crowded and more expensive.

(Plus it's full of cynical arseholes who are the world's greatest experts on subjects they know nothing about.)

I grew up in a rural area of England. Which by the time I left school was a suburban area. And it's rapidly becoming an urban area. Less than 10% of the UK population live in areas classed as "rural".

I moved to Canada and bought a house twice the size for half the price. I reckon my daily living costs in Alberta are 2/3 of what they were in the UK, and I lived in a pretty cheap area of the UK.

[Classroom Canada]

Hi everyone. I'm a fellow Canuck and taught in primary schools in London for three years. I've recently returned to Canada start a teaching agency called Classroom Canada - it's by Canadians for Canadians wishing to move to London, England. I've recently returned from a cross-Canada tour, doing presentations & interviews at universities across the country. The response has been incredible!

Classroom Canada is a very different company, setting you up with good, but cheap accommodation with other Canadian teachers, bank accounts activated before you depart, and professional development to help in your move to the UK. I'm still accepting resumes, so if you're a teacher and heading to London, please send it my way - Come to our website, (google classroomcanada as I'm not allowed to post websites here) or look for our ads on Apply to Education.

I'm specifically looking for teachers who wish to teach in Zones 1-3 (central London).

Good luck!
Victoria

[guess3girl]

This is my dilemma. My common-law partner/fiance is a British citizen, but has landed immigrant status here in Canada since 1981. I am a Canadian citizen and we are looking to move to England because he wants to go back ( home is where the heart is)he hates it here. So I agreed to the move and we were looking at October November. We have 2 small children 5 and 3 years of age. How do I get the ball rolling with this? I have tried to contact people at the Embassy / High Commission in Ottawa but that is absolutely impossible, trying to get someone to answer the phone is out the question? The website britian in Canada is totally confusing because i don't know what it is I need.I know that he needs to renew his passport and get a permanent resident card? I don't know why he needs the residency card? but anything would be a great help.
Thank you
Sara

[black sheep]

Hi guess3girl,

Don't know if you'll be checking for replies still, but.Now I've been living in the UK with my British partner for several years and can't help but wonder why your partner/fiance hates it in Canada? There are things I love about the UK, but the underbelly of the UK isn't so pretty and those can make the days seem long.

But I can sort of answer one of your questions about those British in Canada websites. It may be because the terminology for the forms you need are different in the UK from Canada. I remember the frustration and difficulty I had when I was researching on what my visa options were. My partner couldn't understand why the research was taking so long, etc. So one day I told him to look if he was so clever - and he gave up after a few hours.

Unless you have a parent or grandparent who is British, you will probably need a settlement visa, also known as `leave to remain.' But on a Canadian website, it may be known as Form Ps35 (i made that up). But, if you are planning to get married within about 6 months you can get a visa as a fiancee. You will need to check on the requirements for the latter as there may be an additional visa to get after you're married.

Folks at the Embassy etc. seem to hate having to field calls so they expect people to do some research first. I have been fortunate with some of the help I got, but I also did a lot of research first, and had all my paperwork sorted in anal-retentive order because they like that. It makes their job easier.

And guessing that your husband needs a Brit residency card because he's not lived in Britain for over a decade and is therefore no longer considered a resident over there even though he still holds his British citizenship. It is a slightly annoying distinction that the UK/Canadian government likes to put its' people through.

Good luck!

[ukorbust]

hello folks. i have been granted a uk ancestry visa and now i am planning my next steps.

with regards to work, is there an equivalence to canada's social insurance number? is there any social agency i need to register with? how do i get taxed?

also, what are some tips for getting a bank account as easily as possible?

thanks!

[republican]

Yes its called the National Insurance Number and you should go to your local tax office to get one. As for how you get taxed the government takes it from you and you'll see it on your pay slip.

[waveringhobbit]

Yeah UK has been so much more crowded and expensive. But why do people still want to be there?