Moving to England

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, I've lived in Europe for a decade, so here's my advice:

You cannot just arrive in England and expect to stay for 6 months on a tourist visa. The immigration officers at the airport will ask you how long you will be in UK and what you will be doing there, and they will not let you in when you tell them you plan to get an apartment and hang out for 6 months. I guarantee this is what will happen: these people work to prevent over-stayers, and with heightened security/spotlight on immigration issues, there is now way they will let a clueless American just show up with intentions to hang out. We know several people who were denied entry to UK after trying to enter for similar reasons.

You really need a work visa and a clear plan for what you will do, why, and when you will leave. A student visa would also work, but I don't think this is what you need to be doing right now.

You won't be able to get a bank account in UK. It is expensive to live there, and you should not expect the same standard of living you enjoy on your work-at-home gig in the US. You need a well-paying job and a work visa. And you need to solidify your expectations and plan. Really.

My DC was able to get a bank account in the UK on a student visa. It was actually necessary because either DCs rent or tuition (I forget which) is required to come from a UK bank. But it's definitely harder to open a bank account there than here.

Yes, but your DC is a full time student (and it was still hard, right?). It will be impossible for OP, on her tourist visa, to open a bank account in UK, and she WILL need one for her rent (if she's going to go the legal route with rent).

OP, you remind me of the daughter of our American friends (they were working in another European country, and their daughter had spent the summer with them). The girl was 25 and worked as a yoga teacher in the US. She tried to fly into UK for a "vacation" after visiting her parents, and she was turned away by the Immigration officers after they asked a lot of questions about what a private yoga instructor does and where/how she works; they were very concerned that she planned to "give lessons" in the UK/work, and they told her so. She didn't even plan to work in UK, but she was turned away because she didn't know anyone there, didn't have a lot of money, had no solid plan or employment in UK, and had a job that was very "mobile"; you will be seen the same way, and they will turn you away because they don't want people coming to just live/hang out with no plan. You will be seen as a drain on the system if you plan to live there for 6 months with plan: if YOU were British, would you want someone like you going there and taking advantage of the healthcare system into which you pay (hefty) taxes (because NHS services would be free to you as soon as you set foot in the UK, just as they are free for the many "medical tourists" who arrive in UK from other countries to take advantage of this)?

We also know an American man who was turned away when he tried to enter UK for a week's vacation because the immigration officer kept asking him for proof of funds for his holiday in the UK, and he didn't have any paper bank statements, and wasn't allowed into the wifi zone to show them his bank account online. This doesn't happen to most short-term American vacation tourists, but it did happen three weeks ago to our friend, so maybe they are even more meticulous about screening now.

This is not the time to pack up and try to do this, OP.

[Anonymous]

Familiarize yourself with the UKBA website. Do your research. As a longtime expat who did it the right way -- at considerable hassle -- you're living up to a common stereotype of naive young Americans who think immigration rules don't apply and are too lazy to even look up the rules.

If you are a young American woman, know that you'll be quizzed at the border (no, that's not customs) as to your plans, finances, and leave date. If you're caught in a lie, you're subject to very quick return to the US and a travel ban.

FYI--Now you cannot claim ignorance.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm the British national PP. With a passport it's obviously very easy but you still have to find a job etc. If you're young enough to be a working holidaymaker then do that. London is full of Canadians, Americans, Aussies, and Kiwis on this visa living and working. It's easy enough to get a job, especially if you're willing to be a contractor. It's also not very difficult to get an employer sponsored visa.

Whatever you do, don't show up on a tourist visa and work.

PP means a UK passport or from the Commonwealth. OP said she had one but I suspect s/he meant a US passport b.c it was expired and no UK citizen could live in the US and let it expire.

[Anonymous]

OP needs to speak to his/her parents to let them know about this fabulous plan to move overseas with no skills, no job and no money to live in a cottage. I would hope they are not as clueless as their child.

OP - if you are not careful you will get banned for years from entering the UK. They do not mess around at immigration.

[Anonymous]

OP, this is written for folks just like you.

http://www.wikihow.com/Move-to-England

[Anonymous]

If it was my kid I would say these are your options if you really want to live in UK:

1) Get a job based in UK that will do all the leg work to get you a work visa. You will be allowed to live in UK as long as you have a job. But this person does nto sound like he/she has skills that are in demand.


2) Attend University in UK, several US colleges also have study abroad courses

[Anonymous]

So if you're a digital nomad- say, graphic designer who earns a living completely via the internet- you can't stay in England for three months without getting a work visa?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So if you're a digital nomad- say, graphic designer who earns a living completely via the internet- you can't stay in England for three months without getting a work visa?

Probably not. You think they don't have graphic designers in UK or EU who are qualified to do that same job? That is not a highly skilled profession.
Here is a list of the work visas, and they are listed by Tiers, Tier 1 is most desirable and Tier 5 is Temp/contract workers. Take a look and see if you qualify: https://www.gov.uk/browse/visas-immigration/work-visas

Clearly you have not been to UK yet and spoken to immigration upon landing. I am married to UK citizen and we still get asked a gazillion questions.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So if you're a digital nomad- say, graphic designer who earns a living completely via the internet- you can't stay in England for three months without getting a work visa?

No, because you are working physically in England, and England will want the taxes, etc. from your stay. You are living there. You are using their roads, their facilities, their hospitals, police, etc, and not paying taxes or other support. You are not being a tourist. They will quiz the hell out of you when you go through immigration (customs is after immigration, to make sure you don't bring food in or your dog like Johnny Depp in Australia, etc.). They don't give a special wave and a wink just because you are American. They are not only concerned about people trying to illegally live there like in OPs situation, but also people trying to seek asylum (google what Calais Jungle is) and for anyone supporting terrorism, which today doesn't have a stereotype, it can be anyone. They will want to know what the purpose of your trip is, where you are staying, for how long, do you have a return ticket, do you have a job, they may even ask for evidence of assets (someone else I think mentioned needing to show bank statements). I got grilled last year trying to take the train from Paris to London last year, where in Paris you pass British immigration run by the British government BEFORE they even let you on the train in Paris. I was going for 36 hours, had a return train ticket already, a hotel reservation, even a ticket to a show, and they wanted to know why I wasn't staying for more than a day, why so quick, how much money I made in my job, etc. It was nuts.

[Anonymous]

I go to England frequently (was there last week) and have not gotten this grilling, although I do get it in Canada EVERY time. But I always have a return ticket, and perhaps because I have been in and out so many times they are less concerned about me staying. A 3 month stay would no doubt raise a lot of questions.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have to say, of all the times to contemplate illegal immigration to the UK...this is about the worst moment I can think of!

Honestly, I thought OP was David Cameron trolling!

[Anonymous]

Not sure why everyone is giving OP a hard time. If he/she is young, then they probably were not politically aware before the Obama Administration, and it would seem odd that some countries actually enforce their immigration laws.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Not sure why everyone is giving OP a hard time. If he/she is young, then they probably were not politically aware before the Obama Administration, and it would seem odd that some countries actually enforce their immigration laws.

people are giving her a hard time because she keeps asking the same dumb question over and over instead of googling the info or going directly to the immigration websites of countries she's interested in visiting like we tell her to. If your to inept to do the most basic of research for yourself then you need to stay home.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have to say, of all the times to contemplate illegal immigration to the UK...this is about the worst moment I can think of!

Honestly, I thought OP was David Cameron trolling!

I love the idea of Cameron on DCUM.

[Anonymous]

Why can't you just live off the dole as a foreigner? Just say your a refugee or something.