Work visa in the UK...?

Question

My husband and I are considering a move to the UK from the US. My husband is a teacher and I am a nurse. From what I have seen, teachers will have an easier time getting a work-sponsored visa than nurses. If he gets one, I (as his dependent) will be allowed to work. Assuming I get my nursing licensure approved with the UK before we go, can I wait until I get there to look for a job? Many nursing jobs are not open to work-sponsored visa applicants, so would I be able to apply for those once I get there as a dependent on my husband's visa?

Answer 1

Most schools in the UK are state funded.To teach in one of them requires a person to have UK qualified teacher status. That has to be earned in a UK university, and the person has to be sponsored by a school. It can be earned while a person is employed as a teaching assistant, but in most areas there are more applicants for teaching assistant positions than places available, because it is also a wanted as a job by persons who don't want to be a teacher, and are quite happy to be an assistant.

Teachers in the UK train to teach to a certain stage in the national curriculum in junior schools, that is up to the age of eleven. For teaching from the age of eleven to eighteen, a teacher must have trained in one or more subjects of the national curriculum to the standard required for state examinations at the age of sixteen and then for adnaced level examinations at the age of eighteen.. High passes in the advanced level are neededto apply for university entrance. Teachers here do not usually have batchelor of education  degrees.They will have degrees in the subjects of the national curriculum.In some areas there are no vacancies for teachers. In others there are shortages of maths,  science and modern foreign languages teachers(they must be fluent in two). Teachers of these subjects can get a special allowance of several thousand dollars a year.There are some variations in school start and finish times, but most start at nine,have a mid morning break, a 40 minute lunch break and finish at 3.05pm, or have a longer lunch and finish at 3.30.pm.So the teachers working week is under 30 hours, but they are paid for 35, and they only have to work for 191 days a year.The rest of the days are paid holidays. Teachers don't do a stroke extra without being paid. Supervising lunchtime, or sports attracts extra pay, or teachers would just refuse to do it. .

The problem is that most vacancies seem to be in areas where the cost of accommodation is way beyong the pocket of a teacher. For example ,in the whole of London. It is impossible to buy any house or apartment for under $500,000, and then at that price it would not be so good. Rents are exhorbitant too.$1000 a month outside lLondon does not get much, and in London %1500 does not get much.The average price of an ordinary house or apartment across the UK has been spiralling upward, and is now close to $400,000 and more.

The other thing is that the that any European Union citizen is free to live and work in any EU country. Theydo not need any permission or any visa to do so. EU citizens have the same priority as our own for jobs in the UK, and many are moving here.Recruitment from outside the EU has vitually stopped.That includes nursing.In fact some hospitals have been cutting staff, and so they are being recruited by US employers. Here, nurses are not trained in nurse schools, but in universities that have their own major hospitals. Wjhen they get their degree, they are exempt the state board exam.Foreign nurses have to do an 'adaption'course to the satisfaction of the university. Then they can be state registered. For the US nurse it is not difficult. Of course it is mainly fnding out about the differences,but might take 3 months.working at a lower level.nusing here requires continual education, without which there is no promotion.  The national health service seems to have as many ranks for nurses as the army has for soldiers. Right up to general too!.The working week is 37.5 hours, but s***s are commonly 13.5 hours including meal breaks, so just over 3 days is a weeks work!. There used to be a lot of overtime availablke, and many nurses worked an extra shift. overtime rates are good....double time at weekends..but lately the hospitals have ben cutting back, and there has been no overtime, just harder work.Most hospitals and family doctors are part of the state National Health Service,and the pay scale is national except for Lodon where there is an additional London allowance.Lowest starting salary for a registered nurse is about $37,000, but most get more due to shift allowances.Teachers start on about $40,000 but can earn a lot more for certain subjects and there are higher jobs available, up to $180,000, because many don't want to take any responsibility.There are very few male teachers in the state school system.

Anyone wanting to come and work in the uk is subject to our highly skilled points system. It is similar to that of Canada, but ours is tougher.The minimum qualification is a university degree equal to a UK batchelors degree, which means many US ones are OK, but not ones from those bible belt diploma mills. If the University is not on our immigration website, it could be that its degrees are not acceptable..Of course, our nurses have degrees too, and nurses need to meet our state board standard,as already described.

It is also about $1500 each to apply for a work permit, but you do not need to have a job to apply. If you have enough points you ca get the permit and then come here and look around to see where you can work.

If it is a couple, the one that can get the most points should apply.

There are new easier immigration rules coming for nurses effective 30th November 2008.

Below I have given a link to the UK government website where you can see how many points you can score.One of you needs 75.

This is a new procedure and the application forms will not be reay until the end of July.

Good luck!

Answer 2

I do believe you are 'jumping the gun' a bit. The UK is currently revamping its work scheme in which those who are highly qualified with advanced degrees or can fill jobs in demand are allowed to enter from outside of the EU. Before a work permit can be issued, it is my understanding, that you must first have a job offer and you cannot enter the UK to look for work.

Living in the UK and having known American teachers who teach here  they have had to go through a one year conversion course at their expense in order to teach. The American teachers that I have known either have a spouse that is a EU citizen, have a spouse that is a UK citizen, or has spouse working at a senior level for an American firm in the UK. Furthermore the conversion course is held at several universities and since your husband would most likely be considered not a Home Student he would have to pay international rates and typically this would mean that your husband would have to pay $20,000 for the course before he could teach. Furthermore based on your posting I suspect he would not qualify for Tier 1 and most likely be Tier 2. This would mean entry would be much more difficult.

For you the same would apply plus you would have to have your RN accepted by the Royal College of Nursing / British Nursing Association.

The process of applying to enter the UK on a work permit can be long, a year or more after an offer is made with no guarantee of being allowed to enter. Provided one of you are offered a job and gets a work permit the other should be allowed to enter provided you meet the criteria for dependent.

In all honesty I would not plan on moving to the UK anytime soon and if you do get a work permit the next issue both of you will have to face is living abroad. This means you will have to adapt to UK life and not expect the British to adapt to you. Also it will mean that you will be away from family and will have to face anti-American sentiment. Finally such a move will put stress on your relationship. This means if one of you gets a work permit and the other does not in the event the relationship splits the one who does not have the permit will have to leave the country.

My recommendation would be to think this through before pursuing this course of action and be prepared if you are not able to get a work permit as I suspect that you will most likely will not be able to get one.