Newbie looking to move to England!

Hello Everyone!

My fiancé and I are looking to move to England next year or the following. We are moving there for the beautiful countryside and the many vintage motoring events that we do not have access to in the USA. We have not decided on a county or city yet, but want to do our due diligence now so that we make the best decision in selection of an area that will have the best job opportunities for young professionals. We would like to be close to France and mild weather, so we have decided on the Southeast area. He is in IT and I am in sales and marketing. Any advice will be greatly appreciated!

Amber

one word for you: You both need work and residency permits. I hope you both can get in on the UK immigration points system.

http://www.bia.homeoffice.gov.uk/

http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/pointscalculator

And if you haven't got a friggin' clue what all the words above mean you should probably hire a lawyer specialising in UK immigration law.

[ Edit: Edited on 04-Dec-2009, at 19:29 by t_maia ]

Its getting harder and harder to get in the UK. Used to work for UK Border Agency so I know a little and I'll try and help

Do you have family here?
Can you get a job here before actually moving?
Are you going to invest here?
Do you have a decent amount of savings?
Are you free of criminal records?

If you can answer yes to any of them then you are making things a little easier as a starting point. I think the easiest of the lot is to try and make sure you have secured a job before you land. A good route to take is Monster.co.uk

Like t_maia said, check what points you already have and then work towards getting more. If you have any specific questions, feel free to ask and I'll try and help. I left the agency in Feb '09 and things change so often it won't be the same so I can only offer general guidance really.

Good Luck

edit: you're in luck if you're the following under wanted or out of luck if you're the following in not wanted

WANTED

Ballet dancers

Shortage of the most skilled. Plenty of applicants, but few have the "artistic excellence".

Civil engineers

Many vacancies take at least three months to fill. Also shortage of chemical engineers.

Quantity surveyors

Large numbers about to retire. Could be a shortfall of 2,600 over next decade.

Sheep shearers

Need to recruit from Australia and New Zealand during shearing season.

Ships' and hovercraft officers

British merchant fleet is expanding and training programmes struggle to respond.

NOT WANTED

Doctors and Nurses

Problems with recruitment occur only in posts such as consultants in psychiatry and operating-theatre nurses.

Midwives

Advisers said they did not receive enough evidence of shortages.

Carers

Recruitment problems blamed on poor pay. Non-Europeans allowed in if earning £8.80 an hour.

Teachers

It is not considered that the teaching sector faces serious shortages other than in maths and science.

Textile workers

Recruitment problems exist, but industry believes shortages can be tackled in UK.

[ Edit: Edited on 06-Dec-2009, at 02:35 by geeadamg ]