Q&A with Mike!
Want to know something that I haven’t talked about? Email me your question, I’ll do some research and post your question and the answer back here, free of charge!
Want to know something that I haven’t talked about? Email me your question, I’ll do some research and post your question and the answer back here, free of charge!
Want to move to England? READ ME FIRST.
PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE EMAILING ME!
Hi guys. I get about five emails a week with people asking me what they want to know what i think is the best course of action for them to get permission to live over here. The emails usually start with “It’s been my dream”, “America isn’t for me” ect. I feel for everyone that says that. Next the emails go on to say something like “I want to get a job there first to see if I’d like it”; “I don’t want to go to school there, but I want a visa”; “I just want pub work. Can I get a visa with that?”
I’m just going to lay it out clearly for everyone: In order to live in the UK for longer than six months, YOU MUST GET A VISA.
The visa MUST be obtained while you are outside of the UK (eg: you cannot enter the UK on your US passport, find temporary work, and then hope a company sponsors you for a full visa). The UK visa will always have to be obtained before you enter the UK.
A lot of people email me saying, “I don’t have much going for me.” While I doubt that, I think they mean they only have a high school education or some college, maybe not a lot of money, etc. Again, I feel for you (and you always have things going for you no matter what you think), but there is only THREE ways you are going to get a visa:
1. If you apply for undergraduate or graduate school in the UK. This is a student visa.
2. If you obtain a work visa through a UK company (a UK company sponsors you). This is a skilled worker visa.
3. If you apply for a work visa on your own. This is a highly-skilled worker visa.
Those asking if working in a bar/pub/restaurant/retail will make you eligible for a work visa the answer is NO. Even if a UK company wanted to sponsor you for such work, their application on your behalf would be denied because there are plenty of people in the UK to do those jobs.
For those of you seeking UK citizenship, you must legally live in the UK for five years. Years spent living there on a student visa DO NOT COUNT.
If you have friends in the UK feel free to mention that on your visa application, but it won’t help you obtain one any easier.
So, what is the easiest way for you to get a visa to live in the UK? The answer is, apply to school and get a student visa, then go from there.
I know a lot of you won’t like this answer, but if getting a UK visa were easy, I don’t think there would be many Americans left. I’m sorry if this post gets you down, but there’s no point in starting the application process if you go in thinking UK immigration lets people slide for some things. They do not. But there is good news, for those of you who write to me saying you only have a high school degree or some college, great! That just means there’s no reason not to apply for college in the UK – and once you are accepted, you’ll have very little problems getting that student visa.
Hi guys. I get about five emails a week with people asking me what they want to know what i think is the best course of action for them to get permission to live over here. The emails usually start with “It’s been my dream”, “America isn’t for me” ect. I feel for everyone that says that. Next the emails go on to say something like “I want to get a job there first to see if I’d like it”; “I don’t want to go to school there, but I want a visa”; “I just want pub work. Can I get a visa with that?”
I’m just going to lay it out clearly for everyone: In order to live in the UK for longer than six months, YOU MUST GET A VISA.
The visa MUST be obtained while you are outside of the UK (eg: you cannot enter the UK on your US passport, find temporary work, and then hope a company sponsors you for a full visa). The UK visa will always have to be obtained before you enter the UK.
A lot of people email me saying, “I don’t have much going for me.” While I doubt that, I think they mean they only have a high school education or some college, maybe not a lot of money, etc. Again, I feel for you (and you always have things going for you no matter what you think), but there is only THREE ways you are going to get a visa:
1. If you apply for undergraduate or graduate school in the UK. This is a student visa.
2. If you obtain a work visa through a UK company (a UK company sponsors you). This is a skilled worker visa.
3. If you apply for a work visa on your own. This is a highly-skilled worker visa.
Those asking if working in a bar/pub/restaurant/retail will make you eligible for a work visa the answer is NO. Even if a UK company wanted to sponsor you for such work, their application on your behalf would be denied because there are plenty of people in the UK to do those jobs.
For those of you seeking UK citizenship, you must legally live in the UK for five years. Years spent living there on a student visa DO NOT COUNT.
If you have friends in the UK feel free to mention that on your visa application, but it won’t help you obtain one any easier.
So, what is the easiest way for you to get a visa to live in the UK? The answer is, apply to school and get a student visa, then go from there.
I know a lot of you won’t like this answer, but if getting a UK visa were easy, I don’t think there would be many Americans left. I’m sorry if this post gets you down, but there’s no point in starting the application process if you go in thinking UK immigration lets people slide for some things. They do not. But there is good news, for those of you who write to me saying you only have a high school degree or some college, great! That just means there’s no reason not to apply for college in the UK – and once you are accepted, you’ll have very little problems getting that student visa.
Q. In an advertisment for an apartment, what does 'pcm' mean?
PCM means ‘per calendar month’. Most flats in the UK are priced by the week even though you pay monthly. So if a flat goes for £200 a week, you are paying £866.67 per month. The pcm price just makes it easier for people to tell what they would pay for the month. It also stops people from coming to the wrong conclusion. Most people would assume a £200 per week flat would cost them £800 per month but that is incorrect because there are 52 weeks in the year. So a PCM price just saves you doing the math. £200 per week x 52 weeks ÷ 12 months = £866.67 per month.
Q. Do you know of any sites that list in demand jobs in computers in the UK? How well do you think that would transfer from the us to the uk? I would appreciate any advise you could give. Thanks (Courtney P.)
A. First, computer jobs are computer jobs. IT is basically the same all over the world. So any IT degree in the US would be valuable work-wise in the UK.
The best sites for researching UK jobs are www.computingcareers.co.uk and www.cwjobs.co.uk
The best sites for researching UK jobs are www.computingcareers.co.uk and www.cwjobs.co.uk
Q. What do you wish you had had with you the day you arrived in London? (Kylie F.)
A. An Apple iPhone! It would have been helpful to have Google Maps at my finger tips! Navigating a new city can be hard.
Q. How far does the US dollar go compared to the British Pound? (Jim S.)
A. Not as far as I’d like! To play it safe I always tell people when they see a price in £ they should multiply it by 1.6 to get the equivalent $ value! So £10 would equal around $16. Up to the minute exchange rates can be found below.