How to move to the UK… from someone who just did it
Hey Wanderlusters!
On Thursday I will have been living in London for a MONTH already 🤯 time really has been flying by here. I am so ready to move into my new apartment on Saturday so I can settle in and start building my life here. If you’ve been keeping up with my Instagram stories on @sincerelysarah.co, it has been QUITE the process getting all the life basics figured out like a bank account, registering for a GP, getting a UK phone number, signing for an apartment, etc. I can’t even imagine what it’s like for people who don’t have a visa.
I’ve been getting lot’s of questions though about this move with the top two being 1. What are you doing there? And 2. how’d you make it happen?
So, let me tell you!
What am I doing in the UK?
I’m here on a STUDENT visa. Since Brexit, the UK has a new immigration program where if you come for a postgraduate degree you will automatically get two years rights to work after you graduate. You also are allowed to work up to 20 hours part-time on a student visa.
Specifically, I am getting my MBA and looking to stay and work for an insurance company in the London market after my one year program. By going this route, it allows me to be in person and network with those in the industry rather than trying to find a job back in the states and hope to get transferred internally.
I start classes this week which consist of two days a week in person lectures, and then hopefully I will be working part time the other days. I got the short end of the stick though on my class times, with a Friday class from 1 to 4 PM. Looks like no long weekend trips away for me this semester!
HOW to apply for a Student visa
Do your research. Figure out things like what program you are looking for, the cost comparisons, and which schools are the best fit. Do this at least a year in advance from the program start date you want.
This one is obvious, but you need to start applying to schools. I would suggest doing this eight months to a year before the start date to give yourself enough time for acceptance results and to start the visa application process. When I was originally supposed to move last August, I applied for schools in November & December 2019 and I got my acceptance letters between January & February 2020.
When you have decided on which school, you will need to pay a registration deposit to hold your place (~£250) as well as send in information like your passport, test results if needed, proof of funds, and possibly pay a small tuition amount. When the school has all this information, they turn it in to get what is called your CAS (certificate of acceptance). You need to wait to get your CAS form before you can start your actual visa application, but the CAS is to register you with the UKVI. It took the school over six weeks to turn in my information and then another 2 weeks to get the CAS back. This is probably the longest part of the process, although not the most tedious.
Once you receive your CAS form, you are ready to apply for your student visa. This is probably the most tedious part because it’s about 20 slides long and you need to know things like what countries you traveled to in the last 10 years (as well as the dates), your passport information, birth certificate, intentions for moving, arrival date to the country, student ID, UKVI registration number etc. During this step you will also apply and pay for your healthcare surcharge (fee that grants you access to the NHS). I also paid an extra amount to expedite my visa application as it was end of July by the time I received my CAS from the school. Healthcare surcharge was ~$1K and to expedite my visa application was around $850.
At the end of your visa application, they will send you to a separate link where you will sign up for your biometrics appointment. This has to be done at a US passport center where they confirm you are who you say you are and take your picture/fingerprints. Expect this to take another few weeks to get an appointment. (see why you need to start the visa process so early? Don’t be like me who tried to get this all done a month before her flight lol.)
Finally, you mail your biometrics, passport, and paperwork to the UK embassy in New York City. I paid to ship my paperwork overnight and for the return stamp. It took five business days from the day I shipped it to get my passport back in the mail with my shiny new visa sticker which showed my approved entry date (see picture). This is your temporary visa to enter the country and is good for 90 days. You receive your biometrics and official visa when you land in the country at a designated pick up location.
Obviously, Covid and summer holidays in the UK created some of the delay time, but I still would go by this timeline. Long story short, it’s not simple no matter what route you decide to take as an expat, but the student visa was the path of least resistance for me to get over here as an American.
Hopefully that gave you a good picture of the process, but if you have any questions, drop them below!
Sincerely,
Sarah x
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