Hi! My name is Kelley and I live in Mississippi, USA. I am a graphic designer working for a college. I LOVE England and I want to move there to experience the culture in a more intimate way other than a tourist. I have been researching online about obtaining a work visa and I just have a few (maybe more) questions that hopefully someone will know the answers to. On the Visa application checklist it says that I need an address in the UK and an Itinerary. Since I am looking for a job while I am still in the USA, I do not have either of the above. Is it possible to look for a job in the UK while in the USA waiting for a visa? (I know that when applying for a job within the European Union, you must ensure that you are already authorised to work there.) Or, would it be better to get the visa and then move to the UK and start looking for a job?

I need help! I'm not sure what my first steps should be!!!

Welcome to the forum. I'm copying your post to the UK forum where you are more likely to get a response.

Thanks! I need all of the help that I can get!!!

BTW, how do I get to that forum?

Hi Kelley, you're attempting to do roughly what I did "a few" years ago. Unfortunately, the visa laws and immigration restrictions have gotten quite a bit tougher since then, but the basic idea still ought to work.

I started applying for jobs (basically using job ads in the Sunday papers I could get in the US - but nowadays you can try the job ads in something like Monster.co.uk). In your cover letter, you need to say that you will be in their area "in the near future" and would like to discuss the job with them at that time. When you get a first nibble - i.e. any sort of positive response, asking precisely when you'll be over - you book yourself a two or three week vacation trip and over over to take the interview, and to follow up on any other job leads of interest while you're there.

If you succeed in getting any employer interested in you, they can help in getting that visa set up (though you'll have working permission only for that employer - if you lose your job, you have to go back home). You can improve your chances for finding a job if you have (or develop) some skill that is in short supply in the UK - you'll have to find out for yourself what that might be. In my case, it was being an experienced accountant with multiple languages.

The down side is that this approach can take quite a bit of time - and making one or two short-notice "holidays" over there to follow up on job leads costs a bit of money. Plan on spending at least a year (or even two) looking for that job - though sometimes things can happen faster.

You could also look into the Highly skilled migrant programme. If you qualify, I believe that you can move overseas without a job so that you can look for one over there. I dont have the full information on it and not sure if it is still valid, but worth looking in to. Wikipedia has a description of it, just look up "Highly Skilled Migrant Programme (HSMP)"

Thanks! I have looked into it and i do qualify. I am in the process of getting my portfolio and website updated for any future interviews (i'm a graphic designer).