[sbfay]

Hi Folks. I have a few questions. I apologize in advance - I'm sure these questions have been asked before. To start off, I am a US citizen who has desperately wanted to relocate to the UK. It looks like I may have my chance! I believe I'll be offered a job soon in West Midlands, and would be coming on a Tier 2, needing sponsorship from the company who says they can arrange that. I've been to the UK many times, and absolutely love it! Some questions:

1. What do I need to acquire to bring my wife and daughter (who is under 18)? I mean, does she need to have anything besides a passport? Any special Visa?
2. Will my wife be able to work in the UK under my Tier 2 Visa?
3. I have an adult daughter who is 20. She still lives with us and is absolutely thrilled about the opportunity. Would she be able to live with us, somehow? This is a deal-breaker for us, so I'm hoping so. I'm hoping that she could work and/or go to school there.
4. We'd be in the Walsall area - any suggestions on where we should look for rental homes that would be within 30 minutes commute, but hopefully some sort of fun for the girls, and yet safe?

Thanks so much! Any suggestions, links, or advice would be greatly appreciated!

 

[Joppa]

Hi Folks. I have a few questions. I apologize in advance - I'm sure these questions have been asked before. To start off, I am a US citizen who has desperately wanted to relocate to the UK. It looks like I may have my chance! I believe I'll be offered a job soon in West Midlands, and would be coming on a Tier 2, needing sponsorship from the company who says they can arrange that. I've been to the UK many times, and absolutely love it! Some questions:

1. What do I need to acquire to bring my wife and daughter (who is under 18)? I mean, does she need to have anything besides a passport? Any special Visa?

They both need a visa as a dependant of Tier 2 worker. You usually apply at the same time as your visa.

2. Will my wife be able to work in the UK under my Tier 2 Visa?

Yes she can.

3. I have an adult daughter who is 20. She still lives with us and is absolutely thrilled about the opportunity. Would she be able to live with us, somehow? This is a deal-breaker for us, so I'm hoping so. I'm hoping that she could work and/or go to school there.

As she is 18+, she can't come as a dependant and has to qualify for a visa herself. Maybe the easiest (relatively speaking) is a student visa after getting a place from a UK uni.

4. We'd be in the Walsall area - any suggestions on where we should look for rental homes that would be within 30 minutes commute, but hopefully some sort of fun for the girls, and yet safe?

I don't mean to be rude, but I find Walsall a real dump and would live somewhere nicer, like Sutton Coldfield or just out in Staffordshire like Lichfield, though rent will be considerably higher. Both are about 8 -10 miles away, but with heavy commuter traffic.

 

[sbfay]

They both need a visa as a dependant of Tier 2 worker. You usually apply at the same time as your visa.



Yes she can.



As she is 18+, she can't come as a dependant and has to qualify for a visa herself. Maybe the easiest (relatively speaking) is a student visa after getting a place from a UK uni.



I don't mean to be rude, but I find Walsall a real dump and would live somewhere nicer, like Sutton Coldfield or just out in Staffordshire like Lichfield, though rent will be considerably higher. Both are about 8 -10 miles away, but with heavy commuter traffic.

1. Awesome, thanks. So we just apply for a visa for them as dependents? Not sure how/where to do that...
2. Great!
3. So to understand this better, she needs to apply and get into a school now, so that we can then apply for a student visa? Is there other options, just in case? For instance, is there an option for her to come as a migrant worker or as a dependent?
4. I really appreciate the honesty. I don't mind working in a dump, but would rather not live in one. I'll look into Sutton Coldfield and the others. How about B'Ham? I have to admit, I'd rather live somewhere quieter, with easy access to a big city than live in one, but my kids may differ in opinion, and would love to be able to walk everywhere...

Thanks again!

 

[nyclon]

Re your 20 year old daughter:

She's too old to be considered as a dependent, unfortunately. As Joppa said she must qualify for for her own visa and the options are very limited with the easiest being the student route. Universities are pretty accommodating when it comes to international student applications because they are happy to take the international student fees (in excess of £10,000/Year). Other than that she would have to find her own sponsor for a Tier 2 visa, marry or enter into a civil partnership with a UK citizen or have a lot of money to invest in or start a UK business to qualify for a Tier 1 visa.

 

[sbfay]

Re your 20 year old daughter:

She's too old to be considered as a dependent, unfortunately. As Joppa said she must qualify for for her own visa and the options are very limited with the easiest being the student route. Universities are pretty accommodating when it comes to international student applications because they are happy to take the international student fees (in excess of £10,000/Year). Other than that she would have to find her own sponsor for a Tier 2 visa, marry or enter into a civil partnership with a UK citizen or have a lot of money to invest in or start a UK business to qualify for a Tier 1 visa.

Thanks for the information, it's a big help. Would anyone have any suggestions on relatively cheap universities that I could look into in the Birmingham area? I found a couple straight away, but not sure if they would be appropriate:

City College Birmingham
Birmingham International College

Are these viable? They appear to be quite a bit less than the 10,000 mentioned. Any other universities like this?

Thanks!

 

[Joppa]

Thanks for the information, it's a big help. Would anyone have any suggestions on relatively cheap universities that I could look into in the Birmingham area? I found a couple straight away, but not sure if they would be appropriate:

City College Birmingham
Birmingham International College

Are these viable? They appear to be quite a bit less than the 10,000 mentioned. Any other universities like this?

To be approved for student visa, your daughter has to be accepted for a course at an appropriate level, and with a college or uni that is a registered sponsor. The higher the quality of the registered sponsor, the lower the level a course needs to be. For example, with a highly trusted sponsor your daughter may do an equivalent of a junior degree, while with an A-rated sponsor she can only do a bachelor's degree. The fees are higher for higher levels of qualification.
Read carefully UK Border Agency | Adult students - Tier 4 (General) and the links to course and proividers.
City College is an A-rated sponsor, and Birmingham International isn't a registered sponsor so cannot sponsor your daughter's visa.

 

[sbfay]

Thanks! How do I know what kind of rating a college/uni has?

 

[Joppa]

Thanks! How do I know what kind of rating a college/uni has?

See http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/s...pointsbasedsystem/registerofsponsorseducation

 

[sbfay]

Awesome, thanks! I think I just have two more questions:

1. Does my 17 year old need to enroll in school as well? She's done with high school, here in the US. Also, what will we need to do when she hits 18 (summer) - anything? Or is she sort of "grandfathered" in?

2. For the 20 year old - if she goes with an "A" rated school, she needs to go into a Bachelor's program, but for a "Highly Trusted Sponsor", she could do the equivalent of a junior degree. Is it generally less expensive to do one over the other? Right now, we're mostly concerned with having her with us for the next couple of years, at least. Beyond that, who knows - maybe she'll meet "Mr. Right".

Thanks so much for all of the help!

 

[Joppa]

Awesome, thanks! I think I just have two more questions:

1. Does my 17 year old need to enroll in school as well? She's done with high school, here in the US. Also, what will we need to do when she hits 18 (summer) - anything? Or is she sort of "grandfathered" in?

Compulsory education ends at 16 in England, so no need to enrol in school, but she can if she wants to. She can stay as dependant until her dependant visa expires, which is normally 3 years.

2. For the 20 year old - if she goes with an "A" rated school, she needs to go into a Bachelor's program, but for a "Highly Trusted Sponsor", she could do the equivalent of a junior degree. Is it generally less expensive to do one over the other? Right now, we're mostly concerned with having her with us for the next couple of years, at least. Beyond that, who knows - maybe she'll meet "Mr. Right".

'Junior degree' and 'bachelor's degree' are rough equivalents of what the UKBA lays down, but you get the drift. With a highly trusted sponsor, she can do level 3 qualification which is A levels - equivalent to Advanced Placement (AP) program . She may do more vocational course in childcare etc, which is usually NVQ level 3.

 

[ALKB]

Awesome, thanks! I think I just have two more questions:

1. Does my 17 year old need to enroll in school as well? She's done with high school, here in the US. Also, what will we need to do when she hits 18 (summer) - anything? Or is she sort of "grandfathered" in?

2. For the 20 year old - if she goes with an "A" rated school, she needs to go into a Bachelor's program, but for a "Highly Trusted Sponsor", she could do the equivalent of a junior degree. Is it generally less expensive to do one over the other? Right now, we're mostly concerned with having her with us for the next couple of years, at least. Beyond that, who knows - maybe she'll meet "Mr. Right".

Thanks so much for all of the help!

If your 17 year old daughter wants to go to university in the UK at some point, it would be a good idea to enroll her in sixth form. American high school diplomas are usually not accepted as sufficient for entry into a UK university, she would need two years of college in the US for that.

Besides, being enrolled in a high school is free, she can do her A-levels, which are pretty much acceppted across Europe and beyond and it will be easier for her to make friends.

If she is not so academically enclined, maybe she would like to attend college and go for an HND or HNC?

When you look at universities for your older daughter, be careful to look at the international fees section, those are quite different from the home/EU fees.

 

[Rndebidee]

If your 17 year old daughter wants to go to university in the UK at some point, it would be a good idea to enroll her in sixth form. American high school diplomas are usually not accepted as sufficient for entry into a UK university, she would need two years of college in the US for that.

Besides, being enrolled in a high school is free, she can do her A-levels, which are pretty much acceppted across Europe and beyond and it will be easier for her to make friends.

If she is not so academically enclined, maybe she would like to attend college and go for an HND or HNC?

When you look at universities for your older daughter, be careful to look at the international fees section, those are quite different from the home/EU fees.

I don't agree with this as my daughter was accepted into 3 of the 4 UK Universities she applied to in her final year of High School, and after visiting those 3 she decided on the University of St. Andrews. I do think one has to have a good High School GPA and good SAT or ACT scores.
Also, I feel the University overseas fees are still somewhat of a bargain in comparison to what the yearly fees are here in the USA as my sons University fees are still more than what I pay at St. Andrews. The overseas fees may seem astronomical to most UK citizens as they aren't used to going knee deep in debt for a University Education as most of us in the US have been subjected to (but that seems to be changing unfortunately).

Hope things work out for you and your family. I would say apply to more than just the Universities where you will be relocating to as that will open up more doors for your daughter and maybe a better chance of getting accepted. The UK is not as large as the US so no matter where she gets accepted she really wont be that far from the family

 

[ALKB]

I don't agree with this as my daughter was accepted into 3 of the 4 UK Universities she applied to in her final year of High School, and after visiting those 3 she decided on the University of St. Andrews. I do think one has to have a good High School GPA and good SAT or ACT scores.
Also, I feel the University overseas fees are still somewhat of a bargain in comparison to what the yearly fees are here in the USA as my sons University fees are still more than what I pay at St. Andrews. The overseas fees may seem astronomical to most UK citizens as they aren't used to going knee deep in debt for a University Education as most of us in the US have been subjected to (but that seems to be changing unfortunately).

Hope things work out for you and your family. I would say apply to more than just the Universities where you will be relocating to as that will open up more doors for your daughter and maybe a better chance of getting accepted. The UK is not as large as the US so no matter where she gets accepted she really wont be that far from the family

St. Andrews! Excellent!

The son of a friend of mine from Pennsylvania was not so lucky, although he´s quite a good student.

He received a lot of conditional offers, involving to pay for one preparatory year before starting the degree.

University College London wants a high school diploma plus one year of uni, for instance.

But not all universities are created equal, so entry requirements differ. Some will accept an HND for entry only, some will fast track an HND-holder into third year.

 

[nyclon]

I don't agree with this as my daughter was accepted into 3 of the 4 UK Universities she applied to in her final year of High School, and after visiting those 3 she decided on the University of St. Andrews. I do think one has to have a good High School GPA and good SAT or ACT scores.

Did you daughter take AP classes? If so, that's more likely what contributed to her being accepted to UK universities as they are as similar as you can get to A Levels which is what universities look at when accepting students. SAT and ACT scores are unlikely to mean anything to a UK university.

 

[ALKB]

Did you daughter take AP classes? If so, that's more likely what contributed to her being accepted to UK universities as they are as similar as you can get to A Levels which is what universities look at when accepting students. SAT and ACT scores are unlikely to mean anything to a UK university.

I grew up in a highly mobile family, we moved every few years for my father´s job and I happened to leave Germany before I could take my GCSE´s and attended a private high school in America.

I was a straight-A student, always on the honor roll, at graduation among the best five of my class and when we returned to Germany (briefly, before moving to Switzerland) I was eager to do... something. More often than not, people just laughed into my face. It took me another 18 months to get through all exams required for accepting me somewhere.

That was 17 years ago, so it might be different nowadays and I never tried to get into a UK uni.

 

[Rndebidee]

Did you daughter take AP classes? If so, that's more likely what contributed to her being accepted to UK universities as they are as similar as you can get to A Levels which is what universities look at when accepting students. SAT and ACT scores are unlikely to mean anything to a UK university.

No my daughter didn't take AP classes as her High School didn't offer them. The High School she attended was a much sought after public High School that focused much of the curriculum towards college preparatory classes. Many students from that school have been accepted into St. Andrews and a few even at Cambridge and Oxford, and many into Ivy League schools here in the States. I will admit the school is not like most Public High Schools and is probably more along the lines of private High schools. As far as ACT and SAT scores St. Andrews did want those scores along with at least 2 additional placement (cant recall the proper name for the addtional test she was expected to have completed) test scores in English, Math, and Science.

 

[Aliana]

No offence Joppa but I am a Mexican in Walsall and in no way it's a dump! Or what do you mean by dump? To me a dump is a dirty place full of thugs. Walsall is very nice looking, calm (and maybe too calm for me sometimes but not a dump!). It's very good for bringing kids up as well and it's just by Birmingham and other cities, you can get to them very easily.

Sutton Coldfield is extremely nice but in general posh and very expensive. If you can afford it, go ahead.

Find a Property is a good place to start looking for houses:
FindaProperty.com Houses for sale, rent, estate agents & house prices

If you have more questions on Walsall or want to have someone to show you around don't hesitate to contact me