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I moved from Australia -> London. I just took a leap of faith. I had a (small) amount of savings, that could keep me a float for 3-4 months. I interviewed a c

I moved from Australia -> London. I just took a leap of faith. I had a (small) amount of savings, that could keep me a float for 3-4 months. I interviewed a couple of companies (both start ups and big corps) over the phone while still in Australia, and ended up getting an offer at the first company I interviewed at in person. I liked them so I cancelled the rest. Best decision I've made, I love London and don't plan on leaving. But I was in a very privileged position to be able to take that huge a risk, and already had an easy Visa + friends to fall back on if I couldn't find a job.

DoreenMichele 9y ago
So, I have this vague hand wavy idea that Australians are citizens of the crown, so they can go to the UK at will without jumping through bureaucratic hoops. This likely does not apply to an American. Can you (or anyone) clarify that detail or speak to this issue? Because my suspicion is that an American would likely need a job offer in order to apply for the right kind of visa. In the US, if you show up on a tourist visa and then want to get a job or marry an American, that is apparently not kosher, from what I gather.
- Sholmesy 9y ago
  Australia is part of the "citizens of the crown" in that we are part of the Commonwealth. The reason we travel far easier, is that Australia is an incredibly young country (1901), so most people are < 2 generations away from European ancestors. This makes visa's quite easy. We also have a pretty great deal with the US, with the E3 visa, which is basically a private pool of visas only available to Australians. Re: US citizens travelling to the UK, I don't think there are very good systems in place for that. I think you would be better off with the wider EU (Swizterland, Germany, France, Netherlands, Denmark are pretty decent from a tech perspective)
  - DoreenMichele 9y ago
    Thank you.
- hluska 9y ago
  Right now that's only accurate if you're between 18 and 31 or have a close relative who was born in the U.K., though with Brexit looming, some politicians want to speed up the process for Commonwealth citizens. Right now, Commonwealth citizens have three options for UK visas: 1.) Youth mobility visa - when people talk about how easy it is for commonwealth citizens to get UK work visas, this is normally the program they're talking about. If you're between 18-31, are a citizen of the Commonwealth and have the resources to support yourself while you're looking for work, you can live in the U.K. for two years without needing a work permit. This program cannot be renewed and a recipient can only come to the UK on a youth mobility visa once. This visa also has no resident/citizenship path. I was too old when I started looking into immigration so didn't look into this one any further. 2.) Ancestry visa - If you're a Commonwealth citizen and have a grandparent (you have other options if your parent(s) were born in the U.K.) who was born in the U.K., you can get a five year Visa that lets you work (but oddly, not study) in the U.K. After five years, you can start the residency -> citizenship path. 3.) A regular points based visa - This is open to everyone. (Source - I'm a Canadian who strongly considered moving to the UK)
  - asdasd23234 9y ago
    There is so much space in CAN and beautiful nature, why would someone want to move into a overpriced dog's box and suffer in an environment where one can hardly breathe?

DoreenMichele 9y ago

So, I have this vague hand wavy idea that Australians are citizens of the crown, so they can go to the UK at will without jumping through bureaucratic hoops. This likely does not apply to an American. Can you (or anyone) clarify that detail or speak to this issue? Because my suspicion is that an American would likely need a job offer in order to apply for the right kind of visa. In the US, if you show up on a tourist visa and then want to get a job or marry an American, that is apparently not kosher, from what I gather.

Sholmesy 9y ago
Australia is part of the "citizens of the crown" in that we are part of the Commonwealth. The reason we travel far easier, is that Australia is an incredibly young country (1901), so most people are < 2 generations away from European ancestors. This makes visa's quite easy. We also have a pretty great deal with the US, with the E3 visa, which is basically a private pool of visas only available to Australians. Re: US citizens travelling to the UK, I don't think there are very good systems in place for that. I think you would be better off with the wider EU (Swizterland, Germany, France, Netherlands, Denmark are pretty decent from a tech perspective)
- DoreenMichele 9y ago
  Thank you.
hluska 9y ago
Right now that's only accurate if you're between 18 and 31 or have a close relative who was born in the U.K., though with Brexit looming, some politicians want to speed up the process for Commonwealth citizens. Right now, Commonwealth citizens have three options for UK visas: 1.) Youth mobility visa - when people talk about how easy it is for commonwealth citizens to get UK work visas, this is normally the program they're talking about. If you're between 18-31, are a citizen of the Commonwealth and have the resources to support yourself while you're looking for work, you can live in the U.K. for two years without needing a work permit. This program cannot be renewed and a recipient can only come to the UK on a youth mobility visa once. This visa also has no resident/citizenship path. I was too old when I started looking into immigration so didn't look into this one any further. 2.) Ancestry visa - If you're a Commonwealth citizen and have a grandparent (you have other options if your parent(s) were born in the U.K.) who was born in the U.K., you can get a five year Visa that lets you work (but oddly, not study) in the U.K. After five years, you can start the residency -> citizenship path. 3.) A regular points based visa - This is open to everyone. (Source - I'm a Canadian who strongly considered moving to the UK)
- asdasd23234 9y ago
  There is so much space in CAN and beautiful nature, why would someone want to move into a overpriced dog's box and suffer in an environment where one can hardly breathe?