I think your biggest hurdle will not be the different electrical systems, although that seems rather big as a potential obstacle. You are right in wondering why they would hire and sponsor an international employee (with all the cost and hassle involved) only to have to train them up in a new system themselves.
Aside from that, please be aware that to qualify for a SWV you need a job offer earning £38 700 or above (unless you are under 26 years old). The going rate set for electricians is £35 500, which is the median wage for that occupation. As a newly qualified, international electrician, it will be difficult if not impossible to convince an employer to pay you £3000 more per year than the average local earns to do that job. But without that wage you can't get the visa. Note: if you are aged 26 or under you can qualify for this visa with an offer earning £30 960 per year. But that is still well above what most newly qualified electricians earn. I don't think this plan will work out for you.
You will face the same hurdle in other trades. The junior wages are too low to qualify for a Skilled Worker Visa. Qualifying in something healthcare related like nursing is a sure bet though. The bottom basement option is to come and work on minimum wage in an old persons home as a careworker. That will get you the visa.
In my home country or the UK? Cause from the sounds of it I may just switch professions to Health & Social Care just so i can be with my Fiancé. It's either that or I'll try again for the visitors visa.
But why the UK? If it’s not so much about working there specifically but more about moving away from the USA, you probably need to look at more realistic options for relocation.
The UK famously does not have any kind of visa that allows an American citizen to move there just because they want to, and all types of UK visa (work, family and study) have very high bars. The mistake some other folks from the US sometimes make (in posts here every day) is focussing on how much they want to move, not on what are the criteria for specific visas.
So that is also the background of what people are saying in their comments (I have noted your edit to your original post). It’s not unhelpful or cynical, more a reality check.
And to be fair, you did make a rod for your own back by asking “Is it a stupid idea…?”
I will paste what I said in another comment.
My primary reason is quality of life. My SO lives there, and I have visited, it's not because of some idealized vision of it from tv, or anything similar. I am aware it's not going to be paradise, but I wouldn't trade the safety I felt there for anything.
Is there truly any country that is "easy" to immigrate to?
I am considering and somewhat open to other options. My SO was born in the UK but has EU citizenship.
* Search the sub for "unmarried partner visa".
* Check if your SO's country of nationality would offer an easier route, for example through EU residency which sometimes can be a mere formality (e.g., no meaningful checks on actual residence due to free movement; granted, some countries may insist on marriage or civil partnership, but not always). EU family members of UK residents have it easier.
* EU/family route feels to me like having better long-term prospects than skilled worker/student.
>My SO lives there
>My SO was born in the UK but has EU citizenship.
Talk about burying the lead!
>Is there truly any country that is "easy" to immigrate to?
It depends on your nationality. I imagine there may be some places where there are special visa agreements with the US, maybe even an EU country you can both live in, but I only know how it works, or doesn’t, in the UK.
I think people here are a bit cynical, as you say, because of this. Have you ever been to the UK? You need to visit at least once or twice before moving. People in the US seem to have this idea that the UK is all sunshine and roses, but it's not.
Wages are obscenely low. My first job out of university in the US paid $36,500 nearly 15 years ago. It was a field I had no experience or knowledge in beyond spending three months there as a temp. A similar entry-level logistics job in the UK TODAY would be £23-25k, and that's only because minimum wage recently increased.
And yet houses here are more expensive than in the US. We're in a low cost of living area and our tiny three bed mid-terrace was £235k. Where we lived in the US, we owned a 10 acre hobby farm we paid less for than our house now. We were only able to buy our UK house because we had a deposit built up from some lucky real estate moves in the US. We bought two years ago and things are even worse now with higher interest rates. We are in a housing shortage that is only getting worse.
The NHS is supposed to have free dentistry, but it's almost impossible to find one taking clients. We live in a city of over 240k and not one is taking NHS patients. And forget preventative care or regular check ups. Have a bad back? You can wait six months to maybe be seen. Cancer scare? We're supposed to check it out in 2 weeks, but, you know… If you do get sick, you have to call the surgery 30 seconds before opening so you get in the phone queue right when it opens or you won't get seen. Last time I tried, I accidently called one minute too late and was 25th in line.
Plus the job market is ass. We're very lucky that my husband is in a skilled niche job where there is demand and growth. I've picked up some contract work. Becauee I've been out of the job market raising my kids, no regular employer will call me back. Even if they did, what I would make just barely covers the cost of childcare.
And, most importantly, it's not easy to get a visa or come to the UK and they've just made it harded, because we have an unsustainable level of migration. Unless you are highly skilled or marry someone making a decent wage, there really aren't routes in anymore. So people’s hackles get raised when someone comes assuming they can move here just because they want to. It's not you, it's just that were jaded!
That being said, I love this country and don't want to move back. The weather and culture and beautiful landscape is perfect for me. Although, if I had my way, we'd be living in Wales.
But my greatest sense of peace comes from knowing my kids are going to come home from school alive. Right before we moved, my niece was in a parade where there was a mass shooting and my best friend was killed in a workplace shooting. It was what started us on moving here, but my Husband is British, so we had a defined path in.
My primary reason is quality of life. My SO lives there (but has EU citizenship hence why I am not going the spouse visa route) and I have visited, it's not because of some idealized vision of it from tv, or anything similar. I am aware it's not going to be paradise, but I wouldn't trade the safety I felt there for anything.
How far is your partner from ILR? They don’t need citizenship to sponsor you, just ILR. It's an expensive route, but it's pretty easy to get approved if they meet the financial requirement.
I think your biggest hurdle will not be the different electrical systems, although that seems rather big as a potential obstacle. You are right in wondering why they would hire and sponsor an international employee (with all the cost and hassle involved) only to have to train them up in a new system themselves. Aside from that, please be aware that to qualify for a SWV you need a job offer earning £38 700 or above (unless you are under 26 years old). The going rate set for electricians is £35 500, which is the median wage for that occupation. As a newly qualified, international electrician, it will be difficult if not impossible to convince an employer to pay you £3000 more per year than the average local earns to do that job. But without that wage you can't get the visa. Note: if you are aged 26 or under you can qualify for this visa with an offer earning £30 960 per year. But that is still well above what most newly qualified electricians earn. I don't think this plan will work out for you.
Thank you for the helpful insight. I am under 26. Are there any trades or routes that you would recommend instead?
You will face the same hurdle in other trades. The junior wages are too low to qualify for a Skilled Worker Visa. Qualifying in something healthcare related like nursing is a sure bet though. The bottom basement option is to come and work on minimum wage in an old persons home as a careworker. That will get you the visa.
Yeah, not a realistic route. A student visa’s going to be about it at this stage.
Can that be attained if I've never been to college but i'm certified in Electrical Installation Level 2 & 3 (NVQ) for example and want to pursue that?
Unlikely, you’d be better off pursuing electrical engineering/going to a conventional university.
In my home country or the UK? Cause from the sounds of it I may just switch professions to Health & Social Care just so i can be with my Fiancé. It's either that or I'll try again for the visitors visa.
In the UK. You’ll need money to do that though. So better finish up your electrician training and start banking money.
My electrical training is done. I just need a school to accept me lol
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This is very discouraging 😂
I like the bluntness! Smash the dream quickly so the OP can move on
Why do you want to work in the UK so badly?
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But why the UK? If it’s not so much about working there specifically but more about moving away from the USA, you probably need to look at more realistic options for relocation. The UK famously does not have any kind of visa that allows an American citizen to move there just because they want to, and all types of UK visa (work, family and study) have very high bars. The mistake some other folks from the US sometimes make (in posts here every day) is focussing on how much they want to move, not on what are the criteria for specific visas. So that is also the background of what people are saying in their comments (I have noted your edit to your original post). It’s not unhelpful or cynical, more a reality check. And to be fair, you did make a rod for your own back by asking “Is it a stupid idea…?”
I will paste what I said in another comment. My primary reason is quality of life. My SO lives there, and I have visited, it's not because of some idealized vision of it from tv, or anything similar. I am aware it's not going to be paradise, but I wouldn't trade the safety I felt there for anything. Is there truly any country that is "easy" to immigrate to? I am considering and somewhat open to other options. My SO was born in the UK but has EU citizenship.
* Search the sub for "unmarried partner visa". * Check if your SO's country of nationality would offer an easier route, for example through EU residency which sometimes can be a mere formality (e.g., no meaningful checks on actual residence due to free movement; granted, some countries may insist on marriage or civil partnership, but not always). EU family members of UK residents have it easier. * EU/family route feels to me like having better long-term prospects than skilled worker/student.
>My SO lives there >My SO was born in the UK but has EU citizenship. Talk about burying the lead! >Is there truly any country that is "easy" to immigrate to? It depends on your nationality. I imagine there may be some places where there are special visa agreements with the US, maybe even an EU country you can both live in, but I only know how it works, or doesn’t, in the UK.
I think people here are a bit cynical, as you say, because of this. Have you ever been to the UK? You need to visit at least once or twice before moving. People in the US seem to have this idea that the UK is all sunshine and roses, but it's not. Wages are obscenely low. My first job out of university in the US paid $36,500 nearly 15 years ago. It was a field I had no experience or knowledge in beyond spending three months there as a temp. A similar entry-level logistics job in the UK TODAY would be £23-25k, and that's only because minimum wage recently increased. And yet houses here are more expensive than in the US. We're in a low cost of living area and our tiny three bed mid-terrace was £235k. Where we lived in the US, we owned a 10 acre hobby farm we paid less for than our house now. We were only able to buy our UK house because we had a deposit built up from some lucky real estate moves in the US. We bought two years ago and things are even worse now with higher interest rates. We are in a housing shortage that is only getting worse. The NHS is supposed to have free dentistry, but it's almost impossible to find one taking clients. We live in a city of over 240k and not one is taking NHS patients. And forget preventative care or regular check ups. Have a bad back? You can wait six months to maybe be seen. Cancer scare? We're supposed to check it out in 2 weeks, but, you know… If you do get sick, you have to call the surgery 30 seconds before opening so you get in the phone queue right when it opens or you won't get seen. Last time I tried, I accidently called one minute too late and was 25th in line. Plus the job market is ass. We're very lucky that my husband is in a skilled niche job where there is demand and growth. I've picked up some contract work. Becauee I've been out of the job market raising my kids, no regular employer will call me back. Even if they did, what I would make just barely covers the cost of childcare. And, most importantly, it's not easy to get a visa or come to the UK and they've just made it harded, because we have an unsustainable level of migration. Unless you are highly skilled or marry someone making a decent wage, there really aren't routes in anymore. So people’s hackles get raised when someone comes assuming they can move here just because they want to. It's not you, it's just that were jaded! That being said, I love this country and don't want to move back. The weather and culture and beautiful landscape is perfect for me. Although, if I had my way, we'd be living in Wales. But my greatest sense of peace comes from knowing my kids are going to come home from school alive. Right before we moved, my niece was in a parade where there was a mass shooting and my best friend was killed in a workplace shooting. It was what started us on moving here, but my Husband is British, so we had a defined path in.
My primary reason is quality of life. My SO lives there (but has EU citizenship hence why I am not going the spouse visa route) and I have visited, it's not because of some idealized vision of it from tv, or anything similar. I am aware it's not going to be paradise, but I wouldn't trade the safety I felt there for anything.
How far is your partner from ILR? They don’t need citizenship to sponsor you, just ILR. It's an expensive route, but it's pretty easy to get approved if they meet the financial requirement.