It's years off, but eventually I will be relocating from California to the United Kingdom. I am a US Citizen, and have never left the country. My family hasn't lived in Great Britain since the days of Queen Victoria. I am currently an undergraduate student in Anthropology (focused on Archaeology). I plan to go to graduate school to study Archaeology with a focus on either Viking Age Britain, Ancient Britain, or Victorian Britain. I would prefer to get my bachelor's degree in America and my graduate degree in the UK, but I understand that it may end up costing too much money. Immigrating to the UK is a matter of practicality. It is very hard to search for artifacts relating to British history and culture if I am not present in Britain, and continually commuting between the US and UK is a nonstarter. Since I will be spending my whole career in the UK I intend to go for citizenship once eligible, and stay in the UK after retirement. Once I leave for the UK, I do not plan on living in the US again (though I will certainly return for vacations). Now, I grant that it's still pretty early, but I'm wondering if anyone here knows of anything I need to be doing in school here in the US to maximize my chances of getting into school in the UK, or some things I could start doing now that would make me look more attractive to the people at immigration when I start going through the process.
Does anyone know anything of the feasibility of going from community college in the US an undergraduate program in the UK?
Well we're not too far off an election and apparently all but 1 party basically thinks you immigrants suck, so there's not a lot I can say right now...
F Doesn't being well educated and versed in British history, culture, and language help a lot, though?
That depends who you ask... At the moment the attitude is something like this: We are supposed to NOT want like, eastern europeans and others who come over as unskilled workers, but apparently the people who like to complain about them also LOVE to employ them. We are also supposed to WANT to bring in skilled workers, but then complain about the fact that they take up jobs british people might actually WANT to do. Basically, we are complete arseholes as far as immigration is concerned. Having said that, you speak English and come from America and seem to like the UK so you have that going for you...at least you can hold your hands up and say your money is staying in our economy which they tend to approve of.
Of course any understanding of the UK helps I am not an expert in immigration rules but British History is vast and extensive from the magna carter to modern History. On undergraduate courses look at British universities which are very international friendly maybe going on UK government websites will help. Hope this helps.
You might want to visit this link to see what type of visa you are eligible for after your studies in the UK have ended, if you are eligible at all: Work visas for graduates| EducationUK (Global) As a general rule, it is very hard, or impossible, for non-EU and non-Commonwealth citizens to remain in the UK permanently unless they are employed in a skill in demand (doctors) or are offered a job by a company based in the UK. Even Aussies and Kiwis are finding it harder to stay on in the UK after their work visas expire because the rules are more strict than they were before. I don't want to dash your dreams, but I wouldn't get your hopes up of remaining in the UK long-term after your studies have finished, or working visa expires (if you are eligible for one).
Look on some of the sites like uk-yankee and the UK Border Agency for an idea about immigration and the visa situation, student visas are out there but overseas student fees are not trivial (around three times the UK student price IIRC). Unfortunately immigration is not easy either way, either UK>US or US>UK, immigration is forever a hot political potato and as EU immigration is extremely difficult to control then non-EU countries become targets for UKBA. After your student visa you then need the right to stay in the UK, that basically means marriage/civil partnership or finding an employer to sponsor you and then you can go for citizenship from there. The more niche your employment the greater your chance of finding someone to sponsor you. I wish you all the best...
Things have been tight as of late, its hard to get a student visa let alone proper immigration papers. Though its not impossible if you get sponsored from a firm, but like imnotreallysure mentioned above, its mostly short supply areas like medicine. Even if you do get a student visa for the duration of your course in UK, the chances of being able to stay afterwards are slim. I have many international student friends who tell me their struggles. I'm not sure if it applies to every industry, but many friends have told me that there is a specific list of companies that can sponsor you for a work visa in order to stay after your education. (im not entirely sure if this is true though)
Well they started getting really tight on that because they had random non-schools bringing people over by the shed-load for study then work and it turned out they weren;t even schools!
Roman history is prominent especially in my home town but, I don't dabble in the pre 1215 art. Though I can't imagine the boarder agency questioning people on Albert the great but with the current anti-immigrant media campaigns (cough cough daily mail) anything is possible.
Here are a few questions that appear on the new UK citizenship test: The all-new British citizenship test I believe the old one had the Magna Carta, and some questions about the serfs, but nothing before the middle ages. Being well-versed in British history would be beneficial here, but you need to get to that point first.
I know - that's why I said, "Being well-versed in British history would be beneficial here, but you need to get to that point first."
I'm starting to consider that maybe this is too risky a path of study to take, after seeing that immigration is not happening.
It is risky, and I'd advise against it. I'm reluctant to consider even studying in Europe (especially Britain), until I can get my Finnish citizenship; unless you have the luck of an easy way to acquire an EU citizenship, I wouldn't risk the UK or anywhere in Europe where there isn't a demand for your abilities. Although your line of work is not at all bad or unworthy, it's not in demand and isn't likely get you through the rather extensive requirements of permanent residence.
