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Moving to the UK can be great for you, from an employment and general lifestyle perspective. However, it’s not as straightforward as booking a ticket and moving, as there is a lot that needs to be considered. We’re here to discuss 6 of the main things to think about before your move, to make sure you have everything in place for the move to go smoothly!
Immigration
Firstly, you need to think about the immigration element. Not everyone can move to the UK to work, and so you need to research your visa options, to see whether you’re eligible to move. There are a few options, for example skilled worker visas and health and care worker visas for jobs that are in high demand in the UK, you may get a working visa if you’re staying with the same company and coming to work in their UK office, and then there are a wide variety of other working visas, including temporary work visas.
Before you progress any further with your move, finding out whether you’ll be able to get a visa is absolutely key, to save you a lot of time. One of the fastest and most effective ways to do this is by contacting immigration lawyers in London, who can assist you with everything you need and really simplify the process.
National Insurance Number
Once you’ve found out that you’ll be able to get your working visa, you need to apply for a National Insurance number, which you need to work in the UK. This is required to record National Insurance contributions, it serves as a reference for the social security system and you also need it in order to work in the UK. Sometimes this will be a part of the process when you’re applying for your working visa, but sometimes you will need to apply separately, so make sure you look into this.
Bank Accounts
You also need to decide where you’re going to bank and get in touch with them. Sometimes you will need to wait until you’ve moved to provide your proof of address, but others will let you set this up in advance if you have already sorted out your housing situation. Exact documentation will vary between banks, so do a bit of research into which bank aligns with what you’re looking for and go with that. Some of the biggest and most popular banks in the UK are Lloyds, Barclays, HSBC, Nationwide, Natwest and Santander, so perhaps start with these and then go from there. Consider your savings and also daily accounts when you’re doing this research!
The main thing to find out is to identify the types of accounts you want to open, and whether you’re required to set up the account before you move or once you’ve already moved.
Employment
Next up, and perhaps most importantly after your visa, you need to plan what your employment is going to look like. As we mentioned, not everyone can move to work in the UK, so you will likely need to have something lined up and confirmed in order to make your move. There are some industries really high in demand, particularly the Health and Care industry, and so you can usually find work here easily and can get a visa through that direction. Another path is by getting a skilled worker visa for other in demand industries.
However, in general, the UK employment rate is relatively high and so there aren’t an excess of jobs in general available, hence working visas aren’t always completely straightforward to access. Having backup plans if a job were to fall through due to a business catastrophe is also key. It’s not as simple as deciding you want to move to the UK to work and doing it unfortunately, so make sure you have a clear plan in place in terms of your employment.
Housing
Of course, you’ll need to find a place to live. In terms of the cost of living across the UK and housing availability, it varies massively. London and the south in general are known for being more expensive, as well as central Manchester and south Manchester which are very high in demand. However, you can also find extremely affordable housing across the midlands and north of the country when you know where to look. We’d recommend identifying what kind of property you want to live in and where, then start to look at areas that might suit your budget.
To make the most of life in the UK we’d say to consider areas that interest you and you’d like to live to narrow it down. Do your research as well to make sure the area you’re moving to is safe, has the public transport links you require, has good amenities and in general will help you enjoy life in the UK. From central London to a quiet life in Wales, this is definitely something to think about.
In terms of how to go about moving, it will differ depending on whether you’re wanting to move and buy or rent. Either way, to begin with, we’d definitely recommend you rent, to learn more about the area and whether it’s somewhere you want to commit to purchasing. Starting with rent is much more straightforward and it can be temporary. This will also give you a chance to build a credit score in the UK to help with your ability to get a mortgage if you’re not a cash buyer.
Driving
Something else to consider is whether you’re allowed to drive in the UK. If you have a non-GB, full and valid license (outside of Europe and the Channel Islands), then usually you can drive for 12 months when you become a resident then you’ve got to apply for a provisional license, pass the theory and then take a practical driving test. It can be quite difficult to actually get booked in for a test and the requirements to pass are quite difficult, and so you shouldn’t assume you’ll be able to quickly take the test and pass, especially if you rely on driving for work. Currently the waiting time for driving tests in the UK is about six months, yet this does vary, for example it’s longer in Manchester.
The rules are slightly different if you are moving from the EU or non-EU European countries, and usually you can drive with your license indefinitely in the UK. No matter your current circumstances, we’d definitely say you should look into whether or not you will be able to drive in the UK, and if you need to take a test after 12 months, sort this as soon as you can after you move to make sure that you can get passed in time.