These are just a few notes about the work visa & living expenses in UK. Ill keep updating it when anything else came into mind. Feel free to ask any questions. ( LEGAL NOTE: Please dont base any decisions on the details here. Some of the information might be outdated or inaccurate. They are based on my own experience ) UK Work Visa: There are several types of Visas that will allow you to live&work in UK. I only had personal experience with one of them ( Tier 2 General ), so this is the one Ill be talking about. Everything you need to know about this visa is here : https://gov.uk/tier-2-general/ Summary - When you apply for a job in UK make sure that your employer can sponsor your visa. - This is an employer sponsored visa. This means that your employer needs to apply for a Certificate of Sponsorship ( CoS ). - The CoS usually takes 28 days. Once your future employer has this CoS he can assign it to you ( it takes a matter of minutes to assign it to you ). The CoS is obtained for a specific job, not for a specific employee. - Tier 2 General visa allow you to bring your wife and children under tier 2 dependent visa. Thier dependent visa will allow them to work in UK as well. - Tier 2 General visa is issued for 3 years when it expires you can always extend it for another 3 years ( 6 years in total ) - After 5 years of being in UK on tier 2 general visa you can apply for Permenant residency ( also called Indefinite leave to remain or ILR ). This will allow you to stay in UK indefinitely without a need to extend any visa ( The only restriction is that you cant stay out of the country for more than 2 straight years otherwise your ILR will be cancelled ). - After 1 year of having an ILR you can apply for UK citizenship. - Tier 2 general visa will expire immediately if your left your current employer. So, if you decided to change jobs your new employer will have to obtain a new CoS and you will need to apply for a new VISA and there are some tricks here that Ill probably cover later. This restriction doesnt apply to your dependents. They can work anywhere and leave their jobs without affecting their visa status. - Important documents required for this visa: * Your degree in English * Proof of Knowledge of English language ( Like TOEFL ). * Work contract. - Tier 2 visa costs : 514 pounds ( sterling ) and the same for each dependent ( your wife and children ) - Most employers will use professional help to facilitate the visa application process for you. So most of the time you dont need to know much about all that, but its very important if youre switching jobs or extending your visa. - When you bring your dependents you have to provide a proof that you can take care of them financially, so its required to maintain a certain amounts of funds for them ( money in the bank ). Its something like 600 for each dependent and 900 for you. However, most of the time you can ask your employer to give you an official letter that states that he will take care of you and your family financially in the first few months of arriving at UK ( this is even sometimes mentioned in the CoS ) Salary expectation: payscale/ NOTE: Dont just check the average salary across the country. Always check the average salary of your own *profession*. NOTE: Married couples usually both work in UK ( and most europeon countries ) = both contribute to the income. So base your salary expectation on your own expenses and your circumstance ( whether your wife will work or not ) not just on the average salary. Taxes: ( Yes, everybody pays taxes, and a lot of it ) uktaxcalculators.co.uk/ In UK being married or having children doesnt affect your tax contribution, however theres a chance that in 2015 this will change and you will start having tax reductions based on that. Flat hunt: rightmove.co.uk/ You can also use this website to find out roughly how much are you going to spend on rent every month. The website only shows the rent itself without *utilities*. In UK you pay the following for a flat: - Actual rent. - Gas ( if any ) - Electricity - Water - Broadband ( internet, tv channels, renting a landline ) - Council tax ( this is based on the value of your flat, the more expensive the flat the more council tax you will pay. You should google that based on the area you will live in ) If youre single and dont mind sharing a flat, you can always search for a flat share. In this case the rent is inclusive ( all utilities ). In the flat share case, you will have your own room but will probably share the kitchen, living room, and bathroom with other tenants of the flat ( usually 2-3 other people ). This is very common in UK, you can be 30 and still sharing a flat and you dont have to be poor to do that. NOTE: The above website will show you flat shares as well, so make sure that you read the advertisments carefully. Transportation: Youve three options 1- You own car ( = fuel + annual road taxes + annual insurance + annual maintenance ) 2- Buses 3- Trains Season ticket prices ( season = 7 days or a month ) ojp.nationalrail.co.uk/service/seasonticket/search Expenses: - Flat renting + utilities - Transporation - Grocery - other expenses ( going out, emergencies, schools, etc ) numbeo/cost-of-living/ This website is very good to tell you the costs of living as well. You can also use it to compare between different cities.
Posted on: Wed, 17 Dec 2014 17:31:37 +0000
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