HillLilly2000

Hi everyone! This is my first time posting on here, so be gentle. I am absolutely at my wit's end! My husband (a freelance web designer and illustrator) and I began our journey to move to the UK for one year last September. It is now April and we are hoping to come over very shortly. This has absolutely, without a DOUBT been the most frustrating and difficult experience of my life! (Including going to graduate school full time while working overnights in a group home for adults with severe mental illness, going days without sleeping). This tops it ALL!

I am working with a recruitment team that has been helpful, but I have a pit in my stomach that all of the hard work and money I have spent on this is just going to fizzle out. I have my GSCC registration, we have our passports, we have a lot of stuff lined up. We are having difficulties with our visas. My recruitment team has gone back and forth with whether to have me do a Tier 1 visa (which I can do since I have a Master's Degree and can bring my hubby as my dependent) or a Tier 2. I initially liked the idea of having a job set in stone when I went over, as I would with a Tier 2, but am now being told that the wait time on that would be 8-12 weeks (we have someone moving into our house in 4....which my recruitment team has known about since January). Plus, I would be trying to find work as a Child and Families worker, and I am told that my "lack of experience" in child protection would prevent me from finding work. I worked for our local Child Abuse and Neglect Investigations team for one year, and worked with suicidal children as a therapist for two years. I know I'm still young, but whatever.

So, Tier 1 it is. We have had the money needed for 3 months, I am under 30, I have a Master's, I speak English. I have no UK experience and have not made a TON of money in the past year, because I AM A SOCIAL WORKER. It seems this may hang me up with the Tier 1 visa.

I am so unbelievably frustrated. First of all, if the UK is so desperate for social workers, why are they making it SO difficult for us to come over?
Second, if they want child protection workers from the USA for a Tier 2 with over 5 years experience-good luck finding any. The burnout rate for workers of that sort in Chicago is 6 months. You may find people that have that length of experience, but they are one of the few social workers here that are actually making a decent living. They aren't going anywhere. Also, our regulating child protection office in my state has been on a hiring freeze for a good chunk of the last 5 years. Lastly----why won't I qualify for a Tier 1?!?!? They want educated people who can support themselves. I had a Master's degree by age 24 and have lived on my own since I was 20. I'm not going over there to hop on welfare---I'm going over there to work as a social worker! This is a dream of mine that is quickly going in the toilet!

I don't know if I need motivation, advice, expertise, or what. I just needed to vent!

ozhappy981

Hi HillLilly,

Welcome to BE.

I can't offer any visa advice, just a couple of suggestion.

1. Post your question in the "Moving Back to UK" section of the forum: http://britishexpats.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=61
People moving to the UK often have visa issues and you are mor likely to find someone able to answer in there.

2. Post your question in the Yankee-UK forum: http://www.uk-yankee.com/
As the name suggests it's for Yanks moving to the UK . Never read it myself. But no doubt there are Yanks in there with a similar problem.

But at the end of the day, if you really don't qualify for Tier 1, you may have to wait the 8-12 weeks for the Tier 2 visa. (Move into a rental if necessary.)

All of us who emigrated had to jump through hoops. If you really want it, you will keep on jumping.

HillLilly2000

Thanks! I'll post on those other places.