Immigration in Scotland

**josephkirkpatrick** · 6th May 08, 09:03 PM

Hey Everybody,

So. I'm thinking about leaving the US. i mean, I'm going to start out leaving temporarily (looking at post-grad programs in scotland and england), but I plan on spending at least several years outside this country. The reasons are not really important, but needless to say, I want out.

So here is the question: How does one (or two, in this case) go about becoming a citizen of the UK and settling down there? Short of becoming a US ex-pat by traveling to cuba and seeking political asylum, I am totally unsure of the ways. I know how to immigrate to the US, but that's obviously not what I'm looking for.

I've checked the websites and such from the UK gov sites, but could never get a straight answer. I'm hoping for one of you uk'ers to be able to help me out.

I'm young, idealistic, intelligent, educated, and drug and disease free, take me? Haha!

**Jock Scot** · 6th May 08, 10:08 PM

Is there a British Consulate nearby?Ask them.I don't really know any of the answers to your question,but we do seem to have a huge influx of people from all parts of the world at the moment(we have for the last 100 years at least)so it can't be that difficult to do.

**MacMillan of Rathdown** · 6th May 08, 10:09 PM

Contact the British Consul in New York City for full details on what is required to establish British residence. Be advised that citizenship may only be applied for after five years continuous, legal residence in the UK. I might add that the cost of living is considerably higher in Europe (including the UK) than it is in the United States. You may also wish to take legal advise concerning the status of your US citizenship should you choose to take up foreign nationality. Finally, it has been my observation that there is a considerable cultural gap between individuals brought up in the USA and those native to the UK, and this often proves to be insurmountable. I will give you one example:

Suppose you are 25 years old and grew up in the United States. You will have missed out on 25 years of grass roots "pop" UK culture. You won't know any of the soap operas, what music was cool, or what teams did what, when. You won't have grown up with kids TV, Top of the Pops, the Beano, or Christmas Pantos. You won't know any of the TV presenters, you won't get most of the jokes. You will have very little in common with your peers. Ultimately you will be a stranger in a strange land. And by-and-large that is how you will be treated.

**beloitpiper** · 6th May 08, 11:13 PM

Originally Posted by MacMillan of Rathdown

Suppose you are 25 years old and grew up in the United States. You will have missed out on 25 years of grass roots "pop" UK culture. You won't know any of the soap operas, what music was cool, or what teams did what, when. You won't have grown up with kids TV, Top of the Pops, the Beano, or Christmas Pantos. You won't know any of the TV presenters, you won't get most of the jokes. You will have very little in common with your peers. Ultimately you will be a stranger in a strange land. And by-and-large that is how you will be treated.

Well don't scare the poor guy. Look, while I was living in Ireland, I think I picked up those things pretty quickly. It's all about immersion. If you just hang out with ex-pats, go to ex-pat pubs, watch American sports on TV, and ignore everything around you then yeah, you're going to be a stranger. But you gotta get out there. Ask people what is going on. Be observant. Educate yourself and find out what is popular. Familiarize yourself with the politics and political history.

The only thing I had trouble with was brown sauce. I just never understood it! Give me some good ol' A1, Sweet Baby Ray's, or Heinz 57 any day.

**O'Neille** · 6th May 08, 11:16 PM

You said post-grad program so you'd be covered w/ an educational visa. Any program you'd be accepted into would have that information.

**LairdOfTheBrae** · 7th May 08, 12:41 AM

I am currently trying to get british citizenship through way of "certificate of entitlement". both my parents were born and married in Scotland, however, they adopted me in Canada, shortly after their emigration.

If you have a grandfather born in the UK you will have a claim to an 'ancestral visa' where you can live and work and contribute to GDP and prove that you are not a drain on society and they will naturalise you after five years if you are a good boy of 'good character'.

I would suggest talking to the nearest british high commission. the phone rates are a little ridiculous. here's the website just in case you case you haven't had a boo.

http://www.fco.gov.uk/en/about-the-f...l-america/?l=U

http://www.britainusa.com/sections/a...=41001&a=25312

You should be able to get a lot of info from these two sites, and/or links to the info you need. cheers.

**cessna152towser** · 7th May 08, 02:34 AM

Bizarre as it may seem, people from English speaking nations such as USA sometimes have quite a few hurdles to negotiate before they can settle in Scotland, though it is much easier to visit on a temporary visa. Citizens of the European Union have, with few exceptions, a right of residence within any country of the European Community, and therefore many Poles, Czechs, Slavs, Latvians, etc have settled in Scotland within the past few years and are now learning the language. Of course this works both ways, many native Scots have moved to sunnier climes in Spain or France in recent years.

**McClef** · 7th May 08, 02:39 AM

Marriage or Civil Partnership with a UK citizen would be one of the ways also.

But full information should be available from the US Consulate in NYC or the British Embassy in DC.

The thread title is slightly misleading as it's immigrating into the UK, not just Scotland which is not currently able to set its own immigration requirements.

**Mike1** · 7th May 08, 03:03 AM

Be sure to examine all of the options available to you, before making the jump.

It was pointed out earlier you could enter on a student visa, which is true. A student visa will also allow you to hold a work permit, which you must have in order to get a job. However, the work permit for a student has limitations. You are only allowed to work something around 20 hours per week during the school term. You can work full-time during the holidays, however.

A spouse visa is fairly straightforward, but it also carries a probationary period of two years, so merely marrying a Scottish girl is no guarantee of anything. After the marriage, you will still need to work with the British Consul, here in the US. Your spouse would not necessarily have to be here with you for that process, but it will help.

Whichever direction you choose to take, be sure you jump through every hoop, dot every 'i' and cross every 't', because Home Office will have no pity if they discover you are trying to circumvent the system. I was engaged to a young lady in Clackmannanshire and when I would go across, I was always very careful to simply say I would be staying with friends in that area. Admitting we were engaged would have raised every red flag, as they would have suddenly been concerned I was trying to slip past the system. I was already attracting enough attention by showing up there every 2-4 months and they weren't shy about mentioning that to me.

**Arlen** · 7th May 08, 05:43 AM

There are a lot of options, but it is expensive, it's hard work and it's horribly frustrating.
I'm Scottish and my wife is American. She studied here for a year during college and has a degree in a field where Scotland REALLLLLY needs workers and we still had a nightmare time and decided to move to America instead.

If you are a student, try to study in Scotland. If you finish a degree and a postgrad here they will very often be favourable when it comes to getting you a work permit.

Good luck.