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I’ve talked about my journey of moving to London from America before, but I remember months and months of desperately Googling things like “how to move to the UK from America” and “how to move to London as an American” many times when I was first starting out.
You are basically hoping for a miracle or at least an article that will tell you all about UK visa types and ultimately reassure you that moving to London is easy (false).
Well, I’m not going to give you a miracle, but I am going to recommend a book that you absolutely need to order right now if you’re at all interested in learning about crazy British ways and figuring out if you actually do want to move from London to America.
The book is called “Girl Gone London: An American’s Guide to Surviving Life in the UK” and you should click here and check it out.
I also may have written it, so I’m biased.
But truly, if you’re coming to the UK as an expat, a study abroad student, or even a visitor, my guide to life in the UK contains both personal anecdotes and maybe too-honest experiences, as well as resources and advice on topics ranging from homesickness in the UK (or how not to rage book a flight to America like I did), driving in the UK, being a student in the UK, and more practical advice about bank accounts, buying houses, and more.
It’s truly a one stop shop for all of the weirdness and wonderfulness (is that a word?) that comes along with life in the UK, and also there is plenty of opportunity to laugh at me as I share all of my expat fails so there’s that.
Anyway, I started as a study abroad student at Richmond: The American University in London and with API and CAPA, then did my Master’s Degree at the University of Westminster, and then finally got a partner visa and now live here permanently as a UK citizen.
So for anyone wondering how to move from America to London or how to move from America to England to follow your dreams, here are some things you really need to know (besides the basic things they don’t tell you about London that everyone needs to be aware of!)
Prefer to watch? Check out my Youtube channel!
Dreaming of moving to the UK (or planning on it)?
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What Visa Do You Need to Move to London?
You can’t get around needing a visa as an American to come and live in London, unless you happen to have dual citizenship, in which case, you’re set!
For the rest of us not lucky enough to have royal parents or other means of getting in, you’re going to have to apply for one of the following types of UK visas (these are the major ones).
Visas have been the bane of my existence since I started this journey, and I have spent many long days wondering about my visa.
Skilled Worker Visa
The Skilled Worker Visa is a type of UK work visa that requires that you have a company in London already willing to sponsor you.
This route can be difficult, as companies need to submit proof to show that you are filling a spot that any other British/EU applicant can’t fill.
So maybe you have special knowledge of a subject or of the company that they need.
Typically people who have success in this route already have inroads to a network of people in London, as well as a specialized knowledge of a field like engineering.
If you work for an American company, they can also arrange what’s called an Intra-Company visa if you are transferring from their American office to their London office.
Student Visa
A student visa is just for that purpose, to study.
Your sponsor is the university or higher education facility that you’re studying with.
The most common way is to either do study abroad from an American university or to direct enroll in a London university that is a licensed Student Visa Sponsor.
The limit with a Student Visa is that you have to leave the country by the date on your visa (typically 1 week to 2 months after the end of your studies, depending on how long your visa is).
The only way to stay in the country is to be able to switch to another visa, like a partner visa.
You can have multiple Student Visas in succession, but only if you continuing in your education.
You can’t spend your whole life earning Bachelor’s Degrees from London universities just because you want to move to London from the US.
Government Authorised Exchange Visa
Another option is the Government Authorised Exchange Visa, which is for Temporary Workers.
The most popular way for this to work for Americans is to do the BUNAC program.
Through BUNAC, you arrange your own internship and then BUNAC act as your sponsor so that the internship company doesn’t have to.
You can also pay extra for internship companies to arrange your placement, but if you’re in the position where you can take an unpaid internship, you can great luck finding one yourself by searching on indeed.co.uk and workinstartups.co.uk.
BUNAC was how I came back to the UK after my undergraduate study abroad programs were over.
However, there is a stipulation that you must either be a current student or within a certain amount of time from having earned your degree, so you won’t be able to do this program if you haven’t been enrolled in college for a long time.
Partner/Marriage visa
This is the holy grail for someone looking to move to London permanently, but of course you need to be in an actual relationship first.
For full disclosure, this is the route I’m on, but make sure that you’re really ready to commit to someone.
Do NOT get in a relationship for the visa or because you really want to move to London.
It should go without being said, but the stories you hear make me wonder…
There are two different types of partner visa: the unmarried partner visa, and the marriage visa.
The unmarried partner visa was the first one I got in March 2016.
It requires you to have lived with someone in “a relationship akin to marriage” (i.e., you share financial responsibilities and aren’t just roommates) for 2 or more years.
It doesn’t matter which country you’re living together in, as long as one of you is a British citizen.
However, you’re going to need proof spanning that whole 2 years that you’ve lived together, which can be hard to find if you have been getting rid of paperwork over the years.
They’re very strict about the 2 year mark, so if you’ve been living together for 1.5 years, you’re out of luck.
Somehow the universe was working in my favor as I found out about this visa and realized that the date my student visa expired was exactly the 2 year mark to having lived for 2 + years with my then-boyfriend.
I’m not sure what I did to deserve that kind of luck, but I haven’t taken it for granted since then.
The other visa you can apply for is the marriage visa.
This requires you to be legally married (it can be in America) and for one of you to be a UK citizen, AND for that person to be able to financially support you either through a job offer making a certain amount of money per year or through their current earnings.
The requirement is 18,600 GBP per year, so if they fall short of that, you’re also out of luck.
As I mentioned, you should definitely consult an immigration expert for actual immigration advice, as I can’t comment on specific circumstances.
However, I have received three student visas, one government authorised exchange visa, and one partner visa and one partner visa renewal, so I’ve been around the block, so to speak.
Dreaming of moving to the UK (or planning on it)?
From visas to banks to the quirks of making friends in the UK, you need this free 5 day e-mail masterclass!
Practical Tips on Moving to London
Once you have your visa in hand, whether you’re a student, an intern, an employee, or a spouse, you’re going to want to take care of the basics like accommodation, a cellphone, and a way to get around.
Even the differences between American and British grocery stores can be a lot to handle!
It’s a promise that you’ll eventually be seeking out the best American food stores in London, so jot them down!
Accommodation for American Expats in London
If you’re moving without a relocation package, you’re going to need to find your own flat in London.
Keep in mind that prices get cheaper the further out from the center you go, but so do transportation prices!
You need to find the sweet spot that’s close enough to your place of study/work that you’re not commuting for 6 hours a day, but you likely won’t be able to live next to Buckingham Palace, SORRY!
Great sites to use include Spareroom if you just want to rent a sublet room from someone and not from a landlord necessarily.
If you want to do it through an agency or landlord, look up flats for rent on Rightmove or Zoopla.
I would highly advise taking a look at the current prices and looking at a couple to get an idea for what area’s they’re in before committing somewhere.
Here are the best places to live in London for professionals.
How to Get a Cellphone in London as an American Expat
If you’re moving to London more permanently, you’ll want to disconnect your American number and sign up on a pay-as-you-go plan initially with a UK provider.
Check out this guide to all of your options on using your foreign phone abroad.
Not only does this keep costs down, but no one is going to want to be friends with you if they constantly need to text you on your American number as it costs a lot of money.
My favorite provider that I’ve been with for the past 5 years is Three.
They have fantastic data plans, too, because let’s face it, who really calls each other these days?
Once you have a bit of credit in the UK, you can transfer onto a monthly plan.
If you’re moving more temporarily and will be back to the US at the end of 6 months or something, I wouldn’t disconnect your American number.
Instead take the American SIM card out of your American cellphone, make sure it’s unlocked, and put in a UK sim card (again, pay as you go) to use while you’re there.
You can order a sim card in advance here.
You will only be allowed the pay-as-you-go plan most likely, so you’ll need to “top up” occasionally, which can be done at the Three stores all across London (Three as in the provider, not the number of stores!)
You can get a Three SIM card with minutes, texts and data to put in your phone here, or a data-only SIM card here.
Transportation in London
One thing about London that can’t be ignored is how great the transportation options in London are.
Tube, bus, river boat, even a strange sky gondola system called the Emirates Air Line.
The tube is very efficient, except when it’s not.
But mostly it is!
Check out my guide on how Americans should use the tube to make sure you’re prepared when you’re all up in a business man’s personal space.
The buses are also a great option, and a better option for some people as they go more places.
That being said, buses go a lot slower in rush hour traffic than they do early on a Sunday morning, so keep in mind the timing of your journey as well.
Every Londoner gets around these days using their contactless card, but you would most likely need a UK debit or credit card for this to work.
If you don’t, the next best thing is an Oyster card, which allows you to either add a “travelcard” (so for instance, full access to Zones 1-6 for 1 month), or it will just deduct the cost of your journey each time you go.
There’s a daily cap as well so once you hit a certain cost of journeys for the day, it won’t charge you.
Head to the Transport for London counter at a major tube station to talk to the staff about what might work best for you.
If you are really in to London’s Underground, there is this fun book on facts about it, which may be of interest to you before you journey on it!
Emotional Considerations when Moving to London as an American
I’m not sure if “emotional” is the right word for it, but if you haven’t thought about the impact that moving to London will have on you, now is the time!
For one, unless you know someone there initially, you’re going to be on your own and away from your family and friends.
If you’re used to moving around a lot, this may not impact you, but if you’ve never lived outside of your hometown before or you’ve only gone away for college, you need to think about how to make sure you’re ready to cope with the distance and establishing yourself in a new life.
You also need to go into this process with a positive attitude and a sense of harsh reality.
Moving to London is difficult if you don’t have any connections, and that’s not to say that it can’t be done, but that is to say that there’s no way it’s going to happen if you don’t have an incredibly positive attitude about it and roll with the punches, including expat homesickness.
You also need to have an understanding of what you’re getting into and realize that many things need to line up perfectly for it to happen.
I don’t say this to dissuade you, but I’ve seen too many people fresh off a study abroad program proclaim that they’re going to move back who get incredibly disappointed after it doesn’t happen for them.
Be realistic about the chances and don’t put all of your eggs in this particular basket.
I can also thoroughly recommend that you look in to meditation.
This has been a huge help for many people dealing with anxiety or general worry, especially for things like travel, flying, moving, and so on.
You could get a book on mediation, or grab an audiobook if you prefer them.
Culture Shock as an American in London
Another thing to keep in mind is that if it all aligns for you and you get to move to London or somewhere else in the UK, you’re going to encounter culture shock!
As Americans, we often think this doesn’t apply to us because our friends across the pond speak the same language as us.
But oh my god, that couldn’t be more wrong!
Firstly, check out my post all about how culture shock appears and what stages you’ll likely go through.
Secondly, understand that oftentimes culture shocks hits Americans in London even HARDER than if we were to travel to somewhere we don’t speak the language.
If we find ourselves in the center of Ghana or an island in Italy or a busy city in China, we are sort of mentally prepared in a way that the culture is going to be different.
This doesn’t help alleviate culture shock, but it does help to get you through it because you understand that it’s going to take some adjusting.
The danger of Americans in the UK is that we just think it will all be the same.
So you’re not as mentally prepared for some words to mean different things, gestures to be foreign (did you know that Brits give the “middle finger” with two fingers?), and people to generally regard you as an “outsider” even though you feel like you know what’s going on.
Even if you’re well versed in British things and know the difference between Primark and Argos and can name all of the ingredients in a fry up or a Sunday dinner.
Even if you’ve tried fish and chips and love them, even if you know that “pram” means “stroller” and “college” in the UK isn’t the same as college in the US.
EVEN IF you feel like you know what’s going on, there’s going to be an element of adjusting and to this day, 5 years after moving to the UK, there are some idioms and other things that go straight over my head.
If you want to verse yourself in British culture before your trip, be sure to check out “Watching the English” .
How Likely Is it That I Can Move to London as An American?
I want to address the likelihood that you will be able to move to London from America, and not because I want to make you feel bad, but because I want you to understand the things I didn’t understand when I first moved here.
Firstly, yes, you can move to England as an American, but that doesn’t mean it’s easy and it doesn’t mean it happens for everyone.
The UK as a nation, right now, is very much not about welcoming in immigration.
You can debate whether or not this is a good thing (as an immigrant myself, you can guess which side I’m on), but the fact of the matter is that you are going to be up against certain obstacles at every step of the journey.
From companies that don’t understand that you need a visa and then hire you, only to tell you that they’re not prepared to sponsor you to companies that aren’t prepared to sponsor you, to companies that ARE prepared to sponsor you but don’t meet the salary requirements, there are many stories of Americans who have been disappointed in their desire to move to the UK.
To be honest, if I hadn’t been eligible for a partner visa with my now-husband once my student visas expired, I wouldn’t have been successful in finding a job to sponsor me.
As someone who majored in Communication and Public Relations, I wasn’t in a particularly needed field, and especially not for entry level professionals who didn’t have amazing experience or knowledge in the particular UK company they’re applying for.
I did almost snag myself a 6 month job with QVC UK as a copywriter, but in the end the role I was applying for didn’t get approved by the CEO and I was left with nothing.
That being said, there are stories of success and I have heard them.
With the right connections, luck, inability to give up and specific skills, it can be done and these categories above you will help you decide which route you should try.
It is possible to move to the UK after study abroad, it just takes some planning and persistence and commitment to studying the requirements.
Don’t lose hope!
This is all so true! I was offered a teaching position in a school just south of London for this coming school year. It was basically my dream come true. However, when I soon realized how expensive it is to move abroad and that the school wouldn’t be offering a sign on bonus (like a lot of American schools do when they are in high need) or moving expenses at all, I decided to put my dream on hold for another year so I can save money. I think it’s a lot easier to move abroad when it’s to be with a citizen of that country. Doing it alone, with no monetary support is beyond expensive. Not to mention the cost of living is close to three times the amount it costs to live where I am in the US. Le sigh.
Aw! Sorry it didn’t quite work out for you to take it in the end. It is definitely hard alone, but if it’s what you want to do keep saving up! 🙂
Haha! Where is your dedication!??! Okay, okay, maybe I’ll write a “Moving to the UK with Someone You Already Love” guide. 😀
Thank You! I very much appreciate the helpful and honest guidance!!
Thanks for the feedback, Jan! I am glad it was helpful!
How difficult do you think it would be to move a family of 4? Approximately how much cash would you say should be saved for the move?
I visited the UK with a student visa, but I did not study in London itself. I had to face many difficulties and would like to know some of these tips before. It was so stressful that I am afraid to even think about the preparation and moving times. But if someone had asked me if I wanted to go again and go through all this, I would have said yes without hesitation!
I fully agree that Great Britain is not the most open country to move, and I would like to be able to live there for a while again, but so far there is no such opportunity.
By the way, I am interested in your book. I’m waiting for it to be available again on Amazon.
If you’ve wondered why in Britain we give a V sign (knuckles facing you) it stems from the Middle Ages when, during the many wars with France, the English & Welsh longbow men were so devastating to the French that they put a bounty on them if their fingers were cut off. The response from the bowmen, taunting the assembled French troops, was to offer them the two fingered salute.
“Amazing write-up!” I read your post and found it to be quite remarkable. The information in your post is informative to me and my team of professional packers and movers.
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Thanks for such a thorough post! Do you know if an American can rent a room on Spareroom with just a tourist visa? I am hoping to do some digital nomad work within the 6 month tourist timeframe and would prefer a short term lease on Spareroom rather than spending lots more on AirBnB.
As a person who lived in the UK for three years as a kid while my dad was working under an ICT visa, this is helpful, as I have wanted to live in the UK again ever since High School. I thought about moving there for college, but I decided that I wasn’t ready to do that at the time, so I’m going to do it after I graduate when it’s more feasible. Being a Computer Science major makes it possible to find jobs in the UK, but it certainly doesn’t make it that easy to find a job. Hopefully, with some internships and good grades college, then maybe I could end up there at some point again. Another thing that is worth mentioning is that the ICT visa (now known as the Senior and Specialist worker visa) does not lead to the ILR in case you want to make the UK your permanent home.
Hi, I have been watching a lot of your past content and find it very interesting and say educational.
I recently watched one about driving etc. Today I came across this. Roundabouts are safer. So why does the U.S. have so few – CNBC.
I found this very interesting and was surprised to learn that the original concept of the roundabout was created by Mr. Eno an American. It was known as a traffic circle.