Can an American Live in the UK?
If you’re thinking about moving to the UK as an American, there are a lot of things that you need to consider. Red tape is a huge part of any immigration situation, and moving to the UK is no different.
That being said, moving to the UK is a lot easier for Americans than for a lot of other nations. As long as you can tick the boxes for the various visas, moving to the UK as an American citizen can be pretty straightforward.
So, can an American live in the UK, and if so what are the available options? Let’s dive in and find out more.
Is the UK part of the Schengen?
Okay, so first things first, the UK is not part of the Schengen visa group anymore. This stopped being relevant to the UK after Brexit.
Schengen is essentially a borderless pass where you can travel through a whole host of European countries for up to 90 days out of 180 days without having to apply for individual visas.
As the UK is no longer part of the EU and the Schengen is predominantly an EU policy (plus a few select countries), they’re no longer part of the Schengen block, so Americans will need to sort alternate paperwork.
How long can an American live in the UK without a visa?
Technically, Americans can visit and stay in the UK without a visa for up to six months. During this time, you’re not specifically allowed to work except for a couple of reasons like giving guest lectures or going to conferences.
The list of allowances is pretty specific so make sure you check them in advance.
Some of the other reasons why you can use this six-month visaless window are for short-form study, private operations, tourism, and for visiting relatives who live in the UK. But, if you want to live in the UK on a long-term basis, you’re going to need a visa that allows you to make money.
While you can technically live in the UK for six months without getting a visa, it’s not a permanent solution, and you’ll have to save up a huge chunk of money to live and survive there without being allowed to legally work. The cost of living in the UK is no joke!
Does the UK have a digital nomad visa?
Unfortunately, the UK doesn’t have a digital nomad visa at the moment, and with current restrictions being placed on legal immigration in the country, it’s unlikely that there is going to be any in the immediate future.
Digital nomad and freelancer visas are a great way to live and work in a new country for a year or so without having to fully commit to the expat life and all the paperwork that comes with that new lifestyle. However, this is not something that the UK offers to anyone, including US citizens.
To work as a digital nomad or self-employed person you’ll need to apply for a skilled worker visa or be sponsored by a UK client.
What visas can an American get for the UK?
So, now that we know that, as an American citizen, you cannot stay in the UK for longer than six months, and can’t work probably during that time, you’re going to need a more robust and legit visa to stay in the UK. Let’s find out more about the different kinds of visas available.
Skilled Worker Visa
Much like Australia, the UK has a list of skilled jobs that they’re always looking to fill. The distinction between skilled to unskilled workers is pretty contentious in the UK at the moment, but you can check out the list and see if you fit the bill for one of the eligible positions.
Health and Care Worker Visa
Again, pretty much every country in the world is crying out for health and care workers, and the UK is no different. Post-Brexit and post-pandemic, there is a huge shortage of health and care workers all across the UK, so there’s a special visa, especially for this field.
Intra-company Visas
This visa is like a super-charged version of the skilled worker visa. If you already work for a company with a UK office or base, you’re in an eligible skilled position, and you’re earning enough to support yourself without becoming a burden, you might be eligible for an intra-company visa. It’s essentially like transferring offices and making it all legit.
High Potential Individual Visa
This is a relatively new visa type that’s been announced by the UK government to try and attract global talent. It’s sort of a version of a graduate visa, but it doesn’t require you to have gone to a UK university in the first place.
If you’ve graduated from a top university in the last five years, you might be eligible for this visa. There is a list of the universities can be found here and they’re from all around the world, but the majority are based in the US.
Once you’ve discovered that your school is on the list, you need to have had at least £1270 in your bank account for the last 28 days. You also need to be able to prove that you can speak English to at least a B1 level.
The thing that’s slightly different about the HPI visa is that you can’t extend it or apply for Indefinite Leave to Remain straight after. That’s because the HPI visa only lasts two years, or three years if you’ve recently completed a PhD.
Realistically, the whole idea behind this visa is that people with high earning potential can come to the UK to try and find work or set up a business. Once you’ve done this, you can switch to a more traditional visa like a skilled worker or innovator visa, and continue trying to accrue your five years of continuous residency so that you can apply for your indefinite leave to remain.
Minister of Religion Visa
If you’re a religious minister, you can get your special visa to live and work in the UK. It’s a T2 visa so you can stay up to 3 years and 1 month or 14 days after your sponsorship term is finished, whichever time frame is shorter.
Of course, this is a super niche visa but it’s worth mentioning just in case any members of the clergy are looking to spend some time in the UK.
International Sportsperson Visa
Are you an international sportsperson or an elite coach? As long as you’re endorsed by your national governing body and want to develop your chosen sport in the UK, then you can come to the UK as an American citizen.
With this visa, you’re essentially helping to improve the profile of your specialist sport, or helping to make the UK a leader in that specific sport. You do have to be approved and at a high level within your sport in the US before you can even be considered, so again it’s pretty niche, but with this visa being open to both sportspeople and coaches alike, it’s slightly less restricted than the minister visa.
UK Ancestor Visa
Lucky enough to have a grandparent from the UK? Then you might be eligible for a UK Ancestor Visa. This applies not just to the traditional boundaries of the UK, but this visa also includes the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man if that’s where your family used to be based.
Normally, this visa lasts up to five years. You don’t need to have a job to apply for this visa in the first place, but once you’re approved, you can work and live in the UK as a US citizen without any other restrictions or parameters.
Once your five-year period is up, you can apply for your indefinite leave to remain, and leave all that annoying visa paperwork in the past.
Investor Visa
Unsurprisingly, if you have a lot of money, you can get a visa very, very easily. For this Investor Visa, you need to have £2 million ($2,760,000) ready to invest in the UK economy.
One of the easiest ways to invest in the UK economy is to buy property or start a business that directly goes into the economy.
These investor visas are often also called golden visas and can be found all over Europe.
Global Talent Visa
Consider yourself to be an expert in a particular field. Well, if one of those fields lies in academia, research, arts and culture, or digital technology, then you might be eligible for the Global Talent Visa.
It’s designed to bring “world-class” talent to the UK to help strengthen the creativity and research field. So, check the criteria and bring out all your certificates for this one!
Innovator Visa
Got a big idea that no one else has had before? The UK wants to hear about it! If you have a great idea, a plan on how to implement it, and an eligible sponsor who can vouch for you, then you might be able to get your hands on an Innovator Visa.
You’ll need a full business plan to go with your application, so be prepared to pitch!
Do you need a job offer to move to the UK?
No, you do not need a job offer to move to the UK as an American citizen. There are a few different visas that don’t require a job offer, including the investor visa, innovator visa, ancestor visa, and global talent visa.
You can also move to the UK to study, but you’ll need an acceptance from a UK university, college, or school to begin the process, we’ll go into studying overseas in the UK as an American citizen in the next section.
Studying abroad in the UK as a US Citizen
If you have a successful acceptance letter or agreement from a UK university or college, you can apply for a specific student visa. These last for up to five years, or the length of your course, whichever is less.
For reference, most UK undergraduate programs last for three years, Master’s degrees last for one full calendar year, and Doctorates can seemingly last a lifetime!
While you’re studying, you can also work legally in the UK for up to 20 hours per week. This is designed to allow you to support yourself while you’re here. You do not want to go over this number, otherwise, you’re in breach of your visa and you can be deported.
Once you finish your degree, there are a couple of options open to you. Either, you can take the innovator visa path with a specialist graduate entrepreneur visa, which allows you to try and set up a business in the UK, or you can switch to the post-work study visa for up to two years afterward, or three years if you’ve just completed a PhD.
This is so that you have enough time to find work and switch over to a sponsored work visa instead. At least, that’s the thought behind it!
Is it hard to move to the UK as an American citizen?
This is a tricky question to answer because it does depend on what industry or job role you’re in. It is a lot easier for Americans to move to the UK than a lot of other nationalities, but it the UK isn’t the easiest country to move to.
There are a lot of regulations around immigration in the UK and they’re only getting harsher at the time of writing. That being said, there are a variety of visas and routes for Americans to live, work, and study in the UK for specific periods of time.
Like most countries, these visas only last for a specific time, with the longest being around five years. After that, you’ll need to apply for what’s called indefinite leave to remain, which we’ll go into in the next section.
What is Indefinite Leave to Remain and why does it matter?
Essentially, indefinite leave to remain is the UK’s version of a permanent residency permit. It sounds complicated, but that’s basically what it is.
For the majority of visas, you can apply for indefinite leave to remain after living continuously and lawfully in the UK for five years. The benefit of applying for indefinite leave to remain is that you don’t have to keep on applying for visas every few years, and you can live, work, and study like a UK citizen, as well as claim benefits if you need to.
It’s the closest thing to becoming a UK citizen without having to formally renounce your US citizenship or apply for dual citizenship.
How much does it cost to move from the US to the UK?
Make no mistake, moving from the US to the UK is not cheap. Visa fees alone can be $2,000 to $3,000. When you consider that the average rental cost of a one-bedroom apartment in London is $1,200 without any bills or utilities, you can already see how fast this is going to rack up.
As part of many visa criteria, you’ll need to have at least $1,750 in savings in your bank account as well as paying $870 in health insurance during your application process. Add international flights of around $1,000 into the mix and already you’re well over $5,000.
If you’re planning on bringing a ton of stuff with you, shipping costs from the US to the UK can be anywhere from $6,000 to $10,000. Got a furry friend that you want to bring with you? With quarantines, permits, and travel, it can cost approximately $6,000 to move to the UK with a pet.
What can we say, moving from the US to the UK is an expensive business!
So, can Americans live in the UK?
The simple answer is yes, Americans can live in the UK for long periods, provided that they get all the proper documentation and are eligible for one of the visas listed above in this article.
So, if you’re thinking about emigrating to the UK, there are some clear-cut ways and paths for you to be able to live, work, and study in the United Kingdom as a US citizen.
