Hey all! I can't believe I've been away for so long! I haven't updated my blog often just because I'm not living in London anymore (which makes me sad) and I've been so busy. Between working and working and working on a dissertation, I haven't had a lot of time nor have I had any motivation. But the blog keeps me connected to London which HOPEFULLY I will be visiting in December for Christmas and New Years! Last year I left London to come home for the holidays and so I think it's only fair to grace London with my beautiful presence for the holidays this time around.
One thing that I'd like to write about that I'm asked about a lot is "How did you get to London?" I've had people who have expressed interest in living in the UK but really don't know how to do it or go about it and how to afford it. Well don't worry.....I'm here to help! I just wanted to address how I got here and what I did to get here and how you can too if you're interested in living in the UK for a minute!
This is an actual picture I took of Tower Bridge at night! Lovely isn't she?
Ok first off, let me say that the immigration laws in the UK are very strict. With the new government in office, they are really cracking down on immigration because of the negative impact it is having on the UK social system. Basically....they believe immigrants are draining the state and are not trying to assimilate into the culture. That is really a sticky subject with the UK and I kinda touched on it in a previous post and I might touch on it again. But immigration is kind of a sore subject with the British so cracking down on it's borders is something they are taking very seriously and getting into the UK as a non EU citizen is very hard BUT not impossible!
I can only speak to you about coming to the UK as a student. I TRIED to find a job in London but I wouldn't get a phone call or acknowledgement. The British want to know if you have a visa already because it's VERY expensive for British employers to supply a work visa for a non EU employee. So they want to make sure that they have exhausted all of their options in finding a British person for a job. If not, then they look for an EU citizen and if they can't, THEN they look to a non EU worker. But they have to show the UK government that they have just cause to hire a non EU person and that no British or EU person qualified for the job. Basically they are trying to keep jobs for the British people, especially since the unemployment rate is high in the UK. I understand this. So I looked at other options.
Become a student!!
Listen, I'm a 30 something that HATES and I mean HATES school with a passion. Once I receive my B.A. I thought that was pretty much it and had zero interest in getting a Masters degree. But I looked into my options into going to London to live there for longer than 3 months and I didn't have any. The easiest way for me to get there was to become a student. Although I hated grad school, it was so worth it because I was able to live in London for 10 months and assimilate into the culture and create some pretty kick ass memories in the process.
I would like to tell you that the UK government is starting to crack down on the number of student visas that they are issuing out to everyone because of the abuse that the student visa scheme is getting. Alot of people are getting student visas and not going to class and living and working in the UK as normal. I would NOT suggest doing that because if you are caught in any crime or just stopped on the street and asked for papers(which is highly unlikely), you can be deported AND banned from the UK forever. I would not suggest doing that but from what I understand, people do it all the time.
A site that really helped me is the UK Border Agency site. It is very thorough and tells you which visas you can get, how long they are for, steps to take and other helpful information. http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/
If you are an American that is interested in studying in the UK, whether as an undergraduate or graduate student, please know that UK schools accept U.S. federal loans and scholarships. Please look into this at least a year before your departure date and apply as early as possible for both. They do not accept grants but you can get loans. I was able to get the maximum allowed for loans. The Stafford Loans (which is the standard US federal loans) was awarded to me. In addition, I was able to apply and be awarded for the Graduate Plus Loan. That loan is based on your credit score and it was very helpful. Just Stafford Loans alone will not be enough to cover your schooling and expenses in school. So please apply for scholarships and private loans if you need to.
What school should I go to??
Depending on what you want to study, you will have to extensively research UK universities. I knew I wanted to study Communications and in my research, I found rankings and affordability as well as location and chose my school, City University London http://www.city.ac.uk/ (<---free publicity).
One tidbit I'd like to share is that it is more expensive to attend school in London than any other city in the UK. If you are flexible enough to look into other areas of the UK, look into going to school outside of London or other parts of England specifically northern England which is far less expensive to live. Look into going to school in Scotland too. Had I known how inexpensive and lovely University of Edinburgh was, I probably would've gone to school there and it's only an hour flight away from London. Also, look into going to school in Wales or Northern Ireland which is considered the UK. It's less expensive and the experience can be just as rewarding!
In applying for your visa, you have to show the UK government that you have enough funds to sustain yourself so they can be assured that you will not drain benefits and the state. I showed my loan information and my savings. You also have to prove that you have been accepted into the university and the university will issue you a CAS (which is an official form stating your school and program you've been accepted into).
If you are fortunate enough to get a job in the UK, you are restricted to the number of working hours as a student. You are only allowed to work 20 hours during term and 40 hours during vacations and holidays. I never worked. I only lived off my loans, savings and family! But if you can find a job, do so! It's very expensive to live in London. Other parts of the UK are less expensive as I stated before but if you insist on living in London, you might can get away with not working and being very very poor like I was unless you have rich parents or a rich boyfriend (HA).
If you want to see what other people are doing to get into the UK, visit http://www.immigrationboards.com/. This site helped me a lot because these are real people who are going through the visa process posting their questions and getting very good answers.
I feel like I'm haven't touched on everything but if there is something I've forgotten, please leave me a question and I promise I'll answer it!
Cheers!
