American wanting to move to Scotland to work.. Help!!

Do you have one parent who was born in the UK? If so, you can apply for "The Right of Abode". Otherwise, have you thought about just applying to emigrate to Britain?

Both of my parents are naturalized American citizens. I've never looked into emigrating. I'll check that out. Any other tips are helpful!

I take from your answer that neither of your parents is UK-born?

There's a points system for non-eec citizens which you need to look up - you'll probably need to offer some skill the country's short of, etc. (EEC citizens can move about anywhere within EEC). Becoming a full citizen is quite difficult, I think. However, a holiday job may be ok (you will def have to prove you are going back to the US). S

Generally you will need to provide a skill not provided by any local applicants. Scotland has relatively high unemployment at the moment.

My friend and her husband moved to Edinburgh for about 4 years. His employer in Scotland recruited him because he had a very specialized skill. My friend was unable to find employment the entire 4 years they lived in Edinburgh as she did not have any specialized skill that was in demand by Scottish employers, so no one would hire her in her industry (despite having 20 years experience back in the US). She could not even get a job serving coffee. She loved living in Scotland, but soon got tired of being stuck at home not earning any of her own money. I'd say you could try to get hired by an American corporation that may have a field office in Scotland and let them know you are willing to relocate overseas but with no degree, that may be a real shot in the dark. My company has offices in Ireland and the UK, but only people who are Executive VP level ever seem to land a relocation overseas - I have never seen anyone entry level or middle management level score a job overseas. We also have a lot of call centers at my company, but all of them are located in India where it's cheaper to hire. This is pretty much the norm with most call centers to be based in India or other countries where you can find English speaking workers for cheap. Besides looking at what it costs to live in Scotland, and how much rents are, you may want to look into a few other things. I know it was extremely difficult for my friend to open up a simple checking account at a Scottish bank. It took quite some time and she had to jump through a whole lot of hoops before the bank would give her one. You would definitely need a local bank account to do a whole host of things - like get utilities placed in your name, pay your rent, etc.

Rachelle, You indicated that both of your parents are "naturalized American citizens". Where were they born? As Norma mentioned, if they were born in the U.K. that may "open some doors" for you. Unfortunately, the U.S. does not participate in the Working Holiday Visa program, so that likely won't be an option for you. Having a WHV would allow you to work for a limited time to at least "try it out". Authorities in the U.K. are very strict about the employment issue. The stamp on my Passport last year had a large warning - Leave to enter for six months: Employment and recourse to public funds prohibited. If they even "think" a visitor is going to try and work, they're often deported in short order! At the moment, the employment situation in the U.K. is not good (~8.4% unemployment), and this appears to be worse in some areas than others. Those with specialized skills (ie: professionals with degrees) generally have an easier time getting approval for employment. I doubt that employers would engage in "under the table" hiring, as they could face severe penalties. You may want to visit a UK Consulate to obtain specific information. Denver is probably the nearest to your location. Good luck!

Thanks to everyone for replying. Last year I messed up my financial aide for school hence not being able to go to university while in Scotland.. So I've decided it will be easiest to re-take the credits I failed to fix my eligibility for financial aide this upcoming semester.. I should be able to attend a Uni in Edinburgh by the Spring semester. It's disappointing to not be able to move to Scotland right away but I'll work hard at it til it is time! To those who state the job market is bad in Scotland, that may be so but there are ALWAYS jobs available. American's on a school Visa are only allowed to work 20 hours a week anyways. You can find 20 hours a week worth of work anywhere. Please quit discouraging others by stating otherwise. -Rachelle

Rachelle, I feel certain all the unemployed young people in Scotland and England will be cheered to hear that a student in Excelsior Springs, somewhere in the USA, says they really do not have a problem and that jobs are always available.

I don't think Nigel was discouraging by telling you that you need to typically demonstrate you have a specialized skill to land the kind of job you would need to stay in Scotland permanently, and then mentioning the unemployment rate. My friend who couldn't get any work while she lived in Scotland was looking for work well before the recession hit and the unemployment rates began to climb. You may think he's trying to burst your bubble, but even 20hr a week jobs don't grow on trees when you have no degree and no in demand skill that makes you stand out enough for a Scottish employer to want to bother with the paperwork to show why he had to hire you over the hundreds of unemployed locals.

In addition to competing with the local unemployed for that easy-to-find 20 hour per week job, Rachelle will also be competing with well-educated young people from all over Europe, especially from Poland the Czech Republic. They are all legally entitled to work throughout the U.K. without the complications of student visas or work permits.

I was simply stating that anyone can get a job if they're willing to do the work. Alot of people pass up jobs simply because it doesn't pay enough or they feel it is below them. Would you work in a fast food restaurant? Work in a crappy clothing store that paid minimum wage and only gave you 20 hours a week? I doubt it! And this happens Everywhere, including the US and the UK. Shame on all of you for try to twist my words. Wow. That's all I can say for the rude responses from you all. I will never post on this website again because of you all.
Good riddance.

Rude responses?? Or facts/opinions she didn't like?

@Karen....I agree with you, she just doesn't like to hear the truth.

I don't know about Edinburgh, but here's an article about London unemployment that might be typical of every place in the UK: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/16/business/global/for-london-youth-down-and-out-is-way-of-life.html?scp=7&sq=Uk%20and%20unemployment&st=cse Sad.

It was nice how she glossed over the part about "messing up ... financial aid." Sounds like someone has some growing up to do before understanding that no skills equals no real jobs. Go back to school and try again when you have graduated.

@Catherine..thank you posting that..it is so sad, it's that way all over the UK according to my friends in the UK.
I don't know how you or the others feel about how Rachelle responded here...I feel she was very rude to people who were trying to help her. If she was my daughter I would be ashamed of how she acts.

Well, I received a PM from Rachelle today and the word "rude" does not cover it. It was a two line message with 7 curse words in it so yes, she does have some growing-up to do. The dear little distressed student in the original post has morphed into something far different simply because the world and all of us are so rude & mean.

Hmmm, could "Rachelle" be another troll?

Why would anyone think she can just waltz in to Scotland and get a job, with unemployment among young adults hovering around 40% in many EU countries (Spain, Portugal, Greece to name a few). There are no minimum-wage jobs going begging for lack of willing owrkers. There are no jubs, period. And if they were, they would go to EU citizens, not to a foreigner. Her one possible chance might be to get hired by a US company with branches in Scotland, and have that company send her over. I know people who have gone to work for Amazon, Google, etc. in Europe that way. But they were college grads with excellent grades and high ability in their field. It sounds like R flunked some classes, so she would likely not fit in that category. That said, isn't Scotland one of the places that a US citizen can stay for up to 6 months with no visa?

@NORMA - Don't know if your young people are like ours, but way too many of our young people tday think they are ENTITLED to everything they want, just because they want it...and NOW..... Too bad she's not coming back....I was going to suggest that she could probably go online and find some UK chap to marry her.

@Elaine...I like your post...that's a great idea, let her find a UK bloke to marry.

Norma, Sorry to hear that you received a "Snot-A-Gram" from the OP. Everyone here tried to provide useful, relevant and above all realistic advice, but I suppose we were telling her something she didn't want to hear. It's unfortunate that she chose to ignore the collective wealth of experience of the HelpLine members. Some people seem to prefer learning "the hard way" rather than accepting good advice. C'est La Vie!

Some people on the internet post provocative, confrontational comments to get a fire started and then they quietly sit back and watch the fall- out for entertainment. I'm not sure this was even a serious post and I would just let it go. Sometimes people are just toying with you on the internet.

Must agree that the information provided was constructive and useful, yet peppered with a dose of reality. I was truly taken aback when I read Rachelle's response midway down the post. Oh well.
The options are to either get transferred with your current employer, have parents or grandparents who were UK citizens, or marry a citizen. If these are not feasible, then I would just wait until your semester begins and you can get there fair and square. Also, contact the consulate in your area. Maybe they will have a better suggestion for you. One last bit of note: Based on the attitude posted on this board, it does not appear that citizenship issues are the only hurdle to gainful employment.