I have a work-from-home job and just want to live in England, ideally Brighton, more or less permanently. I don't need a work visa, which seems very hard to get, as my job can be done from anywhere.
I was reading up on the visa-less entry system and it seemed like I would be able to game that in order to never apply for a visa, until I read this from the official UK immigration website:
"Your visa may be cancelled and you may get a long-term ban on visiting if your travel history shows you're repeatedly living in the UK for extended periods."
So, no shuffling between the UK and the Schengen zone for the rest of my life I guess? That was my original plan.
Please, if there are any other digital nomads out there who know how to make this work, let me know. It is becoming a matter of life and death by the day here in the Midwestern US, and especially in my unique position.
Need advice from other USA to England expats
Hi and welcome to the Forum.
If I have this right, you're a US citizen who for some reason wants to leave the US and live in the UK. You definitely need a visa and if you're intent is to live in the UK, then it can't (by definition) be a short-term, holiday visa. I think you need to qualify for one of the Work Visa's that are (perhaps) available; this link will take you to the UK Gov website that lists them, together with links that will take you further into the detail.
Once you've read through those, or if I have this wrong and you think you may qualify for some other kind of visa and you have any further specific questions, please come back to us.
Cynic
Expat Team
I've tried reading over the available visas and I just don't see any that apply to my specific circumstances.
At this point it almost seems like my best shot will be a student visas and staying enrolled in various schools for the rest of my life. I wanted to study philosophy anyway, so that doesn't sound too awful.
If anyone reading this has info about other types of visas I would be eligible for in order to work towards legal naturalized status in the UK, please share it.
That won't work; the UK Immigration authorities are being very tight on all visas, particularly Further Education ones (mainly because of overseas students doing what you're considering).
Rather than do something silly and end up deported back to the US with a lifetime UK ban, how about somewhere else - Ireland for example? Once you qualify for an Irish passport, you can live in the UK without restriction.
I didn't realize Ireland had its own visa program! Thanks for the tip, I'll look into that right now.
I met someone who shuttled between Britain and the Schengen countries for some years. After a while, she was warned that she was making her last entry, so clearly there's a limit to how long a person can do that. In the current political climate, I expect it's gotten more difficult. I hate to be discouraging, but the immigration categories are very, very narrow.
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