I just thought of something

[dontpushme]

This website has a list of appropriate documents to prove you are entitled to work in the UK.

http://listers.co.uk/Careers/Proof

Thanks! That's a pretty handy site, though I already knew I didn't have the necessary documents yet. I'll bookmark it anyway in case I need the information.

I dont think anybody is disputing that fact. She just wanted to know whether its worth putting the sniffers out in the mean time. Surely there is no harm and it will give her valuable experience of the woes of job hunting in the UK for the type of work she is after.

The woes of job hunting in the UK were what got me thinking of a spouse visa in the first place. I'm feeling a little pressure from my bf to get my ass over there and as far as I can see, employers looking for GIS professionals are few and far between over there. There are so many more openings here in the US, but my boyfriend's not here, is he?

I think most companies would ask for poof of been able to work legally in the uk before saying that they would be willing to consider making a job offer.

I'm not looking for a job offer. I just want them to be open to maybe hiring me in the future. Right now, I'm still in grad school, but after I graduate, I'll have 12 months to get a job with a company that's willing to sponsor my work visa. Add that requirement to the fact that I can only legally work in my field plus my field's not very well-known, and I've basically shot myself in the foot for working towards the wrong degree.

I gave her the details of a care home near where I live as I know several staff had left & they were desperate for more carers but they told her they were not interested

That's terrible! Did they tell her why they turned her away?

Jobs are difficult to find, but if you make the right steps it can only help, I wouldn't do this unless you know roughly when you will be moving to the UK. (as the last thing you want is for someone to offer you the chance of employment and have to turn it down).
Good Luck, let me know if there is anything i can do.

Thanks for the tips! I actually haven't considered the spouse visa too seriously yet. My bf and I are both in our 20s and neither of us is in a rush to get married. This thread was borne out of frustration at the abyssmal GIS job market in the UK. If I do end up opting for the spouse visa instead of the work visa, then I'm glad I asked my question here.


Update:
In the past, I got confused as to whether my bf preferred to bring me over to the UK on a spouse visa, which could make life easier in the short run and have me over there sooner than if I looked for a job first, or if he preferred that I move there on a work visa, obviously given that it may take me a couple years to find a company ready, willing and able to sponsor me. I talked to him a couple days ago about it and he told me that if it were up to him, he'd want me there as soon as possible. But he said he also felt that I would have an easier time finding a job in the UK if I had work experience in the US.

I have already warned him that I will most likely put my career first, at the expense of sleep, a social life and possibly our relationship. I've done it in the past and I'll try to stop myself from doing it again, but the risk is there. He seems to be okay with taking that risk. I don't think he realises that once I have a job, I'd want to keep it as much as he wants to keep his job. LOL. We'll see what happens, I guess.