it isn't that difficult to get a visa - you just have to convince a firm that it's worth doing all the paperwork for you.

you might need to head over to the UK, go to interviews, etc... and than head back for a couple of months to get your visa.

search the forum - plenty of people have wanted to head over to this side of the pond.


i guess just another bloody piranah in the tank for me...

ditto on what spiderdad says.

main thing is to go there and get a job in person (at least it made the difference for me), and if they want you they will go through the process.

costs them about a 1000 pounds for a lawyer and about a month or 2 and you're good to go.

work culture in london was btw the best i have experienced so far.

In what ways is London's work culture the best, in your opinion?

Yeah ,,,... and compared to which cities ..??

well, it is a personal view but the thing i liked about london, as a canadian who has otherwise worked mostly in Japan came down to 3 things:

. because it is a big city the design standards are higher and the work more interesting than in most of canada, even van and toronto (i would say; am sure some will disagree). professionally that meant i could work in an only slightly famous firm, get paid ok, and do work that wasn't so different from studio in uni (including entering interesting design competitions).

. Top that off with a licencing system that is downright enjoyable compared to the one back home, and a less bureaucratic view of responsibility to boot, and i was in heaven.

. but the best bit for me was the hours. after coming off of a stint in japan working dangerously long hours the 10-6 London workday, followed by a pint with the boss and weekends OFF was an eye-opener. I was at a loss with myself wondering what to do outside of architecture for the first time in years...

. bonus was the proximity to the rest of europe. paris for the weekend anyone? Shitty side was taxes and housing, both of which were not easy to deal with at all.

But, all in all, a good experience.

Now i am in tokyo, and the nice thing about being here is that it is quite a bit more dynamic and i can run my own show. But if i had to work for someone else in this culture i would NEVER see my kids or my wife. ok if young, but not for me anymore. That aspect is def tinging my views quite a bit.

i think spiderdad would have more and better comments. my suspicion is that he has been there for some time.

I'll second jump. London is great. Also if you fancy a change from straight Architecting, the bigger consultancies offering (property/construction) Project Management services will take on Architects, pay nicely, and you get to shake your stuff without doing any detailing or long hours. Again, good projects, and you get to meet several Architecture offices, on a professional basis.

I was lucky enough to get a job in London with EEA (www.eea-architects.com) after school. I was interviewed in Rotterdam for the London office job. The visa process for them was hard, but they did it. It is expensive and they have to prove that you are more qualified than someone else in the UK that could take the same position. The larger the firm, the better the option. Who are you considering? I have some connections over there still as well (just moved back a year ago)

formotion, i have heard of the same situation here in holland - having to prove you are needed and no local can fit the position - but how do they get around that? no disrespect, but i cannot imagine EEA couldnt find a local graduate????

Thanks for all of the input. I'll be in London mid May and hope to do some interviews. Of the connections I have, most are through friends or aquantinces in smaller offices. I did some work on a project in NY in collaboration with a firm (rather not say which) who has a large london office. I'm hoping that may provide a potential connection since they could talk to their boys in NY. Does anyone know how larger firms based out of the US handle the visa process?

Thanks for all of the input. I'll be in London mid May and hope to do some interviews. Of the connections I have, most are through friends or acquaintances in smaller offices. I did some work on a project in NY in collaboration with a firm (rather not say which) who has a large london office. I'm hoping that may provide a potential connection since they could talk to their boys in NY. Does anyone know how larger firms based out of the US handle the visa process?

that all depends. the corporate behemoth i left for dust (and I'll eschew naming it for the same reasons) didn't normally pick up people from outside. americans who came over were from a local stateside office visiting the uk on business, then returning. They were no less than PA calibre, with nice placements and expense accounts. Lower level (such ugly terms, no?) were taken from the local workforce.

it's not easy getting the 5 year visa - a lot of paperwork and fees (about £1k) will require substantial trust and promissory pruductivity, although moving offices afterwards is much easier. I'm surprised the Dutch need it, as they are members of the EU, and free to work in any constituent state (they can also reciprocate any local registration without ARB bull...ocracy).

similar to the H1 - proof of unique/superior ability, job description, educational/professional background. it's a big sticker in your passport, now with photoID

best of luck!

formotion, (and anyone else out there)

can you recommend some good firms in london? i'm looking at the typical big american firms w/ offices in london, but am also interested in the small firms as well.

as an american, is it easier to acquire a position w/ an american firm? (for visa/compensation purposes) also, is there an advantage to getting licensed in the u.s. before heading to london?

any insight is much appreciated.

I asked similar questions in this thread a few weeks ago.

thanks gin. i read your post a couple of weeks ago. i'm looking for more input from people who haven't posted recently.

by the way, how is your search going? any luck?

Well, first I need to go to grad school, so any move to London is still several years away. I'm hoping to visit London for a couple weeks this summer, though.

when i was going through the proces of getting a work permit we did it twice, one time eithout a lawyer the second time WITH a lawyer who specialised in the work. made a huge difference.

my firm was small but even they could do it easily enough, posting an ad in a european wide paper, doing interviews and then explaining how and why the candidates in question didn't meet their needs. i can't recall if they had to use special wording so pretty much no one but me could qualify, but it might have ben part of it. They might have suggested needing someone with asian experience as i was coming from japan and they were looking to work in china, something like that...anyway it worked easily enough, and while a 1000 pounds is not exactly cheap it isn't THAT much either.

main thing is to be up front about it during the interview process. don't surprise them later on (no i didn't do that, but have heard tales).

luck to ya.

looks like the market's pretty good.

i find a lot of people wanting to move to london in recent times. is it truly because it has the best work culture in the world today as jump points out? whats your story? just curious.. LIG, JJK?

i often wonder why ppl flock to london? as a vibrant city to live in - sure, its great!
but workwise - i am not so convinced. i wonder why so many ppl target in on the UK without thinking about other possibilities.
amsterdam, zurich, barcelona..etc.

right, jamesams, that`s exactly what i wanted to know from LIG, jjk and many others on this site.

i think one of the reasons for that is because London is an english speaking city, and english being the dominant language nowadays that probably helps a lot. Also its geographic and cultural postion halfway between continental Europe and the United States makes it a highly strategic and international place and in my opinion it is the most dynamic city in Europe right now. Amsterdam and Barcelona are fantastic places too but i would say they are slightly less cosmopolitan and the language barrier can be a bit daunting to some, they probably offer less job opportunities and are also smaller. if i had to chose a place purely in terms of quality of life i would definitely go to Barcelona though.

well london is not halfway between europe and the states geographically speaking but it feels like it since the uk is an island. i guess you understood point though...

The make-up of London: culturally diverse, and within itself, geographicaly enticing. True we have no beach.

Not speaking a foreign language will not hold you back, while having one will open (some of) the rest of the continent and beyond.

Art, music, fashion, green spaces, red buses, blue skies, flirting on the underground, flirting on the pavement, flirting in the bars. Sex.

only draw back for a ski freak like me: too far from the mountains. i can't just decide to drive there on a whim anymore...