Since I’ve been writing this blog for a few months, I figure it’s time to review the steps you need to take to move to the United Kingdom from Canada or America.
Step One: Legalities
Can you legally make the move to the UK? It’s not enough to have a Canadian or American passport!
How to Find a Flat in the UK - watch this space for more details about my arrangement with London Relocation Services. They help you get a flat within 24 hours, and I’m working with them to get you a great deal on their services. Watch this space!
Step Three: The Job Hunt
Depending on your profession, this might actually be step 1 or 2. In any case, here are my two cents:
Step 4: Network with other Canadians and Americans in the UK
Make new friends! You are not the first American or Canadian to move to the United Kingdom, so why not make some new friends with others in the same boat as you across the pond?
On Tuesday, I wrote a post abouthow to open a UK bank account from abroad. Now, let’s see how you can send money from Canada or the USA (or anywhere else for that matter) to your bank account in the UK.
You have a few options. You can do “wire transfers” which are done by your bank. You pay a fee (anywhere from $20-$50) and your bank sends the money for you. It usually takes 30 business days, and their exchange rate might not be ideal.
More often than not, the banks take forever, charge an arm and a leg and have lower exchange rates. So most people avoid this route.
Speaking from experience, I tried to wire money from my UK Natwest account to my Canadian RBC account. I had student loans and needed to pay these on time every month. It took about 6 months for me to learn that the money I had been sending through the banks was not actually reaching my Canadian account so my student loans went into the red. It’s been 5 years since this happened, and I’m still trying to repair the damage done to my credit in 2004!
Luckily, I found a company called CanadianForex, which specialize in sending money from the UK to Canada and America (as well as other countries) and vice versa.
I’ve dealt with them since 2005 for all of my personal transfers, and most of my teachers use them as well. They haven’t messed up once in all that time, and they actually get the money into my account within 6 days every time.
So my loans are paid on time, and I am happy to recommend that you use them as well. You pay $15 for each transfer under 3000 GBP, and if you are lucky enough to send tranfsers that are more than 3000 GBP, you don’t pay any fees.
Their exchange rates are good, and very transparent on their website. So you know what you’re getting as soon as you go online.
Last week, I showed you how to get a visa or work permit to work in the UK. I also showed you how to get a cheap flight to the UK. This week, I’ll focus on money, money, money.
Getting a bank account is as hard if not harder than getting a visa to work in the UK. Seems strange right?
A lot of people make the assumption that once they move to the UK, they can just walk into a bank and apply for a UK bank account. Sadly, it doesn’t work this way.
The UK banks require you to have proof of your UK address when you apply, which you won’t have when you first move there. You’re likely going to be staying at a hostel or hotel, so getting a bank account becomes more difficult.
Also, you can’t get a lease for an apartment without having a bank account. And you can’t get an apartment without having an address. It’s a catch-22.
So what do you do? You sign up for an “offshore” bank account, which means you use your current address abroad to get your UK bank account. Easy-peasy.
The only issue with this is that it takes as long to get a UK bank account as it takes to get a visa, and often longer! So, you should apply for your UK bank account around the same time that you apply for your visa to move to the UK. Many people mess this up! They wait til the last possible minute, and find themselves unable to get a flat because they’re still waiting on their banking. I was one of those people when I first moved to London in 2004. It was a real pain!
Because I own Classroom Canada and Classroom America, which are teaching agencies that help teachers move to the UK, I can share the same information with you, dear readers, regardless of what work or study you intend to do in the UK.
Click on this link, and see the 3 documents I’ve provided for you to open your UK bank account with Lloyd’s.
I personally use Lloyd’s because they are in no danger of going under in these trying times. They also act quickly, and don’t charge enormous fees to open up an offshore UK bank account.
Once you have a UK bank account and have actually moved to live in the UK, you can then walk into any bank and open up a new account with a different bank. So if you’re not a fan of Lloyd’s, don’t stress! Just open up a new account elsewhere.
HSBC also has a similar account, but their fees are higher. Also, people often assume that if they have a US or Canadian HSBC account that they should get an HSBC UK bank account as well. It doesn’t make a difference in the end though, as the accounts are completely separate, so you won’t be able to transfer money from your US/Canadian account to your UK account any easier than you would if you just use another bank like Lloyd’s.
Any questions, comments, thoughts or confusions? Please share below! Also, if you have a UK bank account, please let us know how you went about getting it & any tips for others to follow. Thanks!
