17 Apr 2025
Relocating to the UK: Tips for Design Professionals
Transcript
If you're a designer or person working in tech and are interested in relocating to the UK or Europe, the process may be easier than you might think. Most Americans know that it's very difficult to get a visa in the United States, and it's true, it's typically very difficult to get a visa to work in the US. What a lot of Americans and folks from other countries around the world don't realize is that it's relatively straightforward to relocate to the UK and Europe. I'm here to tell you how.
But first, hey, I'm Meg Rye (https://goodmaven.com/book-meg-rye). I was the first international design recruiter for Meta, and I've been part of the global design community for over 20 years. I'm now the founder of Good Maven, where we offer coaching and recruiting for the design world. We aim to clarify and simplify the process of hiring and being hired in order to foster greater equity in the employment process.
Right. So back to our topic. You want to relocate to the UK or Europe, maybe you're a designer, data scientist, project manager or anyone else working in tech. It's highly likely you'd qualify for a visa for any country in Europe. As an example, in the UK, visas for highly skilled workers like designers and those in tech fall into two general categories, tier one and tier two.
First, let's talk about tier one. These are visas where the companies sponsor your visa and your employment is attached to it. In this case, look for an organization that's large enough to have staff on hand to help with the relocation and visa process. That list would probably include large companies in tech like Meta, Google, Apple, booking.com, major arts and cultural organizations like the University of Oxford or National Gallery, global consultancies like Accenture or Cognizant and large design studios like Frog or Us Too. Start ups sometimes, but very rarely, sponsor visas because of the associated costs of time, legal expertise and money. Never say never, but it's going to be harder, as they probably don't have a team set up to help the process along.
Second thing to know, those larger organizations will more than likely cover the cost of your relocation, or at least pay towards it. Travel, packing, shipping your belongings, helping your kids get into a school, helping your partner find a job, making sure your pets arrive safely, and helping you acclimate locally. They want you to succeed, and they're going to do their best to make that happen.
Third thing to know about relocating internationally are timelines. From job acceptance to start date, the average time in the UK is about eight to 10 weeks. It's pretty similar for Europe. That'll give you enough time to sort out your paperwork, get an updated passport, tie up loose ends, and acclimate to your new home before starting work.
So what about the other types of visas I mentioned? Tier two are the other type of UK visas that are not attached to an employer, and many European countries have variations of this. One of the most common in the UK is called a global talent visa. Folks in tech and other industries who meet certain criteria are able to secure these visas, and the benefit is that you can work for any company you want, as your visa is not tied to the company. The downside is that you must do all the paperwork submissions yourself and also pay for the cost, which is around £700. The timeline for this visa is anywhere from 14 days to eight weeks, although you can pay an expedited fee of £500 to get a decision more quickly.
Finally, I'd like to share with you my favourite thing about relocating internationally, which is who you'll be working with. You'll be working with a lot of ex-pats, just like you. I once worked in an office in London for Meta with people from 100 different countries as my co-workers. You'll find the same if you're relocating to Barcelona, Berlin, Lisbon or Prague. In summary, relocation seems like a major undertaking, and it really is, there are so many things to consider.
So my question to you, if you could relocate to anywhere in the UK or Europe, where would you go? Or if you have relocated, what are some of the key things you wish you knew? Let me know in the comments.
Addendum
The Global Talent visa is a UK immigration category that replaced the Tier 1 (Exceptional Talent) visa in February 2020.
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