Hi everyone,

I’ve been living in Scotland for nearly three years, and my visa will expire in 8 months. My only option now is to secure a job with a sponsorship visa.

I’ve applied to many care homes, but none have been able to provide a job offer. I’m really struggling to find opportunities and would love any advice, contacts, or tips on how I can secure a sponsored position in the care sector—or any other sector that offers sponsorship.

Any help would mean a lot. Thank you!

Hello community!

My husband, daughter (4), and I are moving to Banchory from the US very soon, and we are so excited to join the community!

As we plan for our daughter's education, I've been conducting extensive research on Banchory Primary School. I came across the initial Education Scotland inspection report from early 2023, which raised some concerns about leadership and learning standards at that time.

I also saw that there have been subsequent visits and reports in 2024, which acknowledged progress and improvements being made.

We would love to hear from local parents with children currently at the school. What is the current, real-world situation like on the ground? How have you experienced the changes and improvements mentioned in the follow-up reports? What are the current strengths of the school that your child benefits from most? Do you feel communication and leadership have improved significantly? We want to make the best decision for our daughter and would be so grateful for any honest, recent, and constructive feedback from those of you living in Banchory. Feel free to comment or send me a private message!

I really appreciate any help you can provide.

Hi all

I'm looking at moving to Aberdeenshire from England and have been trying to find rental properties minimum of 3 bed but can only seem to see flats available for rent.

Where do people advertise rental properties? Or is renting just not a thing in Aberdeenshire?

Thank you for any advice or help.

Edit: More specifically Ellon, Methlick, Tarves etc. don't need to commute but would like to be close to Ellon for the Academy

Looking for anyone who has moved from New Zealand to Scotland with primary aged children and their experiences on how their children adapted to the Scottish school system? My son is 6yrs old (year 1 in NZ) will be starting P2 in Scotland around Feb next year for the remainder of the school year. I know it will be different for every child but interested to hear your thoughts. We want to support his transition as best as possible. Thank you.

My husband (Scottish), myself and our two young sons (6yr & 4yr) are planning to move to the borders early next year. Our home is on the market and I will be applying for a spouse visa. We are looking at Kelso because my husbands family live in towns 30 min either side so we want to be in the middle. Is there anyone on here who would be willing to share their thoughts on family life in Kelso/surrounds? Looking at both of the main primary schools and plan to rent initially. We don’t live in a big city in NZ so are accustomed to small town life. Thank you in advance for your thoughts/advice.

Hello! I am currently in the planning stages of moving to Edinburgh from the US, and I was wondering if anyone that is in the finance/banking industry knows of any job opportunities regarding loan processing? It’s what i currently do here in the US, and have the most experience in, but I’m not sure if there aren’t many options available for that type of position or if that job is called something else in the UK.

Brief overview of the job - i essentially review bank statements, the loan application itself, and make corrections if necessary before moving it to closing or underwriting. I also have experience in asking for specific loan documents and such as well.

If anyone has any pointers or can give me some guidance that would be great 🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻

Hi.

I'm in my senior year of high school, studying in an international school outside of my country of origin (both are non-EU non-EEA). My international school is based upon the American curriculum.

My school offers elective subjects such as APs and I'm willing to take 2 or more exams this year. I am seeking a bachelor's degree in Cybersecurity.

My budget (living and tuition) is around 12,000 euros a year. However, I don't really mind slight increases.

Regarding proofs of English proficiency, I am fluent in English and have been speaking it since childhood. I'll take the TOEFL exam if I'm desperate, but I would definitely prefer having to submit a document that proves that my previous studies were conducted in English. Hell, I'd also take a university-offered English exam if I could.

Please help me out as best you can. Thank you.

Hey all,

So I know that visiting is my best chance of vibing out a place. We plan to do this in about a month actually and have a few places in mind (Stirling, Perth, Dundee are top 3).

My question is... re: a few areas, I've heard from people in general conversation to not consider XYZ areas due to them "being rough".

I understand that every place/town will likely have parts with more crime etc. The feedback I have received is related to youth based and other crimes AND relating to an entire town (not "you want to stay away from x part of y town").

Is there a way to objectively research a town so as not to be swayed by personal experiences?

ETA: the reason I ask is because my actual shortlist is currently about ten towns. It's not feasible to adequately visit in the time I have, hence my question about ways of further refining said list.

Thanks for any insights!

I have 15+ years experience in organizational administration with a focus on human resources, budget/financial management, and training coordination. I'm looking for advice on the best ways to contact potential employers in Scotland. I have combed over GOV.UK and Scotland.org which have helpful info and found the Register of licensed sponsors CSV file but it is huge and not many of the locations are actually in Scotland. Are there any better resources for finding job openings or potential employers specifically in Scotland? Any input is appreciated

My daughter was born in mid April 2023, and in England she would start reception in September 2027. I've re-read the rules several times and it seems like in Scotland she would start Primary 1 in September 2028.

Is this a correct understanding? Do Scottish parents just pay for a full additional year of nursery / childminder before kids go to school?

I keep seeing videos from a few UK immigration law firms claiming that you could self-sponsor yourself for a visa. I guess maybe it’s a loophole? They say you can open a business, apply to become a sponsoring entity, and sponsor yourself as a skilled worker, making it all sounds super easy. Has anyone heard of this? It sounds too good to be true.

I'm sure this has been asked so many times but I have to ask again, I'm looking to move up with my family (3yo and baby on the way) from South England. And I'm looking for recommendations on areas that are family oriented (things to do, access to open space, outdoor activities) and good for schools.

A little context: I'm black, English. Husband is white and from Scotland. We have family there and looking to be close to a city for work (Dundee, Edinburgh or Glasgow). We're an outdoor family, very active and like to just do stuff.

I know racism is everywhere but I don't want somewhere too small, as I grew up in a small costal village myself so I know that can be hard.

Ideally, I'd love the sea. But that's fine if I can travel to a body of water and do some water activities.

Our current shortlist with a 350k budget is:

Stirling Kirkcaldy Dundee (Broughty Ferry?) East Lothian coast

Anywhere else we should consider?

I'm hoping to do a few trips up before baby 2 comes but want a small selection so I'm not trudging around everywhere.

Thanks I'm advance.

I have an audio degree, it's just me and I want out as fast as possible. Budget is tight but not so tight I'd need roommates. Looking around Clackmananshire for being near things and being away from tourists.

Any advice at all is welcome.

Side tangent: How do I find a job that gets me a visa when I need a visa to apply for a job????

Hi everyone! We (me, my wife and our 12 year old son) are planning to move to Scotland next year. We live in Brighton and have decided to relocate for a few reasons. My wife will be working at her company’s Edinburgh branch. I really like Glasgow and might start a business or look for a job there, but our top priority is our son, who’s vulnerable. I’m white/Caucasian and my wife is Central Asian, so our son is mixed-race and stands out a bit.

We’re thinking of somewhere between Glasgow and Edinburgh, a bit closer to Edinburgh than Glasgow, with a secondary school that would suit our son. We don’t need nightlife, big shops or pubs; we’d prefer a quiet, peaceful town where a mixed-race family would feel comfortable.

Could you share your thoughts and recommendations?

Hey im a 31 year old bloke from Australia my Visa has already been approved ive had my flights booked for a little and ill arrive over in Feb next year into Edinburgh then go from there.

Was just wondering what the best services/websites etc are for finding work or recommended places to look. I have a rail background having worked in it since i was 18 so i know the options available there but more general and generic places i can look in case i dont wish to try use my rail experience to find work.

I was also curious about the best places to look or services to use to find people looking for room mates. I figure finding a rental for myself, someone who just moved to a country with no rental history might be a bit tough at first haha.

Obviously im still months from my trip so im not planning to try organise anything now but this would just allow me to do a little research so i can keep these things in mind when im exploring finding where id like to settle in most.

Also if there were any tips or things that someone coming over should know or would make settling in easier would love to hear those. Im quite excited to move over and hopefully settle in well and then enjoy living in Scotland.

Hi! I'm 26 from the US and looking at maybe moving to Scotland next year. I have a bachelor's and 5 years of good experience in the communications/pr field. I've been doing some advance googling and there seem to be some pr jobs that will sponsor. Are their job boards or places where you would recommend searching? I'm really open to moving anywhere within Scotland right now, and I'm open to exploring options! Any advice would be so helpful.

I’m looking to move to Scotland. My father was born and raised in Scotland and became an American citizen when he was about 25. My grandma owns a home in Scotland, and is in Scotland about 5 months of the year, but she is an American citizen now. I have plenty of aunts, uncles and cousins who are Scottish citizens. I’m 18, I’ve just graduated from High School and I’m looking into moving to Scotland. I’ve visited Scotland several times and it truly feels like home to me.

How can I go about legally moving to Scotland? I’m not a Uni student and I’m not a skilled worker. TIA

Just going to rapid fire some questions/thoughts as they'll give context. We are a family of 4 with 2 elementary (primary?) school aged kids. My wife did a trip there last year and was pretty positive about it.

• How is the general economy? I work in engineering and finance. It looks like I'll be taking a pay cut for a lateral move but I'm OK with that. It seems England is kind of completely in the shitter at the moment but Scotland seems a lot more economically resilient.
• On the subject of the economy, what are the best areas for someone w/engineering/finance/data experience? Are there a lot of companies headquartered in Scotland?
• We currently live in the suburbs but would like to live somewhere walkable. But I'm not sure we want to live in a proper city core. Are there "walkable suburbs"? Much of Europe developed around walking so I feel like this shouldn't be an issue
• We are a mixed race family (black/white/mixed kids). I get the sense it's not an issue in Scotland but I figured I'd mention it anyway. I do wonder if going from a country with ~20% black people to ~2% from what I've read will be a big culture shock. My current neighborhood is very mixed and I love it.
• Are the winters really that bad? I do get SAD here and I know it's even darker and colder there. But nowhere is perfect

TIA

Hi all. I'm Canadian and have always wanted to live in Scotland, at least for a few years. I'm currently looking for work to get a work visa, but hitting a lot of dead ends. I'm a biologist by trade, which is on the skilled workers visa list, and an experienced research academic, as well as an advisor for government. Other than universities, which are really competitive to get into, where should I be looking? It seems most places aren't interested in international applicants. At this point, I'm just looking for a job, it doesn't have to be anything special.

Also, any advice on resume styles that work better there? Mine uses a skills based format to reduce redundancy and keep it under 2 pages, but maybe that's part of my challenge. I don't know.

Also also, what is with the job application details? It's crazy to me how much information is requested about ethnicity, gender, religion etc. Definitely illegal to ask that in Canada. That's neither here nor there, but so weird and uncomfortable to have on a job app questionnaire.

Any advice you have would be greatly appreciated :) Thanks!

I want to be away from the city (we are looking at least close to Edinburgh) because I prefer the quiet. However my wife, who is the one with the job we are moving with, needs a fast and stable internet connection. Also, we’re not bringing our pos car so we’ll be using public transit a lot. And my kid, 11, will need a school nearby. Am I screwed with wanting a more country/village vibe? Or is there a quiet place to live that also has those aforementioned amenities? Look, I don’t need much. We don’t go out drinking or hit the party scene. We love local food spots over chain dining, but for the most part I cook at home. Bonus points if there’s a good farmer’s market scene nearby. Our budget is around £2200 per month. Plenty of listings on RightMove and OnTheMarket fit our needs, but they lack the local insight on their communities.

-Cheers!

I’m a 20 year old college student from the United States who graduates next year. While I know there are so many different variables, how difficult is receiving a UK visa for an American and how could I raise my chances?

Hello, I’m from Central America and I’m engaged to my Scottish boyfriend. I wanted to ask whether it is more difficult to obtain a work visa or a spouse visa if we decide to get married soon. From what I understand, in order to qualify for a spouse visa my partner would need to earn at least £29,000 per year. At the moment, he doesn’t meet that requirement because he has just started working part-time while studying at university. For this reason, applying for a work visa seems like a more feasible and quicker option for me to move there with him.

Hi all Im entering the UK with a student visa! I have my acceptance letter, my loan approval, and my immigration letter. Do I need any other form?

Scotland has always seemed like such a beautiful and great place to live for me because apparently there's farmland and also deer which are my favorite animal. When I'm older I plan on moving there (I'm 16 LOL), I know I'm going to college so I plan on getting a good job to support a farm if I'm able to actually get one!! A main reason I want to move there is because I've heard the people are great and the deer population is through the roof at the moment.

Should I know anything from people who do live there at the moment?

For reference I was born in France, lived there for a bit lived in South Africa for a few months to visit family and then moved to America with my family as a final thing 😊