For the past, oh I don't know, 10 months I've been obsessed, yeah, that's the proper word, with the Highly Skill Migrant Programme Visa process. For anyone who is not as OCD about the HSMP as I've been, a little background - in order to move to the UK without an employer sponsor-ship nor wanting a "spousal/dependent" visa, I opted to apply for the Highly Skilled Migrant Programme visa. This visa is awarded on a point system, and the applicant receives points based on age, education level, past earnings and UK experience (which has been puzzling me for 10 months now- if I already work in the UK, why would I need to apply for a visa that would allow me to work in the UK?). The goal is to get a minimum score of 75 points. Since I get 10 points for being 29, 35 points for having my master's degree, I was left needing 30 points from my "past earnings" - income earned in any 12 month period of the last 15 months. For this, I would have to earn GBP 29,000, which would vary between $56,000 to $62,000 depending on how the dollar was doing (and over the last 10 months? Not well.)
After working non-stop, including on vacations and working any overtime I was able to, I FINALLY hit my income target! To celebrate, I bought myself a ticket to visit Ben in England for a week. Once I got home, I put my head-down and really worked on preparing my application...I am happy to write that after a bit of a crazy situation dealing with the post office, my application is on it's way to Sheffield!
Let the 5 to 14 week countdown commence! (Again, I should probably provide a bit of background - the HSMP site states that 50% of applications are decided within 5 weeks, and 95% are decided within 14 weeks. Key word is "within" but with such a wide window, I'm hopeful, but I'm still a realist at heart.)
Now is when I really have to get busy planning my move- I've got everything from storage places, international cat transport services, to UK job hunting on my plate. Something tells me the next 5 weeks might just fly by!
