UK Work Visa

 

The UK Government has strict rules as to who is entitled to work in the UK.  To be eligible to work in the UK you need to have one of the following:

• British Passport
  

• European Union Passport
  

• Ancestry Visa (if you have a grandparent born in the UK)
  

• Be the spouse of someone with one of the above
  

• Working Holiday Visa

If you are a Commonwealth citizen under the age of 31 you can apply for a working holiday visa allowing you to live and work in the UK for 2 years.

Any of the above visas or passports will enable you to locum around the country on agency rates and have your say on when and where you will work (depending on vacancy).

If you are not eligible for any of the above visas or passports then an employer in the UK can apply for a work permit on your behalf.  A work permit gives permission for you to work as a permanent employee at a specific location for a specific time.  Sonographers Medical, as an employment agency, cannot apply for a work permit for you but we can introduce you to hospitals who are interested in this option.

Going to the UK for more than six months?

If you're going to the UK for more than six months - regardless of your nationality - you need a visa. And from 11 December 2007, you'll be asked to provide fingerprint scans and a digital photo as part of the visa application process.

This is only for new applications received on and after 11 December, and only affects those staying in the UK for more than six months. That's around 12,000 people annually, or 4% of the total number of New Zealand residents who visit the UK each year.

When you apply for your visa and pay online at www.britain.org.nz, you'll be asked to book an appointment to see us. From 11 December, this will be at the British High Commission in Wellington.

They are also looking to open facilities in Auckland and Christchurch in January 2008.
Biometric information is now the global norm for protecting against identity fraud. The UK Government is introducing biometric visas for all applicants, regardless of their nationality. It takes only a few minutes to have your fingerprints scanned and a digital photo taken. The system is already operating for UK visa applications in more than a hundred countries around the world, and has been successful in identifying
more than 6000 confirmed matches.

Your data is sent securely straight to the UK. The information then allows UK immigration to validate your identity when you arrive. Your biometric information will be held for ten years, and is protected by the UK's Data Protection Act 1998, which operates just like New Zealand's Privacy Act 1993.

For more information regarding your 'Right to Work in the UK' and all application forms for visas and passports visit the New Zealand British High Commission website .

Contact details for the British High Commission:

British High Commission, Visa Section
44 Hill Street
PO Box 1812
Wellington
Phone (04) 924 2889 between 9:30 - 12:00 and 2:30 - 3:30
Fax (04) 924 2822