Anyone moved abroad for work with family?
Discussion
Love the idea of moving overseas for 6 months or even more to get a job, and take the wife and kids with me. They aren't in high school yet, so I think it would be a good experience for them.
My current company won't do this, so it would be either taking a sabbatical, or finding a new job. I could contract quite easily.
Has anyone done this? Where did you go, and how hard to do was it?
My current company won't do this, so it would be either taking a sabbatical, or finding a new job. I could contract quite easily.
Has anyone done this? Where did you go, and how hard to do was it?
Would you go to an English speaking country or more "exotic"
Friend of mine at school, his family moved to France when he was 8, and came back when he was 13.
He was in my year when they left and came back and had to go in the year below because his teaching had fallen behind as he was put in all the bottom sets of everything as he couldn't understand the language very well.
Friend of mine at school, his family moved to France when he was 8, and came back when he was 13.
He was in my year when they left and came back and had to go in the year below because his teaching had fallen behind as he was put in all the bottom sets of everything as he couldn't understand the language very well.
Whilst I would love more exotic, and speak, german, chinese & norwegian, the rest of my family don't. So I think either moving to an English speaking country, i.e. Canada, US, Aus, NZ, or going somewhere a bit closer, denmark, holland. (not a fan of france tbh!)
5 years would be a bit extreme. 6 months will be what I am looking for initially.
5 years would be a bit extreme. 6 months will be what I am looking for initially.
6 months is not enough time to settle in home, education or environment. Our postings tend to be around 4 years and I'm coming to the end of one in Norway. I sent the family back home 2 years ago for a wide variety of reasons and now commute.
Never underestimate the strain it can put on a trailing spouse who has no job, friends or support network. Norway is very, very tough for most spouses and they can end up miserable. That will make you very miserable!
Never underestimate the strain it can put on a trailing spouse who has no job, friends or support network. Norway is very, very tough for most spouses and they can end up miserable. That will make you very miserable!
jshell said:
6 months is not enough time to settle in home, education or environment. Our postings tend to be around 4 years and I'm coming to the end of one in Norway. I sent the family back home 2 years ago for a wide variety of reasons and now commute.
Never underestimate the strain it can put on a trailing spouse who has no job, friends or support network. Norway is very, very tough for most spouses and they can end up miserable. That will make you very miserable!
thanks jshell. advice on Norway much appreciated. I guess not there then!Never underestimate the strain it can put on a trailing spouse who has no job, friends or support network. Norway is very, very tough for most spouses and they can end up miserable. That will make you very miserable!
My wife runs an events management business, which would travel incredibly well, though only if she speaks the language. So as long as we have the visa to do so, we can both work.
Has anyone done this to an english speaking country?
I did - sort of. Not really they way you have described it.
Firstly, my plan was not for it to have been a temporary move (though it could have been), secondly, I had no school-age kids - my daughter was 19 when we moved - and thirdly, I didn't quit my job - in fact my job was the 'vehicle' that made the move possible.
Prior to moving here, my work brought me to the US frequently and most of my business dealings were with American organizations. That background gave me a reasonable understanding of what I was letting myself (and wife/daughter) in for - though there were still a few cultural surprises to overcome.
For the first 5 years I kept my home in the UK (with a tenant) - just in case the whole adventure went piss-shaped - and my wife had to do a significant amount of re-training and accreditation (healthcare related) before she was able to resume her career.
I can only share my experience from a US perspective, but am happy to do so if it would help.
Firstly, my plan was not for it to have been a temporary move (though it could have been), secondly, I had no school-age kids - my daughter was 19 when we moved - and thirdly, I didn't quit my job - in fact my job was the 'vehicle' that made the move possible.
Prior to moving here, my work brought me to the US frequently and most of my business dealings were with American organizations. That background gave me a reasonable understanding of what I was letting myself (and wife/daughter) in for - though there were still a few cultural surprises to overcome.
For the first 5 years I kept my home in the UK (with a tenant) - just in case the whole adventure went piss-shaped - and my wife had to do a significant amount of re-training and accreditation (healthcare related) before she was able to resume her career.
I can only share my experience from a US perspective, but am happy to do so if it would help.
Matt Harper said:
I did - sort of. Not really they way you have described it.
Firstly, my plan was not for it to have been a temporary move (though it could have been), secondly, I had no school-age kids - my daughter was 19 when we moved - and thirdly, I didn't quit my job - in fact my job was the 'vehicle' that made the move possible.
Prior to moving here, my work brought me to the US frequently and most of my business dealings were with American organizations. That background gave me a reasonable understanding of what I was letting myself (and wife/daughter) in for - though there were still a few cultural surprises to overcome.
For the first 5 years I kept my home in the UK (with a tenant) - just in case the whole adventure went piss-shaped - and my wife had to do a significant amount of re-training and accreditation (healthcare related) before she was able to resume her career.
I can only share my experience from a US perspective, but am happy to do so if it would help.
Matt, I would be extremely interested to hear of your experiences.Firstly, my plan was not for it to have been a temporary move (though it could have been), secondly, I had no school-age kids - my daughter was 19 when we moved - and thirdly, I didn't quit my job - in fact my job was the 'vehicle' that made the move possible.
Prior to moving here, my work brought me to the US frequently and most of my business dealings were with American organizations. That background gave me a reasonable understanding of what I was letting myself (and wife/daughter) in for - though there were still a few cultural surprises to overcome.
For the first 5 years I kept my home in the UK (with a tenant) - just in case the whole adventure went piss-shaped - and my wife had to do a significant amount of re-training and accreditation (healthcare related) before she was able to resume her career.
I can only share my experience from a US perspective, but am happy to do so if it would help.
My wife/children would prefer the US of anywhere, though I would probably prefer Canada.
I have already travelled the world, and know I will fit in anywhere I go. The family though is another matter.
The two parts that interest me most is how the family got on over there, and also how you and your family got over there. When you went over with work, could your family automatically come with you?
No kids involved, but did that with the consultancy I work at. Usually in London, got offered a promotion and Senior tech role if I took minimum 12 months with a project in Aus.
Its not been plain sailing... I went out in Feb, OH couldn't join me until end of July due to VISA. I now have the correct Visa and OH is able to work too as her role is global, which is a bonus, but as I say its been very very taxing, especially since, until mid June I was barred from leaving the country as my interim Visa wouldn't allow me to do so.
Things are not all hunky dory though, I have a even more senior role now, as opposed to the one I came out with, but.... I now spend 1/3-1/2 my time in Singapore, which is not too bad as OH can visit and there is an office she can work at there... OH will stay out in Aus until Feb and we are going to have a talk about what happens then, if there is a job for me to walk back into in UK/Europe or if I need to stay out longer in APAC region.
Its not been plain sailing... I went out in Feb, OH couldn't join me until end of July due to VISA. I now have the correct Visa and OH is able to work too as her role is global, which is a bonus, but as I say its been very very taxing, especially since, until mid June I was barred from leaving the country as my interim Visa wouldn't allow me to do so.
Things are not all hunky dory though, I have a even more senior role now, as opposed to the one I came out with, but.... I now spend 1/3-1/2 my time in Singapore, which is not too bad as OH can visit and there is an office she can work at there... OH will stay out in Aus until Feb and we are going to have a talk about what happens then, if there is a job for me to walk back into in UK/Europe or if I need to stay out longer in APAC region.
I think you would struggle to find an English speaking country that would give you a 6-12 month work visa unless you have a specific job to go to. It is also a lot of expense to go to for such a short period of time. I lived in Hungary for 9 years but was single when I went and it was with my then current job.
Efbe said:
jshell said:
6 months is not enough time to settle in home, education or environment. Our postings tend to be around 4 years and I'm coming to the end of one in Norway. I sent the family back home 2 years ago for a wide variety of reasons and now commute.
Never underestimate the strain it can put on a trailing spouse who has no job, friends or support network. Norway is very, very tough for most spouses and they can end up miserable. That will make you very miserable!
thanks jshell. advice on Norway much appreciated. I guess not there then!Never underestimate the strain it can put on a trailing spouse who has no job, friends or support network. Norway is very, very tough for most spouses and they can end up miserable. That will make you very miserable!
My wife runs an events management business, which would travel incredibly well, though only if she speaks the language. So as long as we have the visa to do so, we can both work.
Has anyone done this to an english speaking country?
thanks all for the advice/help.
I currently hold a seniorish yet technical role within finance, so think I will be able to find work readily enough elsewhere, I can certainly see plenty of my job on job boards. Whether they will sponsor me for a visa is another matter. And whether this would allow my wife to come over and potentially (but not essentially) work as well is another one again.
The alternative is for me to take a 6 month break from work and travel as a holiday. But this is not really what I want for the family. I have worked overseas when I was younger for a few years in the far east, and the experience you get when living/working somewhere is vastly different to being a tourist.
I currently hold a seniorish yet technical role within finance, so think I will be able to find work readily enough elsewhere, I can certainly see plenty of my job on job boards. Whether they will sponsor me for a visa is another matter. And whether this would allow my wife to come over and potentially (but not essentially) work as well is another one again.
The alternative is for me to take a 6 month break from work and travel as a holiday. But this is not really what I want for the family. I have worked overseas when I was younger for a few years in the far east, and the experience you get when living/working somewhere is vastly different to being a tourist.
Efbe said:
The two parts that interest me most is how the family got on over there, and also how you and your family got over there. When you went over with work, could your family automatically come with you?
As far as the US is concerned - the visa petition is the pivotal element - everything else is incidental.It so happens that there is a visa available for short-term (6 months max) duration, but it does not permit the beneficiary to work - if that is a requirement, then B1 or B2 is not for you.
I worked for a UK based company in a managerial role that wanted to expand its operations into North America. I was responsible for creating the business plan and I pretty much engineered it so that it would be me that they chose to implement it. The visa they petitioned (the beneficiary cannot initiate an employment based petition) was L1-A, which is a dual intent (temporary and potentially leading to permanence) visa for senior managers/directors. My wife and daughter were automatically eligible for derivative L2 visas, which, combined with an Employment Authorization Document allowed them to work for the visa duration. My first L1 was valid for 3 years, after which time the company (not me) applied for an extension, which was granted for a further 3 years.
In UK my wife was a quite specialized nurse and was somewhat reluctant to just give up her career to follow mine - but she also recognized that in the long-run this would be beneficial in terms of opportunity and quality of life. My daughter had just begun training at the Met Police Academy at Hendon - for her it was tough because there was a small window of eligibility for her - at age 21 she would not be considered dependent and the L2 would no longer be available. Her rationale for coming with us was that she could always return to UK if things didn't work out - so she put her police career on hold and came with.
One of the biggest hurdles to overcome for newbs in the US is establishing credit - I was lucky in that part of my relocation package was that the company provided me with a mortgage enabling me to buy a house right from the get-go. That said, I extracted myself from that arrangement as soon as I was able, not being comfortable with my employer having that additional 'hold' on me.
My wife was unable to work in healthcare until she sat and passed a series of federal and state exams and became licensed to practice. My daughter was still determined to work in law enforcement, but had to be a US citizen to do so. She went back to college (at enormous expense to us!) and studied criminal justice. She also worked as an EMT/Ambulance driver - and studied to become a paramedic too.
What became a real challenge for all of us, was that my employer wanted to keep me on a leash - and an employment based visa is a good way of doing that. All employment based visas become void if the employment ends with the petitioner (for ANY reason) - without valid visa status, you must leave. We had agreed at the outset that they would petition permanent residence for me and my family (green card) - but they renagued on that promise.
What followed was a long, tortuous, expensive and stressful journey that I won't bore you with here, suffice to say that we've now been here 15+ years and are all US citizens.
My wife is a Nurse Manager at the largest hospital in Central Florida and my daughter is a detective in our Sheriffs Office and I work in a totally different industry to the one I came in on.
L1 is but one of several employment based visa options - but it is certainly one that offers more options. It requires you to have worked for the petitioner for at least 12 months and requires evidence of managerial (L1-A) or specialized knowledge (L1-B) competence and experience.
There are others, which I can summarize if necessary. I have some experience as a beneficiary of L1, H1-B and E1 - and in my current capacity I have also sponsored visas for L1 and H1-B employee colleagues.
Hope this provides some insight.
Gassing Station | Business | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff