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[historienne]

Dear helpful forumites,

I have a question which hopefully one or more of you can answer.  The situation: I'm putting in an application for  job at a UK university.  My spouse is a British citizen and resident (in the US now, but just finishing his PhD, and so not has not yet shifted his residency here).  This means I should qualify for limited leave to remain without having to go through the points-based system.  Of course, I should also qualify for entry (even without a job offer) under the points-based system, at least according to the calculator on the Home Office website.

The question: is it worth mentioning my British spouse/my eligibility for marriage-based entry in my cover letter (and if so, any suggestions for helpful language?)  Also, how should I mark the box on the application form which asks if I need permission to work in the UK?

Thanks in advance.

[sandgrounder]

Difficult - I can see why you're asking. I think although it would have to be carefully phrased, that I would mention it in the cover letter. The reason is that in the last two job searches that my department has run, we have been flooded by applications from the US (about 60 last time out of a total 160 applications). Most had not bothered to tailor their application to the UK or even make an effort to respond to the criteria in the advert (going on about your ability to contribute to gen. ed. survey courses is rather pointless in a country where they don't exist). We understand that the job market in our subject in the US has collapsed and that people are applying to anything and everything BUT when there's nothing in the application to suggest that the applicant has seriously thought about moving to the UK and has done some homework on the system, then we are rather sceptical. So your husband being mentioned would, for us at least, be a positive sign that you were someone who was serious, and who if offered an interview would not develop an existential crisis about it. You could just do it perhaps by adding a short sentence explaining your immigration status. And yes I would tick no on the box on the form too (assuming your husband is fully in favour of a move to the UK that is) - so far I've not heard of any cases where immigration status has made any difference to who got the job, but as the rules get tougher and tougher, I can't see it hurting.

[monsterx]

I missed out on a job in the UK, because of immigration status.  HR intervened in the search committees deliberations, in order to select the other guy.  The problem was, they didn't decide that all the other candidates were unqualified for the position, so HR said they had to go for one with an EU passport.  The search committee chair tried to assert that because I had an EU spouse, they could hire me anyways, but HR disagreed.  I don't know if it would have been any different with a UK spouse - you still need a work permit, but HR's level of knowledge about that issue might be higher. 

However, it is my impression that HR being involved in deliberations in the UK in this way is unusual, and that search committees usually know how to get the person they want regardless of immigration.

[qrypt]

I missed out on a job in the UK, because of immigration status.  HR intervened in the search committees deliberations, in order to select the other guy.  The problem was, they didn't decide that all the other candidates were unqualified for the position, so HR said they had to go for one with an EU passport.  The search committee chair tried to assert that because I had an EU spouse, they could hire me anyways, but HR disagreed.  I don't know if it would have been any different with a UK spouse - you still need a work permit, but HR's level of knowledge about that issue might be higher. 

If someone from HR tried to do that for a hire where I was on the committee, I would raise holy hell.  

[science_expat]

As would I!

[historienne]

Just wanted to say thanks to those who responded.  I put a brief mention in the last paragraph of my letter saying that I would not require University sponsorship for a work permit.