Long question made short: Assume a starting point of an American on a one-year student visa into the UK to earn a Masters degree. Said American wants to make Britain her permanent home. How does she go about doing that?
I spent 6 months of 2006 living and working in London, and absolutely fell in love not just with London but with most of Britain (Scotland, no offense, was a bit too cold and dreary for me). I mean serious, “I really want to settle here” love, not just “what a nice town” love.
I’m now back in the US finishing my undergrad degree (two years to go). I’m also certain that I want to go to to grad school for a masters degree in London (there’s a bunch of schools that offer programs in what I want to go into). I’m hoping that doing so will be a foot in the door to, eventually, getting British citizenship.
I know from the research I’ve already done that I’d need a visa to do a 1-year grad program there, and I’d be able to work 20 hours a week during the academic term. I recall having seen something about, once you’ve finished your degree, being able to extend into a one-year work permit stay, but I seem to have misplaced that website. There seems to be a dozen different government agencies with varying amounts of information. I’m stumbling around in the dark here, but I’m completely serious about this, and know there must be a way to make it work. Any help/advice/links to other sites with advice is greatly appreciated.