Unlike others who have a calm, set plan for their move overseas, the entire experience came as a last-minute surprise for me. This timeline shows just how quickly I managed to pull everything together for a move abroad.
Three months after graduating from university, six months into a fruitless job search for positions in the U.K., and 1 month before a scheduled flight to England, I stumbled upon the BUNAC Intern in Britain Scheme.
Initially, I had planned to simply visit the U.K. and finish out my tourist visa for 3 months. But once the opportunity arose to stay for 6 in a professional setting, I jumped at it.
The timeline below shows how quickly it all happened, plus gives a realistic idea of just how long it actually takes to complete a visa application.
Overview of Days in August Spent Working Toward Visa
August
August 5, Friday
Sent in my application for two internships.
August 6, Saturday
Opened account with BUNAC.
August 8, Monday
Heard back from internship #1. Set up interview.
August 10 , Wednesday
Interview with internship #1. Received informal offer.
August 11, Thursday
Received formal offer from internship #1. Accepted as it was my first choice.
August 12, Friday
Emailed professor for BUNAC reference. Received reference back same day… what a gem!
August 13, Saturday
Paid $100 fee to BUNAC, uploaded all required documents except insurance information.
August 15, Monday
Paid remaining $655 fee. Sent Employer Agreement to internship site.
August 16, Tuesday
Uploaded new insurance info. Still did not qualify.
August 17, Wednesday
Finally bought travel insurance (a requirement to receive sponsorship) through BUNAC. Internship finished their Employer Agreement.
August 18, Thursday
Paid $150 internship site visit fee after finding out one would be required.
August 19, Friday
Site visit conducted. Informed that it went well and C.o.S. is now processing.
August 23, Tuesday
Follow-up interview with internship #2 asking me to reconsider (I did not).
August 25, Thursday
Repacked suitcases. Still waiting for Certificate of Sponsorship to come through.
August 31, Wednesday
21 days—and 15 business days—from the start of the application, my Certificate of Sponsorship came through.
Spent all day, from 10:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. doing the online visa application process and organizing relevant documents. Paid for priority shipping and one day Airbills through UPS for shipment of visa documents.
Changed my flight (which is supposed to leave in 5 days) to leave in 18 days for a whopping $1,208. It was a sad day for my wallet.
Overview of Days in August Spent Working Toward Visa
September
September 2, Friday
Organized all of my visa documents. Went to drug store and had new passport photos taken and printed for $24.38.
September 6, Tuesday
The day after I was originally supposed to leave, I attended my biometrics appointment. Then went to UPS and mailed off all of my visa documentation to New York using prepaid postage.
September 7, Wednesday
Visa package arrived in New York by 10:30 a.m.
Called phone and bank companies to let them know I’d be out of the country.
September 8, Thursday
Received email that UKVI has my documents and are beginning to process the visa.
September 9, Friday
Did a final repack of all suitcases once new carry-on bag arrived.
September 13, Tuesday
14 days—and 10 business days—from completing online visa application (and including the time it took to attend the biometrics appointment), I received an email that I was successful and my passport would be mailed back to me.
September 14, Wednesday
UPS returned passport complete with new Tier 5 Visa attached! It took UK Visas and Immigration in New York only 4 business days to process my visa, 6 days including shipping.
September 18, Sunday
LEAVE FOR THE U.K.!
Obviously, it wasn’t cheap to rush a visa application, and my overall dream of moving to England also came at an expense, but in the end, I’m hoping the experience will be well worth it.
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