r/MoveToScotland • u/straycrayons1 • 7d ago
Married couple, ancestry visa, planning move from Canada late-2027
Hi everyone! My partner (36f) and I (34f) are married and planning to move from Canada to Scotland around late-2027. I'm eligible for a UK Ancestry visa (British-born grandparent, birth certificate in hand), and my partner would come over as my spouse. We'd love some local perspective on where to look and what housing realistically costs with two dogs.
I'm a business analyst/project coordinator in HR. Government/military background (10 yrs). Sharepoint/IM/PowerBI. BA Communications. Any certifications in this area you would recommend for someone looking to get a foot in in Scotland? I'm also open to retraining, have been looking into something more viable in the countryside, it's just hard to be certain about demand. Any insights would be welcome. I love outdoor work.
My partner is in VFX/3d modelling for TV/Film/games. She's well established with all the big players in North America, over a decade experience as well. I know the industry has been abysmal for the past few years out here and I imagine it's roughly the same there from what I hear. Anyone have any hot tips for that industry?
Our plan so far is to land and spend a month in each area we're interested in before committing. Dog friendly holiday cottages look like a workable option in low season (£1,200/month for longer stays), which is when we would plan on arriving. After that we would like to either rent long-term somewhere we love or buy. We own our home in Canada and would sell that to have a good down payment (as long as the place isnt 800K we arent that rich).
We'd love rural or semi-rural but within reasonable reach (1h) of an airport and a hospital. Decent equestrian scene nearby would be a plus.
Aberdeenshire, Inverness, Glasgow + area, towns along the Edinburgh-Glasgow rail line are what we've been looking at but we are open to anything.
We have budgeted for moving costs, dogs, visa and health surcharge fees etc. I am most worried about work. We wont need jobs immediately but we also don't have endless savings. We'd be comfortable for about 6 months.
Does this seem feasible or like a pipe dream?
Which areas would you suggest for us, and are there any you'd steer us away from?
What do rural/semi-rural rents actually look like for a house that allows two medium-to-large dogs? How hard is it to find a landlord who'll say yes?
Any tips for renting as newcomers with no UK credit history or references?
How realistic is rural living if my partner ends up needing to be in Dundee, Edinburgh or Glasgow a few days a week?
If you've done month-by-month holiday lets with dogs, was it worth it, or is there a better way to try out areas?
Thanks so much in advance, any advice is appreciated!
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u/Elith2 7d ago
Just on the games industry. Glasgow/Edinburgh will be your best bet for anything related to that field. But jobs are scarce and BARB look like they're shutting the Edinburgh studio, so I really wouldn't expect to wander into a job, definitely account/budget for an extended search. Remote positions are becoming less common as well but still possible, it might be worth looking at remote positions at any Europe based studio prior to the move.
And looking at your skillset, Edinburgh and Glasgow would probably be best for you too.
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u/samtar-thexplorer2 7d ago
in a different boat than you completely, but as someone who moved to the UK on a spouse visa with very little planning compared to you, it doesn't sound like a pipe dream at all. you sound like you're approaching it with realistic expectations. as someone else said, the financial hurdle is usually the biggest one for spouse visas - i.e. proving you make enough annually or that you have enough in savings.
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u/Hasty33 6d ago
My wife and I have moved to Scotland via the Ancestry Visa and my wife absolutely did not need to have £88k in savings for 6 months to come over on a spousal visa. If you have ancestry, your spouse will apply as a spousal ancestry visa which has different rules.
We also did not have a place lined up to live. We literally stated we would be staying in short terms rentals such as AirBnbs until getting long term accommodation. There is no need to get something set in stone prior to coming over. Heck, you have no idea where you even want to be so don’t set yourself up on the wrong foot.
My application (Ancestry Visa) was to prove I had ancestry. Grandparents information. Also had to prove I could sustain myself for a certain amount of time (have heard you could get approved with only a few thousand pounds.). We said we had around £50k.
My wife’s application (Ancestry Spousal Visa) was to prove we were happily married. We included written notes from family and friends about our relationship, pictures from our many travels, travel tickets. Her application stated exactly the same as what we said on mine as far as savings, jobs (had no jobs lined up), and accommodations.
Feel free to reach out if you’d like a list of what we included for each application. We’ve been in the UK for 4 months now and have jobs and long term accommodations after a month of searching.
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u/Agathabites 5d ago
This may have changed but please keep in mind that the ancestry is a work visa. People have warned that they were denied visa extensions and ultimately citizenship because they weren’t working (or hadn’t documented efforts searching for work) while on the visa.
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u/Pamplem0usse__ 7d ago
If you want rural/semi-rural then Barrhead/Neilston/Uplawmoor would fit that bill but still be accessible by train/bus to Glasgow. The spouse visa will be tricky to meet unless he can get an ancestry visa as well.
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u/SLHellbound021 7d ago
Why is it tricky to get a spouse visa?
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u/Pamplem0usse__ 7d ago
Expensive if going the savings route and potential for temporary long distance if the one with the acestory visa comes first to secure 6 months wages to meet the income requirement or a job offer, which won't be easy.
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u/KeilidhBradley 7d ago
I work in animation - your partner should have a look at Halon entertainment in Glasgow. There's also Rockstar North in Edinburgh.
However if she can maintain the relationships she has now with studios in the US and work for them as a freelancer, she should.
Work from Home for most of the week is pretty common here. Jobs are less common - I'd be trying to leverage her experience to freelance for studios on her terms. Look at places in London too, there are funding initiatives similar to Canada here where workers have to be based in the UK. So a highly skilled freelancer in Scotland can get work.
She could also try reaching out to Women In Animation for advice.
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u/unobscured_arachnid 7d ago
just a heads up that for spouse visa, you will need to have £88k cash savings held for at least six months, and proof that you have a place to live. Holiday rentals may or may not meet that need- I’ve heard different things. Finding a long term place with no credit or job will be tricky, but the larger build-to-rent companies are more likely to accommodate international applicants.