US Citizen: ATC in UK Possible?

[PanAm330]

I'm just going to copy and paste what I wrote on A.net, as a user there suggested that you guys would be able to help.

First and foremost, let me just say that I love the UK, and as far back as I can remember, I have always wanted to live there. This is all speculative, and I just want to know if it's even possible. Right now, I'm a born-and-bred American, and am currently halfway to getting my Bachelor's Degree in Air Traffic Control at ERAU. I want to see if becoming an ATC across the pond would be possible for me.
From what I've heard, the UK won't just grant citizenship to everyone, and that people wishing to move to the UK have to have skills that would "justify" it. After googling forever, I've failed to come up with answers to the following questions:

1) Would ATC be considered "special" enough to justify me gaining citizenship?
2) Can I even be considered for ATC in the UK, being an American? I know that in the US, the FAA requires controllers to be citizens.
3) Is there an age limit? I think I read somewhere that's it's 25. I know the UK is insanely expensive when compared to the US, so I might want to stay here and 'gain a financial foothold' (read: wait for the USD to gain value so I can take more money with me :E) first, but not too long if I'll pass the age window by.
4) Any additional input? Am I completely crazy for even wanting this? :p

Thanks to all who answer any questions/offer advice to feed my curiosity! :)

[Scooby Don't]

Just as a general point first of all, not many people who haven't been through an immigration process have much of an idea about what actually happens. In the UK, as in most countries if not all, you need to become a legal resident first, and then apply for citizenship some time down the line. To find out about the immigration stuff, go the Home Office website (google it...).

To join NATS, you need to be between 18 and 36, and have the right to live and work in the UK - that does NOT mean citizenship. There are a few Irish ATCOs in the UK for instance, who will never take citizenship! They don't need to in order to work there, as they are EU citizens.

You need to be able to obtain a Class 1 medical certificate (as opposed to the Class 2 or 3 needed in most countries) to be a radar controller in the UK, and you also need to be able to obtain security clearance. There is nothing you can do on your own behalf for that clearance - you just submit the forms and cross your fingers.

Back to the immigration side of things, no occupation is "special enough" for citizenship, though there may be some which help with residency. Check the Home Office site for that info. Being a septic won't stop you being considered for ATC, so long as you have the legal right to work in the UK, which you most likely won't get just by applying to ATC.

Your degree won't be particularly helpful beyond the fact that it shows an interest in aviation and that you're not an unemployed bum (personally I think everyone should spend a few months every few years as an unemployed bum - great for recharging the batteries!). You'd still have to start from scratch on the basic ATC course. As to whether you'd want to...

In terms of what to expect from your lifestyle, UK v USA, the following sums it up:
Housing costs in the UK are MUCH higher.
Taxation in the UK is higher.
Get used to the idea of paying $8 a gallon or more for gas (that's in little US gallons before I get shot down - 1 US gallon = 3.8 litres).
Cars are much more expensive in the UK.
On the plus side, you're still less likely to be shot in the UK, though your car has a greater chance of being stolen!
You can expect to work a regular 6 on, 4 off pattern in the UK, with 6 cycles of leave per year; much better than in the US.
You cannot work more than 2 hours (or 1.5 hours in some units/sectors) without a break in the UK.

My suggestion would be to do more homework (you could have websearched much of what I've just typed - lucky for you I'm bored right now) and if you still have a way to go in your studies, investigate the possibility of spending a summer in the UK between semesters. There is an exchange scheme which allows British and US students to get temporary work visas in each others' countries.

[galaxy flyer]

There's a Yank in Bordeaux Control and one in Lisboa Control. Actually, whoever controls the airspace west of the Canaries enroute MAD-South America. Talk to both of these guys every once in a while. How they got there, I don't know.

GF

[niknak]

Your qualifications aren't much good to you in the UK.
Unless you got accepted for a NATS Cadetship, to get a CAA licence you'd still have to undertake an "assesment for prior competence".
Thereafter the most credit you'd get against any of the ratings is 50%, so you'd have to do at least 50% of that course again.
If you got a NATS cadetship, you'd be doing the full course, but you wouldn't get a choice of whether you work at an airport or an area centre, you'd just be streamed for one or the other.

Be aware that some of the UKs largest employers (and I don't know if NATS are among them) often state (and are legally entitled to do so) that you must have "unrestricted right to work and to permanently reside in the UK".

Lastly, because I'm a cynical old fart who enjoys playing the devils advocate,

1) employment law or not, you'd have a tough time convincing any UK ATC employer that you are a better risk than any of the British applicants.

2)If you were an employer faced with spending many thousands of £s on training a prospective atco, you'd want a guarantee that the person you employed was going to stay with you for at least three years.
Many non NATS employers require trainees to sign bonding agreements (which despite what some may say, are enforcable and have been enforced),
could you commit yourself to that, or even convince an employer that you would be willing to stay?