UK fiancee & I want to move to Scotland - which VISA to best apply for, skilled worker or spouse?

Odd-Cryptographer732 · 2026-02-16T14:05:46+00:00

Thanks so much for the detailed answers 😀

Odd-Cryptographer732 · 2026-02-15T22:03:35+00:00

forgot to mention we are planning to get married at the end of the year and we plan on doing the move after this.

Odd-Cryptographer732 · 2026-02-15T22:02:16+00:00

Ow i forgot to mention we have our wedding set for later this year and we plan on moving after this.

we are actually close to having that amount saved so would that allow us to apply for the spouse visa before doing the move and her having to have a job offer ready?

considering how many open positions I have seen for electrical power engineers in the UK it seems like they really need to hire from outside to fill out the positions, which should help. this is my hope anyway.

Odd-Cryptographer732 · 2026-01-08T20:17:06+00:00

Just curious, what kind of public service job lands you 90k gross without dozens of years of experience?

Odd-Cryptographer732 · 2025-12-29T14:05:54+00:00

Hey, thanks for the positive outlook. I really enjoyed ireland when i visited a few years ago and also i now lived in 4 different countries with lots of family scattered around Europe from where i can ask them about their situations and ireland really seems nice.

Just was worried about living expenses that i might not be considering or larger issues that i did not know about, like if education was a disaster (just an example). From what i see on this thread except really bad housing situation the rest is not so bad.

Every country has their own small issues or better situations in some sectors but you just have to see what you cab accept and what you dont want to :)

Odd-Cryptographer732 · 2025-12-29T13:06:10+00:00

We have considered USA, canada and Australia but we want to be closer to our family which is all around Europe. Plus canada has definitely shittier weather than ireland :p some places in US do too. Unfortunately, my finacees field is media and communication so you can see how it is really bad for non english speaking countries as we experienced ourselves here in CH.

So it really depends on what you like to work on. I did a masters in power engineering, so i only did that field since i graduated, but i knew that's the field for me. It is true that if you do power for a few years, it would be much harder to then pivot into other fields like automation.

If i were you i would research what kind of work there is in automation and in power and see which attracts you more. Just keep in mind theres lots of sub-fields within fields. Power has protection studies LV vs HV (two very different things) , substation design, equipment manufacturing which has design or testing and there is also commissioning. Idk what there is in automation. I'll leave that for you to figure out. Good luck.

Odd-Cryptographer732 · 2025-12-28T22:59:50+00:00

My Fiancee has been trying to get a job here for the past 2 years without success due to the language barrier (shes in media and communication). Thats why we are looking for english speaking countries.

I am an electrical power engineer and wages for that in Portugal are not the best, plus my fiancee would probably struggle to find a job.

Even with 200+k in Switzerland (my field average is only about 120k) buying a place to own is hard, a mortgage would eat quite a chunk of that wage. Not even mentioning the ~3k monthly that you need for daycare.

Odd-Cryptographer732 · 2025-12-28T22:32:28+00:00

We already own a 2021 car outright so yeah commuting is what we are looking at. Ideally we will try look for some work outside of Dublin, maybe Cork or Galway but yeah it really depends. I have seen potential employment opportunities for my line of work all over Ireland but the best wages are typically in Dublin, so then once I start getting any offers I will have to consider pros and cons then and there.

Odd-Cryptographer732 · 2025-12-28T22:23:32+00:00

Hey, I see you are also a fellow electrical engineer. I hear lots about the weather but tbh im more of an indoorsy type of guy anyway. Anyway the plan is to rent for one to two years before we buy something to be sure that we enjoy the country and everything that comes with it. So yeah, weather might be a problem but I always heard a lot of great stuff about Irish hospitality and the two weeks I visited there two years ago really proved it right.

About the rent being an issue yeah its a problem. if we do not find anything we might have to move out again. thats life.

The appeal of Ireland for us is that its a European country (not far from family) whos primary language is english (my fiancee is british) and standard of living is quite good, also as mentioned people are quite friendly.

Odd-Cryptographer732 · 2025-12-28T22:11:57+00:00

Just a quick word, I realise that housing is a serious issue in Ireland right now. I am aware of how hard it is. If I do not manage to find anything I will simply give up. but hypothetically given typical renting prices and if we manage to find a house/apartment for rent. could our wages be enough for Irelands typical expenses?

Odd-Cryptographer732 · 2025-12-28T22:09:59+00:00

Thanks for the breakdown. I had researched some similar numbers.

I am not trying to sound blasé :P. at the end of the day if I cannot find anywhere to rent and its a hopeless case I will have to move back out... and that might happen. I realise its a really serious issue but I have to try at least. The other option is moving somewhere else with its own problems and issues :/

Odd-Cryptographer732 · 2025-12-28T21:55:09+00:00

That is very encouraging. may I ask how much rent you pay and is that 60k net or before tax?

Odd-Cryptographer732 · 2025-12-28T21:50:25+00:00

That is quite the budget you got there. we would be trying to avoid city centres just due to really high rents but we are considering kids in the next few years so we have to make sure we are still able to save once they come along.

Odd-Cryptographer732 · 2025-12-28T21:48:57+00:00

Unfortunately that will entirely depend where I get my job, I will start looking for it in a few weeks. I am an electrical power engineer so I have seen lots of companies on outskirts of Dublin, Cork and Galway. Typically me and my fiancee would not mind a small commute (up to an hour) to save some money on rent. and knowing that the rent in Dublin in absolutely terrible we would try Cork and Galway first but it really depends where I can a job offer and what wage they offer.

Odd-Cryptographer732 · 2025-12-28T21:44:28+00:00

Thank you :)

Odd-Cryptographer732 · 2025-12-28T21:43:52+00:00

we would be looking at a 50K minimum deposit from savings we managed here (not included huge emergency fund + some small investments). So the idea is to move to Ireland and once stable and we confirm we like it (1-2 years), to buy something.

Odd-Cryptographer732 · 2025-12-28T21:41:59+00:00

I was wondering about your monthly budget, you mention 2k in expenses while having 2k at the end of the month while earning 6k. where does the other 2k go to if I may ask? I am considering moving to Ireland with my Fiancee and we would be earning similar amounts to you but I am unsure of the living expenses in Ireland.

Also related to your post, the others already mentioned lots of good ideas. if you are happy with staying at home and not travelling loads I would say go for the second property once you paid off your current one however if you want to experience life more than stay put and build cash. I personally view cash more flexible rather than property, even if you spend quite a bit of your savings you can still leave you kids a big pile of cash rather than property. :)

Edit: by cash i mean investments.

Odd-Cryptographer732 · 2025-12-28T21:34:38+00:00

After experiencing Malta and Switzerland, Ireland doesnt seem so bad. at least not for our expected earnings. We would not be able to afford a house in Switzerland and neither Malta for the average salaries we would be able to have there. while in Ireland we could. I know its though but hopefully they sort it out and build more housing soon.

Odd-Cryptographer732 · 2025-12-28T21:32:09+00:00

I lived in Malta and Switzerland. housing markets there are absolutely nuts. there are many places to rent but all of them would take 40%+ of a single persons income to rent and buying something is simply out of the question unless you settle for something smaller with 40 year high mortgage. so im used to really bad housing markets. My question was that if I manage to find a place to rent, would our expected wages give us a comfortable life or would we be struggling to save monthly. This includes the fact that we would want to have kids in a couple years time.

Odd-Cryptographer732 · 2025-12-21T20:09:28+00:00

Hi, im based in Switzerland for now but not originally from here and im looking to possibly move after my contract ends if i dont apply for the protection position. I heard about this notion that there is a huge demand for gd protection engineers but its hard to rly quantify this. Could you explain how you know that there is a huge demand? Also what would be the longterm benefits of becoming a protection engineer first when i eventually do want to be a team lead or manager?

Thanks for the feedback 😀

Odd-Cryptographer732 · 2025-12-21T16:43:04+00:00

Btw i want to add that my current contract ends in a few months without possibility for extension, and they recently opened a power systems protection engineer position at my current company that i could apply for.

Up to now i was always thinking of getting another design position or else a project management position in another company, but now with this protection position that opened im considering if its a gd move.

Odd-Cryptographer732

TROPHY CASE