Considering a 1-month work stay in London to improve English. What do I need to know?

Posted by lady_berserker@reddit | expats | View on Reddit | 7 comments

I am a young woman working in tech in Spain (native Spanish speaker). While being a student, I used to live in California and Sweden so back then my speaking was better than now. I also hold a C1 level, certified, that I got also back in University days.

Not long ago I switched companies (I work full remote) from a Spanish company to an American one. Hence, English is our main language for communicating at the moment. However, I find myself often struggling to understand what others say (we all have accents because we aren't native speakers but others do seem to understand lol) or making dumb grammar mistakes while speaking. I don't want to attend a summer course here in my city, or online. They are expensive and it is not easy to find C2 conversation groups. I need casual daily conversations instead, and thought that since my company has a policy of up to 1 month working in another country I could move to London for a short period like one month. We have an office there too. Perhaps that way I would interact more with people in my office and improve my English.

I would like to know a couple things from those who live there or who are also European inmigrants. I think with a visitor visa it would be enough, correct? How complicated is finding a room during the summer? How much money do you think I would spend between housing and food? Any help is appreciated. For now this is just an idea I had :) I picked London because that's where the office is and it would be a total failure if I stayed in a tiny room all day...

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FinestTreesInDa7Seas@reddit

What is your plan for a visa that allows you to work there?

The UK allows "Intra-Corporate" work for employees of companies who have an office in the UK, and this is allowed while on a normal Visitor visa.

However, the kind of work that is allowed is very limited. It's for things like training, consulting, etc. So your employer would need to provide you with a letter explaining the purpose of your visit, and it will need to be support-based, and not actually "work".

If you just show up and tell the border officer that you want to do your normal job in the London office for 1 month on a visitor visa (or a visa-free visit), they're going to deny you entry into the country.

Your other option is a Global Business Mobility work visa, which your employer will need to sponsor you for, and there are a few costs involved for your employer to do this. It's over £3000 in various fees.

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lady_berserker@reddit (OP)

Oh thanks for the explanation. I thought it would have been simpler. Not willing to pay that much money... I will stay in Spain and take a speaking course online I guess. Appreciated!

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FinestTreesInDa7Seas@reddit

Yes it's fairly expensive to sponsor a visa like that, and those costs would be up to your employer to pay, not you.

It's probably not realistic to do something like that for such a short period of time.

Unfortunately the UK lacks a "Digital nomad visa" option, so they've designed their immigration laws to explicitly prevent the kind of trip that you're planning (they don't want people living there temporarily while working remotely).

Have you considered Ireland? Being an English-speaking EU country, you can easily travel there and work remotely with no restrictions. I'm sure your employer's UK office was part of the attraction for visiting the UK, but maybe you might benefit from being immersed in the English language outside of your working hours too?

Captlard@reddit

Why not ask your fellow employees in London if you can rent a room for the month?

Otherwise you are looking at an Airbnb or similar for a month, so say £2-4K plus another £1k or so for food, transport etc if central.

The further away from the centre the lower it will be for rent, but higher transport.

If it is 2k accomodation for a month then def not worth...

Take a look at OpenRent, SpareRoom, Right-room also to see rates.

This-Extreme4976@reddit

You don't need a visitor visa. You're a Spanish citizen, so you can enter the UK visa-free and get up to 6 months on arrival. Just bring your passport and proof of accommodation. The visa-free entry has covered remote work for overseas employers since January 2024, so working for your American company from London is fine.

For one month in London this summer, realistic budget:

Room in a shared flat via SpareRoom: £900-1,400/month depending on zone. Zones 2-3 (Hackney, Brixton, Peckham, Stoke Newington) are sweet spot — central enough to actually use the city, cheaper than Zone 1.

Food: £400-600/month if you cook some, eat out a few times a week.

Transport: £180-220/month for a monthly Tube pass.

Going out, gym, coffees, occasional fun: £300-500.

Total realistic: £1,800-2,700 for the month.

Finding a room in summer is doable but start now. London short-term rentals get competitive May through August (tourists, language students, interns flooding in). SpareRoom is the main site. Filter for "available for short let" or "1 month minimum." Look in Hackney, Bethnal Green, Brixton, Camden if you want social. Avoid Canary Wharf — finance bros, dead at night.

One tactical note: your office being central is good, but don't live too close to it. You came to practice English with non-work people. Live in a residential neighborhood, walk into the office on commute days. The whole point is the social side, which you won't get if your flat is in the City.

Your English is going to come back faster than you think. C1 with two years abroad doesn't disappear, it just rusts. Two weeks of daily conversation and you'll be back.