Recently, I was offered a place at Deloitte's London office. I received my offer letter in the post, returned it, and attended a post-offer event.That was over two months ago. I have yet to be contacted by an HR rep about a starting date, my employment contract, or (and this is the crucial thing, as I am from the US) my work permit.Does anyone know how long it usually takes to sort these things out? Is it normal to have to wait this long? And how easy will it be for DC to secure a work permit on my behalf?

My friend just moved from Canada to Deloitte in London. Apparently the Deloitte HR people did take an age to sort out visas. There's also been a reorganisation of the visa system which may have slowed things up somewhat. To chase up on your start date, your first port of call should be HR, followed by the hiring manager you interviewed with. Don't leave it too long in case a letter got lost in the post and they're waiting on your response.

There has been a significant re-org of the visa system. A lot of searching questions are no being asked. Contractors in particular are having trouble re-applying for visas where their tax affairs are, ahem, somewhat opaque.