claremont:


I thought you were already here and have been here. Since you are new, you can rent in London for a few months whilst building your credit score. At the same time you are renting, spend you days off exploring properties for sale in towns an hour commute from London. Do not be comfortable paying rent in London or else you will get sucked into the never-ending rat race of earning to pay rent and bills. Try to save up at least 10% deposit during your first year.

I would highly recommend Accord mortgages, they are very good and flexible for new job starters. All you need is your contract and proof of identity, and a 10% deposit. You are good as guaranteed of getting a mortgage from them. I just used them recently to buy a second property and I cannot recommend them enough.

can a student get a mortgage?

Mizzfy:


Hello
Big congratulations. Happy for you and family. Did you have yours in Belfast? Mine is in Belfast in two weeks, also studying in England.

Thanks alot @Mizzfy. Yes we had it in Belfast. It was a quick one, we were scheduled for 9:45 and we left the consulate before 11. I wish you the very best just be composed and as truthful as you can. Make sure you go with a letter from your uni. That was the second document after our passport the lady in charge of documentation requested for.
Cheers!!

Interview done!!!
Sons place of birth was corrected at the documentation post, passport were also handed in plus school leave letter and invitation from sis-inlaw

Transcript
Ms....... And family (wife, hubby and son)
We: walked in
We: Hiya
VO: good morning
VO: why are you going to the US
me: to attend sis-inlaw wedding in florida
VO :Is she a US citizen?
Me:yes
VO: do you have any other family member in the US
Me: sis inlaw, parents and siblings are all the US
VO: is she your sister?
Me:, no my sis inlaw but partners cousin
VO: I see you are a PhD student of..... Engineering, that some hard work,
Me: yes, exactly why I need a holiday
VO: when will your program end and who is your sponsor
Me: 20... and yes sponsored by........
VO: lucky you
VO: to spouse what do you do
Spouse: I work full time at........
VO:, Does your son stay at home all day.
Me: yes, since he's two and can't go to nursery yet but attends playgroup few hours a day
VO: I love your sons name. I had a room mate back in Uni who goes by that name.
VO: All good (hands in white paper) pick up your passport in a week. Bye
We:thank you bye.
N:B Application from UK.

Thank you all for your inputs.

TWoods:


You can explain at your interview.

But i have to ask, how could you make such a basic error?

I asked myself the same question a thousand and one times

Monmarri:


The best u can do is when u get to the VO, just tell the VO u made a mistake when filling the application of your child. Explain and show them the baby's birth certificate ,all they need to do is note it on your application in the system for future applications. just pray. God is in control. All the best in your interview

okay thanks. I will do as adviced

Guys this is urgent,
while filling my son's DS-160 form, place of birth was meant to be Asaba Nigeria but erroneously filled Kabba Nigeria, our interview is tomorrow morning, how do I correct this information, please?

Mimzyy:
Exactly. I almost had hbp on Sunday after I sent money to the account and the naija acc wasn’t credited not until some hours later after I sent mails and Facebook messages. I’ll just stick with my old method. Miolewaku.

miolewaku. the rate is better than Azimo but the process isn't the best

Greenfriend:

Yes they are. They offer better exchange rate than Azimo, no charges for the first two transfers using their mobile app. And also a £10 commission for referring one. That's what I use in sending money back to Nigeria when I feel like after NHS smiles at me.

But you have to make a transfer to the ohrentpay account first before continuing the transaction or there is another route?

awumen:
hubby and son are on dependant visa right?go ahead and apply from U.K, it worked for people around me, same situation a PhD student.

An air of fresh breathe. yes, they are on a dependent visa. many thanks

TWoods:


You’re applying from a foreign country where you likely hold a non-immigrant visa. It will be more difficult to surmount the requirement for home ties - but not impossible. What does your hubby do while you go to school?

I appreciate your input.
Hubby does a part-time job and helps with our son while I'm at the uni.
Is a PhD program not a good enough reason to show we will return to the UK considering the huge amount paid as fees

Hi guys, just to gather as much info as possible (i have read through the thread)

Myself, hubby and 2 year old son will be attending husband's cousin wedding (legit US Citizen) in late June at florida.

we have filled out the DS-160 form and have also picked an interview date for June 10

we are applying from the UK where I'm currently a PhD student, prior to travelling to the UK 7 months ago for study, we all do not have any travel history.

while filling the forms, we stated that the person getting married is sponsoring the trip and we intend to be in the US for 2weeks to also view some tourist attractions.

In order to A's our interview,

1. with the above claim, which is the whole truth, what are our chances?
2. is it okay for her to be the sponsor? if it is what other document do we need from her aside from the invite? If it is not, how do we correct that on the already submitted application
3. Lastly, from our end what documents do we need to go with?


Many Thanks.

DaveChapelle:
tried cutting my hair myself, it's all fun and games till the day youhave to shave it skin aftermaking mistake, and then the barber is ur friend which is about a month when my hair grew back...I'ma shower, not a grower

having spent £7 (cheapest Barber around) for Christmas hair cut for my son and he didn't look better after I just decide to DIY. My son has his hair cut every other weekend and be looking fresh for days. I can't deal with these overated barbers...

Another skill I need to acquire is cake baking. the quotes I'm getting for my son's birthday is costing an arm and a leg

marylandcakes:


You can speak to the HMRC directly, there is nothing to be afraid of. They have all your records you will be amazed. Everything is done in real-time now. They will adjust your tax code and send it to your work place so that the correct tax can be deducted. Check your code and make sure you are not on the BR code.

Thanks a bunch. I will phone HMRC asap

Lexusgs430:


If you are owed, you would automatically get a cheque..... I hope you are not responding to those scam emails?...

Rule of Thumb - Never initiate that call with the tax office for a refund....... You might be the one owing them.......

i'm a student and I gathered that if you do not earn up to a certain amount (can't quote exactly) a week you shouldn't get tax deductions
but from my wee pay I still get 20% deduction

peeps please i would like to know more about UK tax refund and how to go about it. thanks

Mamatukwas:


I’m here. Just replied your email.

I also want to ship tiny items. kindly reply my mail.
cheers

Shallypop:
Hello everyone. I am coming for my masters programme and i have a one year old dependant. A friend in d UK advised me not to bring her along with me cos of stress. Unfortunately, I can't leave her in anybody's care. How stressful is it gonna be for me especially in terms of financials ? Also what is d average school fees for my toddler? Thanks all.

I know how difficult it is to leave a year old baby behind and masters in the UK is not any easier. if you decide to come with the baby then you need someone to take care of him/her. as earlier mentioned, no tier 4 student is entitled to free childcare until the child is 3 so the option available is to enrol the baby in a nursery.

There are council child care centres which are less expensive, at least i got one where i was to pay £30/day and 18 for half day in scotland. if you ask around you might just get one this cheap and you may decided to enrol for 2-3days a week while you jugle other days.

You can also make friends in church if you are a christian and overtime see who can help you look after the child for sometimes while you in the uni.

I hope you find away around this.

perfectme:
Hello house,

I've followed this thread from the beginning and I was earnestly hoping that someday I too will be able to share my experience of living in the UK.
And finally I got the break I was hoping for, got to UK late last year on a tier 2 visa.

I'm in Salisbury  ( Wiltshire ), it's a small but lovely town, there are few blacks here from different African countries cos by their accent you shall know them and some few Nigerians.

My flight down here was amazing, had a stop over at Dubai airport then finally Heathrow the next morning plus i got a window sit.

I had just one luggage which weighed 22kg plus one hand luggage, no food stuffs cos I like travelling light. Just my clothes plus winter kit .Was really prepared for that and was disappointed when I got to London and there was no snow ( don't yab me please )

My employer arranged an airport pick up for me plus accommodation so it was easy getting to my accomodation and they already got me a giffgaff sim card which only gave me unlimited phone calls and sms to UK numbers plus 3g data.

I've been able to get around town, got my BRP, opened an account with HSBC, registered with a gp and all

Found an asian store, the only one in Salisbury. They have basically everything from indomie to garri to yam, palm oil, egusi, semo even wooden mortar.

I generally do my shopping at tesco and pounland for groceries and charity shops for shoes and clothes in the mean time. I hope to upgrade when my account gets bigger . Plus I found the brioche bread at tesco , I finally felt like I was eating bread after a long time, not all those tasteless oyinbo bread.

I've really learnt a lot from this thread and I'm happy to be here finally.
Just want to say thank you to all the people that added useful information to this thread and kept it going

P.S
I made my own UK survival guide from all the information I got here.

beautiful piece. congratulations and welcome.

sdhusayn:
hello people

i fink its high time we create a whatsapp group chat so we can share vital information within short time.

does who have applied for 2019/2020 OSS should kindly drop there contacts.... ASAP!

Don't you think putting those vital information in the public domain will help future applicant have a successful application and selection process same way some people here got a clue by visiting previous PTDF thread here on nairaland.

okay, so we moved to a another apartment in November, I'm a student so i applied for discount on our council tax
and till now we have not received any bill and don't even have a CT account number, I hope this will not have any negative effect or the bills being increased or something. or is their something we are missing? like we haven't received any correspondence from the council.

marylandcakes:
Happy New Year everyone

Yesterday my recycling bin went missing so I decided to check my CCTV to see who the culprit was. To my amazement I see the bin man empty the bin and then throw the bin in the dust cart. He seems to be high on something. I’ve reported him to the council. This is the cctv clip


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BclBz_4xsLE


Next time your bin goes missing it might not be your next door neighbour.

Lol....... definitely high on something cheap

justwise:


I have sent more money through Azimo than Transferwise for more than a year now, their system is good apart from slow transfer speed.

I'm going to register with Rhemito today just to try them out but because Azimo remembers my BD with gift i will keep using them too

Thank you all. I will check Rhemito for their rate.
Azimo seems popular but they offer the lowest exchange rate when compared to transferwise and paysend.
I wish I can get my pounds to the abokis in zone 4 Abuja.

People, how do you send money to naija? with good exchange rate...

fatima04:
Petition: Scrap NHS surcharge for non EU living in UK who already pay N.I contributions
https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/224781

SIGNED

justwise:


I did not pay in my own case but it took longer than one week before i got a genuine landlady though before then i got contacted by few people including scammers and i viewed two houses.

Facebook is another good tool to use, search for renting in your city and you will see different groups you can join and place an ad or view houses advertise for rent.

speaking of renting an apartment. when one is renting a house from a private landlord can one negotiate the rent? like can I pay 650PCM as against 700PCM. Abi person no fit price house?

I've been riding in buses in Scotland for 2weeks plus now. I havent seen anyone sleeping on those buses, could it be mere coincidence? Because in Naija before the vehicle moves for 30mins someone's head is already hitting your shoulder.

law001:


Thanks for your response.

Please, If I top up my account next to meet up the required sum, is it advisable I add yesterday's balance to the 28 days? Or will I have to start from when I meet up with the required sum?

I'm in a big dilemma right now.

you have to start the 28days count from the day or a day after the money reaches the required amount.

Do not shop in a hurry........someone ones said this on this thread can't exactly remember who but oh dear you are completely right.
Well I have paid for my ignorance.
My first grocery shopping was at Iceland, when I entered Lidl I knew I goofed big time the difference is as wide as........

thonerow:
Hello People...I got my VISA

Special appreciation to @Mimilyrics, walahi i for goof.

TIMELINE:
Application - 23rd Oct., 2018 (priority)
Interview - 24th Oct., 2018
Dispatch mail - 29th Oct., 2018
Received- 30th Oct, 2018
Professional Advisors: @Mimilyrics; @LaaJiblik; @nomad26; @Kaad and the whole contributors here

Thanks all.

Congratulations. Where in the UK is your school?

The cold in Scotland nawa.

Please,

1.For Students, can a statement of account serve as proof of address for NI number application.

2. For a dependant, what's the easiest proof of address to provide for NI number

3. Is this proof of address actually necessary for NI number application?

Thanks

Abini2012:
Hi Mimilyrics, Justwise and other gurus,

I intend to process my Tier 4 dependant visa. My problem is this: My husband said when filling his application he wrote my name attaching his own when officially I've not changed my name to effect this yet. Will this cause a problem? Bearing in mind that I'll be attaching our marriage certificate which shows my maiden name?
Thanks guys as you respond

Swear an affidavit and also do a newspaper publication of a change of name.

EsotericMonk:


Thankz mate

Please help!.
My Flight was booked by my sponsor but I will be traveling with baby less than 2, how or where do I include him on my booking (air france )

Also what's the estimate of his air fare? Mine is Economy
Thanks