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megastu (m)
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@londoncool, nice one, i am trying to get hold of you, i have not been able to get your e-mail address.
In addition, do not carry CV along with you when you have a visit visa, it could put you in trouble.
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Busy_body (f)
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God bless you bro.  How can a student legally change university once they enter the country? How can they go about dumping the old cargo for a new chassis without incurring the wrath of the Border Agency . . .  More to come |
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busybody20
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@ londoncool,
It's being very helpful!
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Hannibal
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Hello Nairalanders,
I thought it would be a good idea for us to have a thread that aims to help-/assist/inform most of our folks in Nigeria coming to UK for settlement/non-settlement purposes with tips/advice/procedures/legal-loopholes to look out for before they arrive / or while they are just arriving in the UK. It could be under any category (for eg, Housing,Student issues/Work-HSMP advice,Marriage, Renewal of LTR,etc)
I will set the ball rolling.
1) ON ARRIVAL IN UK BE CAREFUL OF WHAT YOU CARRY INTO UK IN YOUR LUGGAGE.
This advice applies to everyone entering the UK either as a visitor or as a returning resident. Most of the times a passenger is refused entry into the UK is mostly due to the incriminating evidence found in their luggage during further examination by immigration officers.
For instance, most Nigerians who have 2 year visit visa's and of course working/schooling illegally in the UK get caught on arrival because they happen to return with stuff such as Payslips, NI cards, Oyster cards (don't forget the audit trail history can be downloaded from the card), TESCO club cards, NHS cards, NUS Id cards etc.It doesnt take a dummy to add 1+1 in these scenario's.
Pregnant visitors get caught out with NHS appointment letters in their luggage,etc.
2) STUDENTS DONT WORK MORE THAN 20 HOURS except during Holidays-You will get caught.
As a student you are only allowed to work 20 hours a week. Whenever you exceed those hours the Inland Revenue (now HMRC) will inform the Home Office who will then bring up the issue whenever you apply to extend your Student visa. Recently, text messages are being sent to the culprits by the Home Office
Students do circumvent this by using other peoples NI card to work 20 hours + but I am not encouraging that.
3) HSMP VISA HOLDERS MAKE SURE YOU GET A JOB THAT PAYS £32K P.A Before your 2 year visa runs out.
I have seen so many HSMP holders work as Security Guards,Data Inputting Officers,etc earning £7 per hour to survive in UK and leave it too late to fulfil the REQUIREMENT of looking for a job (2 jobs is even allowed) that pays up to £32K (if you have a masters degree) or £35k as the case may be in order to get the remaining 3 years leave to stay from the Home Office. The logic is if you were a Highly Skilled employee earning N5m in Nigeria you should be able to apply that same skill here in UK to get a highly paid job. The truth is most holders of the HSMP visa do manipulate/inflate their salary in their HSMP applications-and find themselves not suitable to work within the UK.
Tip: Try and form a private company and do consultancy work side by side with your 9-5 job, it does count towards the £35K requirement.
Tip:If your spouse is working, get her to obtain a work permit while you become her dependent if you can not meet up with the HSMP renewal requirement.
4)HOSTEL
If you are looking for a cheap temporal place to stay in the UK then try Hostels. The popular one is St Christophers Inn (they charge £50 for 7 days if you book online), Picadally Backpackers Hostel,etc. I stayed there in 2000 when I got fed up of being moved around Homeless Hostel circuits and its better than being on the streets in UK.
)5 CREDIT CARDS
Dont touch them and don't clone them. If you want one get a Pre-payment mastercard. Always learn to pay your way in the UK, it will help you.
More to come
Cheese n Rice!!!!! The best advice for any Nigerian coming to the UK these days is to arrange a marriage!!! Extending visas these days is like the national lottery. . . . . . These people don't want Nigerians in their mix and would bring up the slightest detail to reject applications. The best way to circumvent them is to get married provided u are not on a visitor's visa.  Good luck. |
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ty4real (m)
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Cheese n Rice!!!!! The best advice for any Nigerian coming to the UK these days is to arrange a marriage!!!Extending visas these days is like the national lottery. . . . . . These people don't want Nigerians in their mix and would bring up the slightest detail to reject applications. The best way to circumvent them is to get married provided u are not on a visitor's visa. Good luck. PLease elucidate further ohhh!I hope it is the same uk we are talking about even the marriage thingy is no more working ohhh,with all their requirements,going back to NIgeria t do the marriage your best choice is come int the uk legally all the rest will align with time and you see this akatas eyes don open now ohhhh! Back to the discussion, Please dont accept an emergency package that you are not sure of the content from any one not only for uk but for any country,innocent people have found themselevs in shits all because they were been nice  |
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paribus (m)
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2) STUDENTS DONT WORK MORE THAN 20 HOURS except during Holidays-You will get caught.
As a student you are only allowed to work 20 hours a week. Whenever you exceed those hours the Inland Revenue (now HMRC) will inform the Home Office who will then bring up the issue whenever you apply to extend your Student visa. Recently, text messages are being sent to the culprits by the Home Office
Students do circumvent this by using other peoples NI card to work 20 hours + but I am not encouraging that.
[
@LondonCool Very informative thread you have here. Your opinion is appreciated on this situation. I have been working part-time (16 hours/2 days per week/8 hours per day/thurs and friday) with an IT company since february. The position is a job share with another full time person who have to go part time after her maternity leave. I get paid 12k p.a (which comes to 1k monthly) working 2 days a week - the wages was pro rated from the salary of the original employee which was about 31k p.a. Initially when I took the job I was concerned that when the time to apply for the post study work scheme comes, Home Office might miscontrue my wages/tax paid as evidence of working beyond 20hours per week. i raised this issue with the company and they have no problem with issuing me with a cover letter to indicate that I work part-time (my fixed-term employment contract already states this). I called the home office sometimes in march to clarify this and the lady I spoke with indicated that the amount of salary is not necessarily assumed to be commensurate with the violation/observation of the 20-hour rule. I made a post of my situation on another forum here being overtly concerned about this situation then. Now I'm just about handing in my dissertation and the time is drawing near to apply for the post study work scheme. I have been studying the form and on the list of documentation required to be submitted alongside the application, no payslip or employment information is required. Now my thinking is if on the basis of my NI number alone (which is required on the form), Home Office have to contact Inland Revenue, won't the amount of tax I've paid monthly (about 170/month taking net pay of 830) indicate that I'm working more than 20hours a week when in reality I'm not. I presume you would have some insight into how best to handle this situation. Your opinion highly appreciated. Regards |
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ty4real (m)
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Another one ,if you are a christian find a good church to fellowship eg Glory house,LOndon  |
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ty4real (m)
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@LondonCool Very informative thread you have here. Your opinion is appreciated on this situation. I have been working part-time (16 hours/2 days per week/8 hours per day/thurs and friday) with an IT company since february. The position is a job share with another full time person who have to go part time after her maternity leave. I get paid 12k p.a (which comes to 1k monthly) working 2 days a week - the wages was pro rated from the salary of the original employee which was about 31k p.a. Initially when I took the job I was concerned that when the time to apply for the post study work scheme comes, Home Office might miscontrue my wages/tax paid as evidence of working beyond 20hours per week. i raised this issue with the company and they have no problem with issuing me with a cover letter to indicate that I work part-time (my fixed-term employment contract already states this). I called the home office sometimes in march to clarify this and the lady I spoke with indicated that the amount of salary is not necessarily assumed to be commensurate with the violation/observation of the 20-hour rule. I made a post of my situation on another forum here being overtly concerned about this situation then. Now I'm just about handing in my dissertation and the time is drawing near to apply for the post study work scheme. I have been studying the form and on the list of documentation required to be submitted alongside the application, no payslip or employment information is required. Now my thinking is if on the basis of my NI number alone (which is required on the form), Home Office have to contact Inland Revenue, won't the amount of tax I've paid monthly (about 170/month taking net pay of 830) indicate that I'm working more than 20hours a week when in reality I'm not. I presume you would have some insight into how best to handle this situation. Your opinion highly appreciated. Regards Abeg link me up with this kind of a job for now as a student,And I wont worry about home office till I get my indefinite leave |
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Hannibal
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Note: I am not suggesting arranged marriage nor condone it.
It's a safer option for Nigerians. I hate the stories i hear about my brothers having to go through hell in Croydon. Some people were sent back home to renew their visas, some went to Nigeria and never managed to come back and all other fuckeries. I was told work permit holders would have to go back to Nigeria to renew(mandatory) by October. Isn't that stressful??  Another one ,if you are a christian find a good church to fellowship eg Glory house,LOndon I go to GLORY HOUSE every sunday at Canning town. It's like a Naija reunion out there. I see more than 50 old faces every week. . . . . It's scary. |
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Hannibal
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@LondonCool Very informative thread you have here. Your opinion is appreciated on this situation. I have been working part-time (16 hours/2 days per week/8 hours per day/thurs and friday) with an IT company since february. The position is a job share with another full time person who have to go part time after her maternity leave. I get paid 12k p.a (which comes to 1k monthly) working 2 days a week - the wages was pro rated from the salary of the original employee which was about 31k p.a. Initially when I took the job I was concerned that when the time to apply for the post study work scheme comes, Home Office might miscontrue my wages/tax paid as evidence of working beyond 20hours per week. i raised this issue with the company and they have no problem with issuing me with a cover letter to indicate that I work part-time (my fixed-term employment contract already states this). I called the home office sometimes in march to clarify this and the lady I spoke with indicated that the amount of salary is not necessarily assumed to be commensurate with the violation/observation of the 20-hour rule. I made a post of my situation on another forum here being overtly concerned about this situation then. Now I'm just about handing in my dissertation and the time is drawing near to apply for the post study work scheme. I have been studying the form and on the list of documentation required to be submitted alongside the application, no payslip or employment information is required. Now my thinking is if on the basis of my NI number alone (which is required on the form), Home Office have to contact Inland Revenue, won't the amount of tax I've paid monthly (about 170/month taking net pay of 830) indicate that I'm working more than 20hours a week when in reality I'm not. I presume you would have some insight into how best to handle this situation. Your opinion highly appreciated. Regards U have nuthing to worry about, bro!!! As long as u don't exceed 20 hours weekly, u can make as much as your employer feels you are worth. There are so many Nigerian students where i work, they do 20 hours a week and their wages are staggering being IT analysts. |
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ty4real (m)
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It's a safer option for Nigerians. I hate the stories i hear about my brothers having to go through hell in Croydon. Some people were sent back home to renew their visas, some went to Nigeria and never managed to come back and all other fuckeries. I was told work permit holders would have to go back to Nigeria to renew(mandatory) by October. Isn't that stressful?? I go to GLORY HOUSE every sunday at Canning town. It's like a Naija reunion out there. I see more than 50 old faces every week. . . . . It's scary. It's a safer option for Nigerians. I hate the stories i hear about my brothers having to go through hell in Croydon. Some people were sent back home to renew their visas, some went to Nigeria and never managed to come back and all other fuckeries. I was told work permit holders would have to go back to Nigeria to renew(mandatory) by October. Isn't that stressful?? I go to GLORY HOUSE every sunday at Canning town. It's like a Naija reunion out there.I see more than 50 old faces every week. . . . . It's scary. Thats the fun now,person go see akata tire and at the beginning of the week ,he gud mak person see hin own now but tell why you still dey go there if u kno like the naija reunion |
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paribus (m)
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@Londoncool
Thanks for the response. I'll stop worrying on this then. Does it make any sense to put in my employment contract with the application when it has not been explicitly requested or would it be going too far and trying too hard by writing a cover note explaining my employment circumstances? Thanks once again.
@Ty
No be me. I think these kinds of jobs are not uncommon in IT. Hannibal thinks same.
Regards
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paribus (m)
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Off Topic;
@paribus
If it aint broken,don't fix it, (so they say). Dont send what hasnt been asked for, whatever additional information needed from you would be requested from you during the course of your application.
Advice taken to heart. Thanks for the insight. Regards |
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ty4real (m)
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@Paribus! HOnestly,I would advice you not to put the employment details in your application,if the bank balance has been consistent and you have evidence of the fact that you just finished from school or something and since you said they are asking for your NI card I think you are good to go! Off Topic;
I know lots of Nigerian Pastors of flambouyant churches who are on Student visa's and have been renewing it periodically for the past 9 years.
A Pastors wife did an arranged marriage HERE in UK before re-marrying her Husband again to enable him get his stay.
I went to one church on a New Year's Eve in 2002 and the Pastor was giving a new years Prophecy , " All of you without STAY, God will bring out your applications in the Home Office and give you STAY". Everyone shouted "Amen".Then he said that " God should BLIND the eyes of all the Home Office staff in charge of granting permission to stay in the country". I just strolled out jeje, because the prayer-point was quite reckless-especially as I was working there by then.
@paribus
If it aint broken,don't fix it, (so they say). Dont send what hasnt been asked for, whatever additional information needed from you would be requested from you during the course of your application.
For real I had a good laugh this evening,do you know a friend was still tellin me about a church he went to and they were praying that God should not mak the home office pick on their members!and I wondered why member they do illegal runs |
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walexy (m)
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Quite an interesting thread. Really informative and educative
God bless the poster
I got my first visitors visa (6 months) with an hotel booking but ended up filling my friends info (whom i intended staying with for a week) on the landing card and i was allowed in.
I just got a 2 years extention of my visitors visa with an hotel booking as well and intends travelling next month. Hope there won't be any issue if i still maintain to write my friends info on the laning card.
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chika98
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I enjoy reading these kinds of threads. lol
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depapa06 (m)
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@ walexy
What and what did you submit for the 2 years visa application.Is it the same process as the 6 months visa application?
What is the renewal?
Thanks
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