₦airaland Forum

Hi Everyone,

I'm looking for a reputable builder in Liverpool. I have a 2 bed BTL that I want to refurbish.

If you know any reliable builder in that area, please let me know. Thanks

Yes. I got a £300 adidas voucher and a JBL speaker (£100worth) when I bought the S23 plus in 2023. E sweet me die.

CowbellY:
Adidas voucher on 1 phone ? Wow

Unfortunately, no. I used my old Nigerian number that i no longer have access to.

I have asked a friend to help me go the center i did the registration with the slip. Hopefully he is able to help me retrieve the NIN number.

Thanks

giselle237:
u can retrieve your nin. Do you have the nigerian sim you used to register? If yes, it costs 20 naira. Check the internet for the ussd code.

Yea i tried that yesterday morning but got stuck at the point where they wanted to send a code to my Nigerian phone number. Unfortunately i no longer have access to that sim.

As for internet banking, i had a feeling that would be the case as that's how i'm able to always retrieve my BVN. It got linked to my GTB account but the NIN isn't.

I have asked a friend to help me go the center i did the registration with the slip. Hopefully he is able to help me retrieve the NIN number.

Thanks for the suggestions. Appreciate it.

Taal17:
Go to nimc website
There's a code you can use to get your NIN number.
As long as you still have access to the phone number you used to register. Hopefully you're roaming the line that way you can still send ussd code.

You can also check your bank through Internet banking. That's how I found my NIN number (how they linked I don't know cos I didn't give the bank)

Thanks for sharing your experience. I will try and apply for a renewal before i leave. Thanks once again.

ramafama:
I travelled to Nigeria last year on an expired passport on a Virgin flight. On entering Nigeria, customs alerted me to the fact that my passport was expired but still stamped it. No questions asked.
On my way back to the UK, customs asked why I was travelling with an expired passport. (I have a UK passport as well and I had already done biometrics for my Nigerian passport and was just waiting to receive the passport itself). I explained this and produced my acknowledgement slip and I was allowed to continue my journey.

It's not there unfortunately. It's just an acknowledgement slip for my application.

SamReinvented:
Your NIN should be on the slip that you collected after registration. That’s all you need.

Has anyone been able to return successfully to Nigerian recently with an expired Nigerian Passport?

I'm going back in December through Virgin. I was there last December too and could see the banners at the arrival section stating that Nigerians with expired passports are allowed to return to the country.

Mine expired last month and i've tried to apply for a replacement but don't yet have the NIN number. I registered for it in Nigeria last year and i collected the slip. Truth be told, i'm sincerely not looking forward to that dreadful journey to the High Commission in London. The thought of that place alone sends shivers down my spine but you've gotta what you gotta do.

I've got a British Passport so the return trip shouldn't be an issue.

Congrats. I'm glad you found it useful and passed at first attempt.

foxyvisa:
A big THANK YOU @abubarakat for this link https://lifeintheuktestweb.co.uk/.

Anyone and everyone preparing to write the life in UK exam should visit this link. Read the 14 EXAMS and memorize the questions, answers and explanation.

I can confidently inform you, like thousands of people that used the site and testified, that almost all the real life exam questions are same as the practice exams in the link above.

In my situation, I read the study material intermittently and for the life of me, couldn't memorize all the historic dates and numerous information. I started studying the practice exam questions and out of 24 questions in the life in UK exams I sat for, 23 corresponded with the practice exams in the link above.

I passed on first attempt.

Infact I booked a later date for the exam but after 1 week of practicing the exams online, I booked another closer date and told my self if I fail the exam on the first date, the 2nd date will still be available.

Well I passed and had to cancel the 2nd date

Thousands of people testify in the comments section of the practice exam daily about the similarities in questions and how they passed on first attempt. I am also testifying too.

Thanks again @abubarakat, I appreciate you.

Congratulations. Welcome to the club!

Alohetij:
Update:

My naturalisation ceremony was done on the 18th of June. My passport arrived today!

Thanks to everyone for taking the time to provide useful information. My immigration journey has finally come to an end

Good luck to everyone still in the process.

This must be new as I didn't come across it when I was doing my renewal in 2019.

It feels strange that they would ask people to upload a copy of the landlord ID and i dont think landlords will be willing to give out their ID to tenants willy-nilly. I want to believe a letter from the landlord giving his/her consent on your continous stay and a valid tenancy agreement should be sufficient.

profemebee:
Quick question please..

There is a Proof of Identity/Travel History field in the upload supporting documents section which requests for a Copy of an ID document of the owner of the property you live in, such as a passport..

For those who have successfully applied while renting, what did you upload?

Not all landlords will drop an ID document.. how will i manage this situation?

My passport arrived today.

I have now come to the end of my UK immigration journey. I wish everyone still in the process success in current/future applications.

Now is the time to see the world without the stress of visa applications. Going to Amsterdam next month and Mallorca in October lol.

Congratulations

Alohetij:
Hi All

Hope everyone is enjoying the holiday today. My naturalisation application just got approved!

My application was submitted 24th of March, got my approval today.

I think it was about a month. Congratulations on your ILR.

Demoore:
Hi @abubarakat, please can I ask how long it took for your naturalisation application to be approved from the date of biometrics? Your wait time appears pretty short, as I read that it usually takes about 6 months. Are you aware if there is a priority service for this?

Congratulations

Alohetij:
Hello,

I have now received my ILR. Thanks to everyone for providing helpful information.

I used the priority service (it comes up only at midnight).

Biometrics was done on March 2nd, got an approval email about 2 hours later.
I received my card today (March 7th).

Thanks.

I'm not bothered to be honest. Coincidentally, the council sent a letter through the post today that I should send an email to book a citizenship ceremony appointment. Can you believe that?

They are just unserious.

newbie715:
Different councils work differently. For mine, the approval email said to wait 1 working day before calling the council so I called them the following day, Dec 7th I believe, they asked for my Ref no and booked me into the next available slot which was January 6th, the ceremony is done only on Thursdays here.

They know about the 3 month cut off so they will definitely conduct yours before then. It doesn't even take more than 10 minutes (for mine, I should add). All the best.

I called them 2 times during this past week and was told to wait until they reach out to me.

Apparently the HO has to send them a citizenship approval letter before they can schedule a ceremony appointment.

It's a waiting game now but one I'm bothered about except that I have to do citizenship ceremony before 3 months from the date my approval was issued.

newbie715:
Congratulations. Do you need to wait for the council? In my case, I called them and they gave me available dates to choose from.

That's exactly why I included the bolded part.

The earliest you can apply is at least 28 days before the 5th year anniversary of your arrival in the UK.

Not the day your visa was issued; very important! Count 5 years back to the date you entered minus 28 days.

It goes without saying that this only applies to ILR under Set M.

Fynebouy:
Congratulations � on your ILR. Please can you clarify if one can apply before the 5 years anniversary as I was under the impression one has to be 5 years first before applying. Your guidance will be appreciated.



author=abubarakat post=109105214]Happy New Year to you all.

Happy to report that I got ILR today. Onto the next one: Naturalisation!

Below is my timeline:

Applied for ILR Route : SET(M)
Date application sent : 18/12/2021 (26 days to 5 years)
Application type : Super Priority (£800)
Docs uploaded to UKVCAS portal: 28/12/2021
Date Biometrics Enrolled: 05/01/2022 7:30am Birmingham (£125)
Approval Received : 05/01/2022 11:10am
BRP Card: Pending

All the best to everyone yet to apply.

Thanks brotherly. I wish you success in your upcoming application.

Demoore:
Congratulations @Abubarakat! I can imagine the feeling of removing this load off your shoulder after 5 years.

On my part, I sat for and passed my Life In the UK Test today. I will try and send in my ILR application next week using the 5 days priority.

Thanks. The HomeOffice said to give the council at least a day before calling.

newbie715:
Congratulations. Do you need to wait for the council? In my case, I called them and they gave me available dates to choose from.

Just in - my naturalisation application has been approved. I'm now waiting for my council to give me a date for the citizenship ceremony.

The journey that started more 5 years ago has now come to an end with passport application now in sight.

Good luck to everyone still in the process.

It doesn't matter when the TB cert expires. As long as it's valid on the day the application was submitted, then you are good. If takes UKVI 6 months to reach a decision, it's not your fault.

You submitted a valid cert when the application was made.

Ray7878:
Good morning everyone, hope you are all good, glad to see people coming back here to leave feedbacks after they asked their own questions.

My wife had her biometrics done last week, 28th of Jan 2022, we are meant to get a response back by April ending. The thing is her TB certificate ends exactly in April too. She had her TB done in October 2021, would this be an issue? Should we get her to do another one if we haven’t received a decision back by April ending?

Her Visa is meant to be a settlement/spouse visa, and we paid standard fees (£3700). If we get a decision within the time period then fine as we would just get her ticket and she would leave Lagos within a few days. I am just wary of the TB expiry date.

Many thanks

Stop applying for a while. Everytime you make an application, most of the vendors perform a hard credit search on your credit history. This leaves a mark on your credit file. Multiple applications in quick succession will make you look desperate and potentially in a bad financial state.

If you haven't lived in the UK for long or have credit facilities with a few vendors, your best bet is to apply for credit building cards. When I first arrived in 2017, capital one credit building card was my first card with £250 limit. Immediately It arrived, I started using it for everyday shopping and paid everything in full a few days later. I did this for a few months and got my limit raised to £1,200. A few years later, I now have a credit limit of £12,000 for one of my cards.

Also, you should be using vendors with soft credit check facilities. This gives you a success/rejection probability of your application, if you were to make one.

You should also open an account with ClearScore. Their app gives you an indication of vendors that have you pre-apporved for their cards.

Note to thyself, use your credit card wisely. It is not free money.

Amazoner01:
Capiital one declined the credit card application. Is it because i haven’t stayed in uk for a long time.

Sweet. Go and tour the world. Congratulations.

newbie715:
My passport arrived on Monday. My UK immigration history has finally come to a fruitful end.

All the best.

FYI - the priority slots are usually released at midnight every day. I managed to get a slot at exactly 12midnight. I kept refreshing the browser tab from 11:50pm.

wallg123:
Hi guys
My Application was submitted yesterday for ILR.( SET M). however we couldn’t pay for priority after waiting for several days with no availability. Also due to covid-19 there is no availability for Biometric dates so they sent a mail saying they might use my biometric details from previous applications. They’ll let me know in next couple of days. Fingers crossed

I think you will be fine as long as you explain and quote the dates you were away.

profemebee:
Thanks for the response.

The reason i asked was because i wanted to confirm if it was ok to explain i went to Nigeria for over 50days to round up on my work projects and do proper handover (my previous job role).

I went to Nigeria with family and we stayed for 2 weeks (2018) Also, I went to Australia for work related stuff for 2 weeks and came back with a month or two left on my spouse visa (2019).

I explained in the section where you are asked to declare your absences away from the UK. I basically stated i was away on family holiday and work related travel. In total, it was about 31 days.

I got the visa extension - late 2019.

profemebee:
thanks for the knowledge

Please anyone in this thread been away from the UK for a while (less than 180days) and still got spousal visa extension approved? how did you explain it in the application?

Thanks bro. Go and collect your own.

Demoore:
Big congratulations bro!

Nah, you are not paying nada back on Lifetime ISA if use the money to buy your first home.

I think you are confusing it with Help to buy.

ukay2:
I think you will pay back after 5 years of buying the house...it's not a free money, just to help you buy your FIRST house

Yes. If you use it to buy your first home.

Olinga:
Thank you. So does it mean as far as I do not withdraw my money (other than to buy a house) I won't pay back the 25%?

I used it in 2020 to buy a house with my wife.

We both had accounts with Newcastle Building and maxed the £4,000 allowance per year. We both got a top up of £1,000 each and used it for a newly built property.

The process of using it was very straightforward. I contacted the building trust and told them I wanted to use it for a home deposit. They gave me a form, completed and returned it.

When it was time to drop the deposit, I gave their details to our solicitors and they handled the transaction. End of story.

Olinga:
hello elders in the house

Recently I have been researching on this Lifetime ISA thing to use in saving for a home purchase in 2 years from now. My question is: Does anyone know much about it and is it a good option for saving.

I have done my research just curious to hear from personal experiences too.

Thank you

Congratulations. Love this. I dey follow your footsteps.

newbie715:
More good news. I had my citizenship ceremony today so I can apply for my passport now.

Thanks.

Expensive no doubt but for someone like me, it's worth it. I can't deal with the stress and anxiety that come with waiting for "up to 6 months".

newbie715:
Congratulations. Super priority is so good isn't it, no waiting.