₦airaland Forum

I'm not against learning and in-country driving experience. I've only flagged sweeping generalisations and assumptions whilst challenging those with bad driving culture from back home.

DVLA allows new immigrants to drive for their first year of residence as a show of confidence. However, the onus is on immigrants to ensure they understand the road dynamics before jumping on the road.

In the long run, every mallam go carry im kettle.

Peerielass:
It’s not just about driving and pushing the car forward. It’s about getting used to UK roads and road conditions, roundabouts, driving on the other side of the road, Highway Code and road signs, slip roads, country roads, blind spots etc. There’s a reason why DVLA strongly recommends a minimum of 20 lessons over a period of time. This is to expose you to different road and weather conditions. Tell me how someone that passed their practical test by watching videos and no practical experience of actually driving in the snow will cope in the winter?

Make una dey take am easy for this ukay!

I have an objection to the sweeping generalisation that everyone who's driven in Nigeria will have a hard time learning and blending into the UK road system.

Driving, as with most skills/knowledge, is a reflection of the culture built over the years right from the learning phase. If your driving skill was built on a wrong foundation and sustained by a dysfunctional road culture, it'll only be more pronounced in the UK.

There are people who have standard driving class as well as driving experience in Nigeria and only needed to do few bits to obtain their licence here in the UK. Schoolhike cited several of his friends in this category.

I do believe that most of the people we've read about here that have received points or fine, would still have been penalised even if they had a valid license at the time. Why? Because they committed an offence, which attracted the eyes of the law on them. The offence is a reflection of their poor driving culture and having a license won't have aided it. Police must have initially stopped them because they drove past the light, overspeed or... You no get license and you dey do car racing.😂 I've read and seen people (Brits) who have driven for years without a valid license (not justifying or promoting illegality).

My point is simply; a bad driver is a bad driver regardless of location.

The five deposit offer doesn't often apply to immigrants without ILR or citizenship.

Some lenders/brokers will only accept 10 percent for immigrants that have been around for up to two years. Others will require up to 25 percent.

See the attached screenshot.

Edit 1: Quoted Zahra29 in the screenshot but she already replied you about the same time I posted 😂

solveabode:
Good day to you all.
Please I need your advice. I am a first time buyer and on skilled worker visa of 5years but not up to a year in the UK.
My bank has offered me mortgage promise of £140k with 5% deposit. I have seen a property of 100k I likes and submitted every documents to the agent in charge of the property but the agent is insisting that I am not eligible to buy the property because the 5% deposit is too low. Meanwhile, the lender has not said such.
Your opinion is highly needed.
Thank you

Thanks for sharing your experience.

Whilst you're exploring other countries and waiting to naturalise/re-relocate, have you been saving in a LISA account for mortgage purposes? If yes, what happens if you don't eventually buy the property in the UK and leave? Also, how has it been renting over the last 5/6 years?

After Thought 1

It seems myriad of immigrants in the UK are just waiting to either get ILR or naturalise before exploring other countries for permanent residency. I reckon I'm on that list too.😊

Given this reality, I was analyzing a few things around mortgage savings (LISA) and rent.

So, I currently pay £1100 pcm as rent, that's about £13200 per annum. If I continue to rent till I get ILR or naturalise (4/5 years from now - ceteris paribus), I might be paying an average of £14000 per annum on rent. Meaning I'd have paid over £70,000 as rent with 5 - 6 years. Meanwhile, this 70k or some part of it could also have been used to start a mortgage plan. However, as I'm not certain on my next relocation plan, I'm unable to commit to a mortgage.

Question: If I start a mortgage plan and eventually leave the country after getting ILR or citizenship, can I sell the property? If yes, that's the modality for such?

With regards to LISA, if I eventually decide not to buy a house and leave to another country with a LISA savings of 50K (bonus inclusive), how much dem go give me? Would I better off saving the funds in another account outside of LISA, knowing I'm not interested in buying a property in the UK?

Lastly, is owning a house in the UK better off than renting in the long run? I have a property in Nigeria and mehn maintenance is draining - financially and mentally.

Thanks

Mroriginal:
Just to avoid repeating what the others have said, it might also be best to hold and spend a little time visiting those countries you guys are considering to live whenever on annual leave or planned short breaks. Just a sample case of Australia - you cant say you are scared of crawling things in Australia if you haven't even been there. Also, Buying a property you might not even like in a place you don't even like/considering leaving might not be the best idea. Although some say its easy to rent out your place while living in another country, i have heard cases of how much of a headache it can be. We are probably on the same boat - a family of 4, however we are planning to leave after naturalization next year. All we do now is just travel to places we would like to live and move when fully ready.
(

Interested in knowing what your friend did for the police to be involved and resulting in a court case.

I've chatted with a handful of Brits who drive without license (it's still illegal) but they say no one has even disturbed them.

Bourne007:
It's pretty clear from the discussions that the normal naija license is to be used.

A friend, who came earlier this year, has a court hearing simply because she couldn't produce the naija license (never had one). The intl alone was completely rejected by police.

Hahahaha! 😂

Things dey happen.

Na every mallam and hin kettle.

hustla:
LOL was told of a Nigerian babe that has 2 pet rabbits. She even has cctv in the room Where they sleep (she rented 2 bdr because of them)

If she has visitors, na parlor them go sleep or she'll offer them her room instead and sleep in the parlor

Dunno if na ment or ....

This oyinbo life ehn 😀

So dem dey get full name (Billy Sanders) and insurance for pets! 😂

Not sure I can get over this!

There's also Vision Express.

I know of someone who got a fairly good offer with Specsavers.

Eye test was free (they usually have vouchers/coupons for free test). After the test, they gave their recommendations + prices. You can bargain as they usually have discounts also. I think they allow you to bring your frame is you like.

NnenaRita:
Please, which is cheaper to go to for prescription glasses (eye test+lense+frame) . I only know of Specsaver and Boots and I'm not sure which is cheaper. And is it possible not to buy a frame from them, maybe order from Amazon if they are cheaper?

He's a personal instructor.

I got the contact online. You can just search for driving instructors in your area.

eniola1010:
Please boss i want to ask something, this driving instructor you are talking about is it personal one that you contracted to teach you before you go for the actual practical from dvla

Or this is the dvla own gan gan?

The £100 jumped out at me so well ooo.🥹

I don even price am to £35 but Baba say no say standard rate na £45 and him don reduce am already.

Make una no start dey bill is for NL ooo. Other things don collect our money finish for this UK 😂

Lexusgs430:
£100.00 extra for professionalism service, is not too much nah. ........ 🤣😂😍


We should start charging for advice we render on NL........ People are getting used to free bonanza............ 😜🤣

Na wah ooo.

I've queried my instructor on why I need 10hours when I'm already driving. Make we start first make he for assess my proficiency.

He didn't discuss additional fee for using car for the test though. Will check with him.

All the best!

hayesconcept:
I’m in the same situation. Na 6hours i booked tho. £35 per hour using instructor car. And additional £100 on test date for using the instructor car and special insurance. Altogether £300 don go into vanishing.

Driving test date: 25 August 2023.

Driving instructor is charging £30 per hour (using my car) or £40 per hour (using his car).

Are these rates not too high?

He's proposing a 10 hour lesson.

PS: My Naija licence don expire.

Good one.

Apparently, you know what you want and understand market dynamics.

My caveat was for those who follow the investment prompts on a superficial comparison of the profit offers without due diligence. Las, las, dem go pay school fees. 😂

All the best to everyone.



[quote author=Chreze post=123955049][/quote]

Thanks for sharing.

Did you state the purpose and duration of her in the invitation letter?

For those without children (grand-children), is it safe to say my parent just want to come visit me as I know a lot of the Naija parents have come based on the need to see their grand children.

About the return ticket, I'm assuming that was after the visa was approved, right?

babajeje123:
Nothing much. Passport, my bank statement and letter of invitation. I bought a returned ticket as I heard my parent would be denied entry without it.

Unarguably, 10% (Naija) looks better than 3% (UK) but actually, it's not due to currency valuation at the entry and exit point.

Converting a large chunk of GBP for a NGN investment "with the hope of repatriating the proceeds back to GBP" is a no, no for me. No thanks to Nigeria's currency volatility.

For example: In May 2022, GBP was sold for N750.
Chidinma who was travelling to the UK bought £1000 for N750,000. Same month, UK-based Ajoke exchanged £1000 for NGN and got N750,000.

Chidinma saved the £1,000 in a UK bank with a 2% APR, while Ajoke invested her N750,000 in an 8% Mutual Funds/Tbills in Nigeria.

By May 2023, Chidinma's money had become £1020 (£20 interest) while Ajoke had N810,000 (N60,000 interest)

Still in May 2023, GBP is now sold for N950. Ajoke has withdrawn her MMF capital and profit of 810k and wants to exchange to GBP for use in the UK. Guess how much she gets; £853. Chidinma, however, now has £1020 which she converted to GBP and guess how much she got; N969,000.

Apparently, Ajoke has made profit from Naira investment but lost almost 150 in pounds because she converted to Naira. Yes, the interest was 8% which is higher than 2% but Chidinma got a better deal.

Nigeria's devaluation rate, in the last 5 years, higher than the returns on the best market NGN-dominated money market instrument.

There was a time when it was lucrative to exchange to foreign currency and invest in Naira instruments, but it's not been since COVID-19 hit. Loads of my colleagues who exchanged their earnings to Naira for Bonds and Tbills regretted during the lockdown with the scarcity of FX and higher demands. Eurobond positions were sweet😂 then. Prior to COVID-19, Tbills were also crazily attractive.

My personal standpoint is that I won't exchange a large chuck of my foreign currencies to NGN to invest in Nigeria except I know I'm not interested in getting the money back in hard currency. More like I'll use the proceeds to finance other issues in Nigeria.

There might be some ray of hope around the corner, one needs to be calm to observe the policy trajectory of the new government before digging in. Money dey Nigeria if you wan spend am there.

I'm keen to read the thoughts of those that have property or business Naija, how they repatriate the funds here and coping strategies with devaluation and all.

Chreze:
If you are open to other options (Nigeria)

You can buy the FGN Savings Bond. You can buy from most banks I believe.

====== Info =====
Interest Payment: Payable quarterly

Redemption : Bullet repayment on the maturity date

Effective yield :
2yrs - 10.706%
3yrs - 11.789%

========

This is government bond so you are guaranteed of your returns and capital at the end. Quite short. Exchange rate is good now. You can change now. Also you can be keeping your pounds for whenever the rate goes up and just throw it in.

Anything federal government bond is guaranteed. No story. Atleast from my knowledge for so many years.

Hello everyone,

Please can I ask for some advise or a procedural guideline on inviting one's parent to the UK?

What docs are required for visa application?

Is the purchase of a return ticket mandatory before visa app?

@babajeje123, I think you've recently invited or secured a visa for a parent from Naija, can you please share some insight?

Thanks

Valid thoughts!

Had a similar convo with my partner last week. Our conclusion was most people must have and focus on their long-term goal (WHY) of relocating. It just can't be all about money!

It's easy to flow with the tide, get stuck in the chase for money, endless shifts and not realise one is lost and the family is falling apart in every aspect, especially emotionally.

Coming from a society where social validation is based on material possession and short term gains are valued above than long term gains, many Nigerians need to reorder their values, break away from some mentality, avoid pressure from home which can keep them on the drive for more money.

Why rush into a journey you'll be on for the next 4 - 6 years? Long-term gains require long-term planning and discipline.

As with every area of life and advancement, consistency beats intensity.

Best wishes to everyone.

Chreze:
We spend lots of time teaching each other on how to make more money, get good jobs, manage finances and the most Epic of all “build credit score/ applying for credit card”. But I think we spend lesser time sharing how we are building our home or staying married/in a relationship for so many years. I will start by sharing.

Blessings….

Listening to the BBC's commentary, I reckon there was an attempt to misrepresent the suspect's identity and origin. The story about him not being a Brit but has lived for most part of his life and has settlement status was adding up.

But then you can only hear what you're told but understand what you know. Fingers crossed 🤞

RalphJean:
The suspect, 31,is a Legal immigrant living on the UK with West African heritage. The suspect is known to police and have had mental health issues in the past. I am very sure the suspect (stand to be proven wrong with time) is not a student or dependant of a student and most likely did not enter the UK as a dependant of a tier 4 visa holder.

We shall know soon.

Really? They've spilled the beans.

Didn't listen to the press briefing but I felt it was good communication strategy not to specifically name his country of origin.

Lexusgs430:
If you listened to the press release, the man said a '' Ni'', then, west african man........ So it's a Nigerian man.......

Anyone following the Nottingham story?

Horrifically terrifying!

It was even more disturbing hearing the suspect is a man from West Africa.

The run has been impressive since May 29. Sadly, I no longer hold any position in that market.

Meffy's exit abi na suspension propelled market ratings to a 15 year all-time high. It could get better if the speculation of a unified exchange rate (devaluation) holds true.

Hopefully, Tinubu can consolidate on these quick wins, improve security and economy as well.

ukay2:
The NIGERIA STOCK MARKET is on STERIODS....................

Valid thought. Imagine a world without carers!

Many Nigerians need to disabuse their minds on professional classism. Every job has its importance and the people performing those roles are the irreplaceable heartbeat.

We can't all be PM, Engineers or Accountants. Let's embrace diversity without prejudice.

But to fair to the original poster that referenced 'health worker'. I assume her context was that carers often drive to various locations hence their car insurance will be high. Innit 😀

Progressivegee:
The way some people on this thread belittle others working in the healthcare profession is not just wrong but also condescending. To some, it is believed that healthcare assistant is all about packing sh!t. Thats myopic. Lol. The healthcare industry is very broad and has high earning potentials. As a mental health support worker, you can earn as much as £25 per hour with minimal experience on the job. More experienced workers earn up to £40 per hour and above by just sitting down all day or night taking records or making sure things are done properly in the facility. Complex care support for children with learning difficulties pays very high even more than many office workers. Its an industry that offers huge potentials and opportunity to grow with readily available hands on training provided by most employers.

Let's erode that mindset that all healthcare workers are at the bottom of the career food chain (salary wise) when in reality many earn far more than workers in other industry. A friend of mine who studied mechanical engineering both in his undergraduate and UK masters level made a lot of money in complex health care and has started his own care company. Today he is an employer of labor and a director after undergoing several training....

Good to know.

If you don't mind, can I PM you for some details?

babajeje123:
Well, the visa is for my mum. She just got the passport and yes, vignette dey dia

I understand that most lenders allow up to 10% over-payment per annum but the issue raised here isn't the fear of debt, Chrematophobia. It's the fact that first time buyers do not have large deposit reducing their LTV rate and they feel comfortable taking long term mortgages so they can smaller amounts per month but spread it over a longer time.

In the long run, they'll pay more interest on the loan but they seem happy with long term mortgages because they want have money in the pocket for other things each month. Perhaps the reality of a harsh economy + influx of immigrant owners are responsible for this decision.

Na who get more money (disposable) go overpay.

Poanan:
It doesnt work that way you can decide to pay up if you are frightened by the debt.

Na wah ooo.

This is absolutely helpful.

Thank you.

Santa2:
@lightnlife Like someone earlier suggested, you can apply for roles in civil service, its usually easier to get into compared to private organisations. Its normally one interview(could be more depending on the organisation) and they would give you guidelines around questions you would be asked. The pay might not be fantastic but you will get the much needed experience and work delivery might not be fast paced and gives you ability to learn on the job. Ministry of Justice, dvlsa usually have a lot of these roles available, you might want to tweak the job title also, e.g product owner, project support et.c.NHS also has alot of BA roles. With regards to access to learning environment, register on clicked (its a site aimed at bridging the experience gap between job training and readiness) signup on an experience and pick a sprint and you will be assigned a business case that you will have to use you BA skill set to solve. You will elicit requirements, draw process maps, write user stories , support testing all through this process. The good thing is that you will be grouped with other team members from all over the world hence you wont provide this solution in isolation but work collaboratively with other.

A record one in five first-time buyers are signing up to mortgages of more than 35 years as interest rates soar.

But while spreading out the loans makes them more affordable in the short term, it means homeowners will accrue thousands of pounds more debt on the interest over the lifetime of the mortgage.

In many cases, they will still be paying off the deals well into their 70s.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12158369/Proportion-time-buyers-taking-lengthy-loans-doubles-just-two-years.html

SPDAZZY:
How much did the delivery cost?

Peerielass:
I’m interested. How much do they charge per kg to give me an idea of costs. Thanks.

Paid #77,621.97 for a 7KG box. They also charged N400 to vacuum seal each of the ten item bags in the box. I'm thinking that's just for the boys.

The estimated arrival time was 5 working days but I got it within 2 days. The tracking was real time. Could see it went through Brussels before going to Heathrow and then Southampton.

iyatrustee:
Dhl once told me they don't ship meat products when I wanted to buy kilishi!

Ehnehn!

To be honest, we had a lot of back and forth on the content of the delivery until my sister spoke with someone she knows in DHL.

Some items were tagged contraband but not Kilishi.
I had loads of fried goat meat, chicken, fish and ponmo but wouldn't accept those. So, it was my sister's lucky day again.😁

Not sure if the Kilishi, danbu and snail were simply allowed based on connection but I presumed those were legal, otherwise they won't have scaled through the UK customs screening, plus Kilishi was boldly inscribed on the DHL shipping sticker right on the box.

Off Topic

Used DHL to ship 🚢 some edibles from Naija and it arrived within 2 days.

Lounging with snail 🐌 and kilishi.

AgentXxx is your guy.

DoDirtsLikeWorm:
That reminds me, I do not know if it was in this forum that a guy who works as a Ticket Officer is (The Black Guy with Beards?), he was saying something about coaching another that doesn't like the job due to racism on how he can coach him better?

Please indicate your moniker¿ 😃 I get interview witn una people.
From Biz man to ticket man...on God shaa. Smh*

Thanks for the insight.

Goke7:
My advise is to humble yourself and apply for Graduate roles either as PM or BA that requires no experience. Most large companies have these graduate roles. It could be as a PM or BA. Just one year you need and you can start targeting mid level and senior roles. Civil service organisations like dvla and others has this roles. As a PM you do some BA functions you can use to apply as a BA if that’s what you want even though I feel PM is very lucrative too. Money is not what you should target but the experience and profile

Here: https://www.nairaland.com/6719932/living-uk-life-immigrant-part-2/995#123109100

jblesn:
Good morning everyone,

Please someone requested for rent guarantor details a while back and I am trying to get the web address. Can someone point me to that post? I can't find it and I need to make use of it now.

Thanks

I use my Airtel line. It's about N35/45 per minute for outbound calls.

I've compared the rate with some calling apps like Talk360 and the Airtel rate is better.

Don't know about the MTN but N150 per minute is high.

lightofjoy:
Pls house, which network is cheaper in calling Nigeria from UK. My MTN is charging me #150/min when calling and #50/min when receiving. This is costing me so much. Any cheaper alternative will be appreciated. Thanks

Interesting!

I'm currently in the market shopping for an entry-level BA role, and mehn, it's been a tough ride.

As a BCS-certified foundational BA, the interest is to apply the knowledge and leverage my transferable skills to improve my BA proficiencies/practice but the entry roles are not there. Daily, you'll see adverts for medium and senior level BAs but it seems no one is interested in grooming the next generation of BAs.

Could you please share some insight into getting entry-level BA roles or how to access learning environments that's not influenced by profiteering as with most of the course sellers...Thanks

I believe Business Analysts require soft skills which are transferable. With self-motivation and drive to learn and development opportunities, people should be able to transit into BA accountabilities.

missb50:
Unless one is super smart, it will be very difficult to cope in a fast paced environment using knowledge gained from those BA/PM/DA short courses. I'd advise such people to look for job in the Civil Service first, gain some experince before moving to the private sector.

kwakudtraveller:
The sooner people realise that some of these so called experts want to cash out, the better for them. It’s the same thing for Project Management, these course sellers make it look like it’s as simple as ABC. I think employers will soon start making the hiring process much harder.

Goke7:
When some of us say these things they term us gatekeepers, As a BA you’re supposed to act even if you’re not like a domain expert or sme in any project, and that comes with experience in different sectors to have such depth of knowledge. Anyone can argue with me but you need at least one year of practical experience and mentoring to gain such confidence. All these walk-in-the-park courses are just scams. Those who blab their way through usually go back to those who trained who in turn collect more money again to help them with their tasks on the job they got or those working remotely now share their salary with their so-called scam mentors who help them do their job. Am sorry to say all this but this is what is happening. I know two people now who were let go of their jobs due to their inability to deliver.