Yes!

Mcslize:
LMay , thanks for the packing tips.

So you mean one can only put clothes in Cabin luggage then food stuffs in main luggage is that what you implied?

23kg max not 25kg if Turkish Airlines. That is, 23kg each in two places. That's for your main luggage.

8kg max for your cabin luggage.

Total of 54kg!

UKMigrant has touched on food items to bring on. Let me help with luggage packing tips, you might need them.

Tips

You're not allowed to put food or sharp objects (cutlery, blade, pocket knife etc) in your cabin luggage or carry on (hand bag/laptop bag), so pack smartly.

Tightly pack all your clothes, shoes, books, or weaves (if female) into your cabin luggage. Instead of folding clothes passively or mindlessly like we do when arranging our closet, roll each tightly into a bunch.This will squeeze out air & give you more space in the box to squeeze more clothes into. You can watch YouTube videos to learn this technique.

Now you're left with food items, sharp objects, and any cream/perfume exceeding 50ml (Only liquid of less than 50ml per bottle is allowed in the cabin luggage). Now arrange all these carefully into your main luggage.

For food items, put into ziploc bags or transparent polythene bag like pure water bags. Put different food items into each and label appropriately...e.g Melon, Ogbono, Ugwu vegetable etc.

For ladies carrying weaves, discard the packs to make your luggage relatively lighter.

Palm oil is not allowed. Don't even bother!

You don't necessarily need an industrial scale to weigh your luggage. Buy a regular domestic scale. You know the ones "Check your weight" guys carry around? Yes, that one. It's less than 2k.

To weigh, first stand on it and check your weight. Write it down or memorise it. Now put your luggage on your head and check your combined weight. Subtracting your own weight from the combined weight will give you the weight of your luggage.

Your allowance per main luggage is 23kg but aim for 21kg or max 22kg at home. Why? The scale at Murtala Mohammed Int'l Airport is forward by about 2kg. You don't want to stress yourself with reshuffling at the airport or trashing stuffs you bought with your hard-earned money. Pack smartly from home!

Airport staffs are not smiling again. Before they allow you pass/check-in a 23.9kg bag, you'll beg tire. Anything above that, they'll tell you to go obtain a ticket of $150 per overweight bag upstairs! You don't need that wahala in your life.

What else?

Remember I asked you to stuff all your clothes & books plus shoes into your cabin luggage? Trust me, it would have exceeded 8kg by now. You know the box itself will add to the weight as well.

Let me give you orijo.

1. Your laptop bag is not weighed. That's an extra space to put clothes, books, laptop (of course), charger etc.

2. Your hand bag isn't weighed either. If you're a lady, that's a plus. You can carry a laptop bag + your handbag alongside the cabin bag.

3. If you're eleru town council like me & you've utilised all available spaces yet you're still not within allocated kg limits, fear not. There's still a way.

Leave your original cabin luggage with somebody (eg family/friend who followed you to the airport). Let them act like they own the bag while they simply stand by it.

Check in your laptop bag as your Cabin Luggage. They'll tag it and return it to you while the two main bags are passed to cargo. Now remove the tag and stickers on your laptop bag and place it on your original Cabin Luggage you kept with your escort. You're done!

With these tips, you'll have a smooth sail luggage wise.


Extras....

Depending on how light or fancy you want to travel, those silly Echolac boxes are not your friend. 1) They'll add to the overall weight 2) They're not durable. Most would be damaged (broken handles, broken wheels, torn surface areas, etc) before you arrive your destination. How would you even lift a damaged box? You'll place it on your head maybe

Invest in a quality box. Might be pricey but it will last for years and save you from embarrassing situations. I don't know if/where those are sold in Nigeria. I bought mine in the abroad. This is my 5th year of usage and I travel very frequently. It's still intact.

If you're low on cash, buy those very strong bagco ghana must go bags as main luggage. Not the usual ones. This one is a bit recent & it comes in one color - grey! More like a grainy white mixed with black. It costs about N1,500 per bag. Nothing to be ashamed of. You wont even see it until your final destination after you check it in at MMIA, so you can still form posh in transit with your cabin luggage. Regular travellers use it a lot. It's very light and durable. For your information, they sell it in the abroad too. So what? In fact, its a life saver for people whose boxes get damaged at the airport. Just that they'll pay a few extra thousands more to procure it at the airport.

No use am as cabin baggage oooo. You'll look like Osuofia in London. Hehehe. Joking. Use a correct small sized box as cabin/hand luggage.

Third option is to source for lightweight boxes (rare) or lightweight travelling bags with wheels (looks like a piece of cloth with wheels attached when empty. The box-shaped compact ones are heavy).


Wishing you a safe flight!

Inkredible:


Dude, just a quick one.

How much is the ideal weight of a luggage recommended?

Since you've being there for some months now, can you kindly recommend;

1- Which foodstuffs did you wish you'd have brought along.?

2- which ones would you have reduced or added more if given the chance to?

I apologies if these questions inconvenience you.

May Visa is out and I want to prepare prudently for the travel.

I need all the guidance I can get sir.

Please make the move.

400k in Nigeria won't offer you the following:

Security of life & property
Good healthcare
Fast emergency response
Stable govt policies
Good education for your children
Good opportunities for your children.
A system that works
Steady retirement benefits (Forget the retirement packages you're servicing at work. Look around, how many of our senior citizens who were top civil servants or top professionals in their hay days are currently getting proper retirement benefits that can support them & fund their mgt of old age related diseases?)

Heck, earning N4m per month in Nigeria will not even offer you a good accident free road.

For my family & I, our relocation is not money motivated. That is only a plus. All we want is a stable environment in which basic amenities are what they're called, basic! We want to be well & alive to raise our children. As a couple, we want to be alive & well to enjoy each other into old age. We don't want to save up for one year to buy a car & have it snatched by robbers in less than 5 minutes.

aje33:
That's actually the average salary of guys in my office here in Abuja per month.

Sorry to bother you guys about my "undue comparison"
but I'm currently considering relocating to Canada so I need informed opinions of guys abroad.

Thanks

Inkredible:


What kind of job are you guys getting like this?
Tell me abeg, make I go read am sharp sharp. You pipu can't leave me here like this.

Two job offers?? Wawu!!

They're doctors I'm suspecting the OP is a doctor as well.

I can put together the pieces:

Tier 2 visa & Attempting to save £2k per month means he's definitely earning £30k+ per annum. That's the basic pay for junior doctors excluding overtime.

Currently, doctors are the ones getting job offers straight from home. In fact, you'll be getting multiple job offers even before completing your plab exams.

Tier 2 visa means ILR in 5 years & citizenship one year after ILR.

As for people comparing UK to other countries & arguing that it's worse, I'll say it's subjective.

For instance, it's the easiest penetrable first world country for doctors. Cheap exam fee, very high pass rate, excess job opportunities, available residency training positions, etc.

Now tell me, if your profession becomes the next hot thing in the UK job market tomorrow, would all these comparisons matter in the face of career progression? For engineers, geologists & others, Canada is currently their Jerusalem. So, to each their own.

Are you in EBSU?

MrOdyssey:
Hehe. the once moving over to Ebonyi state University should give me their Number so i can welcome them at the gate. Running a college of medicine is no childs play and for that I'm eternally greatful to the government of Ebonyi state.

EBSU college of medicine rocks joor.

$1k Payoneer available at 345/$

HEFAIROHLUWA:



Gotten already. I will need more this evening.

Okay. Need now?

$2k Payoneer available.

HEFAIROHLUWA:
$2000 payoneer needed.

I have.

$2k Payoneer available.

OP, I can categorically say that you're very ignorant. Your assertions are false. Please, go get some education in this subject matter before spreading your ignorance to susceptible people.

A doctor who trained in America and one who trained in Ghana will write a licensing exam before they practice in Nigeria.

The same way a doctor who trained in Nigeria will write a licensing exam before s/he can practice in Ukraine, US, Ghana, etc.

It's simple logic; the only country where you can practice without writing an assessment exam is the country where you were trained.

Wagasigiungu:


About to seal a deal with madam Lmay. Kindly quote back to ascertain it is truly you i am about transacting with.

Not me oooo, it's an imposter. Tutucious just called my attention to it on WhatsApp.

Still on?

Quite funny.

Thank you for the vouch, Essay123

essay123:
Funny. Trusted LMay with hundreds of thousands . She is %100000 Legit

Guys, I just realized the error was mine. The person I was referring to all along as Tutulicious is actually Tutucious. In fact, I even saved her number as Tutulicious. I didn't know they were two different monikers & people until I contacted her (Tutucious) on WhatsApp now.

To set the record straight, Tutucious is the person I have related with and who has stood in for me as Escrow many times.

Apologies to Madam Tutulicious. Please this was an honest mistake. People that I have transacted with here know me to be very trustworthy and can vouch for me.

LMay:
Ahhhh.... @Tutulicious, sis I think there's a mixup here. You've stood as escrow for me severally even after that day. I'll chat you up now on WhatsApp so you can rectify. I wouldn't want this to rub off negatively on my person or business here. I do not lie and I have never stolen from anyone or cheated anyone here.

Ahhhh.... @Tutulicious, sis I think there's a mixup here. You've stood as escrow for me severally even after that day. I'll chat you up now on WhatsApp so you can rectify. I wouldn't want this to rub off negatively on my person or business here. I do not lie and I have never stolen from anyone or cheated anyone here.

ALTERNATE HEALTH PROGRAMS AVAILABLE TO IMGs IN CANADA

As residency is really competitive in Canada, below are a list of backup alternate opportunities in the health field. Kindly note that these were gleaned from my research & hearsays from landed IMGs. May or may not be 100% correct.

1. Compressed Nursing Program (2 years) at Western, McMaster, UToronto etc

- 2 years to become a RN.

- Then do Masters in Nursing to bcm a Nurse Practitioner

- NP job responsibilities is same as a family doctor's except inability to prescribe Narcotics)

-Salary is about $100k per annum.


2. Physician Assistant Program at UofT and McMaster.

- Do NOT go for this! Limited job positions (about 3 or 4 across Ontario)

- In Canada, the Nurse Practitioners ruled out the need for PA


3. Public Health Masters at McMaster, Western, Waterloo, Brook etc.

-Limited jobs, hard to get Masters admission, Competitive and sometimes requires registered medical professionals

3b. Public Health Bachelors degree at Ryerson U & Conestoga College

- Fast track 2 years rather than 4 years


4. Nutrition and Dietitics

-To graduate as a RD (Registered Dietician)

-Fast track 2.5years at Western and Guelph U.


5. Michener Ultrasound and Windsor Ultrasound

-Very very competitive

- Your chance to get in with only your medical degree is about 10%

- On completion, you'll work as an Ultrasound Technologist


6. Clinical Research Diploma at McMaster (Part time), Humber College (Online), Western

- Quite a number of openings available for Clinical Researchers


8. Masters in eHealth at McMaster

- This is solely for tech savvy medics.

- You've got love for programming? This is for you!

- Admission is NOT competitive as such

- I know nothing about the job opportunities available in this niche.

9. Clinical Assistant jobs in Alberta and Manitoba.

- Heard they're a better route to residency (I don't know how).

- And pay better than Physician Assistant jobs.

Allied health courses such as health mgt, health care policy, health economics, public health etc may be another career pathway for IMGs

You could also take up certification courses in the ffg:

Clinical Research - $60-80k per annum
Pharmaceutical sales - About $40k per annum
Field Health Work -$20-30k per annum
Sonography - $80k per annum
Ambulance Paramedics $40-60k per annum
Physician Assistant

Requires More years in school:

Public Health *Heard it has limited job opportunities in Canada.
Nurse Practitioner - $100k per annum. *Requires going back to school for a fast track 2 years RN program + another 2 years to become a Nurse Practitioner


Another option to explore is Academics. Do Masters and proceed to PhD. and lecture health science students.

lonlytroy:
Una wan run leave us Abi

Lol. E no reach to leave?

Salary of at least £30,000 with exception of pre-registration nurses, midwives, medical radiographers and secondary school teachers

Francois10:

The Tier 2 visa is now the main UK immigration route for skilled workers coming to the UK to take up employment, usually paying a salary of at least £20,800. In order to apply for this visa you must have a job offer and a certificate of sponsorship from a UK employer with a valid Tier 2 sponsorship licence.
For more information visit the official page
https://www.gov.uk/tier-2-general

Yureyes:

Alright thanks. Well, my degree is unclassified. while in school, I only cared about passing my courses because i knew there won't be a 2.1 or 1st class on my certificate or transcript. so my grades are mostly Cs and Bs. I never even bothered myself with GPA until recently when I began to search for a school for my post graduate. I calculated it myself and it was 3.50 on the dot but public health courses are so competitive and sometimes the higher the GPA, the higher your chances.. I am looking for a less competitive school and one that accepts 2.2 so I can stand a good chance of gaining admission.
Now I have to hope my 2 years of experience working as a doctor will boost my chances since I can't find a school that's not so competitive. Thanks for your response.

Hey Doc,

I understand the struggle. Trying to survive medical school sometimes leaves no room for GPA maintenance. More so , clinical practice pathway has little or no use of CPGA.

For your current pursuit, here's what to do:

1) Check out University of Saskatchewan - Most programs require 70% in last two years. Calculate your Part 5 & Part 6 GPA. Convert to Canadian's 4 grade point and compare the percentages

2) Check if McMaster University offers MPH. It's an expensive school but they mostly only consider your final year. If your final year GP is okay, you'll most likely get admitted. Contact the grad coordinator of your intended program and get him/her to assess your Transcript to see if you're eligible or not, so as not to waste your application fee.

If all of the above fails, switch to Plan B

Plan B - Consider the Express Entry route. In this case, your two years work experience is a huge plus. Check your eligibility, write IELTS, evaluate your degree with MCC and get into the pool fast.

Perks:

1) You get your Permanent Residency
2) Even if you eventually want to go for your Masters, you pay way cheaper tuition as a PR not International students fee
3) Timeline from start to finish takes about 4-6 months. About same time or more to get a TRV

Remember everyone going through the study route will still do the EE if they wish to work and live permanently in Canada.

Cheers

[quote author=hardey4 post=62247905][/quote]

Lordcenturion2:
Yes that's true, even some of my family members will ask me if am in Nigeria, they will says it's glo or something number show on their phone,..

Same here. I spend first 3 minutes trying to explain that I am not in Nigeria and I don't know why it's showing glo number every time they ask.

Now I've stopped calling family friends and extended family members. I call my mum and a few close friends only who instinctively recognize my voice on call and don't even bother to ask questions over and over again, slightly casting aspersion on my assertion that indeed I am not in Nigeria. The worst that happens with close ones is that they also feel surprised that it's changing my number.

But why would the young lady wear flip flop a.k.a palm slippers to her Matric? It's a formal ceremony. Smh

NaijaCelebrity:
Sagging boobs

And what the heck is wrong with sagging boobs? It's a body part - it comes in different sizes and shapes. GET OVER IT, PEOPLE & STOP THE BODY SHAMING!

UKmigrant:
Be like say I go need new babe o, congy don dey hold me small small as the cold don dey serious now My babe for naija abeg no vex o, I no go fit hold body that long

Na only oyinbo babes for my work place dey eye me for now. Most of the black girls dey like "throw away" face when you run into them but you look back and then you catch them checking you out. I wonder why!

Ireland Now Accepting OET as Alternative to IELTS For Nurses



On 02/Nov/2017 / In Medical News

With effect from January, 2018 Nurses outside the EU region now have other option aside IELTS to meet the Ireland Board of Nursing English Proficiency requirement as the regulatory board begins accepting Occupational English Test in place of IELTS.

In it's monthly bulletin, NMBI wrote

OET now accepted by NMBI

From 1 January 2018 we will accept Occupational English Test (OET), alongside the International English Language Testing System (IELTS).

Further information will be available on our website in due course.

At present , the Irish Nursing Board only accepts IELTS Academic and IELTS Academic for UKVI as evidence of English language competency for overseas nurses trained outside EU or EEA countries with the following minimum scores:
Listening – 6.5
Reading – 6.5
Writing – 7.0
Speaking – 7.0
Overall – 7.0

Recall that the UK NMC yesterday begins accepting OET as Alternative to IELTS. OET is professionally focused than IELTS and many people belief this makes it easier to pass.

Thank you @cyborg27 , I just took a good look at URegina - nice school, lenient entry requirements and affordable. Now I see why a lot of Nairalanders throng there

cyborg27:
How long it takes depends on how they process their admissions. Some schools collect all applications and start processing all after deadline while some process the applications on the go.

You can always contact the admissions office for info or there should be some form of tracking in the case of URegina

I once applied to USask Jan 2017 although rejected, decision came by April 2017. Applied to URegina July 2017 and favorable decision came few weeks ago October. 2 months few weeks waiting time for each.

You can try URegina together with USask...

Whatever you do, do not give up.

Does McMaster admission take this long? My husband applied about two months ago. Yet McMaster has not updated the application.


Their e-reference system is also wack. His referees had to manually fill the form.

Does anyone knows how fast uSask admission is? We might have to go with that.

esosa4real:


Ekpekus how ur side!! Been reading your posts! Are u a doc? If you would like to join a doctors pathway group, pls let me know so I invite you!!

Btw, about this health care aide certification, what jobs can one get from it? Is it available as an online course? And is it in alberta and ONTARIO?

@Esosa4real

I'll like to join the doctors pathway group, please invite me. I'm a doc. Thanks

Hi Docs,

It's a known fact that of all Western countries, UK is the most friendly to immigrant doctors with the cheapest exams and most straightforward licensure.

However, some of us may be considering Canada due to other reasons asides career.

Let's discuss allied health certifications that may be of help to meet our basic physiological needs till one gets a residency position.

I have a few to contribute to the thread as well.

Doctors who have made the move can also share their experiences with us. It will be good to hear first hand experiences.