₦airaland Forum

brine:
It's 10 working day(2 weeks) for priority service and it's 8 weeks for the standard process. Also, they can change an existing priority to standard application(without refund) if the application is not straight forward.

See the answer to your questions below:
- Yes, you can use your home address. I used mine as I have an extra room that I use as my office space.
- At the time I applied, I had zero clients becuase I was already made redundant at my previous job and trading my company would be illegal. What I had were potential clients.
- I handle accounting myself using quickbooks. Although I am thinking of switching to Xero. I paid an accountant about 80pounds once to have a look at the amount I was paying myself because I thought I was doing it wrongly and this was after I had already gotten the sponsorship license.
- Yes, I consulted with an immigration lawyer before I started but I didn't go ahead with him.

I was going through the skilled worker sponsor list one day and noticed businesses near me like barbershops, hair salons, small phone repair shops and I said Bleep this, if these small businesses can get a sponsorship licence, then so can I. I think my business plan might have helped. It was very detailed and included forecasted revenue. I also think putting in a decent amount in the bank account also helps. I put in about 40k into the business account.

Thanks a lot for your answers. That means the business plan must be quite elaborate then. I'll definitely bear that in mind. And I'm sure that trading with my company will be another plus as well. I hope you don't mind me asking but when did you make your application? Was it before or after April 2024?

babajeje123:
Thank you. The challenge with hostels is that most don't allow cooking or don't have fridge.

Try Smart Camden Inn - they allow cooking. You might as well enquire about some of their other hostels that might be close to where you work to see if they allow cooking as well. But I’m very sure about Smart Camden Inn, guys even cook rice or noodles there. Good old days when I was travelling to London every week (2-day stays) to attend the office due to the return to office mandate.

babajeje123:
I need help guys. I work in London but my family is based up North. My work allows me to do 2 weeks WFH and 2 weeks onsite every month. I live in a rented apartment paying £650 in London but only stay there for 2 weeks when onsite. In fact, there were months that I didn't stay at all but still paid rent. I need to reduce cost as this is not sustainable as I'm also paying rent in the North. I wouldn't mind room sharing or any other recommendations please.

Check my previous reply. But here are some of the tips I use, the maximum I ever spend on accommodation for a night is £17 or £18. Although mine is just a twice-per-week stay, so I go in early Monday, stay in London on Monday night, then work in the office on Tuesday. Then I leave on that very Tuesday. I do prepare food to eat in the office, and luckily for me, the canteen within the office is quite cheap, so I don’t always bother to eat what I’ve prepared, I sometimes eat that in the evening instead. Some weeks when I don’t bring food, I just eat out. But yours is quite a long stay.
I’m not sure if you can discuss with your employer the possibility of making it 1 week in, 1 week out, or 3 days weekly, as that would probably reduce the pressure on you if that’s possible. So you’d just leave home early on Monday morning and stay for two nights, then return home on Wednesday afternoon or evening. To me, that’s equivalent to 1 week in, 1 week out, or the current 2 weeks in, 2 weeks out you’re doing, the only difference would be the weekly amount you’d spend on transportation, which would kind of cancel out with the amount you’d spend on eating out. When I first started, I always went in with two cooked meals which I would keep in the fridge to eat the following day.


I forgot to mention that I always use Agoda for booking and use the price sort to lowest . I always go with the lowest or cheapest hotel at that time. I stay almost everywhere as long as it’s cheap, and I always aim for a maximum of 6 people in a room. I’ve never stayed in an 8-person room. You can ask for a 4-person room.

Lolli2pop:
Hi Guys, please a quick question for those who have become british citizens through the spousal visa route. My husband is british and having obtained my ILR last year , i was now planning to apply for citizenship. The form is asking for my husband naturalisation certificate number. My husband became a citizen since 2014, so he literally replaced his certificate. We also don’t want to pay 500 for a replacement, so i was wondering if i could put in a value like N/A in the response and just suit his british passport alongside other documents.


I really wonder why they would ask for this certificate number and not passport number. Someone who has a passport surely definitely acquired a certificate at some point

Here guys.. please has anyone got an answer to this

Zahra29:
Those already on the health and care route are mostly exempt - they can continue to extend their visas and bring in dependants if they already had the right to do so. The main change is the increase in the relevant salary thresholds which they will have to meet when extending their visas.

For new applicants - most NHS band 3 and 4 roles will no longer be eligible for sponsorship except a few roles like nursing auxiliaries and assistants (6131) which have been added to the Temporary shortage list until the end of 2026 (new sponsorship applicants for jobs on the shortage lists will not be able to bring dependants)

Though not explicitly stated, it is implied and likely that anyone who is sponsored before this date (and the 2028 cut off for care workers) will still be able to renew their visas after the occupation codes are demised from the shortage lists.

Hi Zahra please can you explain the new reform to the number of years for children to get ILR in the UK. Does it mean children in the 10 year route will now be eligible to get IlR after 5 years and those already in the 5 year route will surely get it by 5 years irrespective of whatever reforms to extend ILR to 10 years

gabiomoesu:
Thanks a lot for your answers. That means the business plan must be quite elaborate then. I'll definitely bear that in mind. And I'm sure that trading with my company will be another plus as well. I hope you don't mind me asking but when did you make your application? Was it before or after April 2024?

I did mine few months after that. No worries and I wish you all the best my fellow nairalander(UK chapter)

brine:
I did mine few months after that. No worries and I wish you all the best my fellow nairalander(UK chapter)

Wow! That must’ve taken some serious guts, brother. I’ve been thinking about this whole thing for the past two months and it’s been doing my head in. Well done and thank you so much, brother!

Gift7428:
But even occupations on the temporary shortage list had to be paid new salary threshold of more than 40k
For example a laboratory technician still has to meet salary threshold of 49k plus. Who is going to pay a technician that amount?
@zarah correct me if I am wrong

Lab techs are on a health and care visa and also on the Immigration Salary List, so they qualify for the £25,000 salary threshold.

But you're right, some other roles on the TSL would need to meet the new general salary threshold or going rate

NewT123:
Hi Zahra please can you explain the new reform to the number of years for children to get ILR in the UK. Does it mean children in the 10 year route will now be eligible to get IlR after 5 years and those already in the 5 year route will surely get it by 5 years irrespective of whatever reforms to extend ILR to 10 years

Yes to the first part - children and young adults on the 10 year route who qualified based on their Private Life will now have their time to settlement cut to 5 years.

Not sure about those on the dependant 5 year route as this will depend on the TBC earned settlement policy - whether it will apply retroactively and if child dependants will be able to qualify independently ahead of their parents.

Schoolhike:
Check my previous reply. But here are some of the tips I use, the maximum I ever spend on accommodation for a night is £17 or £18. Although mine is just a twice-per-week stay, so I go in early Monday, stay in London on Monday night, then work in the office on Tuesday. Then I leave on that very Tuesday. I do prepare food to eat in the office, and luckily for me, the canteen within the office is quite cheap, so I don’t always bother to eat what I’ve prepared, I sometimes eat that in the evening instead. Some weeks when I don’t bring food, I just eat out. But yours is quite a long stay.
I’m not sure if you can discuss with your employer the possibility of making it 1 week in, 1 week out, or 3 days weekly, as that would probably reduce the pressure on you if that’s possible. So you’d just leave home early on Monday morning and stay for two nights, then return home on Wednesday afternoon or evening. To me, that’s equivalent to 1 week in, 1 week out, or the current 2 weeks in, 2 weeks out you’re doing, the only difference would be the weekly amount you’d spend on transportation, which would kind of cancel out with the amount you’d spend on eating out. When I first started, I always went in with two cooked meals which I would keep in the fridge to eat the following day.


I forgot to mention that I always use Agoda for booking and use the price sort to lowest . I always go with the lowest or cheapest hotel at that time. I stay almost everywhere as long as it’s cheap, and I always aim for a maximum of 6 people in a room. I’ve never stayed in an 8-person room. You can ask for a 4-person room.

Thank you for this.

Schoolhike:
Try Smart Camden Inn - they allow cooking. You might as well enquire about some of their other hostels that might be close to where you work to see if they allow cooking as well. But I’m very sure about Smart Camden Inn, guys even cook rice or noodles there. Good old days when I was travelling to London every week (2-day stays) to attend the office due to the return to office mandate.

Thank you

Zahra29:
Yes to the first part - children and young adults on the 10 year route who qualified based on their Private Life will now have their time to settlement cut to 5 years.

Not sure about those on the dependant 5 year route as this will depend on the TBC earned settlement policy - whether it will apply retroactively and if child dependants will be able to qualify independently ahead of their parents.

Yea the second part wasn’t explicitly stated though. Let’s watch how it goes. Thanks Zahra for the response

lavida001:
Youna dey see why I say make we fix Africa bah.

Time go tell

You can do your bit and let others do their bit. Except your bit is to raise awareness that we need to fix Africa.

Viruses:
You can do your bit and let others do their bit. Except your bit is to raise awareness that we need to fix Africa.

Noted

State pension age could 'be pushed back' to 74 as 'affordability' concerns grow

UK is not broke its all the fault of Neoliberalism

Does anyone know how to send things to Nigeria at affordable rates or courier companies that sends at affordable rates?

My namesake has defected from Labour to join former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn in starting a rebel party 👀

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2025/jul/03/jeremy-corbyn-hints-at-launch-of-new-party-as-leftwing-alternative-to-labour

With the most recent update from the Home office and the interpretations I've seen online so far, it's safe to say they don't want many of the pioneer health and care visa holders to attain IRL.

Except if there's a legal leeway to exploit.

Hkana:
With the most recent update from the Home office and the interpretations I've seen online so far, it's safe to say they don't want many of the pioneer health and care visa holders to attain IRL.

Except if there's a legal leeway to exploit.

true talk

lavida001:
State pension age could 'be pushed back' to 74 as 'affordability' concerns grow

UK is not broke its all the fault of Neoliberalism

74 is not far enough..... 94 would be more ideal........ 😂🤣

They should just start paying state pension funds from 65...... 🤣😂

At the moment it's set at £1,001.18 pcm..... 😂🤣

Lexusgs430:
74 is not far enough..... 94 would be more ideal........ 😂🤣

They should just start paying state pension funds from 65...... 🤣😂

At the moment it's set at £1,001.18 pcm..... 😂🤣

This our Oga starmer don dey resemble kasongo! 😂

Goke7:
This our Oga starmer don dey resemble kasongo! 😂

He should have stayed within the confines of the courtroom...... 😁

PM suit, does not look good on him ..... He has made more reversals, than the wild pig, fleeing it's hunters and reversing into its hole....... 🕳️😂🤣

Lexusgs430:
He should have stayed within the confines of the courtroom...... 😁

PM suit, does not look good on him ..... He has made more reversals, than the wild pig, fleeing it's hunters and reversing into its hole....... 🕳️😂🤣

Very true, he’s not a consummate politician, saw a video where he was saying he came late into politics, should have perhaps done more political apprenticeship but hey this is where we are. Now they don form another political party from Labour now so we have Torries lite (reform) and new Labour lite edition 😂

Goke7:
Very true, he’s not a consummate politician, saw a video where he was saying he came late into politics, should have perhaps done more political apprenticeship but hey this is where we are. Now they don form another political party from Labour now so we have Torries lite (reform) and new Labour lite edition 😂

Like APC & ADC ........ 🤣😂

Lexusgs430:
Like APC & ADC ........ 🤣😂

Mad people everywhere 😂 even Oga Elon wan form republican lite

Lolli2pop:
Hi which trading platform do you use? And why

I dont trade.
I use a few platforms but Investengine seems decent for most bits

Lexusgs430:
You see when I said no risk, no rewards..... Check what #TSLA is doing...... 👆👆💚👆👆

Hehe. High risk, high reward.
Though it may seem a good entry, I just find the narrative around it too much. Index I bought in Dec are back in profit and I can sell and retain capital gains. If na TSLA, na everyday calculation

Hi All,

This may be a cue to take the Life in the UK test ASAP before they change it as detailed in the Immigration White Paper. They want to make it more challenging and of course more expensive in typical UK fashion.

At the moment it is £50 and easy to pass if you use the right materials. It also doesn't expire and can be used at any time for the settlement application.

Did mine this week and passed after about 4 weeks of preparation. However I spent the earlier weeks on some app until reddit signposted this website https://lifeintheuktestweb.co.uk/exams/. 99.9% of the questions come from the 17 exam question and are only slightly reworded in some cases. I crammed everything there in about 1 week.

While you are it, consider getting an AMEX card with my referral link https://americanexpress.com/en-gb/referral/ba-classic-credit?ref=nnAnnWoqP2&XL=MNDNS and get bonus Avios points.

jedisco:
Hehe. High risk, high reward.
Though it may seem a good entry, I just find the narrative around it too much. Index I bought in Dec are back in profit and I can sell and retain capital gains. If na TSLA, na everyday calculation

With stock market investments, you just don't keep buying and comot face....... You rebalance your portfolios, the same way we rebalance marital relationships........ 😂😁🤣

Lexusgs430:
With stock market investments, you just don't keep buying and comot face....... You rebalance your portfolios, the same way we rebalance marital relationships........ 😂😁🤣

Oga marriage counsellor, well done!

Goke7:
[/b]Mad people everywhere 😂 even Oga Elon wan form republican lite

It’s a global phenomenon.
Nobody wan gree for anybody. Everybody dey stand their ground. At the end of the day, all man go turn independent.

[b]UK:
Conservative/Reform—Rupert Lowe, Ben Habib and their breakout movements.
Labour—new Jeremy Corbyn party. Zultana, Diane Abbott and all the rebels

US of A:
Republican Party/MAGA—Elon Musk, Tucker Carlson, Candace Owens and co.
Democratic Party—New Democratic Socialists: Bernie, AOC, Mamdani, and others.

Nigeria:
Opposition—PDP, LP, ADC, Sowore, and over 120 new parties applying to register for 2027.

This is the death of the party system IMO. The internet has made it easier to organise, and new movements are rising now more than ever before. Besides, people are realising that you’re actually voting for the person, not the platform.

For example, Donald Trump is not your traditional Republican. Same goes for Keir Starmer—Diane Abbott n co have questioned whether he even holds “Labour values.”

People are more invested in personalities now. Just my 2 cents.

Goke7:
This our Oga starmer don dey resemble kasongo! 😂

He's pissed off alot of groups in his efforts to chase votes that may not vote for him.

The winter fuel payments characterised what governments have to deal with. Pensioners are not ready to give up a penny. Imagine if the triple lock was touched.

Once he reversed on winter fuel, groups against wellfare reform became emboldened and for the right reason.

In all, it's only his immigration reform that may stick and migrants dont have folks fighting for them. And as with many rapidly put up plans, there'd like be unforseen and unpalatable consequences that'd become obvious with time