₦airaland Forum

Glad your story had a happy ending.

Any decent employer shouldn't ask you to pay for COS. Those that do, its all a part of racketeering - which the home office has started clamping down on.

Top employers do not ask for payment of COS.

makazona:
If you don't mind. what you called visa switch, is it same visa update or extension? @AdvanceDNA and others.

Yeah, na me dey ask, na me still dey explain to you, as you haven't travelled recently... So you sef dunno what presently obtains.

"My question specifically asked that anyone who recently went share their experience...."

Asides posting on nairaland, I asked around too. I got across to a friend who returned back to UK earlier this month - June 2024, and he gave me the recent info, and now im sharing it here too. Any issues??

I travel out in a few days as well, so I would also be in a position to narrate my own recent first hand account, for whoever might be needing it.

NezzyMike:
Na you de ask, na you de explain...Oga carry dry foodstuffs to the airport, ensure your luggage is not more than 23kg for each and board your flight. Na wa o

Did you travel recently?? Someone who went just this month - June 2024 mentioned this. When the same person went back to UK Dec 2023, and carried foodstuff, same thing applied.This person na guy and he no carry much stuff....he had no fresh fish... (and fresh meat isn't even allowed to UK...).

Whatever you have, (regardless of item or quantity) quarantine officials will certify it fit to carry. Japa people na them full airport now, and they already know japa people dey carry food. Now whether they should be charging for such is another topic of its own...

But in usual naija style, everyone at the airport wants to collect. They'd call an amount, you'd be like oga e too much ooo, wetin I carry...then they'd tell you to drop something for the boys....and you wanna move along quick so you'd drop small change and bounce.

Quarantine officials certifying/ checking that you items are fit for travel is what MMA is currently doing now . If in doubt you can ask a recent traveller.

NezzyMike:
Which quarantine again? You wan carry fresh meat and fish to the UK? Pack your normal foodstuffs whether ground or not.

Yeah I know this- about not been able to take palm oil. Just needed an idea of how much people had to pay the quarantine officials.
Got some info though. They asked a person for 25k. He dropped 5k!

NezzyMike:
You can travel with foodstuffs apart from palmoil.

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Share your experience with carrying Food items to UK via Muritala Mohammed Airport

Has anyone taken foodstuff recently to UK - say quite recently or few months back etc. How was the experience with the Airport officials at MMA.
Did you have to pay anything or "bribe"?

Do share.

Share your experience with carrying Foodstuff to UK via Muritala Mohammed Airport

Has anyone taken foodstuff recently to UK - say quite recently or few months back etc. How was the experience with the Airport officials at MMA. Do share.

Share your experience ; Foodstuff - UK bound via MMA Airport

Has anyone taken foodstuff recently to UK - say quite recently or few months back etc. How was the experience with the Airport officials at MMA. Do share.

Share your experience of travelling with Foodstuff to UK via MMA

Has anyone taken foodstuff recently to UK - say quite recently or few months back etc. How was the experience with the Airport officials at MMA. Do share.

Your husband can solely fund the trip and be the sponsor. Same principle you applied to Canada that was successful, apply to UK.

Not sure where that lady got her own information from - "that UK dosent like it when the woman is completely dependant on the man..." that's all bollocks in my ears. Assumptions here and there. That a husband is sponsoring a holiday for him and his wife, how does that equate to her being totally dependant on him?? I know someone who the husband sponsored the wife's study visa. It was his own account statement he provided with a cover letter. Wife didn't add any personal acct statements. And they got the visa, inclusive of their dependants as well.

As to whether employed or self employed what format did you put /use in the Canada visa application? My own logic is since Canada sailed through and was successful, follow whatever format you used there. Different countries, but all visiting visas follow same set out process (of what the immigration officials are looking out for) with same supporting docs.

Also, how can he be self employed when the business is owned by his Dad? being a director of a company does that make him self employed? It's his Dad's company you said. Does family business mean he's self employed? Is he the CEO?

Lastly you might get a couple of opinions on here. Some might vary, some might be similar. I'd say weigh all the advice/opinions and follow your gut.

Livylicha:
Thank you so much for this. Don't know how to reply a comment so I clicked on "quote". I really appreciate. Now here is where I have another question.
My husband runs his business and he's the one funding our trip completely. I was initially of the opinion that his business account and his personal account statement will be sufficient. But a lady told me I will need to add mine. Is this necessary? I am not funding this trip in any way. She said the UK dosent like it when the woman is completely dependent on the man. I don't know what she means by that because when we applied for our Canadian visiting visa I did not include my bank statement, only my hubby did. She told me that UK is different from Canada.
Now, I'm a fashion designer. She is saying that if I say I'm a fashion designer, I need to include my business account and my personal account as well. But why is this important when I'm not the sponsor? When I told her, she said I should say I'm a housewife instead and still use my personal account that shows my hubby sends me money. It's all confusing. One of Hubby's personal account shows 15m balance and that's the one we are using plus corporate account that shows ten times that amount. Why do I need to still present my account. I no wan spoil show.

Hubby has been to the UK 5 times as a child. On every summer holiday between 2001-2010 he travelled to the UK and I was lucky to find his passport as a child with all the UK visas. Should I include this in the application?

Also, do I say hubby is "employed" or "self employed"? It's a famiiy business owned by his dad. Hes the first son and he's a director and his name is on the list of directors which is verifiable online. He also manages 3 branches. The same lady told me I shouldn't say employed, I should say self employed with the CAC and the company documents that includes his name. She said if we say employed, then we have to get letter from employer, we also have to use his salary account which shows monthly deposit from the company and pay slip. This wouldn't have been a problem but his salary account dosent even have the required balance for this trip. Cos once it enters, he moves it out of there to another account, and he also receives extra income from side deals on the account we plan to use. So should I say self employed? What do you say when you work in your dad's company as a director? For our Canadian visa application, he said employed, he presented a pay slip and used a personal account not salary account and we still got the visa. But this lady told me UK is very meticulous with numbers and figures and money so...


I really want to get tbis right because I must go for summer holiday o. My hubby left everything to me since I told him I don't need an agent. He said no problem I should just ask him for documents and he'll provide. Now, I'm jittery.

God bless you so much for your assistance.

Oh that's strange. Yeah message them. I'd be curious to know what they say.

kumbhuru:
I just checked again it's not on my CoS. I guess ai have to message the resourcing team.
Thank you for responding

It should be quite straightforward. If you have your COS assigned, on page 2 of your COS, you'll see the portion that says - is your job on the current immigration salary list. Y or N would be selected - implying Yes or No

See ref image below.

kumbhuru:
Asking like if my job is under immigration salary list. Is nursing under that list please

like which question(s) in particular?

kumbhuru:
Some of the questions asked on the visa page are tricky

Most likely an issues with the website. Error 500 is an issue from the server side. Not anything you can fix from your end, other than to wait it out...Try again at night.

Or you can clear your cache and try again, or better still try with another browser.

BruceXavier:
Hi, Is anyone experiencing issues on the TLS site with uploading documents? I'm trying to upload documents for someone who has an appoiment for tomorrow, but I keep getting this error message when I click upload.

You both have a good travel history and nice profiles - the 10 years Canadian visa is a good one in a passport.

Frankly, in my opinion, you don't need a letter of invitation. You can decide to go to UK without anyone inviting you, more so even when you've built a travel record (past travels and current visas). In your cover letter mention you want to go on holiday - sight see, relax etc. Put up an itinerary of places you wanna visit and things you wanna do in those 10 days.

In your form they'd ask if you have a relative in the UK- put you have a sister . They'd ask -Are you planning to stay with her? i would advice you put no (you already said you want to book accom anyways). Like you, I also have relatives in UK; but for the sake of the visa form, i don't say I'm staying with anyone - to make my visa processing as simple as possible. For accommodation, i use www.booking.com to book a hotel (i get one with free cancellation. Look out for the big name hotels: Marriot, Ibis, IHG etc. they usually offer free cancellation).

In my opinion, You don't need to mention anything about visiting your sister. The visa form doesn't ask who you're visiting. It only asks if you have relatives, and if you will be staying with them. Keep it simple and stick with you're going on holiday (as you said already, visiting your sis is not the primary reason).

You don't need an agent, except you wan dash person money. I've been travelling to the UK since i was a kid, my parents worked on our visa applications back then - no agent required. When i became an adult - i worked on mine by myself - both student visa application and visiting applications. I didn't need to use an agent. My point is - You can do it yourself. Just ensure you've read the guidelines well, to be sure you've checked all the required boxes and added the right supporting docs. You and hubby ain't new to visa applications, so you'd be fine.

You both stand high chances of receiving a visa based off your past travel history and the current Canadian visa in you passport.

As to where to start from, here's the link that takes you to the application form and the guidelines https://www.gov.uk/standard-visitor/apply-standard-visitor-visa. Read to the end so you can get to the part where it mentions supporting docs and info you'll need. Also attach copies of past visas and current visa obtained to show travel record.

All the best!

Livylicha:
Good morning everyone please I need your help.
I snd hubby want to visit the UK for 10days vacation in August.

Hubby has a very robust travel.history as he visited UK severally as a child, lived in Canada for 5 years for university and has visited Italy, China twice, Dubai, and Switzerland during the last 10 years.

I have visited dubai twice and Ghana once only.

Currently, we both have a valid 10 years canadian visa.

We have no kids yet, and run a flourishing business in Nigeria.

My sister relocated to the UK last year with her hubby via the sponsorship route.

Do we need a letter of invitation for this visa as we plan to stay in an Airbnb? How do we explain that though we would be seeing my sister, she's not the primary reason for the holiday. Do I include or omit her information?

What documents do we need? Hubby wanted us to use an agent, I said No, we don't need that, ill handle the application. Now I don't even know the first step to take.

I humbly need assistance.

You're welcome. Why the need for 4 sponsors though if I might ask? Technically there's no limit to the number of sponsors that can be used. But you also dont want to overcomplicate the process. I had previously advised someone who posted from Nigeria saying her mum and dad wanted to sponsor her that she should only stick to one sponsor (I had a bit of bias as to your case when you said all 4 of you siblings were in the UK).

Any 2 of you whose accounts are the most buoyant with enough funds to show support?

snowphunmee:
thank you so much, all 4 kids are here. I get the point. Thank you so much

-

_

Onyeka90210:
Hmmmm
How Do I finish my project now

The immigration officials usually query large sums been transferred to a persons account. Even with cover letter, and explanations people have given, they still bounce them. I've read a few of those accounts here. Maybe an oversight from the immigration officers path.

My advice - all 4 of you submit your bank statements, Let your mum put a cover letter mentioning she is coming for holiday to see her 4 children who are her sponsors and they would be responsible for her upkeep and all other travel arrangements. She should even include the itinerary of how long she plans to stay with each child. Example 2 weeks with lagbaja, 3 weeks with Tamedo, etc (I'm sure you and your siblings have cute names. Don't mind my example . You get the drift though) . Including the itinerary shows its a well thought out holiday. No information is too much when it comes to these immigration guys...

Birth certificate from all four of you siblings should be included as well, to show proof she's your mum. Most importantly - i hope she has enough evidence to show strong ties to home. With 4 kids abroad, the immigration officer might be inclined to think she wants to japa! If she has ties show evidence of that. Businesses back home, assets, family - husband, partner, aged parents shes caring for etc.

snowphunmee:
Good day all, please I need your advice. Myself and my siblings, all four of us, intend to sponsor our mum’s trip to the UK. In filling out the form, we have stated our names as the sponsors. Should we all submit our bank statements, or should we transfer the funds to our mum’s account before submitting the visa application?

Biko dont enter depression o. At least you have a job. Keep looking at the positive things when you start feeling tired and worn out. Its not a walk in the park getting sponsorship, more so when you're outside UK.

Getting a job is a job on its own, talk less of getting a sponsored job abroad. I've walked that path, so I'm not just out here telling you feel good stuff. It takes a lot time and mental preparedness dealing with applications, rejections etc. But it becomes "sweet" when you clinch an offer.

I saw a post online of a guy who got a sponsored job as a business analyst, after about 300 applications and interviews, he hit jackpot! Imagine!

Have you considered Canada and getting into the express entry pool? Its quite competitive now, but you never know if a province might pick you etc. I dont know your demographics, so i wont have an incline as to your scores on age and education. But i would say if UK doesn't seem like its bringing an open door then maybe spread your scope elsewhere.

Check this out I just stumbled on it. Canada has a new pilot program for care workers https://www.vanguardngr.com/2024/06/japa-canada-to-offer-foreign-caregivers-permanent-residency/

Iyeoma2525:
Hello everyone.

Please I need counsel.

I'm a nurse aspiring to relocate to the UK. I've written the major exams (ielts and CBT) but ever since then jobs have not been forth coming... I'm left with the option of self sponsorship, of which have not been easy carrying out cause of funds. I've solicited for funds from friends or even loan but none was successful. I'm so sad and depressed because it took a lot of efforts to get to this point. Even getting a sponsor at least help with accommodation to reduce cost is still not possible. Many of my colleagues already started making advancement in their career but I'm just stucked. I have cried my eyes I'm just a young girl that wants to make ends meet with no body to support... I'm considering forgetting about relocation even with the efforts. I need help 😭

-

Some organisations do this. Credit your account with the said amount and charge you a certain interest fee (not so sure the percentage, as i haven't used such services)

But be careful....I heard of someone who used them and got refused. They got 5yr canada ban for misinformation abi na misrepresentation. It turns out that when they were verifying the funds, the said amount had been moved out of her account by the organisation.

I guess some plugs are more legit than others. So if you venture this way, then do your findings well.

ChisomGloria:
I was heading to Osha and inside the bus they were discussing the issue of proof of fund. How some guys travelled by providing strong proof of fund..

Someone should enlightened me please.

I want to travel

These are the details for mine:

Biometrics: 15th May

Application transferred to DMC: 15th May

Application sent to VAC: 22nd May

Collection email: 22nd May

Skilled Workers Visa. It took 7days! Regular application

woffie:
Pls does skilled worker visa processing time still 14 working days after biometrics or it has changed

TLS is a private entity. Private establishments are going about their business. Banks opened today, Kids went to school etc. So the strike should not affect your appointment.

That appointment is not what you want to miss else it means paying another fee i believe.. Set out tomorrow head there and see what happens.

emenwa:
URGENT: Please I have a UK biometric appointment by tomorrow, will the strike affect my appointment?

A doctor without decorum, what a pity!! This back n forth is the exact same thing you did with @leef on this same thread in 2022 or so. Back and forth arguments, even when you were wrong, gaslighting and the works, and not just been gracious enough to accept that you cant be right every time!

Plus, its funny how I'm able to work on your psyche, and keep goading you for a response. Yet you don't fail to deliver. So So predictable

From your response people know you, your inbox is full of compliments, and gratitude, but you dont respond to them yada, yada. Awwwwww. Good for you.

Word of advice though; Stop acting out here. It's not cute! You that they know, see how you've displayed yourself. Lack of decorum, gaslighting, and the works.

Dont disappoint, or fall the hands of those who expect you to do better in this situation, and those looking up to you (too late though - you don already fall their hand!)

Afterall, no one knows me here, so what social media complements can I be feeding off from - as you said.

You that they know, and SHOWER A GAZILLION PRAISES pls do better. But nope, you won't do better and still reply to this. Na your way .

You must always have the last say. .

If dem born you well, reply to this post again!

Las las, na we still dey advice you on how to comport! Doctor without sense! SMH

giselle237:
At this point you must want my nairaland login- giselle237 because the obsessive fascination is real.
Unlike you, I do not care about nairaland nor sleep on nairaland nor obsess over people’s comments because I am busy.
You genuinely humour me.
Even when people take it upon themselves to offer compliments or gratitude my way I NEVER RESPOND. I am thankful but I never respond inorder that it is never taken the wrong way nor misconstrued.... My inbox is full, I never respond there as well for obvious reasons.


This is deliberate because unlike you I do not get high off of social media comments and posts and likes and ogs and popular jingos or methuselahs.
I live in a real world and have REAL things to do.


*apologies to the rest of the thread* *never my intention to spam*

.

You as well.

Blessings. 🙏🏽

Thegamingorca:
Get a life

Who ever talked of prize?? He responded to me and I replied him.

Thats exactly why I said "I'm not a popular jingo here". Thus I don't even expect any prize and im not looking for a fan base...Mine is to drop the facts and if anyone comes for me for saying the truth, then il keep restating the facts.

It's not personal. Many people are on here who would be silent, but low key are also reading up the links and guidelines to what was posted from UKVI page.

The platform is for learning and engagement. Learn, relearn and unlearn.

Oggg:
For the love of God. Nobody here is going to give anyone any sort of prize so move on and allow peace on this thread and for others to get advice.
Read the room.

,

.

No one is spamming the whole place up.... Previous comments are edited. I click modify and edit. But sometimes, the posts show up twice after the edits. Glitch maybe.... I always delete any duplicates.

Plus, I've seen this happen with some posts from other users as well - even your "faves". So it aint peculiar to me...

...

Thegamingorca:
Rather than spam the whole place you can just edit your previous comment