₦airaland Forum

muhyideenabdul:
Can someone help me, how do I get the approval copy for New Zealand visa since Nigeria is among their Visa Waivers?

Nigeria is definitely not a visa waiver country. Go read the NZ immigration website thoroughly

babajeje123:
Agreed o, that's why I said I need help on available options.

Send me an email - I have a spreadsheet of all the towns and cities within a 60 minute train ride of London linking it by train stations. When we briefly worked in London, we lived in St Neots. Took 45 mins on the train and about 1 hour door to door

evalovely:
I tried cash app and was told it’s only applicable to send money to US and not Canada

I didn’t check PayPal
a lame question though 🙈 - can I pay money into someone PayPal account for them to transfer to their bank account please?

Use Wise

Rhoda95:
Good day,
Please can someone who wants to study an undergraduate program travel with dependants to NZ?

No. https://www.immigration.govt.nz/assist-migrants-and-students/assist-students/student-visa-info

mizGene:
Guys pls which is the best bank card to use abroad?

Get a Wise card. It operates as local currency and charges are minimal

ukay2:
very interesting story to watch


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T7RevkoUiMo

He's quite the predator. You should do some reading on his practices in the property education (not properties itself) industry. Whilst at it, check him out on companies house.

tinutunde:
Please I need a therapist,mental health issue is driving me crazy

Go to your GP and ask for a referral - if waiting lists are long, opt for private and pay out of pocket and you'll get seen earlier.

amanze54:
Yeah you have a point there, I have looked that I have advantage to bargain but salaries are fixed for the role, also since I don't have other jobs offer on the table, I feel I need to take up one

Both jobs are on a government salary scale and both also have defined pensions. Teachers are employed by the LEA and follow that scale. Unless you end up in a private school.

amanze54:
Please I need some guidance, advice and feedback...

I have two offers which I am divided on which to choose

I am through with my MSc in Data Science here and already on tier 2 courtesy of my wife who got a sponsored support work

The first offer is a prison officer with a starting salary of 28k.

The second offer is a Department of Education Financed training to be a physic teacher with a bursary of 28k for 10 month, I will be paid 19k while 9k will go to the Secondary school providing the training which is affiliated to a university. At the end I will be given QTS ( qualifications to teach) and a PGCE. Now at the end of the training, I am required to look for a teaching job.

Please I need a guidance on which to go, given the peculiarity of this country.

September is start date for both.

Do not mind any grammatical error.
Note I can't do both given the way the training is structured

Take the teaching role - you will be snatched up quickly as a Physics teacher. You can also choose to teach A levels only removing any behaviour issues in class. Even at higher secondary level, most students in your class will be there by their choice and academic ability

1. QTS is widely accepted everywhere
2. You can easily transit out of teaching after your NQT year (so max 2 years teaching) into other fields (check the bursary doesn't have a timeframe to it)
3. You will be able to work part time in your study field (school holidays, weekends should you choose to do so)
4. The teaching experience will not be lost when you transit into your data thingymajingy. Teaching experience and skills is one of the most general and versatile skill sets to have

But then I am biased as qualified teacher - PS I have used my teaching quals from the UK in 3 western countries so far and I officially stopped teaching 6 years ago.

BlezinR:
Yes you can.,i used ahm

Thank you! Their quote is very reasonable too

Good morning my people, has anyone bought their own OSHC instead of using the uni recommended one? If yes, which did you use please? Asking for a family member

Phayie:
Although police has stated that no crime was committed. But the daughter was 17 when she started sending the images, if what the parents are saying is accurate, I believe he's committed a crime

Age of consent is 16 so no legal crime unless he had a duty of care towards the girl which he doesn't. Plus it is a crime to solicit for pictures from under 18s, but she is saying he did not. Although it is morally questionable.

Zahra29:
Not necessarily. There are many accounts of people who paid in excess of £15000 for passage to the UK. Even migrants from places like Vietnam who attempt to be smuggled in vans and lorries pay tens of thousands of pounds - for what? To go underground and not be able to work legally, rent, use hospital services etc

There was no surcharge a few years ago. And in less than 5 years it has multiplied to around £600 a year. Reality is that it will go up further as pressure on the NHS continues to increase.

Interestingly, for Australia you'd be looking AUD3,000-4000 per person per year for health insurance that's between £1.500-£2000. It covers everything though with some co-pay for specialist treatment.

NZ is bit cheaper at £300 ish per year but each Dr's visit costs £30 a pop which is paid out of pocket. It also doesn't cover dental or mental health and that is out of pocket as well.

Crucially, each applicant has to pass a detailed and pretty invasive medical exams in both countries that can truncate your visa dreams. Anaemia almost stopped mine in it's tracks. I had to be re-tested twice before my own work visa was issued.

Last year, a new immigrant Dr from SA killed her kids within weeks of arriving. She came off her meds to pass the medicals and they were issued a work visa. Due to being in quarantine, she didn't go back on her meds in good time and her mental deteriorated so badly that she suffocated and killed her daughters the first week she was alone with them.

I know of a psychiatrist who's high functioning autistic 10 year old was denied a visa and the rest of the family (2 other children) granted a work visa even though the parents (IT professional and Psychiatrist) offered to bear any costs for the child.

So that leaves Canada with a low entry bar health insurance wise if the UK does this. They all share 'best practice' though so who knows!

Las, las immigration will still continue o!

GraduatesGrant:
Can I use such certificate with fixed deposit equivalent to my POF and attach my bank statement of 6 months with good cash flow ? Because if I should deposit all lump cash into my account it may look suspicious. And I have a good cash flow from my personal account which double my business account.

cc:Ticha

Off the top of my head, I'd say yes you can as long as the fixed deposit is in your name and there is proof that the money is accessible to you once you need it - i.e. a letter from the bank detailing such and then adding your regular bank statements.

If in doubt, speak to the admissions team - all the universities have dedicated visa staff who can reach out to INZ and ask clarifying questions on your behalf.

Did you university ask you to provide proof of funds?? If yes, what did you provide to them as that would also work for INZ

damble:
I usually see a lot of job opportunities in my career field but the issue is that they are ONSITE INTERVIEWS. Is it possible if I can travel on a visit Visa, attend interviews and if successful, travel back to Nigeria while the company that wants to employ me assist to getting work Visa and travel back with it?

No idea how feasible that is. Visa and transport are very very expensive - have you looked at the costs? And it takes an average of 10-16 weeks to get a visit visa from Nigeria. No employer is going to realistically wait for that long to interview you. INZ will also not issue you a visit visa to come attend interviews.

You won't know how feasible it is till you try so go for it!

Ogbaba123:
As a professional with years of experience in a field that is not on the green list, does it mean I do not qualify for the PR path or I cant find a job that offers sponsorship in my field? I'm quite confused on how the whole sponsorship and eligibility criteria works for NZ

Thank you

There are pathways open to skilled professionals. The skilled migrant pathway is open for those who have jobs/sponsorships - it has a points requirement for selection and they have gradually upped the points. https://www.immigration.govt.nz/new-zealand-visas/preparing-a-visa-application/living-in-new-zealand-permanently/new-zealand-skilled-residence-pathways

It is historically very difficult to get a job in NZ from Nigeria (including almost all developing countries apart from India and SA) but with the severe skills shortage, who knows?

courage54:
Please can you confirm if this those not amount to public funds? Because my daughter was also recommended to see a speech therapist but we are not sure if is not public fund

It's not public funds. You can always confirm with the SLT directly as well. The support is offered to all children regardless of visa or parental visa status.

dude420:
Doesn’t masters have dependent visa ?

Only if the course leads to a job on the green list and majority of those masters (apart from the teacher training one) are 2 years long - google the green list.

dustydee:
Hello all. Please how can I start a shortlet/airbnb business?
Do I have to own the house or can it be a rented property? Does anyone have a guide on how to do this profitably and pitfalls to avoid?

1. Check the rules in your area. Parts of Wales (Cardiff especially and the Valleys), Scotland (Glasgow, Edinburgh), Cornwall, Devon and London have a ban on short term lets in varying degrees. You will even need planning permission in certain areas which takes months and some serious dosh spent to get. Neighbours will rat you out so ensure you have your Ts crossed!
2. It can be a rented property but make sure you have clearance from the landlord and in writing where possible. A normal BTL mortgage expressly forbids using the property as a short let or as a residential property. Some landlords don’t care and some do – so be upfront with the landlord so they can decide for themselves if they’re happy for you to run a short let
3. It can be your own property but a. if you have bought with a residential mortgage, you will be breaching the terms (na who know go open ya yansh). If you have bought with a specialist short term let mortgage, then you will be breaching the terms by living there as well. Some lenders (Halifax for example) offer a residential mortgage where you can also use the house for short lets for short periods of time thus allowing people to rent out their homes when they go on holiday etc rather than as a proper business.
4. Interest rates for short term let mortgages are way higher than regular BTL or residential interest rates. Deposits are also higher -most lenders want between 35-50% deposit. Most lenders class it as commercial lending so the mortgage term is usually also short (between 10 to 15 years max)
5. To be profitable, you may have to be in locations that may not really be family friendly – city centres, near airports or event centres, touristy areas. These areas will also have competition, so you then have to spend money to up your game. Luxury does not usually equal profit
6. If you live in the house and run STL from it, you will benefit from the government rent a room tax free scheme.
7. People are less likely to misbehave and be shady if you live there and just rent out rooms but then you’re sharing bathrooms, toilets, kitchens and shared spaces with strangers daily – think of family safety.

Pitfalls
1. You need to either have a good cleaning crew or be open to spending a good chunk of your time on cleaning otherwise the reviews will kill your business pretty quickly
2. Location, location, location is key – which again ties into the above
3. Most residential flats expressly prohibit short term lets and where they allow it, other flats will also be STLs so there will be competition.
4. On average, you need to be booked for at least 20 days every month to break even. Expenses to think about off the bat - all the house bills are paid by you, updating furniture and fittings as the wear and tear is a lot higher, higher cleaning expenditure, fees to booking platforms (Airbnb takes an average of 18% of all bookings, booking.com takes 15%, VRBO takes 15%), linen and laundry costs (at every booking), providing and replacing toiletries and tea stuff then rent or mortgage.
5. You are not guaranteed a booking. People will cancel last minute. You will have to reduce prices to keep it competitive. There will be down periods – usually December to March that your expenses will keep running when your bookings are down.
6. The booking portals can shut you down at any time and sometimes for frivolous reasons. Airbnb is very good at this. They can also withhold payments to you and refund customers without your approval and there’ll be nothing you can do about it.
7. Neighbours will intensely dislike you – guests are not usually very considerate. They will park anyhow, party, thrash the property, make noise and you will be called out to break up issues.
8. It can easily become a full time job without the commensurate full time pay unless you outsource it and then that eats into your profits.
9. Reviews even when malicious can make or break you.

We turned our family home into an Airbnb when we first left the UK. We restricted bookings to a minimum of 3 nights. It was a larger home (5 bedroom) and could sleep 12 people, so we got large bookings and were able to charge accordingly (£300 a night and fixed so if it was 1 person or 12 people, you paid the same price. Otherwise, people book for 2/3 and sneak the reast in)

2 bookings was break even for us. So we aimed for a min of 3 bookings a month. Even though we didn’t target tourists (it was near a military base, close to a motorway, a speedway and a nuclear power plant), Nov to March was absolutely brutal! So, we targeted contractors and track racers, those would wake, head off to work, come back, drink, sleep and repeat and they were filthy! OMG! The cleaner always had to take rubbish to the tip -which cost money as well.
Christmas and NY were always booked so we often upped the charge for that time to cover us till March. There is a large number of retirees (67% of the population of the town) so their families would book and stay at ours when they came to see, visit or bury their family member.

There’s was always something to be repaired after every booking. People would put the heating on in the summer and just leave it on all day. Our cleaner lived 2 doors away and would hand over keys so they knew she was nearby, people still tried to have parties, sneak people in, hide broken stuff.

Guests will message at all hours of the day for basic things even when we had a comprehensive house manual detailing every single thing. I can’t find the thermostat for the heating – it’s on the wall by the controls. The lights won’t dim – use the dimmer nau! I’ve forgotten the pin to get in (it’s always the last 4 digits of the booking person’s phone number and they can change the guest one to any 4-digit number), I’ve locked myself out (just use the 4-digit pin that you set! It’s a digital lock o! I can unlock remotely but still!), your spoons are not shiny enough, could you please buy round pasta bowls? Can you get me cots? My baby will only sleep in a cot (we don’t provide cots and it’s detailed in our listing and the booking rules), your bedsheets are not Egyptian cotton, I only sleep on cotton sheets – ogbeni carry your favourite sheets follow body o
You will have your customer service face and voice on 24/7. Knowing what I know now, I’ll take Mon- Fri lodgers over short term let guests if I am not doing it full time.

PS - You can check prices and availability in your given area by checking calendars of hosts on Airbnb or VRBO by month (booked dates will be greyed out), open dates will show prices. Play round with weeks (7 days discounts), months (long term booking discount), check how lax their rules are - strictly no refunds or usually means bookings are generally slow. It is more difficult to do that on booking.com so to check viability for booking.com, use the search function and check which cheap hotel chains are in the area - Travel lodge etc as those will be your direct competition

foxybingo:
I wrote my will last year and added my kids as beneficiaries to my house. I m also paying monthly payments which will finish next year to add them to a trust

My question is there any disadvantage of the trust?

If I decide to sell the house. Can I? Or are they the new owners

Depending on how you structure the trust - it's an entity of it's own so can sell and buy assets. The trust directors/ managers have to work in the best interest of the trust beneficiaries. Be aware of tax implications as well. However, one of the major reasons of creating trusts is to prevent assets being sold off or out of it. So it's well worth getting some professional advice

babajeje123:
Please what's your opinion about a school recommending a child to see a speech Therapist? The child is 4 but her speech is not clear. Sometimes she uses her hands to express herself and some other times you hear clearly what she says. It's only her big sister who understands her clearly and their parent would need to ask the big one to repeats what the little one says.

It's not an issue to see or use an SLT. My son needed an SLT. He wasn't even speaking clearly at 4. Now I bribe him to stop talking.

Joyfuljoyful:
Hello everyone.

My son turned 4 this May and his words are not clear enough. Whats your take on it please?
Thanks.

There's no stigma for accessing a Speech and Language Therapist and his words not being clear isn't a condition yet - not until 1. It continues and 2. There's an official diagnosis. You may well see the SLT and they decide all is well. Or you see the SLT and it turns out your child needs extra support.

Access and receive any support that your child needs.

Pearlyfaze:
Good afternoon Elders,

I need advise on certain decisions especially as regards the proposed 8years Skilled Worker Route to ILR. This proposal is currently causing riot in my head.

Remember, it is just a mooted idea for now. Why not hang on till you decide where you want to be? It just gives you more time to save.
Nigeria is full of crawling things and you lived there for a good chunk of your life. We spent one month in April traveling round Australia and I didn't see one crawling thing! Even when we went snorkelling in the middle of the ocean.

Ewadoyin1983:
Pls can anyone guide me for PhD/ Master admission. I already had my masters but am not sure if I should go for my PhD or redo another master.

Did your masters have a thesis or research component? If yes, do a phd

dude420:
Can one drop out of phd and become a dependent ?

Yes but not if the other person is on an undergraduate or master student visa

binkslove:
Pls is there any age limit in New Zealand universities, am 37 I have OND in Business Administration and I want to apply for a BSC degree in business.

There is no age limit - undergraduate students are not allowed to bring dependants though

EngrEgghead:
@Ticha and all other notable NZL members. What's is the feasibility of converting a visit visa (once you arrive at NZL with it) to a work visa.
I am keen on using the visit visa route (even though I don't know anyone in NZL) and then using the opportunity to secure a job over there so l can bring my wife and kids. Is this possible?

It's relatively easy and allowed. You do need to get your ducks in a row and ensure your application is accepted first time

Adunnishugar:
Thank you for the response.

I’m not trying to set the pace or determine his career path. I have asked him severally what he wants to do personally and I think the cyber security was what he seemed genuinely interested in. But on starting the course he said it seems too complicated. And we also don’t know any one currently on that path that can mentor him in it.
So I am just trying to get suggestions on other jobs he can easily switch to with no prior training or experience.

Also in the past I didn’t dictate, we both had the conversation and we both decided moving to the uk was suitable for both of us given our current situation then. Yes I presented the idea, but I didn’t force it on him.
My parents initially wanted my sister and I to go through the US route instead (which she later did) but I decided to go to UK because we both did not want the relationship to end.

Where do you live? If he wants to continue the Marine Engineering route then he needs to be where those jobs are - Southampton, Portsmouth, Felixstowe, Lowestoft and the Glasgow/Edinburgh axis. Quite a lot of those jobs are also FIFO but not sure if he can get FIFO straight off the bat.
Otherwise he can upskill in the same specialisation (if he wants to continue that pathway) and get into work that way.

There are free career coaches at the job centre or find a Crisis Skylight if there's one near you. They offer career advice as well.

koonbey:
Ma, could you kindly expand on this a bit more?

My thinking had been that it would be best to buy a much less expensive house than one can afford and then overpay to pay off the mortgage in say 8 - 10 years.

How does that rationale compare with buying a more expensive one up front?

Because I have no desire to pay off any mortgages till I am at retirement. The easiest investment vehicle to recycle and maximise your funds into and out of is property. Having usable equity means you don't have to worry about getting a deposit for your next purchase as you can just re-mortgage and pull those funds out for a deposit, or a new kitchen, car, travel etc.

Historically, mortgages have the lowest interest rates of any borrowed funds (still is by a good margin in most cases) so people would often add borrowing onto the mortgage than borrow from elsewhere. A huge downside is that of course your monthly payments would increase as you'll be owing the bank more money but in our case, that's why it's rented so we're not adding any more personal money in.

Basically I buy properties that will go up in value so I can withdraw that equity tax-free by borrowing against the new value. However, the amount will be capped by either the property’s rental value (if taking out a new buy-to-let loan on your rental property) or your own income (if you’re borrowing against your main home)

[quote author=KAssybabe post=123228608][/quote]It most likely means you were not selected

Solumtoya:
Yes o... Not financial advice, but which would you advice: Get a lower rate fixed for 5 years OR Get a higher rate fixed for 2 years?

Quite tricky since Rates could be higher or lower in 2 years.

Will you happily live there for 5 years? Or will you want to upgrade houses?
Can you overpay? If yes, I would go for 2 tears and overpay to bring the LTV down.
If no, then 5 years for surety of payments.
I think rates will fluctuate a bit as there's tinkering with the market.
It's next to impossible to predict how they'll go.

Akhat:
I need advice please. I got an internship role in Development Engineering, to assist my employer with research on an ongoing project.
Please how do I approach this, because I am expected to resume the internship role next week.

Take unpaid leave from the care home job.