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Travel / Re: 8 Things You Need To Know About New Zealand by Ticha: 5:56am On May 11, 2022
AskGod07:

Thanks for your response Ticha , is it possible to go through paper application and submit at VFS global service at Lekki? Because I was going through VFS website and I saw they wrote it that someone can download the application form fill it and submit it along with supporting document?

Please do you have all the total fees incurs for the visitor visa?

Also how can someone secure a job in NZL? Do they have a job site for job seeker like UK to see a sponsorship employer?

Please kindly guide me through

Thanks bro



New Zealand does not have any visa offices in Nigeria. The nearest one is in South Africa. I strongly suggest you read through the website because it's obvious from your first 2 questions that you haven't done so.

The best job site is www.seek.co.nz and yes there is an accredited employer list which again is on the INZ website. New Zealand is one country where they make it easy to find all the information you need about visas on their immigration website. Even their applications are all online based.

Accredited employer list here - https://www.immigration.govt.nz/new-zealand-visas/apply-for-a-visa/tools-and-information/tools/accredited-employers-list

They have just today also made sweeping changes to visas (student and work) which although announced about an hour ago, has all been detailed on the immigration website - https://www.immigration.govt.nz/about-us/media-centre/news-notifications/nz-border-fully-reopening-july-2022
Travel / Re: 8 Things You Need To Know About New Zealand by Ticha: 9:32pm On May 10, 2022
AskGod07:
Please I’m new on Zealand thread and I want a first hand info how to apply for New Zealand tourist visa ?

I mine going to fill online form first?

Is VFS handle the visa application of NZL ?


https://www.immigration.govt.nz/new-zealand-visas/apply-for-a-visa/about-visa/visitor-visa

Has all the info you need

1 Like

Travel / Re: Living In The Uk-life Of An Immigrant (part 2) by Ticha: 12:52am On May 09, 2022
TheGuyFromHR:


If Morrison wins in Oz in 2 weeks' time, negative gearing and all that is set to continue for the foreseeable future.
Time for a correction in the housing market. It's becoming necessary. Canada has temporarily banned foreigners from buying. UK needs to do the same as a minimum first step as well.
Ultra-low interest rates are probably on their way out, however slowly central banks might drag their feet.

Definitely - NZ doesn't allow anyone without PR to buy a family home either. Foreigners can only buy land to build apartments or commercial developments and must apply to the Overseas Investment Office for clearance plus proof of funds, have a team on ground etc.

Interest rates are most certainly climbing. There seems to be very very few sub 2% interest rates in the UK now. In NZ, we're looking at 4% and above! Last year we fixed at 2.39%! Our floating rate (offset account) went from 3.15% last January to 5.25% last week! Luckily, we have funds in it to offset the interest. Once we draw that money down, we'll fix it!
Travel / Re: Living In The Uk-life Of An Immigrant (part 2) by Ticha: 10:39pm On May 08, 2022
dustydee:

We moved into a new build 2 years ago and currently, similar houses in the same development are going for close to 50k more, how does that work? I do not expect that much for ours since it is no longer new.
I agree with the parking space. When I saw our drive, I wasn't sure our car will fit. Why do they build like that? You park your car and can't open your door wide.
Luckily we don't have noise issues and the building seem to be well insulated. Our community is also growing with new amenities like an Aldi and soon a GP and other shops. Hopefully that will add value to ours.

The COVID effect which seems to be be affecting property prices all over the developed world. Economists say it's because being cooped up means people have saved more money, stopped houses from being built (lockdowns, disruption to shipping and supply of building materials), stopped people from moving and therefore there's more money floating around and it's fuelling house a property price increase. Who knows? The market is bonkers here in NZ as well!

However even if you sell for 50k more, that won't translate to 50k extra in your pocket and you'll also pay more for your next one. The last 2 years seems to have thrown everything into kilter. It'll be interesting to see what the current high inflation brings

1 Like

Travel / Re: Living In The Uk-life Of An Immigrant (part 2) by Ticha: 9:49pm On May 08, 2022
New Builds To buy or not to buy[b][/b]

(Pros)
Energy efficient (6 times more energy efficient than old homes)
Brand new – you’re usually the first or 2nd owner. And if it’s the show home, you can actually buy a fully furnished house.
10 year builders’ (NHBC) warranty – covers only structure and electrics after the first 2 years.
Usually no chain. Can buy off plan to cut costs or buy some of the very last ones to get a discount.
Small easy to maintain plots
Smaller spaces so easy to heat
Everyone moving in is new so no established community and might be easier for newcomers (immigrants etc) to fit in and make friends
Can negotiate lots of things with the developer – can choose your own colours, kitchen, carpets etc (for more money of course), get stamp duty paid, solicitors fees etc
Help to buy and First Homes is only available on new builds
Minimal maintenance on structure for the first 5,6,7 years or so – roof, gutterings, boilers etc
Fittings are of high quality – kitchen appliances, sanitary wear etc all will be newer models

(Cons)

More expensive and builds often over run (average difference in price is 55k according to DataLoft)
Much smaller on average – often overlooked. Minimal parking, small gardens, cannot extend or add value. You have to wait for the equity to grow through paying down the mortgage or the passage of time.
Thin walls – carries noise more. Lower ceilings – for easy heating. Open plan living areas – could be a pain. Very little storage spaces
Build quality can sometimes be poor so there can be ongoing snagging.
Much more difficult to spot issues initially and you have to go through the developer to remedy. Once you remedy yourself, it voids the developers’ warranty.
Very restrictive covenants which means you can’t make changes to the structure and sometimes even small things like not changing the front doors or windows etc
What you buy off plan might not be exactly what you get when it’s built.
Usually built away from the centre so shops, schools, restaurants and amenities can be some distance away.

25 Likes 8 Shares

Travel / Re: General New Zealand Student Enquires by Ticha: 9:04pm On May 08, 2022
soje1:
Hi Ticha,

Thank you for being helpful.

I just got a PhD admission into Lincoln University New Zealand to resume in February 2023.

I have a sponsor who is my brother, however, I would like to know if he must have the actual NZ$15000 or they are mostly interested in the inflow and outflow of cash in his account.

Also, I would also like to know how many months statement of account I would need to present.

Thank you.

They often want to see the whole amount and it's usually a month's bank statement. However all this was pre-covid and pre - the visa reset so email INZ and ask. They are very good with responding. Plus their phone lines are usually open till 10pm which is 11am 9ja time so should give ample time to call.
Travel / Re: General New Zealand Student Enquires by Ticha: 10:22pm On May 06, 2022
otabuko:

Please kindly advice, I was awarded a place for PhD without funding but I filled for funding. If I find myself. Will I be able to get a job that will pay back my money and make gains?

Maybe, maybe not. There's no guarantee of work. Minimum wage is $19.20 per hour and you can only work 20 hours a week in term time. Check your fees, cost of living and deduct that from whatever you might earn using a baseline of min wage.

1 Like

Travel / Re: General New Zealand Student Enquires by Ticha: 10:20pm On May 06, 2022
Kassidy4luv:
Greetings All,
I want to know about the admission cycle of schools in this country.

Thanks

Check the university or college website. It'll tell you
Travel / Re: Living In The Uk-life Of An Immigrant (part 2) by Ticha: 10:19pm On May 06, 2022
Pearlyfaze:



Thank you our Ticha.
No Huncle anywhere. just Grace and hard work.

grin that wasn't what I meant. It's a British saying - Bob's your uncle! Just means you're good to go!

5 Likes 1 Share

Travel / Re: Living In The Uk-life Of An Immigrant (part 2) by Ticha: 10:15pm On May 06, 2022
HollyMadison:


Thank you.

Do you know the requirements for agreement in principle? Do you know if 0% or 5% or 10% or 25% deposit of the property value is required to get the agreement in principle? I just like to get official and unofficial answers.

You're buying to live in right? Then it's usually 10% unless you're going for the government 95% mortgage scheme then it's 5% but only specific banks offer that.

1 Like

Travel / Re: Living In The Uk-life Of An Immigrant (part 2) by Ticha: 10:13pm On May 06, 2022
specialenvoy:
How about the energy efficiency that a new build gives with most new builds on EPC of A-B. Can one upgrade all these old builds to these EPC levels?


Our old house (about 90 years old) has an EPC of B. Mainly because we gutted and renovated it. It's reasonably easy enough to check those things before one buys. Agents have to provide an EPC certificate anyway. My FIL's house is over 200 years old and very warm - it's too hot in the summer although to be fair, it's cold in February but we love it! It's been completely renovated and well insulated.

Be that as it may, I'd actually take a large old house with proper garden space with a lower EPC over a newer smaller house in an estate with a higher EPC.

Other people may prefer a newer home, warmer home, close to transport links home. It's all choice really at the end of the day.

PS - I didn't quite answer your question. We have underfloor heating throughout the ground floor (wooden flooring), have an open fire with heat transfer upstairs as well, we lined the walls when it was being renovated, changed to double glazed windows (the original windows were single glazed), all rooms have radiators and we insulated the loft (lined and completed battened down).

However, I do absolutely hate new builds. Like from the very bottom of my heart full on hate them grin. So that bias will always seep through.

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Travel / Re: Living In The Uk-life Of An Immigrant (part 2) by Ticha: 12:37pm On May 06, 2022
Pearlyfaze:


Our Ticha and other Ancestors, Please how long do one need to be in the YouKay before he/she can start looking for/start Engaging Mortgage Advisors in order to enter property ladder.
This may will be our 5/6 months old here, Assuming we have Deposit now, can we start hunting?.

For first time buyers who lives in the village like us, Do you advise we go for new build or old build.

Thank you for your kind advice.

The earlier you start the better. Usually the biggest obstacle is the deposit so once you have that, Bob's (We need a 9ja name) is your uncle.

I hate new builds but that's me. There are pros and cons to both. My biggest issue with new builds is that they carry a price premium, usually smaller rooms and plots and the area is stark ie no trees, plants etc as they would have been chopped down to clear the site.

If you have school aged children, you can't go wrong by buying in good school areas regardless of new or old. Sometimes in a hot market like the current one, choice also gets taken away from you.

6 Likes 1 Share

Travel / Re: Living In The Uk-life Of An Immigrant (part 2) by Ticha: 11:47am On May 06, 2022
HollyMadison:
Gurus, elders and newbies…

I came in June 2021 and I’m getting mortgage interest rates between 2.5% and 3.5%… what do you think about the rates?

If you don’t mind sharing, what’s your mortgage interest rate?

Any tips to get lower rates? Even as BOE dragging us back

Past interest rates are not really relevant as the rates are climbing. We re-mortgaged for 1.18% in Sept last year and fixed for 5 years. That rate is not even being offered anymore regardless of LVR! The best way to lower your rate is up your deposit. However remember you then won't have access to that money at all till that house is sold or re-mortgaged if it has appreciated in value.

Take the lowest rate available now as that may well not be available in 2 weeks time. Even if you move houses, you can usually port the mortgage and rates as well. The biggest thing will be deciding to fix for 2/3/5 years. Pay attention to the early repayment charges especially of you have plans to move within the next 3 years.

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Travel / Re: Living In The Uk-life Of An Immigrant (part 2) by Ticha: 8:32am On May 04, 2022
mamatwiny:


Wow. What do you lecture? Accounting?

grin English and Health and Social Care grin

1 Like

Travel / Re: Living In The Uk-life Of An Immigrant (part 2) by Ticha: 9:44pm On May 03, 2022
Iruosonobrugwhe:


Dear Aunty Ticha the teacher, how do you like your massa, balangu and kunu?

Please organise zoom session.....we the masses are begging. Even for a fee, use the proceeds and buy off nairaland

Na only massa and kilishi I want! I will strongly consider it.

4 Likes

Travel / Re: Living In The Uk-life Of An Immigrant (part 2) by Ticha: 1:25am On May 03, 2022
OgbeniOptional:
Please Which Janus are you talking about? The one I saw online was founded in 2017 which is about 5 years now? Or is it Janus one and not janus Henderson? Also, which of this organizations is suitable for let’s say £6k monthly income household?

Henderson was founded in 1934 - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henderson_Group. Basically my point is that he has been with the same fund managers for over 30 years so they're a known quantity for us.
Hargreaves was recommended by our accountant and tax advisor.

Unfortunately, I can't recommend any fund managers - I do not have any financial services quals to give advice. I can state which ones we use that's all. What works for us may not necessarily work for you.

7 Likes 3 Shares

Travel / Re: Living In The Uk-life Of An Immigrant (part 2) by Ticha: 12:29am On May 03, 2022
jadepinkett:
Hi. Can you share a link where we can get more info on this and possibly start an investment?


Janus Henderson and Hargreaves Lansdown are just companies/ organisations that people can invest through and they manage your funds for you. We did research and chose the ones that would work for our situation and fit in our plans. There are a gazillion fund managers out there so it pays to really check them out. The manbot has had the Janus one since he was 3 years old and he's now in his 40s (it's now a joint one).

In response to someone else, I added links to read about trusts etc and why people use them. You may have go back some pages to find it.

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Travel / Re: Parenting In The UK As A Nigerian Migrant. by Ticha: 11:57pm On May 02, 2022
Adapapaokoye:
@Lagosismyhome
@Tisha


It depends on what you want to achieve.
Do you want to put away the money and not access to it at all till the children access it?
Do you want to be able to dip in and out of the funds?

We for example set money aside that the children can only access when they're 18 so we put away money in fully managed stocks and shares. It means we cannot access it at all no matter what happens. It's a pay in and forget about it till they get it.

From my research, ethical funds and socially responsible funds have almost the slowest growth and I'm not about all that yet. Maybe when I hit my millions grin

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Travel / Re: Living In The Uk-life Of An Immigrant (part 2) by Ticha: 4:59am On May 01, 2022
Sunnepa50:


Pls what do I need to relocate to NZ pls
Myself and my wife

https://skillshortages.immigration.govt.nz/

Your best bet is work your way through that list and apply directly to employers in those fields if you have international (UK/ US etc) work experience in those fields. Or if you can afford it, get a visit visa and come talk to them face to face.

NZ and Aus run talent recruitment expos in the UK so it's worth checking if they still do them and go to one.

If you work at a multi national company with a branch here, seek a transfer (we came via an internal work transfer)

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Travel / Re: Living In The Uk-life Of An Immigrant (part 2) by Ticha: 11:53pm On Apr 30, 2022
mizGene:

Omo! shocked kiss
I'm short of words! This is so insightful!
I'm particularly interested in this topic as I am already thinking and planning retirement now. The trust route is an interesting one I would like to explore and understand better....will have to do some more research on that.
I find it also very fascinating/admirable/inspiring that the people can still be trusted as in the case of pooling funds with the other couple....if people can be honest in their dealings, there will always be more to be more gains in working together..

Thank you for always taking your time to share knowledge even though you are not obliged. kiss

We've heard of trusts but I thought one had to be at Bezos level to have one grin
The financial advisor (he's also a tax specialist) was very good at explaining everything to us and all the different ways we could structure our finances for the future. He said the best time to start succession planning is at the accumulation stage which makes sense. Basically look after the pennies and the pounds will sort themselves out.

With the pooling of funds, we sat with a solicitor independent of both families and drafted an agreement before we went ahead (the monies was presented to the bank as gifted). Then with a broker to work out how much each family could borrow based on the monies we had.
They contributed more initially so the agreement was when we sell, the funds would be split 60/40 in favour of them so we each had enough for a deposit in our own right. The property market then completely took off and we didn't need to sell so remortgaged and pulled out more than triple what they contributed and gave them everything we pulled out. There is definitely more gains to be made working together.

Fortunately and unfortunately, the property market has started cooling but rentals are in crazy high demand (government as usual tinkering) especially now the borders are officially open. However, we are targeting a completely different rental market. There is a huge lack of social housing. We have record numbers of families (24k families) in shitty temporary accommodation (hotels, motels etc) so that's our target market. Families sit on housing waiting lists for up to 3 years The government will pay market rates to private landlords and take a repairing lease. So they're fully responsible for all damage caused by the tenants and have leases of 5 and 10 years.

It's the same in the UK as well. Housing associations will rent from private landlords and put social housing tenants in them although they cap the rents in the UK but it provides a solid rental income with minimal hassle.

I have acquired a lot of my knowledge from people sharing with me and guiding me to the the right places to look up stuff, talking through their plans and sharing their ongoing journeys. We can only grow by sharing the same knowledge among our people.

27 Likes 10 Shares

Travel / Re: Living In The Uk-life Of An Immigrant (part 2) by Ticha: 6:41pm On Apr 29, 2022
midasfx:


Hi Ticha,

Many thanks for taking the time out to share.

Can you please explain a bit further on the highlighted part? Are there particular shares/funds/stocks you’ve in?

We went the easy route and picked one of the multi manager funds but a mid risk one rather than an accelerated growth/high risk fund. We really don't want to be managing the funds/ portfolios ourselves. We'd rather invest and forget till the children access it.

3 Likes 2 Shares

Travel / Re: 8 Things You Need To Know About New Zealand by Ticha: 11:11am On Apr 29, 2022
Breazybeatz:


Sir


How're you doing today?

I quickly want to ask if it is possible to work with a Tourist Visa?

And what are steps one would need to take yo do that sir?

Thank you

No you can't work on a tourist visa. You can job hunt though.

1 Like

Travel / Re: Living In The Uk-life Of An Immigrant (part 2) by Ticha: 10:17am On Apr 29, 2022
dustydee:

Thank you very much for this insightful post.
On the trust, is it something you setup with a lawyer or did it come with the investment you chose? My insurance offered me some kind of trust for my life insurance but it's not quite the same as what you described. Please do you have links I can read up on how to do this or can you share, if you don't mind.
On a lighter note, why husbot? is it because your wish is his command? grin I am asking because I want to know if I am one too to madam grin

Haha he calls me the wifebot so he's husbot grin

We specifically went to Financial Advisor and a tax accountant. The trust wasn't even something we considered until we started discussing the structure for the development (ie hold in own name, in a ltd co, trust etc). They were able to break down the tax implications (personal income tax, CGT, IHT, corporate income tax) and for future succession planning especially as we don't want the children falling out over who gets what. Then future planning re- divorce entered the matter.

The tax accountant set up the trust, then a lawyer (with trust experience) drafted the deeds/clauses and the accountant registered the trust. The first question we were asked was if we wanted our assets to be dispersed at our deaths. The accountants will run the trust in perpetuity so they are corporate trustees of the trust. Because we will also be paying tax in 2 countries, we had to go for proper specialised advice that covers both countries. Tax in UK is a killer sha. Inheritance tax alone is 40% of your estate if your financial affairs are not properly set up.

https://www.moneyhelper.org.uk/en/family-and-care/death-and-bereavement/using-a-trust-to-cut-your-inheritance-tax#

https://www.which.co.uk/money/tax/inheritance-tax/inheritance-tax-and-trusts-a8x4k7z0kspg#headline_4

https://advisingfamilies.org/uk/category/information-portal/planning-ahead/

24 Likes 17 Shares

Travel / Re: Living In The Uk-life Of An Immigrant (part 2) by Ticha: 6:46am On Apr 29, 2022
AirBay:
Ticha........ I just want to screammmmmm undecided

Ha! Don't scream o. Wetin I do o?
Travel / Re: Living In The Uk-life Of An Immigrant (part 2) by Ticha: 6:24am On Apr 29, 2022
Pension and wealth planning for the future - very long read.

To access full pensions, we have to pay 35 years of national insurance to access the full state pension in the UK and in New Zealand, a naturalised Kiwi aka us has to pay at least 10 years of income tax. It means we can't access the full state pension in both countries.
In both places, I doubt if we could live on the pension anyway even if we qualified for it. The full UK pension is about £7k a year so £14k for both of us. Yes, you could potentially access other benefits, but it means from age 65 for women and 67 for men, you’ll be living on approx. £1k a month unless you have savings to draw on. If you have savings of more than £16k, you also can’t access any state benefits either. So we have been planning for retirement.

We have a Global Vanguard All Shares account (the name has changed over the years) - managed by Henderson Securities. We've had it jointly for more than 12 years (husbot for much longer) and have dipped into it sometimes (mainly to pay for IVF). We haven't touched it for years now and the funds have grown exponentially. If we continue paying into it consistently, we should have about £600k worth of shares (yay compound interest) by the time I'm 55 and husbot is 52. To give an idea, we've always paid a minimum of £150 each monthly into it since 2010. Henderson does the investing and taxes on our behalf. We haven't bothered to check what they invest it in, but we picked an aggressive growth fund for a long time and that really paid off (hence using the profits for IVF). Now it's in a mid-range growth fund and will remain there. We have upped our monthly minimum payments to £250 each a month now because we can afford to do so. The SOA comes every March, but we don’t check it or even look at it beyond seeing how much is there when the SOA comes.

In New Zealand - we pay into the government Kiwisaver scheme (pension scheme). I contribute 3% of my earnings and husbot contributes 5% of his earnings, the government contributes $521 every year. We can withdraw our Kiwisaver once we've been out of NZ for 12 months (6 years of payments), so we plan to withdraw it and dump it into Henderson when we leave.
Onto tangible assets – We have property in both countries. I sold my house in 9ja once I realised it was an albatross and put all the funds into a UK purchase. Our UK family home although rented out is on a full repayment mortgage. Thanks to the current property boom (which can also go bust!) we have some substantial equity in it. We also have other BTLs on interest only mortgages. We can always sell one to clear off the mortgage on the family home if needed.

The move to New Zealand has been the best thing for us financially. I have no employer loyalty. No one goes into education to make money as the pay is poor compared to the level of work and qualifications involved. I often jump ship every 2 years because that's the only way I can increase my wages. Wages in education are much higher in NZ than in the UK which is weird (5m v 67m) but good for me!
Anyhow, when we moved to NZ, we took opportunity of the higher wages and saved and saved and saved but buying a house seemed out of our reach. Then we met another couple who seemed to have the same values as us (family, financial, moral you name it). We pooled our resources and we bought a house in our name (we bought first because we had higher incomes and better credit). With property values going crazy, we within 6 months refinanced that property and gifted the cash to this family (basically paid them back their initial contribution and extra) so they bought one too in their name. They then refinanced and gifted us the cash and we bought another in our names.
Because we want to exponentially grow the money, we are demolishing the first house to build 5 new ones and then leverage that to give them enough to buy a 2nd property for themselves. They can choose to develop or hold or sell but we will have both walked away with 2 initial properties each.

It does mean we're financially tight until we finish the build March/ April 2023 (build starts in Oct 2022) but it's for our future financial security so we're totally happy to have a few tight years. It also means I can't help my extended family as much as I used to and boy! am I hearing about it! I've thoroughly enjoyed the consent and planning process for the development. We now have land use consent ad have just applied for building consent. It has been stressful and a huge expenditure but also a big learning curve. I almost decided to retrain as surveyor last year when we got the engineering bill ��. When the houses are completed, it'll be leased to Housing New Zealand on a 5 year repairing lease. The income from the 5 after tax is about the same as my before tax income (imagine fa) so we know we can comfortably live on that should shit hit the fan workwise.

Our current NZ home was bought with retirement in mind. We went for the biggest house on a large land. We also deliberately bought in a medium density zone. Basically, we can build up to 6 four bedroom houses on the land if we demolish the existing house. If we decide not to retire in New Zealand, then that is what we would do in about 7 years’ time. If we choose to retire in NZ (I seriously doubt it) then we'll sell the UK family home and pay off the mortgage on the NZ one. It has bedrooms and a full bathroom downstairs and is disabled friendly – no stairs to access the whole of the ground floor. I have no intention of going into a nursing or care home.

Shareswise - we've now opened targeted growth fund accounts for the children with Lansdown Hargreaves. We pay £100 a month into each child's account. They will get full access at 18. Hopefully, they can use that to pay uni fees, supplement apprenticeship wages, down payment on a house or even go traveling before uni/ work starts.

We have also created a family trust. I look at the truly wealthy and what they have for going for them is generational wealth and good financial planning. In my family, I'm the first to be in a position to actually start building generational wealth. The trust will hopefully go on forever as it's for the direct progeny of my husbot and his siblings (both his siblings have no children and want none) and me and my siblings so it means my nephews and nieces will get payments annually out of it once they hit 21 but their parents can’t access any of the funds. We've currently set it so it can only be dissolved by a court and no beneficiaries can sell assets out of it including us once the asset has been placed in it.

2 reasons we have done this – divorce/ separation for us or our children. Even though we all hope to remain married till death, the truth is that divorce and remarriage happens. The trust is set up to protect the financial interests of all beneficiaries. If either of us divorces, we will continue to be paid out of it. Should any of us re-marry, the spouse will not be able to access any funds from the trust. Same with the children. Stats also show that first generation immigrants usually create the biggest wealth and subsequent generations waste the accumulated wealth. It is very likely that our children will not have the kind of drive we have because they have been born into or have lived in plenty enough to be happy with state handouts in the future. Therefore, they might actually see us as a burden as we grow older and infirm.

So hopefully at retirement, the trust can top up our pension but also ensure we remain at home till end of life and not be a burden on the children.

This is not financial advice. Just sharing what we have done.

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Travel / Re: Living In The Uk-life Of An Immigrant (part 2) by Ticha: 6:56am On Apr 28, 2022
hustla:



How can that work to residency be gotten and is there any reason why you want to move back to the UK?

By applying for jobs. Use www.seek.co.nz Majority of employers will offer work visas as part of the job package. Employers also regularly go to the UK to do recruitment drives. You will need UK experience and certification if needed. It's very rare (have met only 1 person) that was recruited directly from Nigeria and even that person had qualifications from the US (degree and masters).

Certain jobs are in higher demand - Engineering, IT, Health. This website also goes into specific details. https://www.newzealandshores.com/working-in-new-zealand/

You can also download the shortage list and target employers in those fields. If the job is on the shortage list, it automatically qualifies for the work to residence visa. You can also apply for visit visas (very easy to get) and come speak to employers face to face. The shortage list is here -https://skillshortages.immigration.govt.nz/

UK is our home base. It's a lovely place to live if one is not in a constant hustle to survive and be comfortable. We're lucky to be in that position now.

We also want to provide our children with the opportunity to grow with and spend time extended family members. My parents and in laws are in their 70s and haven't really spent time with the children. Plus secondary education in NZ is shite (good enough). It's poor by OECD standards and if we remain here, we have to go the private education route. That will be $22k per child. We'd rather spend 8 years in the UK for them to complete secondary school in good schools for free, spend time with family, they can get to really know their cousins, visit 9ja as often as we can and spend some time travelling Europe.

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Travel / Re: Living In The Uk-life Of An Immigrant (part 2) by Ticha: 9:46pm On Apr 26, 2022
Aphrodite007:


Haha yeah one less tax payer. I considered getting lawyers to try again, but they said that I’ll need to be in the country for another 5 years with the route I’ll take. Been here 7 years now, I’m not interested in being classed a temporary for another 5 years lol. I can’t keep being used for tax purposes only to be discarded if they change immigration rules cheesy

To be honest, it’s just because I don’t like it here and want to try something different. Staying is not hard.

Have you considered NZ or Australia? Be warned that it is very very far from anywhere else. I always say NZ is what Nigeria would be like if it was classed as developed. It has lots of developing country vibes and attitudes and of course lots of opportunities for everyone. Once you have international experience, the world is your oyster! A work to residency visa gives you residency after 2 years and PR after 2 years so 4 years in total. Salaries are good (husbot and I have both doubled our UK wages) which will be frustrating for us when we return to the UK in 2 years time. It also has a small emerging Nigerian community (less than 1000 of us o!)

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Travel / Re: Living In The Uk-life Of An Immigrant (part 2) by Ticha: 9:38pm On Apr 26, 2022
Regex:


But I am not seeing ensuite House for rent in that area.

You mean a room by room let? Burnham is not really set up for HMOs as it's essentially a holiday location. If you drive, you might have to live in Weston Super Mare and commute in. There are buses but it doesn't cater well for people who work mainly because most of the people living there are retirees.
Travel / Re: Living In The Uk-life Of An Immigrant (part 2) by Ticha: 10:21pm On Apr 25, 2022
Regex:


I am moving to Burnham on sea.

Burnham on Sea is lovely and very very quiet. Full of mainly retirees so be prepared to have people talk and talk and talk to you. There are few BAME in general. We have holidayed there quite a bit as it's very close to Bristol

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Travel / Re: Living In The Uk-life Of An Immigrant (part 2) by Ticha: 10:09pm On Apr 25, 2022
LagosismyHome:


Please what insight do you have regarding getting a mortgage if you have a IVA. Is it possible with all these specialist broker

Is the IVA discharged or almost discharged? If no, it's best to wait till it's within 6 months of being discharged and yes, a specialist broker will be needed. Be prepared for higher than normal interest rates as well.
Travel / Re: General New Zealand Student Enquires by Ticha: 4:00am On Apr 24, 2022
bikerboy1:
Have they started letting international students into the country?

Yes but numbers capped to 5000 till end of June. All student visa applications open from July 2022.
Travel / Re: Living In The Uk-life Of An Immigrant (part 2) by Ticha: 9:14am On Apr 22, 2022
Lexusgs430:


Madam, you don overstretch this matter o ...... No go cause family conflict o .......... grin

Are you insinuating, he does not trust the judgement(s) of his nearest and dearest ........... cheesy

I don keep quiet o. Weekend don come cool

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