Immigrating to the UK

JayM said:
There has been a slight decline in property prices over the past couple of years (starting in central London), but London property has always been resilient to a downturn. However, with the loss of financial equivalence, it is expected that London will become largely irrelevant in world finance which should keep prices stagnant for a while. There will always be dirty Russian and Chinese money propping up the top end of the market though.
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Thanks, good to know.
 
Has anyone here setup / registered a company in the UK, while still being resident in SA
Googling a bit, are plenty of companies who can process the registration online etc.
Just wondering if someone can recommend a decent one ?
 
I am heading over at the end of the month

I have 2 items I am thinking of taking over, a really heavy 30kg single head espresso machine and a digital piano (keyboard)
Its not near enough for a container, but I think sending them via courier companies would be expensive.
Other option is to leave them with friends here till I get settled down and maybe I can find somoene to share a container with.

Has anyone done the courier route for odds and ends?
 
Leno said:
I am heading over at the end of the month

I have 2 items I am thinking of taking over, a really heavy 30kg single head espresso machine and a digital piano (keyboard)
Its not near enough for a container, but I think sending them via courier companies would be expensive.
Other option is to leave them with friends here till I get settled down and maybe I can find somoene to share a container with.

Has anyone done the courier route for odds and ends?
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Why are you bringing them over? They're relatively cheap over here. Sentimental value?
 
Such a clown...forgot to get a Revolut card while I was over in the UK despite heavy advertising on the TfL tube. :X3:

I think I might still be able to acquire one using my UK bank account though.
 
The Voice said:
Why are you bringing them over? They're relatively cheap over here. Sentimental value?
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The coffee machine was R28k and I probably wont get R15k for it in a hurry

The keyboard was R11k and also struggling to sell that

So mainly money is the reason :P
 
Leno said:
I am heading over at the end of the month

I have 2 items I am thinking of taking over, a really heavy 30kg single head espresso machine and a digital piano (keyboard)
Its not near enough for a container, but I think sending them via courier companies would be expensive.
Other option is to leave them with friends here till I get settled down and maybe I can find somoene to share a container with.

Has anyone done the courier route for odds and ends?
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Some options, you get someone who is visiting to bring it as extra luggage which can be a box . Sometimes the cost of an extra bag is not ridiculously expensive. Customs on the other hand could be interesting
 
Leno said:
The coffee machine was R28k and I probably wont get R15k for it in a hurry

The keyboard was R11k and also struggling to sell that

So mainly money is the reason :p
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Geez, I hope it makes a mean cup of coffee and does your taxes for you. :oops:
 
Stick 'em in a shared container. You only pay for the space that you take up. It takes longer to arrive but at least you have your stuff.
 
AdrianH said:
Cool, this is great. Got the kids British passports with SA birth certificates, but getting UK birth certificates will be a bonus
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I agree, I would love to get my grandmother's certificate, to say she was born in the UK.
 
Re: shipping

Can anyone recommend suppliers for container sharing etc from JHB > London?
 
Hi guys and girls (hahah yeah right girls on the internet).

Anyway my friend wants to go to the UK for his brothers wedding and just want to know if this letter of employment is correct for his holiday visa application ?

TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN

RE: VISA APPLICATION FOR MR SMITH

This serves to confirm that MR SMITH is employed by __________________South Africa as a _________________________.
Mr Smith will be returning to continue his employment with the company after his visit to the UK.
_____________________________ would be very grateful if you could grant Mr. Smith the necessary visa in order for him to travel in his personal capacity.

If you have any queries, please do not hesitate to contact me, ________________________________________.



Yours sincerely
 
Kornhub said:
Hi guys and girls (hahah yeah right girls on the internet).

Anyway my friend wants to go to the UK for his brothers wedding and just want to know if this letter of employment is correct for his holiday visa application ?

TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN

RE: VISA APPLICATION FOR MR SMITH

This serves to confirm that MR SMITH is employed by __________________South Africa as a _________________________.
Mr Smith will be returning to continue his employment with the company after his visit to the UK.
_____________________________ would be very grateful if you could grant Mr. Smith the necessary visa in order for him to travel in his personal capacity.

If you have any queries, please do not hesitate to contact me, ________________________________________.



Yours sincerely
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On an official company letterhead (no photocopies) it should be fine.
 
Edit: suppose with the latest round of doom, gloom & load shedding in SA there will be some that want to consider emigration. Ill try document my process and provide some tips and practical experience.

2 Weeks until departure for me and the SO.

SHIPPING: Ended up using Seven Seas shipping - the large move cube comes in at R25 000 plus GBP500 when it lands - door to door. I did not use their insurance and rather opted for Santam's marine insurance which is cheaper and seems to offer better cover. Only packed sentimental stuff, paintings, art, some of our nicer furniture, kitchen stuff, tools, some electronics and clothing. I think its well worth it, considering replacement cost of all these items in the UK.

SHOPPING: Ill essentially arrive to a house with only a bed in, and while we wait for the shipping I have an Amazon cart with other essentials, anything from kitchenware, linen office chairs & desks, TV etc. Apart from Ikea, are there any other online shops to consider?

BANKING - https://mybroadband.co.za/forum/threads/opening-a-uk-bank-account.224050/ is Monzo still the preferred UK bank account, can someone perhaps comment on what they would recommend?

I have a Mercantile local account and will make a SWIFT payment ZAR > GBP to take all my funds out of SA.

Can anyone comment on this: https://www.koyoloans.com/blog/loans/personal-loans/build-credit-score-new-immigrants-uk/ and using a company such as this https://www.loqbox.com for building credit? Is it worth it and does it work?

Ill keep my FNB CC for as long as needed until I have access to a UK credit line.

UK SIM - can anyone recommend a good SIM only deal with at least 20gb of data and 1000mins of calling per month? I have no clue what networks are good. Similarly, can someone please post info on getting hooked up to home internet, what do I have to do?

VISA: I am fortunate enough to travel on a UK ancestral visa. Its a super easy process to apply if anyone has a grand parent born in the UK, I would highly recommend this route. No English tests required, no job needed, heck I didnt even provide an address where I am going to stay
 
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Tman* said:
UK SIM - can anyone recommend a good SIM only deal with at least 20gb of data and 1000mins of calling per month? I have no clue what networks are good. Similarly, can someone please post info on getting hooked up to home internet, what do I have to do?
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You'll get unlimited minutes on most decent packages, you can get 100GB/unlimited min/ unlimited text for £12 or 30GB for £10 on Smarty or 21GB/unlimited min /unlimited text/ 100min selected international calls for £7.95 on Lebara.

Smarty runs on 3, Lebara on Vodafone. Both include all the usual network features like 5G, wificalling and volte.
 
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