Immigrating to the UK

killerbyte said:
I paid my deposit for my accommodation.
Landlord is using Starling Bank. I transferred from Shyft to his account. Cleared in 5min
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Are there any transfer fees or bank fees when transferring out?
 
Priapus said:
Can confirm that after that period, I was able to make the payment. It showed up in the UK bank within an hour, that’s pretty impressive. Normally takes like 2 days with forex from the banks.
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That's an improvement. Two or so years ago it still took a day or two. Nice :)
 
I have a question about the BRP.

It says you must collect in 10 days of arrival. I'm assuming that 10 day time limit is triggered when you go through passport control and not linked to the visa entry window dates?
 
2022 said:
I have a question about the BRP.

It says you must collect in 10 days of arrival. I'm assuming that 10 day time limit is triggered when you go through passport control and not linked to the visa entry window dates?
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The window is 30 days iirc. If you land on day 29, you have 1 day to collect your BRP. On day 31, if you haven’t collected your BRP, you’re technically in the country illegally, and will have to reapply all over again (from South Africa).

Make your travel arrangements so that you land in the UK ok on day 1 to save yourself any hassles.
 
2022 said:
I have a question about the BRP.

It says you must collect in 10 days of arrival. I'm assuming that 10 day time limit is triggered when you go through passport control and not linked to the visa entry window dates?
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A quick google finds this .gov page.


www.gov.uk

Biometric residence permits (BRPs)

Biometric residence permits (BRP) - what they are, personal data, how to report problems.
www.gov.uk www.gov.uk

Getting your BRP if you applied from outside the UK​

If you applied for your immigration status (for example, your visa) from outside the UK, you’ll need to collect your BRP once you’re in the UK.
You must usually do this before the vignette sticker in your travel document expires or within 10 days of arriving in the UK, whichever is later.
 
The Voice said:
The window is 30 days iirc. If you land on day 29, you have 1 day to collect your BRP. On day 31, if you haven’t collected your BRP, you’re technically in the country illegally, and will have to reapply all over again (from South Africa).

Make your travel arrangements so that you land in the UK ok on day 1 to save yourself any hassles.
Click to expand...
You must collect your BRP within 10 days of arriving in the UK, or before the expiry of the visa in your passport (whichever is the latest date). If you do not collect your BRP, you can potentially be given a fine, so it is very important that you collect it as soon as you can.
Vignette is valid for 30 days IIRC.

/edit just checked my wife's vignette - it was valid for 3 months. Not sure if that was exceptional due to covid.
 
Sinbad said:
You must collect your BRP within 10 days of arriving in the UK, or before the expiry of the visa in your passport (whichever is the latest date). If you do not collect your BRP, you can potentially be given a fine, so it is very important that you collect it as soon as you can.
Vignette is valid for 30 days IIRC.

/edit just checked my wife's vignette - it was valid for 3 months. Not sure if that was exceptional due to covid.
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Home Office ****ed up my application. I had requested my date of entry to be 5 December. My vignette had it as 5 November. So had to haul ass, pack up, sell up, resign and get to the UK within a few weeks instead of a couple of months (needless to say my employer wasn’t happy with the 2 week’s notice I gave). Immigration agent we used at the time said I had 30 days to get to the UK and get my BRP so didn’t dally: landed in the UK on 5 November, so had the full 30 days. Walked into the post office in Tooting (random) and collected my BRP a couple of days after landing.

And yeah, they extended the collection window because of COVID.
 
killerbyte said:
Friend arrived in UK on the 25th.
Went to the post office the first Monday he was there and walked out with his BRP.
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I got my BRP at the post office the day after I landed. they generally very quick & efficient.
 
Ah ok, so the vignette expiry is the important one and the 10 days is there to allow those who arrive with a few days left on the vignette
 
Anyone got some good UK trade in deals for the Samsung S23?

Seems the UK is getting a kak deal (compared to SA). I cant seem to find retailers offering a R10 000 (or +-£500) trade in for old phones like in SA. Its all based on a sliding scale of what phone you are trading in.

Best I could find was paying £783.49 for an S23 Ultra 512gb, if I trade in a S21 Ultra (Amazon). Seems like a lot still, please share if anyone finds a better deal.
 
The Voice said:
Home Office ****ed up my application. I had requested my date of entry to be 5 December. My vignette had it as 5 November. So had to haul ass, pack up, sell up, resign and get to the UK within a few weeks instead of a couple of months (needless to say my employer wasn’t happy with the 2 week’s notice I gave). Immigration agent we used at the time said I had 30 days to get to the UK and get my BRP so didn’t dally: landed in the UK on 5 November, so had the full 30 days. Walked into the post office in Tooting (random) and collected my BRP a couple of days after landing.

And yeah, they extended the collection window because of COVID.
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Which agent did you use?
 
The Voice said:
1st Contact (now under the Sable brand).

Sure, could have saved a few Rand and just done it myself, but emigrating is stressful enough, and they were actually quite good.
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We used moveup in Cape Town. Cost was very minor in the greater scheme and service was fantastic. As much as you can do it all yourself I was honestly worried we would make a minor error that cost us our visas(that money doesn’t get refunded).
 
Sinbad said:
Why would you want a scamsung? The joy that is Pixel is readily available
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Considering 2nd hand prices the Samsung retains value a tad better. Plus Ive had samsungs for years and years
 
Paul Kemp said:
We used moveup in Cape Town. Cost was very minor in the greater scheme and service was fantastic. As much as you can do it all yourself I was honestly worried we would make a minor error that cost us our visas(that money doesn’t get refunded).
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I've applied for 4 visitor visas now to the UK (Visit once a year on average) (And applying for another one this year for a trip in July) - and I do that myself as it's straight forward and "only" R2k if you get it wrong.

However, I concur if you're applying for a Spouse / Work visa; costs are much higher and sometimes its best to just use a service provider who has done it many times and has the correct answers to all the common questions.
 
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