Immigrating to the UK

Priapus said:
Are you able to "stock up" before you leave and take a doctors letter and perception with you when you fly?
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Had planned on "stocking up" for at least a couple of months. Might increase that to 6 months. Costs only R300 a month of meds where I am

Have been advised to stock up on antibiotics, supplements and all other meds as well, as in UK the GP will likely send you home with some panado than curing you
 
Hamish McPanji said:
Have been advised to stock up on antibiotics, supplements and all other meds as well, as in UK the GP will likely send you home with some panado than curing you
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Assuming you actually get to see a GP. ;)

FWIW they use a telephonic triage system these days, at least in Kent, so you need to call in early.
 
Hamish McPanji said:
It says I need my BRP to apply for the NI number. Takes up to 4 weeks , wtf.

So will not be able to get my prescriptions sorted out for a couple of months.
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try to register with your gp surgery anyway. They all seem to have different requirements
 
bwana said:
Assuming you actually get to see a GP. ;)

FWIW they use a telephonic triage system these days, at least in Kent, so you need to call in early.
Click to expand...

Ja, I heard something similar.

I need to also learn how to effectively pull off a sickie. Seems to be part of the culture there, so need to fit in.
 
Hamish McPanji said:
So will not be able to get my prescriptions sorted out for a couple of months.
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Unlikely, a lot of GPs are now "Safe Surgeries", so even illegal immigrants get treatment.

I've seen the signs in my local GP surgery.


Safe Surgeries​

We are a Safe Surgery – everyone in our community is welcome at our practice.

Everyone living in England has the right to free care from a GP and we work hard to make sure no one in our community is excluded from healthcare.​

This means that:

  • When you register with our GP Practice, we might ask for ID or proof of address.
  • However, if you don’t have any and you live in our practice area, you can still register with us.
  • Your nationality or immigration status does not affect your right to register with us.
  • We won’t ask you for immigration documents when you register at our practice.
  • If you are worried about giving us your address, please let us know. Your information is safe with us.
 
Sinbad said:
I think they extended the 30 days to 90 with covid, I guess they haven't pulled that back yet.

800GBP is a shitload of money. I should think you can do the application yourself.
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Ah, okay - well if it is still 90 days, that would help a lot. Would possibly not need to go over and collect then come back.

800GBP is a lot of money; my understanding is the application should be straight forward, right?

Facts:

- Married for a few years to British Citizen who was born in the UK - Have marriage certificate
- Have a child together who has Right to Abode in their passport as they're a British Citizen
- Have lived together for 5+ years (House is in both names and we have copy of Title deed)
- Will have letter from in-laws to say we can stay with them - there is space - 4 bed house.
- Wife earns above threshold (18,600GBP) here and will find a job there with higher amount

To me it is then a straight forward application and as you say shouldn't need to use a 3rd party?

They're vague on documents to prove the case; but I suspect that is intentional.
 
Hamish McPanji said:
It says I need my BRP to apply for the NI number. Takes up to 4 weeks , wtf.

So will not be able to get my prescriptions sorted out for a couple of months.
Click to expand...

NI took a week for my partner. You need an address they can post a number to
Get used to using post...
 
Priapus said:
Ah, okay - well if it is still 90 days, that would help a lot. Would possibly not need to go over and collect then come back.

800GBP is a lot of money; my understanding is the application should be straight forward, right?

Facts:

- Married for a few years to British Citizen who was born in the UK - Have marriage certificate
- Have a child together who has Right to Abode in their passport as they're a British Citizen
- Have lived together for 5+ years (House is in both names and we have copy of Title deed)
- Will have letter from in-laws to say we can stay with them - there is space - 4 bed house.
- Wife earns above threshold (18,600GBP) here and will find a job there with higher amount

To me it is then a straight forward application and as you say shouldn't need to use a 3rd party?

They're vague on documents to prove the case; but I suspect that is intentional.
Click to expand...

Your application will be easier than mine. My partner and I arent married, so we had to prove quite a lot around our relationship.
If you are married more than 2 years I think, it will be much easier. Then it just becomes about financial support.
I wouldnt pay for anyone to do this for you, the online application process is straight forward.
They will ask for some supporting docs, once they are at the supporting docs phase, it is quite quick to approval.

Your VISA when approved is 90 days, you can collect your BRP 2 weeks after visa is issued.
Collection is at a post office and took about 1 minute, you dont need to book an appointment or anything.
If you dont make the 90 days, you pay and transfer the visa, I am not sure on that process as we made that deadline
 
syntax said:
NI took a week for my partner. You need an address they can post a number to
Get used to using post...
Click to expand...
/reminds self to pack quill, ink and inkpad

I probably had a NI number when I was studying in the UK, but that's so long ago it's probably been zapped from the system
 
Hamish McPanji said:
/reminds self to pack quill, ink and inkpad

I probably had a NI number when I was studying in the UK, but that's so long ago it's probably been zapped from the system
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I had one previously, but you cant just request a copy of it. You ask them and they post you the number, in my case, they couldnt find it. Did a new application, was pretty quick

Everything here is tied to an address. You will be quite limited in the first 3 years as you need 3 years worth of addresses before you can get any proper kind of finance etc. I didnt struggle with rentals but I have heard other people had.
If you have a partner / wife or anyone else make sure they are on the rental agreements so they also get the 3 years living proof here,
 
syntax said:
Your application will be easier than mine. My partner and I arent married, so we had to prove quite a lot around our relationship.
If you are married more than 2 years I think, it will be much easier. Then it just becomes about financial support.
I wouldnt pay for anyone to do this for you, the online application process is straight forward.
They will ask for some supporting docs, once they are at the supporting docs phase, it is quite quick to approval.

Your VISA when approved is 90 days, you can collect your BRP 2 weeks after visa is issued.
Collection is at a post office and took about 1 minute, you dont need to book an appointment or anything.
If you dont make the 90 days, you pay and transfer the visa, I am not sure on that process as we made that deadline
Click to expand...

Thanks for this. Our marriage certificate is an abridged one, but I think that will be okay. I guess I will not need too much supporting documents. They do say they not interested in stuff like photos, social media posts and such things.

I'll do the application myself then. I'm used to their online system as I have used it for 5 visitor visas.
 
syntax said:
I had one previously, but you cant just request a copy of it. You ask them and they post you the number, in my case, they couldnt find it. Did a new application, was pretty quick

Everything here is tied to an address. You will be quite limited in the first 3 years as you need 3 years worth of addresses before you can get any proper kind of finance etc. I didnt struggle with rentals but I have heard other people had.
If you have a partner / wife or anyone else make sure they are on the rental agreements so they also get the 3 years living proof here,
Click to expand...

Since my wife is a UK citizen and only been in SA for 7 years, there is lots of proof of her living in the UK. We are going to use her name to get a rental. She's also still registered at her parents place on the voters roll.
 
Priapus said:
Ah, okay - well if it is still 90 days, that would help a lot. Would possibly not need to go over and collect then come back.

800GBP is a lot of money; my understanding is the application should be straight forward, right?

Facts:

- Married for a few years to British Citizen who was born in the UK - Have marriage certificate
- Have a child together who has Right to Abode in their passport as they're a British Citizen
- Have lived together for 5+ years (House is in both names and we have copy of Title deed)
- Will have letter from in-laws to say we can stay with them - there is space - 4 bed house.
- Wife earns above threshold (18,600GBP) here and will find a job there with higher amount

To me it is then a straight forward application and as you say shouldn't need to use a 3rd party?

They're vague on documents to prove the case; but I suspect that is intentional.
Click to expand...
Yours is as easy as mine, and I DIY'ed mine.

If either of you is divorced you'll need a copy of the decree.
You may need an unabridged marriage certificate - I cannot remember tbh.
 
Priapus said:
Someone here recommended Sable International.

I contacted them last week a posed the same question(s) to them. They're of the understanding that once you have the Spouse visa - you have 90 days to enter the UK and collect the BRP.

They also charge 800 GBP to handle the application. I am wondering if it's worth just going through them to make sure all is good - R80k (before increases) is a lot of money to put up.
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Holy ****. When we did it in 2015 it cost £220 for them to do my application as a dependent and £324 for the visa (surcharge had just come in and cost £1000). Don’t recall what the Mrs paid.
 
Priapus said:
Thanks for this. Our marriage certificate is an abridged one, but I think that will be okay. I guess I will not need too much supporting documents. They do say they not interested in stuff like photos, social media posts and such things.

I'll do the application myself then. I'm used to their online system as I have used it for 5 visitor visas.
Click to expand...
You will need evidence of language ability.

So either an IELTS test, or a degree from a recognised university that was presented in english.
And a TB test

www.gov.uk

Family visas: apply, extend or switch

Get a family visa for the UK, live with your spouse or relative - eligibility, proof, renewing, financial and English language requirements.
www.gov.uk www.gov.uk
 
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