2 weeks in the UK

So, we have been in the UK for 2 full weeks now.  I thought I'd post some of my initial impressions.

POSITIVES:

• I feel incredibly settled and at home, having been here for such a short time, and considering the fact that we currently don't have a home... that comes as a huge surprise!
• Feeling safe.  It is so amazing not to feel fearful at all - no burglar bars, or burglar alarms, and people walk their dogs all over the place in the dark all the time
• So far, the Winter weather is not nearly as awful as I had imagined, as long as you dress properly for the weather you can go out and about quite comfortably.  (I'm guessing that might change as we head towards February - I've been warned it can get pretty grim!)
• There is a lovely Wintery, Christmassy atmosphere, Christmas lights and music everywhere... I'm LOVING that!
• I am really happy with the area of Buckinghamshire we have settled in - it's absolutely lovely!
• Being vegetarian is REALLY easy in the UK.  The options are endless and delicious.
• People are SO friendly, it astounds me daily - from the cashiers at supermarkets to the moms at Issy's school - people have been unfailingly polite and friendly
• The postal service is awesome
• There is no litter and it is incredibly clean, even the public loos 
• The Christmas markets are amazing!
• Mulled wine!!!  Mulled cider!!!  Heavenly...
• We have managed to see several friends in the short time we've been here, which has helped us to feel settled.  I love that my Lissy is less than an hour away!
• We live in the Chilterns, there are Red Kites in our area - as in the bird of prey, not the child's toy - they were on the brink of extinction and have been successfully re-introduced.  I love seeing them every day.  Makes my heart smile.
• There are loads of woods, National Trust properties and lovely walks on our doorstep
• Getting to know the local wildlife is such fun
• Public transport is amazing here
• London is less than an hour's train ride away
• Online shopping.

NEGATIVES:

• I miss my Paula and Impi something fierce!
• My body-clock was terribly confused by the sun setting at 4pm, getting used to it now, but it is a bit weird!  I keep on wanting to eat supper at 5pm.
• Things work so well here, but that can be a bit intimidating - I feel like at any moment I might do the wrong thing.  Makes me a bit nervous
• Spending rands..... eish! It's expensive.  
• At the moment I am fully embracing the cold, Wintery, darkness - it's cosy and I genuinely love it, but I can imagine that by the end of February it may get a bit old and I'll be yearning for sunshine.
• It's a pain getting the kiddies all dressed up in their coats, hats, gloves and boots before we go anywhere - and they can't wear their coats in their car seats, so it's a battle we fight repeatedly.... coat on, coat off, coat on again....
• This place doesn't sell the good meds... my headaches call for Myprodol, my colds call for Corenza C and Linctagon and that weird tooth sometimes needs Cataflam... problems!
• There is no Woolies chai.... sob, sob, sob....
• There is no Tommy's sushi.....sob, sob, sob....
• lime scale.  It's a nuisance
• Issy has jumped all the way into "big school" - she's now in a uniform, going to school from 9am to 3pm, learning the 3Rs.  Guys! She's only little!
• I think I sometimes come across as rude.  The people are very, very polite, whereas I think we can sometimes be a bit "bull in a china shop".
• The central heating does a number on my sinuses.  It can get very dry and stuffy.  You'd know our house, it's the one that regularly has the windows and doors flung open when it gets a bit much for me.
• I haven't been able to find decent sushi in our immediate area.  (Can you tell the girl is missing her sushi-fix?!

Our first week in the UK

Our first week in the UK couldn't have been better.  We had planned for this week to be fun and relaxed as Paula had come over with us, but was only staying for a week before heading back to South Africa.  We wouldn't be seeing her over Christmas, so we tried to pack as much Christmas spirit into the week as we could - and Christmas spirit is something England does very, very well!

On Saturday morning we set off to the post office to collect our BRPs (Biometric residence permit)  These permits are credit card-style cards that we will carry with us, proving that we are legally entitled to reside in the UK.  We also applied for our UK driver's licences.  This entailed posting our passports and BRPs off - something the South African in me found rather disconcerting, but as it turned out was nothing to worry about.  A couple of days later I got a slip through the door, requesting me to collect a parcel at the post office and there was my passport and BRP, safe and sound, and a day later my shiny new UK driver's licence was posted through the front door.  I LOVE the UK postal system!

This week we also went and opened a bank account and registered to vote.  It is a good idea to register to vote, as (weirdly!) it plays a part in helping to build your credit history.  

So the admin part of our week was quite successful - we have mobile SIM cards, we have our BRPs, we have a bank account, we have UK Driver's licences and we are registered to vote.  

Still to do:

• I need to register for NI (Grant is already registered from his previous stint in the UK)
• we need to register with our local doctor

Aside from the admin sort of things, we did a lot of fun stuff in our first week too.

We went to our local farm shop's Christmas market, we went to the Christmas festival in a nearby village - that was great fun, think a crisp Winter night, Christmas lights, mulled wine, an antique fairground organ, lots of stalls.... , we spent a morning in Bath at the Christmas fair, we met friends in Windsor one morning and finally we spent a day in London.  London really shows off at Christmas time, my photos don't do it justice at all!

D-Day finally arrived

Our last week in South Africa was really strange - in some ways it sped by and in other ways it seemed to drag on endlessly.  I had such mixed emotions, there was stress, nervousness, fear, dread, excitement, joy, sadness.... you name it, I felt it!  

Our last night was spent at a B&B and that evening we went out for dinner with our daughter Paula, her fiance, Calvin and Impi.  Impi is in his late 20s, he has grown up as a part of our family - his mother was my parents' housekeeper.  I drove his mom to hospital the day he was born and since then he has been like a son to me.  Although I know we will see him regularly and I hope that one-day he will also come to live in England, I was dreading saying goodbye to him.  This was the biggie for me, the one thing that I knew was probably going to break my heart.  And it did.  I randomly burst into tears halfway through dinner and it took me a good few minutes to get a handle on my emotions.  I still tear-up when I think about it.  Fortunately, that little emotional outburst aside, our dinner was pleasant and we had a good time together.

The day of our departure dawned and we took care of a couple of last-minute errands, went and had coffee and then lunch and before we knew it it was time to pack up and head to the airport!

photo credit: wilco737 via photopin (license)

We flew Emirates because of their generous baggage allowance (2 x 23kg bags checked-in luggage per person.)  Once at the airport we did our luggage drop-off and then went through security.  We had decided not to have anyone see us off at the airport and I was really pleased with that decision on the day.  Our wait at the airport and our flights were uneventful and after what felt like VERY many hours, we landed at Heathrow.  We were dealt with by a pleasant customs official who stamped our passports and wished us well in the UK after having a look at our BRP letters.  We had taken all of our documents and TB certificates in our hand luggage, just in case, but she didn't ask for any of that.

Once we had collected our luggage (it all arrived, safe and sound!)  we hired a car at Heathrow and set off for our temporary accommodation that we'd booked through booking.com.

It felt a bit anti-climatic really...all the build up to the big move and then the departure from Durban, the flight and our arrival in the UK felt so ... ordinary.  

My To-do list for our ancestral visa application

This is the To-do list I used for our UK Ancestry visa application with spouse dependent:

At least 6 months before you intend applying for your visa:

• Apply for SA unabridged birth certificates
• Apply for SA marriage certificates
• Apply for UK birth certificate
• Get quotes from pet transport agents if you are considering taking your pet/s

At least 4 months before you intend applying for your visa:

• Begin the process of having your pet micro-chipped, vaccinated, titre tested etc and confirm the agent you are using for their transport

At least 3 months before you intend applying for your visa:

• Get or renew SA passports if necessary (check the expiry date in current passport and make sure there are enough pages)
• Ensure that there are sufficient funds per applicant in a bank account (the consensus at the date of this post is R30 000 per applicant)
• Update CV of the main applicant to the UK format (free template here)
• Register with employment agencies (Reed and Indeed are good options)
• Start collecting proof of relationship for spouse dependent (20 photos over the duration of the relationship, including wedding photo, mail addressed to both applicants at the same address, joint bond statement if applicable etc)

Roughly a month before you want to go to your biometrics appointment:

• Get TB test done - see the list of approved clinics here.
• Apply for a couple of jobs and keep the email responses
• Arrange for proof of UK accommodation eg invitation letter from friend or family member (incl copy of their passport, utility bill) or booking through Booking.com or Airbnb
• Apply for the ancestral visa online, book the biometrics appointment and pay the NHS surcharge, register with TLS contact.  Before doing the online visa application it may help to complete the form manually - a manual copy can be found here.

A week before the appointment for biometrics:

• Get 3 months bank statements showing sufficient funds per applicant printed and stamped by the bank
• Take colour photocopies of important documents such as birth and marriage certificates

On the day of the appointment:

• Ensure that you have the originals and photocopies of all relevant documents
• Make sure that none of your documents have staples or paper clips attached
• None of your documents should be laminated
• Make sure your documents are in an easily accessible file - I found a concertina file like this one works great.
• Get to your appointment half an hour early, take a deep breath and relax, it's going to be fine!

Its a process

In exactly a week's time we will be leaving our home in South Africa for the last time - it feels so surreal!  We will then spend a night in a B&B before leaving for the UK next Thursday.  

Being an anal, Type-A, personality I have planned our last week down to the final detail, but the weird thing is that even at times when my To-do list has come unstuck and our plans have gone awry it seems like we just keep plodding on towards our final goal... which is of course getting on that plane to England!  It almost seems like our journey towards that goal has taken on a life of its own and we are being carried along for the ride.  Appointments happen, admin gets done, details get seen to and, slowly but surely, everything falls into place.  There is something strangely comforting in knowing that - even on the days when I fall to pieces a little bit - the process is happening and we are progressing towards D-Day.

Photo by Chimene Gaspar on Unsplash

At last

We accepted an offer on our house last night, although we had to drop our price considerably, it seems to be a solid offer, with a pre-approved bond and a large cash deposit, so by the looks of things we are good with this one.  Ohmyshatterednerves.... nothing like getting right down to the wire!   The relief is enormous, but also weirdly anti-climatic.  I thought we'd be giddy with excitement when the offer finally came in, but we just felt.... exhausted... really. It's been a tough, tough few weeks!

Today has been a buzz of activity as all the tasks that had to wait until the house sold suddenly became urgent today - setting a date for the shipping of our goods, arranging the date for the sale of our goods, cancelling our security, our newspaper delivery.... the list goes on and on.  All systems go!!!

The Price we Pay

I haven't blogged much about our emigration journey lately - mainly because I have battled to find the words.  I've been feeling really discouraged about many aspects of the process.  There have been days recently when I have felt that the price we have to pay to emigrate is just too high, way way too high...  I'm not talking about the actual rands that we have to throw into the seemingly bottomless pit that is visa fees, shipping, TB tests, NHS surcharge.... and so on - although that in itself is significant indeed - but rather the price we have to pay emotionally.  The things we have to give up, the doors we have to close, the good-byes that have to be said and the long-held vision of the future that now suddenly looks completely different.  It's so so hard...

My personal slump began with the sale of our house falling through and it's been pretty much downhill from there.  Although we have dropped the price significantly, our agent has very kindly foregone his sole mandate and opened the house up to all the agencies in the area, and we have had a myriad of agents and prospective buyers through, we just can't seem to sell our house, which is really freaking us out as our departure date is looming ever closer.  It appears that there is a tsunami of emigration happening and that, coupled with people really feeling the pinch financially, has resulted in an over-supply of houses on the market.  Our agent is adamant that our house is priced correctly - he was actually against us dropping the price - and keeps assuring us that it will sell.... but to be honest I don't take much comfort in that, we need it to sell NOW...today!  And at the same time, I hate that we are selling our home that we love so much, and have worked so hard on, for less than it is worth in our eyes.  It makes me sad.  Although this house is nothing fancy, it has been a lovely home to our family and we are deeply attached to it.

To add to our woes, Grant has had no joy on the job front.  We know that it is incredibly difficult to secure a job while still in South Africa, but we had high hopes that it was going to happen for us.  Grant had a number of very promising interviews for a particular position - and although he has been told that the job may still come about, it is on hold for now.  So we wait and he continues to send out his CV and apply for jobs daily.

So those are the biggies when it comes to things that are currently stressing me out of my wits and causing me to pop Biral like Smarties.  But then there are all the other "little" things that wound my poor beaten-up heart on a daily basis - and I think this is where personality comes into play.  I am by nature super-sensitive and highly-strung, so I think that a lot of things that are causing me real distress may be easier to deal with for those with a more robust and optimistic nature (like Grant and Roxy for instance!)  Going through our household goods and deciding what to ship was a nightmare for me. The guy came to look at our items for shipping on Monday and then yesterday the lady from Moving On (the company we have chosen to sell our remaining goods) came to photograph all the things we are selling so that they can be priced and catalogued, in preparation for the sale in early November.  Trust me, it's not easy having your worldly goods laid bare and scrutinised by strangers (even though the strangers were very kind and efficient!)  Not a pleasant experience.

Friday was my last day at work and that hit me a whole lot harder than I expected.  For the last couple of weeks my mantra has been "I can't wait to finish work... I can't wait to finish work..."  So imagine my surprise when the day eventually dawned and I woke up feeling nothing but SAD, no joy, relief or elation at all!  In retrospect I can see that the reaction I had shouldn't have come as a surprise at all - I have worked for some of my clients since 1990, over the years they have become more like friends than clients to me.  My job has become a part of my identity, so letting go was like leaving a little piece of me behind.

We have also begun the ghastly process of saying good-bye to pets.  Our chickens, Elizabeth and Catherine, formerly happy residents of Cluckingham Palace in our back-yard, are on their way to their new home as we speak.  

It's quite ridiculous how attached we are to those girls and saying good-bye to them was HARD.  We have made the dreadful decision to have our elderly cats put to sleep later this month - we feel they are too old and highly strung to cope with the flight and change of environment.  I can't begin to describe how I am dreading that day and how awful I feel about it.  Heart-breaking!

So yes, I am feeling that the cost of our decision to move to the UK is very high indeed.  And while I don't for one minute doubt that it's the right decision, it comes at a price.  I am sure that as we get closer to our departure date I will have many days of excitement and anticipation and I suppose there will be many days - like today - when I feel the pain that comes with letting go.

Ancestry visa

Grant and I will be emigrating to the UK on an ancestry visa.  

Photo by Chris Lawton on Unsplash

This visa is available to Commonwealth citizens over the age of 17 years, who are descended from a grandparent who was born in the UK.   In our case, Grant's paternal grandparents were born in the UK.  

In order to apply for an ancestry visa one needs to prove the ancestral line from the  grandparent to the applicant, to do this the following documents have to be provided: 

• a copy of the UK-born grandparent's birth certificate (sourced via this website)
• the relevant parent's unabridged birth certificate
• if the ancestral line is being traced through the maternal line, and name changes have occurred through marriage, then the relevant marriage certificates will be necessary.
• the applicant's unabridged birth certificate

Other documents that are required are:

• if a spouse is applying as a dependent - the marriage certificate and proof that the relationship has existed for some time (the appropriate length of time seems to be at least 2 years)
• proof that the applicant intends to work in the UK (CV and correspondence with employment agencies or prospective employers)
• Bank statements to prove that you have sufficient funds to support yourself and your dependents
• Proof that adequate accommodation will be available on arrival in the UK 
• Copies of previous passports and UK visas that may have been granted in the past

You also have to have TB screening done at an approved centre, pay the visa fee (currently £516 per applicant)and the NHS surcharge (£2000 per applicant from 8 January 2019).

For all the information on the ancestral visa, there is a pdf provided by the UK government here.

You can apply for an ancestral visa 3 months before your intended date of travel.  On your application you state your intended date of travel and when your passport is returned to you it will contain a vignette that allows you 30 days to enter the country from the intended date of travel.  So for example our intended date of travel was entered as 17 November 2018 and our vignette is valid from that date to 17 December 2018.  It is a common misconception that you have 30 days to leave the country from the date that your visa is granted, but this is not so.

The ancestral visa (without paying extra for priority) normally takes roughly 15 working days to process.  (Ours took 9 working days)

You will also receive a letter with your passport - this letter needs to be available when you enter the UK as it is possible they will ask for it at immigration.  The letter also has details of the post office which you must go to to collect your BRP (Biometric Resident Permit).  Once you enter the UK on your ancestral visa you should collect your BRP within 10 days.  This card is effectively your proof that you are legally entitled to reside in the UK.

The uncertainty of it all.....

I've been pondering this whole business of uprooting my entire life and leaving all that is familiar to go and live on another continent - debating what the hardest part is?

Photo by Katie Moum on Unsplash

For me there is absolutely no doubt, the hardest part of it all is the uncertainty!  I'm a person that likes to plan everything down to the finest detail.  Call me a control-freak, a Type-A personality, an anal pain-in-the-arse.....I like spreadsheets, lists, plans.... 

I think to a point you can plan your emigration, but then there comes a point where you have no control and that's what freaks me out.

Our paperwork is sorted.  Broadly speaking we have a plan in place.  We know the area we want to settle, we know the time-frame, we've got the finances figured out.  But then there are those pesky factors that are completely out of our hands.  Selling the house - you can spruce it up, put it on the market..... and then you have to sit and wait.  Finding work - you can get your CV sorted, register with agencies, apply for jobs.... but then you have to sit and wait.  Finding accommodation - you can work out your budget, pin-point where you want to live.... but then you have to sit and wait.  It's doing my head in!  

We have accepted an offer on our house, but now we wait, hoping that the prospective owner's bond gets approved and that it all moves forward without a hitch.  

Grant has applied for a number of jobs, he's had 3 interviews with a particular company (2 skype, one in person in London) it all looks extremely positive, but now we wait - they've told him they'll give him a final answer "very soon".... frankly that's not soon enough for my liking!  

And as for the accommodation thing; I keep on looking at houses to rent on Zoopla and Rightmove - finding a house I like. in the area I like, seems relatively easy, but without knowing how much Grant's going to be earning, when he is going to start working and whether or not the landlords will accept our little dog, it's a pointless exercise in frustration. 

I am SO not cut out for this! 

UK Tier 2 Visa

Disclaimer: Please note I am not qualified in the emigration field, the below observations are what I discovered when researching the Tier 2 visa in my personal capacity.  When applying for a Tier 2 visa please get the help of a person duly qualified to assist you.  

Photo by Nicole Harrington on Unsplash

As mentioned in my previous post, I spent many months researching the Tier 2 visa, in the hopes that our younger daughter Paula (a qualified Speech Language Pathologist, with a 4 year honours degree) could enter the UK via this route.  What I discovered is that the Tier 2 visa is not an easy visa to lay your hands on.

To get a Tier 2 visa you would ideally have an occupation that is on the Skills shortage list which you can find here.

If your career is not on that list, your only other chance would be to have a qualification RQF 6 or above that appears on the Skilled Work list - see Table 2 on this website: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/immigration-rules/immigration-rules-appendix-j-codes-of-practice-for-skilled-work 

  

If you qualify, then the next step would be to make a list of employers in your line of work, who are registered as sponsors (see this list https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/register-of-licensed-sponsors-workers) and begin applying for work with those employers.  Should you be successful in your job search, the employer would then need to issue you with a certificate of sponsorship.

Currently, there are only 20 700 restricted certificate of sponsorship available every year, these are divided across the months of the year and only a fixed number of certificates of sponsorship are issued each month.  Basically, they are issued on a points system, with the applicant with the most points getting issued the first certificate and so on.  To put it simply, the certificates are issued based on salary, so the higher the salary the greater the chance of getting a certificate of sponsorship.  

If you are not on the skills shortage list, any sponsor who is willing to employ you first has to conduct a Resident Labour Market test, to prove that they cannot find a local person to do that job.  They also have to pay you the minimum wage (currently £30 000) 

There are some exceptions to all of the above - the rules are somewhat different for those on the Skill Shortage List, for those switching from a Tier 4 visa to a Tier 2 and for doctors and nurses, amongst others.

See the detailed requirements here: https://www.gov.uk/tier-2-general/eligibility  Only once all these requirements are met can you apply for a visa.

Visas

Our family are using various different routes to emigrate to the UK.

If you are considering emigrating to the UK and want to see what routes are open to you, I'd suggest visiting this website.  It is backed by Sable International/First Contact and it offers a free assessment.

In our case, our elder daughter Roxy, her husband and children are going the British passport and Spousal Visa + dependants route.  Our younger daughter is going the Tier 4 (study) visa route.  Grant and I are going via an Ancestry visa for Grant, with me as dependant.

It's been quite a process getting our heads around the various visas and their requirements.  Probably the biggest headache has been figuring out how to get our younger daughter Paula into the UK.  Paula is a qualified Speech Language Pathologist, so we'd hoped she could enter the UK on a Tier 2 visa - I spent many months researching that option, but unfortunately after a while I realised that: a) it wasn't that easy to get into the UK on a Tier 2 visa and b) it wasn't going to happen for Paula!

I think many people labour under the misconception that if you come from "English stock" it will be easy to emigrate to the UK.  Unfortunately that just isn't true.  I see so many people getting their hopes dashed when they begin to investigate their options.  Basically, if you don't have a British Passport or an English ancestor who is no further back than a grandparent, your chances of easily emigrating to the UK are very small.  You are then left with only the option of a Tier 2 visa, a study visa (or if money isn't a factor - the investor or entrepreneur visa.  There are the odd exceptions to this, but they are anomalies and few and far between.

Photo by Sofia Sforza on Unsplash

Look-see-decide trip - Part 3

A couple of personal observations and opinions about our trip:

We found eating out more expensive than we expected(we were comparing to our last trip which was 6 years ago, so I guess that's to be expected).  We didn't eat in any "fancy" restaurants, mainly sticking to pub meals when eating out and on average paid roughly £12 to £14 for a meal., excluding drinks.

We bought a couple of heat-in-the-microwave type meals from supermarkets and found their quality to be really good and the price reasonable.

We didn't notice too many sushi restaurants in the towns we visited.  We did pop into a sushi chain-type restaurant and were a little under-awed by the sushi... it wasn't a patch on our local sushi joint.

Groceries on the whole seemed more reasonably priced than at home.  The price of clothes varied a lot - Primark prices were very reasonable and the quality surprisingly good (I bought a pair of PJs which compared favourably quality-wise with Woolies at home, which surprised me)

If you have any type of food intolerance you are very well catered for in the UK with large sections of the supermarket aisles dedicated to gluten-free etc.

I'm vegetarian and I was blown away by the choices on offer for "veggies" in the UK.  The Quorn cold meat and cocktail sausages are SERIOUSLY yummy.

The drivers are on the whole much more considerate and obey the rules of the road.  There are a lot more traffic circles.

We found more traffic-jams than we expected on the roads and a LOT more cyclists.  The Guildford/Send area was particularly bad for traffic jams.

The people working in the shops were in general very friendly, particularly the till-operators in the supermarkets.  We also noticed a number of older people working in supermarkets.

I was under the impression that most of the charity shops sold furniture, but I didn't find this to be true.  Having said that, the Heart Foundation charity shop we went into had amazing furniture at good prices.  We also saw lots of bargains on Facebook marketplace.

The towns we visited were incredibly clean and tidy.

Compared to the last time we visited the UK, we found that many of the High Streets looked a bit "dead" with mainly charity shops, but not much else.  We also noticed a number of pubs closed down.  I think the mall-culture is hitting the UK, which I'm personally sad about.

The dogs in the UK are extremely well-behaved and silent.

The pigeons are HUGE.

We noticed a lot more biltong for sale compared to our last visit.

Cell-phone signal is very patchy and on the whole not as good as in SA.

The towns seem to get prettier the further you get from London.

Look-see-decide trip Part 2

We had 3 weeks in the UK and split it up roughly into: a week to explore the area in which we plan to settle, a week-end in the Cotswolds, 5 days with our close friends in Send, Surrey and a week spent relaxing in Dorset.  Roxy was only with us for the first week, as she couldn't be away from her family for more than that.

In our first week we visited Tring, Great Missenden (that's the area we plan to settle in) Saffron Walden, Cambridge, Chelmsford and we also spent a day in London (Grant had an interview there).

Some of the roads in rural Buckinghamshire were VERY narrow!

Evening walk in the forest near Aldbury

The Thames, near our hotel in the Cotswolds

Bourton-on-the-water

Provence?  Nope Mayfield Lavender Farm in Surrey!!

A deer chilling in Richmond Park

picnic-style lunch in Kingston-upon-Thames

Beautiful Dorset

Durdle Door, Dorset...soooo beautiful!

West Bay, Dorset

Apologies for the weird spacing on this post, I have no idea why blogger hates me this way....