NewStats: 3,265,204 , 8,186,003 topics. Date: Friday, 13 June 2025 at 08:55 PM 4o336s

This is so true!!! A lot of my friends were forced to leave UK mid way because they lost their jobs.

I went through similar situation as well. My employer refused to sponsor my ILR after 5 years. I was fortunate to get another employer that sponsored my Tier 2. Applied for ILR after 1 month with the new employer.

Ralphlauren:


Congratulations.

The risks attached to Tier 2 visa has not been discussed on this forum. Hats off to those that are on this route.

I know many people that were underpaid but just had to stick with it just because the company offered sponsorship. I a friend who was offered sponsorship by a tech company straight after university but less than a year later, he was asked to leave the company. He struggled to get another sponsor with the 90 days grace period and he had to return to Nigeria.

The risk of redundancy, "offending" your bosses, not meeting productivity targets, misconduct, saying or doing something that's not politically correct, not scoring well during yearly appraisals. . . I can only imagine the prayers, constantly thinking about a plan B and uncertainty people on this route sometimes have to go through. . . .

Congrats!! So happy for you.

5gee:
I got my ILR.
10 year route
1 year - Student visa
5 years + tier 2
4 years Spousal/partner

bamangar:
Hello everyone, i need a better advise and judgement. I will be coming to the UK in 2022 for my masters, the enrolment will soon start. I studied Agric. in my Bsc but have been working in IT related fields since i graduated. I will be piking one of the below three courses:

DATA SCIENCE
CYBER SECURITY
CLOUD COMPUTING

I have ion and love the 3 but i only have to pick one and i want to do it based on availability of employment in the UK after graduation. If you are in my shoes, which course would you advise and reason why

Thanks

The three are in high demand, but Cyber Security will easily get you sponsorship if you intend to stay back permanently.

dupyshoo:
This is so true!!! A lot of my friends were forced to leave UK mid way because they lost their jobs.

I went through similar it as well. My employer refused to sponsor my ILR after 5 years. I was fortunate to get another employer that sponsored my Tier 2. Applied for ILR after 1 month with the new employer.

Kai!
Thank God something came through in good time.

Pls I have plans of relocating next year September to Uk with my husband and child through student visa,and I trying to see if I can just do some perfection to my hair making skills,and also learn make up and bridal hair, because I learnt as a student you can only work for 20 hours and also I want to have time for my child too,she is just 2 though my hubby will.b allowed to work ,but u just want to b skilled such that I might not really need a paid employment job,my question is,is hair business lucrative in the UK or I shouldn't bother perfecting the skill,is it worth for me improve on it or is not so lucrative over there , anyone with experience in that aspect pls advice me ,thank you

OSCARTM:


The three are in high demand, but Cyber Security will easily get you sponsorship if you intend to stay back permanently.

Thanks, I appreciate.

dupyshoo:
This is so true!!! A lot of my friends were forced to leave UK mid way because they lost their jobs.

I went through similar situation as well. My employer refused to sponsor my ILR after 5 years. I was fortunate to get another employer that sponsored my Tier 2. Applied for ILR after 1 month with the new employer.

Congratulations to the latest mama Charlie pikin.


All these stories about T2 are gloomy oh.

Now that I am thinking of abandoning T1 for a work visa..

I might have to rethink my options.

umarwy:


Congratulations to the latest mama Charlie pikin.


All these stories about T2 are gloomy oh.

Now that I am thinking of abandoning T1 for a work visa..

I might have to rethink my options.

Is T1 not 3 years? It’s faster no?

Toyen51:
Pls I have plans of relocating next year September to Uk with my husband and child through student visa,and I trying to see if I can just do some perfection to my hair making skills,and also learn make up and bridal hair, because I learnt as a student you can only work for 20 hours and also I want to have time for my child too,she is just 2 though my hubby will.b allowed to work ,but u just want to b skilled such that I might not really need a paid employment job,my question is,is hair business lucrative in the UK or I shouldn't bother perfecting the skill,is it worth for me improve on it or is not so lucrative over there , anyone with experience in that aspect pls advice me ,thank you

Hair making, big yes. Making hair is expensive. Ensure that you are good at it so your customers keep returning.
Make up, not so sure. Most people do their makeup themselves, thanks to the massive makeup brands and options.

Mamatukwas:


Is T1 not 3 years? It’s faster no?

It's 5 years

3 years 2 full time employees for 12 months.

Additional 2 years extension with 2 full time employees for 12 months.

(Employees must be settled in UK)

And the restrictions coupled with the IR35 is just crippling.

umarwy:


It's 5 years

3 years 2 full time employees for 12 months.

Additional 2 years extension with 2 full time employees for 12 months.

(Employees must be settled in UK)

And the restrictions coupled with the IR35 is just crippling.

The ‘new look’ T1 (aka Global Talent) is the epitome of freedom.
Not tied to any employer
Can do any job.
Can get ILR after 3 years.
Infact, if you have been on T2 for 2 years and 10 months, and you get GTV. All you need is 2 more months (= 3 years) and your ILR is ready to be applied for.

PS: I am speaking about GTV endorsed by the Royal Society of Medicine or Engineering. It appears Technation is 5 years before ILR

umarwy:


It's 5 years

3 years 2 full time employees for 12 months.

Additional 2 years extension with 2 full time employees for 12 months.

(Employees must be settled in UK)

And the restrictions coupled with the IR35 is just crippling.

I see. This is most likely the investor one. I think T1 : Exceptional talent Visa is 3yrs. Then ILR

Mamatukwas:


I see. This is most likely the investor one. I think T1 : Exceptional talent Visa is 3yrs. Then ILR

Yeah it's t1 entrepreneur general.

This route was scrapped last year or so

LagosismyHome:


Congrats and glad you had a backup.... I don't know why companies can be so mean. There one guy I met, he was made redundant one month to iLR while on tier 2, he begged them to not even pay him and just be on the books since it was just one month and they said no. It was very painful. The wife was a housewife and no backup to even quickly do student visa...he had to go back and back in naija no real job.

So I am really happy to see you got to the finish line, even though I don't know you lol...

Yes, my boss had earlier that year told me that what every I do I should "get the Queen's port" because there were business trips I couldn't go because it would have taken longer than necessary to get a visa due to my port. When it happened he claimed he had forgotten and then went ahead to tell senior management I had plan B so it wasn't so bad.

Ralphlauren:


Congratulations.

The risks attached to Tier 2 visa has not been discussed on this forum. Hats off to those that are on this route.

I know many people that were underpaid but just had to stick with it just because the company offered sponsorship. I a friend who was offered sponsorship by a tech company straight after university but less than a year later, he was asked to leave the company. He struggled to get another sponsor with the 90 days grace period and he had to return to Nigeria.

The risk of redundancy, "offending" your bosses, not meeting productivity targets, misconduct, saying or doing something that's not politically correct, not scoring well during yearly appraisals. . . I can only imagine the prayers, constantly thinking about a plan B and uncertainty people on this route sometimes have to go through. . . .

I kept seeing opportunities ing me by but was stuck.

5gee:
I got my ILR.
10 year route
1 year - Student visa
5 years + tier 2
4 years Spousal/partner
Hopefully I will get my port in January. Then I can start applying for jobs abroad.
I did not apply for my ILR on tier 2 because I was naive. I was at risk of redundancy with barely 2 months to my ILR and the company wouldn't give me a letter without stating that I was at risk. I didn't feel comfortable applying with that on the letter so I canceled my appointment and when I failed to get another sponsor and not enough time to find a decent job in Nigeria, I applied for a spousal visa which reset my timeline.
In hindsight, I should have applied and I would have been granted it, saving me thousands of pounds in application fees and NHS surcharge. More painful is the fact that I had considered moving back home in the earlier years but got to the point where going back without at least ILR was not logical. Hopefully I find a good role back home or somewhere near , Amen.

Congratulations this is good news

dupyshoo:
This is so true!!! A lot of my friends were forced to leave UK mid way because they lost their jobs.

I went through similar situation as well. My employer refused to sponsor my ILR after 5 years. I was fortunate to get another employer that sponsored my Tier 2. Applied for ILR after 1 month with the new employer.

Lucky you. Why would they refuse to? HR didn't even want to give me a letter at first. I tried explaining my situation to them but they were very dumb to understand. They did not understand the immigration system and were not willing to use their brains to think. But I later put it down to the fact that they were not educated enough, some did not have degrees. For those here asking to do MBA or MSc to work as HR, totally unnecessary except you need it for something else.

Dexter07:



Yea i agree, not as straightfwd
All i did was to fill in that online form
Ukvi ed abt 8 weeks after requesting for detailed reason for cancellation then about another 6 wks after confirming the cancellation....
....another 4 weeks before fee refund

Thankful for this forum ehn , been battling this for days. Thanks for sharing your experience. Please can you confirm if its the same link below, because the first part about applicant withdrawing and wish to leave the UK is making me have a rethink.

https://eforms.homeoffice.gov.uk/outreach/Return_of_Documents.ofml

Thanks

Aprokodaughter:



Congratulations this is good news

fatima04:


Thankful for this forum ehn , been battling this for days. Thanks for sharing your experience. Please can you confirm if its the same link below, because the first part about applicant withdrawing and wish to leave the UK is making me have a rethink.
https://eforms.homeoffice.gov.uk/outreach/Return_of_Documents.ofml

it is it. Always seems confusing. I kept going back and forth myself because the clauses were not just making sense. Refunds came in couple of weeks later.

5gee:

Lucky you. Why would they refuse to? HR didn't even want to give me a letter at first. I tried explaining my situation to them but they were very dumb to understand. They did not understand the immigration system and were not willing to use their brains to think. But I later put it down to the fact that they were not educated enough, some did not have degrees. For those here asking to do MBA or MSc to work as HR, totally unnecessary except you need it for something else.

Congratulations. Lucky it all got resolved and you were able to get it.

Correct at the bolded, very dogmatic and rigid in their approach and not willing to learn. I know a sponsor whose HR team would rather recruit and train people and willing to let them go in 4 months without without offering sponsorship when it's even seem like the cheapest solution to retain talent.

They keep referring to old rules, anytime you try to educate them.

Meanwhile for current students applying for Tier 2 jobs, one major tip in getting/negotiating for sponsorship is informing/educating the potential employers on the fact that they dont need to pay for Immigration Skills Charge if sponsoring an applicant switching directly from Tier 4 to work visa and subsequently after.

This saves about £1820 for a 5yr sponsorship for a medium or large organisation and the only cost to be incurred is the COS of £199.

Congratulations 5gee … Omooo mehn, this particular thread no be for kiddos ooo, I mean sometimes I just imagine the age of some gurus here and I be like OOH; justwise go be around 42 TheGuyFromHR go be like that 45 LexusGS430 fit be 37 Fatima04 maybe 38 Aprokodaughter response dey always twist my head one kind, maybe 37 ( me and her still dey same bracket ) …… BUT MEHN I respect all of you GURUS and thanks for ing us gurus as well, God bless you all… No PUN intended Aprokodaughter

5gee:
I got my ILR.
10 year route
1 year - Student visa
5 years + tier 2
4 years Spousal/partner , Amen.

giselle237:
it is it. Always seems confusing. I kept going back and forth myself because the clauses were not just making sense. Refunds came in couple of weeks later.

Exactly oo, good to know then. One needs to fill in that survey and complain then, if that changes anything

5gee:
I got my ILR.
10 year route
1 year - Student visa
5 years + tier 2
4 years Spousal/partner
Hopefully I will get my port in January. Then I can start applying for jobs abroad.
I did not apply for my ILR on tier 2 because I was naive. I was at risk of redundancy with barely 2 months to my ILR and the company wouldn't give me a letter without stating that I was at risk. I didn't feel comfortable applying with that on the letter so I canceled my appointment and when I failed to get another sponsor and not enough time to find a decent job in Nigeria, I applied for a spousal visa which reset my timeline.
In hindsight, I should have applied and I would have been granted it, saving me thousands of pounds in application fees and NHS surcharge. More painful is the fact that I had considered moving back home in the earlier years but got to the point where going back without at least ILR was not logical. Hopefully I find a good role back home or somewhere near , Amen.

Congratulations
ILR raining!!!!

Very scary stuff at being made redundant 2months to ILR. I fit get heart attack ooo

Omo. It is well o.

Congrats to those who recently grabbed the ILR.
May our ways always please the Almighty.

hi hi,

Thanks for knowledge on Lemonade.

Pls how does it work that they can pay into Naija Naira bank ? thought it was banned?

Also, must I fund the wallet to send money?

profemebee:
hi hi,

Thanks for knowledge on Lemonade.

Pls how does it work that they can pay into Naija Naira bank ? thought it was banned?

Also, must I fund the wallet to send money?

You create an then fund your e-wallet via your UK bank and then once that's done, you transfer to the Nigerian bank .

I use Lemonade Finance to send money to Africa. You get 20.00 GBP when you your and send over 100.00 GBP with my referral link - https://referral.lemonade.finance/invite/EZje

AKALAMAGBO:
Congratulations 5gee … Omooo mehn, this particular thread no be for kiddos ooo, I mean sometimes I just imagine the age of some gurus here and I be like OOH; justwise go be around 42 TheGuyFromHR go be like that 45 LexusGS430 fit be 37 Fatima04 maybe 38 Aprokodaughter response dey always twist my head one kind, maybe 37 ( me and her still dey same bracket ) …… BUT MEHN I respect all of you GURUS and thanks for ing us gurus as well, God bless you all… No PUN intended Aprokodaughter

If you're indirectly enquiring about my age, I would be fair and give you a range..........

I was 37, many years ago .......

This is a fair range 49 - 55 ............

Guess I can say good night . I actually resumed late to this forum. Going by about 30 pages I have read so far, I should have been here earlier.

I will still go back to read part1 and all pages of this part but I am struggling with time now.

I appreciate the creator, Fatimo04, the gurus I know from other group-Justwise, Lagosishome and many amazing folks here.

Ah, my journey on this mission started 3 years back from US thread and back to UK.

As e be now, my family of 6 finally got visa Nov ending. My initial plan is to sort out Accomodation within 3wks b/4 our journey but that was truncated by red listing that lasted for about 2 Wks.

I urgently need help on how to secure reasonable accommodation in Scotland-close to Glasgow/Paisley where I can peacefully raise kids and teenagers. Suggestion of areas to focus on will be appreciated. I have been searching Zoopla for weeks with no success yet. Our journey is this weekend and I think I may just settle for bnb/hotel for now till I sort this out but hoping it will be short to save money.

Pls like which documents do I need to collect from kids schools to transfer to UK school. I have final school results already but not sure if that suffices.

I have many other questions to ask relating to tax benefits for student & partner t registration for lease, opening bank , life generally but kindly respond on accommodation thing and school entry documents.

Thank you all.

lawali:
Guess I can say good night . I actually resumed late to this forum. Going by about 30 pages I have read so far, I should have been here earlier.

I will still go back to read part1 and all pages of this part but I am struggling with time now.

I appreciate the creator, Fatimo04, the gurus I know from other group-Justwise, Lagosishome and many amazing folks here.

Ah, my journey on this mission started 3 years back from US thread and back to UK.

As e be now, my family of 6 finally got visa Nov ending. My initial plan is to sort out Accomodation within 3wks b/4 our journey but that was truncated by red listing that lasted for about 2 Wks.

I urgently need help on how to secure reasonable accommodation in Scotland-close to Glasgow/Paisley where I can peacefully raise kids and teenagers. Suggestion of areas to focus on will be appreciated. I have been searching Zoopla for weeks with no success yet. Our journey is this weekend and I think I may just settle for bnb/hotel for now till I sort this out but hoping it will be short to save money.

Pls like which documents do I need to collect from kids schools to transfer to UK school. I have final school results already but not sure if that suffices.

I have many other questions to ask relating to tax benefits for student & partner t registration for lease, opening bank , life generally but kindly respond on accommodation thing and school entry documents.

Thank you all.

The question are much and some above my level. I will touch on the part I know.

For accommodation, here’s what I did, I got an Airbnb apartment for a month, it turned out the owner was a good guy, during that last December lockdown me and the guy discussed and luckily him and his partner had properties that was empty due to the lockdown. Long sorry short, we got one of the apartment for a short 6months stay. I think this was possible for me because it was just me, wife and 1yr plus kid then.

Why my story? you could try it out too if it will work. Back to your questions.

It’s been challenging getting houses in Glasgow. It started with the climate summit, don’t know what the situation is right now. But I assume not too far from before. Paisley should have more options or staying in the towns closer to Glasgow city center. With your family size, I don’t think the yearly bus thing will work as you might need a car to have everyone together. I saw lots of houses around paisley when I was looking for one. Also East Kilbride and uddingston has flats too. They are not so expensive and the houses are nice.

For school for your kids, above 3’s get some hours fee free. Below 3, you will have to pay for. Mayb £750 and above depending on the hours you are going for.

Back to accommodation as I believe that would be top on your list. Try openrent (http://openrent.co.uk/) with them you get to speak to landlord directly. Explain your situation and reason for urgent need of an apartment. I noticed some of the landlord do this thing where they give houses to people who has job or school closest to the house. I think they see it as “who it benefits the most”. You might want to search closer to your place of work or school and add that as a reason for wanting the said flat. If you stick to the town outside city center of Glasgow, you are bound to get something good for your family size and at a low fee to start the country with.

From my experience, houses first appear on openrent and rightmove before they get to zoopla, before you at zoopla, they already overbooked for viewing. So you might want to put more energy on those two letting sites.

When searching for house, check the epc rating. With your family size I think that should be beyond the normal level of importance as warming the flat might cost more than the rent if the epc rating is not right. A good epc rating of C minimum might be your target. Not the C close to D ooo.

You can do the epc search yourself as it’s a life saving thing to know and it’s also fun to know. But if it gets confusing. You write here again, I am sure someone will respond.

If you need more tips, go to Fatima’s post of 2yrs ago. That was where I got my starting tips, before experience baked it up.

Blessings

With all those my note I still forget something.

I think having the kids medical record is as important as school records (if not more). Get their medical record like which vaccine they have had and when. Especially for the younger kids (babies).

lawali:
Guess I can say good night . I actually resumed late to this forum. Going by about 30 pages I have read so far, I should have been here earlier.

I will still go back to read part1 and all pages of this part but I am struggling with time now.

I appreciate the creator, Fatimo04, the gurus I know from other group-Justwise, Lagosishome and many amazing folks here.

Ah, my journey on this mission started 3 years back from US thread and back to UK.

As e be now, my family of 6 finally got visa Nov ending. My initial plan is to sort out Accomodation within 3wks b/4 our journey but that was truncated by red listing that lasted for about 2 Wks.

I urgently need help on how to secure reasonable accommodation in Scotland-close to Glasgow/Paisley where I can peacefully raise kids and teenagers. Suggestion of areas to focus on will be appreciated. I have been searching Zoopla for weeks with no success yet. Our journey is this weekend and I think I may just settle for bnb/hotel for now till I sort this out but hoping it will be short to save money.

Pls like which documents do I need to collect from kids schools to transfer to UK school. I have final school results already but not sure if that suffices.

I have many other questions to ask relating to tax benefits for student & partner t registration for lease, opening bank , life generally but kindly respond on accommodation thing and school entry documents.

Thank you all.

You just reminded me of when I came to this place, so make I tell you more.

Getting the Airbnb for 1month might be a good option. When you get to the house here’s what to do and what I consider the order.

1. On the day or night of your arrival. Go to lebara site and order for a SIM card. It’s free. (http://lebara.co.uk/). And they will have it delivered to your apartment in about 48hrs. When buying the SIM card, go for the option of getting an unlimited calling and texting plan with data. The minimum is £5. That unlimited call will help you cos you will spend lots of time trying to understand what an average scots-man has said. The Accent different from the UK accent you think you know.

2. Once you get your sim, open a revolut or Monzo immediately. Revolut will give you a virtual card. This virtual card you can use to pay for things while you wait for the physical card. Monzo don’t give virtual card but will send a physical card to your apartment in the shortest time.

3. With your SIM card you for the letting sites and start the proper house search where you can call the landlord. Try to set up viewings for the day your isolation ends. So that you can get on the market quickly.

4. On the day of your stepping out. You can get a one week bus . With this bus you can go round to check houses with unlimited bus rides. This will help you when you miss you bus stop or your way. You can get the first bus app ed, then buy the one week ticket and scan with your phone. The ticket cost £17 for adult and £15 for students. Trust me this ticket will help you as moving with bus is the best option in Glasgow.

5. You can start to perfect your google usage. Especially the map. It’s a safer out here cos it works. One time in naij, google took me and my bro thru a one way street. Na God save us that day we for pay lastma.

The rest I think you will learn by experience and add to your own baking process.

Blessings