7 Questions to consider before you emigrate to the UK

The South African |  28 Nov 2022

1.    DO YOU HAVE THE CORRECT UK VISA OR WORK PERMIT?

You will most likely need a visa to live and work in the UK. The UK offers a number of visas so make sure you choose the right one for your needs. The Skilled Worker, Student, Ancestry and Spouse visas are among the most common.

Before moving, check the eligibility requirements of the UK visa you are applying for and make sure you know what paperwork you will need and how to obtain it. Providing detailed and complete supporting documentation is essential for a successful visa application and emigration to the UK.

The following documents are useful to have:

• A valid passport
• A passport-sized photo of yourself
• Your more recent utility bills
• Birth certificates if you’re bringing any of your children with you
• Proof of your finances – bank statements (no more than three months old)

Consult an immigration adviser with extensive knowledge of UK immigration laws to ensure you complete the necessary paperwork correctly the first time and avoid mistakes.

2.    DO YOUR IMMEDIATE FAMILY MEMBERS ALSO NEED A UK VISA?

If you are a British citizen or hold a form of permanent residency (such as indefinite leave to remain or settled status), your family members will need to apply for visas to be able to travel with you to the UK. The family visa category includes several different permits:

• Spouse or partner
• Fiancé/é or proposed civil partner
• Dependant (child/ parent)

You will need to meet a minimum income threshold of at least £18,600 a year or have cash savings of £62,500 to show you can support your partner in the UK. (If you have children, this amount will increase per child).

If you are going to the UK on an Ancestry, Skilled Worker or Student visa, your partner or children will need to apply as dependants on your visa.

Your dependants’ time in the UK is linked to your own visa duration, and generally, they will be allowed to work and study in the UK – subject to a few exceptions.

If you don’t want to move the whole family but still want to secure a future for your children, consider sending them to study abroad on a UK Student visa. The UK’s post-study Graduate visa makes it possible for your child to settle in the UK permanently after graduation.

3.    CAN YOU AFFORD TO EMIGRATE?

Moving to another country is an expensive process. Shipping, flights, visas and hotel bills when looking for accommodation all need to be considered. Do not forget the additional costs such as rent deposits, the possible furnishing of a new home, transportation, and education costs for children.

Consider setting up a savings account in the months leading up to your move to supplement your living expenses, especially for the first month. Be mindful of when you will receive your next paycheque after moving.

If you are aware of all the upfront and hidden costs of emigration, you can plan for the unexpected and ensure that you have all costs under control.

Sable International’s Explore Analysis and Report gives you an overview of all your citizenship and relocation options in terms of what you can afford, alongside an in-depth lifestyle comparison and financial planning.

4.    DO YOU HAVE JOB SECURITY?

When emigrating, you’ll undoubtedly have to tackle the matter of employment. It is important to allow yourself enough time for the process, so you can find the perfect fit and complete all your applications in time.

To help you get started faster, our top tips for securing a job in the UK:

• Get your CV up to date and into a preferred UK format
• Search the UK government website for job availabilities and industry shortages
• Use a UK recruitment agency

If you’re going to the UK on a Skilled Worker visa, one of the questions you should ask your future employer is how secure your new position will be. Skilled Worker visas are tied to the job, which means that if you lose your job, you won’t just lose a regular income but also your right to live in the country unless you can find a position with another company that has a sponsorship licence.

Obtaining your NI number

Your National Insurance (NI) number is the unique number given to you by the Department for Work and Pensions. It’s used to track your tax and NI contributions every year and ensure that you’re paying the correct amounts to HMRC. While it’s possible to start work without an NI number, you will be charged a higher “emergency” tax rate, so it’s worth getting this sorted as soon as possible.

We can take the stress out of your NI application. Get in touch and let us take care of the admin so you don’t have to.

5.    WHERE ARE YOU GOING TO LIVE IN THE UK?

Knowing where you will be living is an important part of any relocation process. Ideally, you should arrange temporary accommodation – call a relative to crash on their sofa, book a hotel room or Airbnb ahead of arrival. This will give you the time to get your ducks in a row without hastily making the decision to purchase or rent a home.

Whether you’re looking for a budget-friendly or luxury option, you’ll find it in the UK. To find your dream home, make a list of what you want and start looking before you move. Here are our recommendations to make this transition as smooth as possible:

• Consult your network of friends and relatives who may have already moved, as well as experts who know their way around the potential area.
• Consider short-term rentals – These can help you feel more settled initially but give you the freedom of not being locked in.
• Budget – Make sure you know what you can afford based on your UK salary and that you are factoring in extra unexpected costs.

6.    WILL YOU BRING PETS WITH YOU?

Pets are a part of our families. If you want to emigrate to the UK with your cats and dogs, make sure they:

• Are micro-chipped
• Have pet passports or third-country official veterinary certificates
• Have been vaccinated against rabies
• Have had a rabies blood test (if needed) if you’re travelling from an ‘unlisted country’
• Have had a tapeworm treatment (for dogs only)

If you intend to leave your pet behind, make sure you have a trusted relative or friend with whom your pet is familiar. Make sure they spend enough time together before the move to become acquainted with their new surroundings and their new owner.

7.    WILL YOU ADAPT TO YOUR NEW ENVIRONMENT?

Moving abroad and leaving loved ones behind stirs up a variety of emotions. It is frequently described as both the best and most difficult thing. It is important that you have realistic expectations and coping mechanisms for this journey. Life will throw obstacles in your path, no matter where you are physically, and you will experience good times and bad. Remember that this is completely normal. Finding a community of like-minded expats will make your move a little easier. Open yourself up to new friendships and experiences.

Remember to also make a plan to stay in touch with your family and friends. Modern technology allows you to message and video chat from almost anywhere. Commit to calling, texting or sending an old-fashioned postcard to your loved ones regularly.

Moving abroad is a big step, but it could be the first step toward some of the most amazing experiences of your life.

www.samigration.co.za

Nigerian Airlines suspends its operations to SA due to SA denying its citizens Visas

Opera News |  28 Nov 2022

Is there any country in the world that is not having problems with Nigerians, from scams, drugs etc, sadly this is not doing the image of the country any good. It's highest dream of every Nigerian to come to SA, just like Zimbabweans. Nigerians come to south Africa and later they go abroad using our documents claiming to be south Africans, once they are found doing crime in those countries it poses danger to south Africans who travel abroad because of Nigerians.

The principled denial of visas to scrupulous foreign applicants is nothing but a plausible step into the right direction. The suspension of airlink by the Nigerian Gov gives us some security that, at least we don't need to worry about air transportation of unscrupulous Nigerians. Let the Nigerians tell us which country welcomes them with open arms and stop behaving like SA owes them something. Even if we wanted to receive them, they don't respect our laws. They run scams, brothels and drug houses. Even Pastors are a menace. We must never be apologetic. 

www.samigration.co.za

There Is A New System In Place To Prevent Home Affairs Officials To Commit Passport Fraud

Opera News | 28 Nov 2022

South Africa has endless problems when it comes to the issue of illegal foreigners who just come as they please into the country. They buy their way into the country and because of the corrupt officials at the department of home affairs, things are just easy for them. South African officials sell out this country for just a few thousand and they forget that tomorrow it will be their children suffering.

But now the minister of home affairs Aaron Motsoaledi seems to think that they have the situation under control when it comes to the issues of illegal foreigners getting documentation in the country when it comes to passports. Ministers seem to have trust in the new system that they have put in place to prevent department officials from committing passport fraud. But we know that these people don't give up easily and along the way, they might just find a way how to cheat the system.

New officials should be employed at the department because these are already compromised. South Africans need to stand up and fight for this country before it vanishes into thin air.

www.samigration.co.za

Foreign Workers Are Losing Their Tech Jobs. Will They Have To Leave the Country Too?

Reason | 25 Nov 2022

Mass layoffs have left dozens of major tech firms and startups hemorrhaging workers ahead of the holiday season, capping off a year of shrinkage at those companies. That leaves thousands of former employees rushing to find new work in a currently contracting industry—a daunting task for U.S. citizens and a predicament with potentially life-changing consequences for laid-off workers on H-1B visas.

The H-1B visa program is a temporary work pathway through which U.S. companies can employ highly skilled foreigners in "specialty occupations." Per the Department of Labor, the program is meant to serve employers who otherwise aren't able to "obtain needed business skills and abilities" from the American workforce. Visas are capped at 85,000 per year and are issued for three years, with the possibility of extensions. Once an H-1B worker has lost his job, he can only stay in the U.S. legally for 60 days unless he finds new work or reclassifies to a different visa.

Sam—who requested that Reason not use his real name, fearing retaliation—is staring down that deadline. Until Friday, he worked at Carvana, an online used car retailer. "I thought, 'OK, this is my break to enter the tech space,'" he says. "I uprooted my life…and moved to a city where I knew no one." Now, he calls the situation at the company "an unmitigated disaster."

Citing economic pressures, Carvana recently laid off 1,500 employees, amounting to 8 percent of its workforce. They're joined by over 40,000 other tech workers who have lost their jobs in November—"well over double the amount of any other month in 2022, according to Layoffs.fyi," writes Kenrick Cai for Forbes. Stripe, Salesforce, Meta, and Amazon have all announced widespread layoffs. Twitter, under new owner Elon Musk, has made waves for its very public staff-whittling, which has affected thousands.

It remains unclear how many H-1B workers are among those laid off, but these visa holders are known to comprise significant shares of many tech companies' workforces. Using U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services data, the National Foundation for American Policy estimates that roughly 8 percent of Twitter's 7,500 employees are on H-1B visas, while 4 to 5 percent (roughly 300 to 350) of Stripe's employees are. Bloomberg reports that "at least 350 immigrants" at just Meta and Twitter were affected by layoffs, according to information compiled by employees. Forbes notes that "thousands of foreign nationals could soon be forced to leave the United States."

With the shrinkage happening at so many major companies, laid-off workers face discouraging odds of securing new jobs in tech. Firms that once hired large shares of H-1B visa holders are now wary of expanding their staffs. "If you want to get into another tech company, who's really hiring at this point?" asks Sam. "Google's hiring very, very selectively. Amazon is in a freeze."

That's sent H-1B holders rushing for a diminished pool of available tech jobs, uniquely squeezed by harsh visa rules. Though H-1B workers ostensibly have 60 days to find a new job, Sam notes that "it's not really 60, because you take about 15 days to transfer your H-1B from your old employer to your new employer." Many H-1B visa holders have "no fallback option" beyond simply going home, he says.

It isn't uncommon for foreign workers to have been on H-1B visas for years or even decades due to extreme wait times to obtain green cards. This means they have legal status as long as they're employed but still lack certainty about their continued presence in the country. Indians face especially long wait times for permanent residency since one country's nationals can only make up 7 percent of the employment-based green cards issued in a given year. "While there are almost half a million Indian nationals in the queue, only about 10,000 green cards a year are available for them," notes Bloomberg. "A congressional report estimated that Indians filing in 2020 would have to wait as long as 195 years for a green card."

In addition to the long waits, H-1B holders can face difficulties regarding their legal status in the U.S. if they leave the country, thanks to pandemic-era delays at consulates and embassies. "Even right now, the wait time for getting an appointment at a U.S. embassy in India, it's about 200–250 days," says Sam. "I know people who lost their parents during COVID who couldn't leave the country because back then, the U.S. embassies were all shut." If they got stuck abroad, "there was no guarantee whether they would still be employed" by their American companies.

H-1B restrictions also end up barring foreign workers from more lucrative or creative job opportunities. The 60-day window for finding new employment can force them to take the first job available. Facing the prospect of self-deportation if they don't remain reliably employed, some migrants who may have excelled in a role at a riskier firm—like a startup—may settle for a less fitting position.

The net effect of these delays and difficulties is that many bright workers look to migrate elsewhere rather than negotiate the American system. Sam says his employer before Carvana offered to start his green card process. "I told them not to do it because I didn't see the point in doing so," he explains. "If I'm going to get a green card 25, 30 years down the line, then it doesn't even matter, right?"

There is "a lot of brain drain among H-1B workers who are considering alternative options, Canada being the most notable, but also the U.K., a lot of European countries also have a lot easier routes," Sam continues. Though salaries might not be as high as in the U.S., "a lot of us are OK to take a financial hit just for peace of mind."

Recent tech layoffs may affect only a small share of America's immigrant workforce, but they're a sign that much reform is needed to ensure that high-skilled workers continue to come to the United States. Reforms could also address discriminatory limits on certain immigrants. Immigration analysts like David J. Bier of the Cato Institute note that employment-based green card caps "serve no purpose because nearly all wait-listed, employer-sponsored immigrants are already in the United States working in temporary statuses." The EAGLE Act, bipartisan legislation introduced in the House and Senate, would eliminate the per-country cap on employment-based green cards that has exacerbated wait times for many immigrants.

Should Sam be unable to find a new job in the U.S. soon, he says he'll focus on Canada instead. Would that calculus be different if extreme backlogs and wait times weren't a factor?

"Absolutely," he says. "100 percent, I think I would have stayed here."

www.samigration.co.za

150 Foreign Nationals Arrested In Hillbrow For Various Offences

Opera News | 25 Nov 2022

This is such an astoundingly large number of people who have been caught and connected to illegal criminal activities, and it is unquestionably something that cannot be forgiven easily. On Thursday, the Gauteng police managed to arrest (150) suspects in Hilbrow while conducting operation O kae Molao.

According to the reports, the Gauteng police conducted raids in Hilbrow apartments that have been believed to be harboring criminals. At least one hundred fifty suspects were taken into custody by the police after it was discovered that they were in possession of unlicensed firearms and ammunition. At this time, members of the general public are pleading with the authorities to make sure that the suspects are never allowed to be released from custody.

The O Kae Molao investigation discovered more evidence that several of the suspects are here in the nation unlawfully, the police are doing great work.

It was alleged that the suspects were residing at the apartment illegally, and inhabitants of the Hilbrow neighborhood had been complained about crooks who are reportedly living in the unit.

Investigations will be conducted regarding the firearms that were seized by the police after they discovered three (3) unlicensed firearms. These are the same kinds of people who are committing horrible criminal activities in the country, and unfortunately, that has led to a situation in which they have to be addressed with and punished according the full extent of the law.

The police did an excellent job by conducting the raid on the apartment, and they have stated that they will continue to conduct raids on other apartments that are suspected of housing criminals. However, members of the public have a responsibility to ensure that criminal activities are stopped in order to ensure the success of the people in this country.

It is disconcerting that Hilbrow is well known for crime and that alleged undocumented immigrants without records are living in the neighborhood. It is disturbing because it is making things difficult for the people because they are unable determine who is present in the country and who does not. This is disturbing because it is making things difficult for the people because they cannot determine who is in the country and who does not.

Leave a comment below with your thoughts and opinions, since doing so will go a long way toward ensuring that the article is read by a large number of people.

www.samigration.co.za