Ash’s Guide to moving to the UK

For young New Zealanders, it’s quite common to pack up and go live in the UK for a bit. We’ve either done it or know of someone who has. But how do you actually do it? Moving to the other side of the world is not only a culture shock but adulting in an extreme way. So buckle up and I’ll try and talk you through some of the main points for getting your life sorted in the UK.

Quick disclaimer: I’ve provided has links to relevant websites for any specific information, particularly in relation to government documents, as these are changed and updated reasonably regularly. All the information written here is to the best of my knowledge at the publishing of this blog post. Any opinions are my own and from my own experiences from living in the UK for the past two years.

Working Visas

There are three common ways for a New Zealander to be allowed to work in the UK. These options would also work for someone from other Commonwealth countries including Australia and Canada.

Passport

I’m going to be honest here, I don’t really know anything about the passport situation. As far as I know, you can get a British passport if one of your parents has a UK passport or if they were born in the UK. I think it’s reasonably similar throughout European countries as well. Of course, with the upcoming outcome of Brixit, there may be a change the eligibility or the paperwork surrounding EU passports and working in the UK. There are a couple of other circumstances that would also allow you to get a British or EU passport. If you’re unsure if you can get a British passport, there’s a quiz on the government website: https://www.gov.uk/check-british-citizen.

UK Ancestry Visa

You are eligible for this visa if you are a member of the Commonwealth, applying outside of the UK and can prove one of your grandparents was born in the UK. This visa allows you to live and work in the UK for up to 5 years. You can apply from 3 months prior to your travel and will cost you £516 to apply. There is also an NHS health surcharge included in this one at £400 per year, making it £2000 for the length of this visa. You must be over 17 and able to provide birth certificates and marriage certificates for the side of the family you are claiming ancestry through. For more information on this visa click through here: https://www.gov.uk/ancestry-visa.

Tier 5 Youth Mobility Scheme

This is the visa James and I have used for our time in the UK. You can apply for this visa if you are aged between 18-30 and are from New Zealand, Australia, Canada, Japan, Monaco, Hong Kong, Republic of Korea or Taiwan. You must have proof of £1,890 savings and no children who live with you or that you are financially responsible for. If you are applying from Hong Kong or the Republic of Korea you will need a certificate of sponsorship.

This visa allows you to live and work in the UK for up to 2 years and you can apply 6 months before you plan to travel. It costs £244 to apply and you should get a decision within 3 weeks. You also have to pay an NHS health surcharge fee which has unfortunately gone up recently to £300 per year, so it would be £600 for this two-year visa.

For more information about this visa, guidelines, rules and how to apply click through to the government website: https://www.gov.uk/tier-5-youth-mobility.

Bank

Probably one of the biggest struggles we foreigners (especially NZ’ers) find is the long slow drawn out banking system.  Recently there’s been a rise in internet banks in the UK, which has made it a lot easier to join a bank here. Monzo and Revolut are the best ones I’ve found. Revolut is the main one I use. It’s very simple, first, you download the app and sign yourself up. You just need to confirm your identity with a passport or ID card and they will send you an eftpos-type card and open your bank account. There is no official proof of address needed, unlike many mainstream banks in the UK. The only struggle I’ve had with Revolut is when I tried to sign up to a gym they wouldn’t take direct debits from Revolut. So if that’s in your plans I would recommend Monzo instead, as direct debits for gyms and phone plans from Monzo work perfectly fine. Both are easy to send money to friends or to split the bill, Monzo can even transfer to people nearby or by cell phone number. There are options for accounts in different currencies – so I’ve got one for Euros and NZD as well. The cards are easily used in Europe and the banks give you the best conversion rate they can and always pay in local currency to keep the exchange rate consistent. You can also send money back to NZ/Australian bank accounts cheaply and with ease.

Job

Most people, I’ve heard of go through a job agency when looking for work, but it really depends on what occupation you’re in. For some people if you’re already working in an international company, transferring is also a good option. I went with an agency for ease of transition into the UK system. For working in healthcare, I  felt finding work through an agency was a good option. The agency steered me in the right direction in terms of first aid and manual handling training, police checks and insurance requirements. So it is a good idea to help you navigate your industry in a new and different country.

Flats

The internet really is your best bet, to be honest, I don’t know how else you would find flats these days. If you’re looking in London, Kiwis in London and Aussies in London do weekly threads for people looking for flatmates or potential flatmates looking for rooms. Websites like Gumtree and Spareroom are good ideas to check out as well for flats in London or other towns too. Common places expats live in London are Shepard’s Bush and Clapham as they are both cheaper areas to live with good train or underground connections.

Once you’ve got somewhere to leave and you’ve finally got some proof of address you can sign up to everything else that you couldn’t sign up to before, mainly because they bloody love a proof of address over here. Some examples you can use are a flatting contract, electrical bills, bank statements, professional board letter all including your name and address. Different places have different requirements for proof of address, so make sure you check what documents are accepted.

National Insurance Number

This is the equivalent of an NZ IRD number or an Australian TFN. This one needs proof of address. You can start working while it’s still processing, it will just change your tax a little bit. The system has changed in the year since we got them and now you have to go in for a 10-minute interview as part of the process. Head to the government website to apply: https://www.gov.uk/apply-national-insurance-number.

GP

So, from my experience registering hasn’t been necessary. However, it would be irresponsible of me to tell other people not to. If you get sick or need scans of any sort or even physio input you will need to be registered with a local GP. So, once you’ve got that proof of address in your hot little hands, sign up to your local GP practice, just in case. There are also walk-in clinics available with limited facilities. Normally there are just used for providing quick diagnoses, prescriptions or advice.

Cell phone company

Cell phone plans will depend on your personal requirements and preferences. James and I are stingy when it comes to phone data so we just signed up to pay-as-you-go monthly plans with O2 and pay about £10 a month. There are plenty of different companies and plans out there and there is always new types of deals coming out. The good thing about the O2 ones is the plans work overseas, so you can text, call and use data while travelling in Europe. In terms of App stores, Apple was easy to change the country of the App store and then you can download your cell phone providers app. On Android it’s a little different, Google only lets you change your country once a year, so if you change the country to allow different apps to be downloaded you just have to commit for 12 months.

Library

A great way to not accumulate a bunch of books in your time overseas is joining a library. Most councils have several library locations in the area so when you sign up to one council library there are few options for your local library. Again, these guys usually like a proof of address as well. And the best part, it’s free!

Gyms

Like anywhere there’s a good mix of different gyms with various contracts and deals. My agency offered a few different deals so I nabbed one of those. Pure Gym was the cheapest one I could find. Personally, I only signed up for a few months, I wasn’t using it enough and got rid of it, I prefer exercising outdoors in the parks or on our flat roof. There are also a bunch of yoga studios around the place. As yoga goes, it’s usually a little more expensive, like gyms though there are deals or new membership bonuses that can make it a little more affordable.

Language

For so long I thought that New Zealand English was “correct” English and it definitely is when you’re in the land of the long white cloud but when you move somewhere new, you realise how crazy not only our slang is but our accents too, here are some ones I’ve learnt along the way:

I hope this is helpful if you have any more questions or would like me to write more posts like this feel free to comment below.