Well, we're one month on from arriving in the UK. This seems a good thread to summarise our post-arrival experiences - might be of use to others...
Arrival at Heathrow
We flew back together from Shanghai to London Heathrow Terminal 5 with British Airways on September 2nd. I think BA really need to consider modernising their fleet. As was the case with my outbound flight, the plane was really old, a bit tatty on the inside and the onboard entertainment system was substantially inferior to that of other airlines I've flown of late (Virgin, American Airlines, Cathay Pacific etc...). On the positive side, I managed to get my other half upgraded to business class so we could sit together and one of the benefits of that is that they give you an immigration 'fast track' card to expedite your passage through UK border control. Given that we were flying back right at the end of the UK holiday season (which also coincides with thousands of overseas students heading for UK universities), I thought this would be a godsend.
But no!
At Terminal 5, they have three desks serving the fast track queue. Just as we arrived, one of desks was closed off as the immigration officer previously manning it escorted a young, blonde girl away, presumably for further inspection. I assume she was from the US, as a plane from Los Angeles had just touched down before ours did. As such, with just two desks in operation, things really slowed down to a standstill and, despite being one of the first two passengers off the plane, we ended up waiting as long, if not longer than the regular line. Waste of time, really...
Of the two immigration officers remaining, one of them was a jovial sort - all smiles and sunshine as he extended a warm greeting to all who approached his desk. In contrast, his counterpart on the other desk looked like he was chewing a wasp! Stern and uncomprising in his steely determination not to break a smile, he presented a fearsome sight that would quail the heart of even the most seasoned traveller!
No prizes for guessing which desk we ended up at!
Anyway, without saying a word to us, he took our passports, along with the Home Office letter, and started tapping away on his computer. Must admit, I was feeling a little nervous at this point. Then he just stamped the visa vignette, handed back our documents and waved us through. Still, without saying a word..maybe he had a sore throat...
As soon as that was over, we whizzed through baggage claim and customs and met up with the driver I'd booked who was to take us to my home in Nottingham. Laden with four large and heavy suitcases, plus carry-on, that was really the only option. And it was nice not to be messing around with trains or coaches after a 12 hour flight. Three hours later, we were home safe and sound!
BRP Card Collection
First thing on the agenda for the following morning was to head to the post office in order to pick up the BRP card. The Home Office had very thoughtfully selected a post office located in one of the roughest areas in town - a real knife-crime hotspot! This was one of the reasons I wanted to get there as soon as it opened, in the hope that 'the usual suspects' weren't out of bed yet. When we arrived, there were only 3 or 4 people standing in line ahead of us so we were in and out in a flash. The world-weary lady behind the (bullet-proof?) glass asked for a surname, before popping off to retrieve the letter from the back room. Letter in hand, she then asked to see my partner's passport and also the Home Office 'visa application successful' letter before handing it over. We also had to sign something if I recall. Job done!
Proof of Address
Seems like you can't do anything 'official' these days in in the UK without having proof of address, which includes:
a) Opening a bank account;
b) Registering at the doctor's surgery;
c) Applying for a national insurance number.
So, the challenge was trying to get my OH's name on a bill or statement of some kind from an ueber-reputable source - they won't accept mobile phone bills, for example. At first, this seemed a bit of an impenetrable 'chicken and egg' cycle, as it seemed you couldn't get one piece of correspondence in your name (e.g. from the bank or NHS) without having satisfied them first that you lived at that address, which involved presenting another piece of official correspondence. So, how to find a route in?
Before flying back to the UK, I tried to get the ball rolling on this. Efforts to contact the council by phone to get my OH added to my council tax bill had been unsuccessful. I had also tried using the online form on their website, but, after submitting the request, it wasn't clear whether this had even been received, let alone acted upon as they didn't send out any confirmation or acknowledgement e-Mails. It was a total black hole.
I also gave my gas / electric supplier a call, which is EDF Energy. They said that they could make it a jointly named account if we e-Mailed them a scanned letter signed by both parties agreeing to the change. We did this. One week later, no response, so I called them back. They apologised for not acting upon the request and asked me to re-send the e-Mail. The lady on the phone took care of it there and then. I then asked them to send a copy of the latest bill or statement, addressed to us both and dated within the last three months to my home address. This is the requirement for 'proof of address' via a utility bill if you want to open an account at Barclays.
When we arrived back in the UK, I was delighted to see that the EDF letter was waiting for us.
Except what they actually sent was a letter addressed to both of us (undated!) saying 'as per your recent request, please find enclosed a copy of your latest bill'. And the bill was just in my name.
* thud *
Mobile phone
This one's quite easy if you already have a handset you can insert a UK SIM card into, which my OH did.
Without being a UK citizen on the electoral register, it's difficult to get a contract, but pay-as-you-go deals are very reasonable and they can set up a direct debit on your account so you don't have to keep topping up.
In the end, we went for a Vodafone SIM. For 10 pounds a month, they offer unlimited calls, text messages and, if you are under 30, you can sign up to their VOXI plan (which is primarily aimed at students), which gives you a generous monthly data allowance of 6GB.
Worth looking into, and I'd recommend getting a phone before you think about ...
...Opening a bank account
Trying to book an appointment to open a bank account was no fun at all. It became clear very quickly that there was a month's wait for an account opening appointment, so the only way to get this done was to go to a branch on the off-chance they had someone available to see you. Now, opening an account was quite urgent for us as my OH had come to the UK with a few thousand pounds cash, which we really didn't want to leave lying around the house.
To open a bank account, you need two things:
1) Proof of ID (passport, BRP card...)
2) The dreaded proof of address...
I've always banked with Barclays, so I gave them a call prior to heading the bank following BRP card collection. The lady on the helpline said that the jointly addressed EDF energy cover letter should be fine to open an account so we should give it a go at the branch.
When we got to the branch, there was no-one available to help us there and then, but they offered an appointment in 4 weeks time. They informed us that the letter from EDF was *not* sufficient as proof of address and that we needed to have an actual bill or statement, dated within the last 3 months.
Somewhat defeated by all of this, we then went into Nottingham city center to try HSBC.
HSBC also told us that we were looking at a few weeks' wait for an appointment, and that the EDF 'statement cover letter' could not be accepted as proof of address. However, they said that if my name was on the council tax bill and I wrote a letter confirming that my other half was living at the property, then they could accept this to open a basic bank account. A basic bank account is basically just a current account without any credit facilities, which was fine for our purposes. They also said that if we came back the next morning before 11am, they could probably squeeze us in for an account opening appointment.
So, we turned up bright and early outside the branch the next day. We were seen within 10 minutes. We had to produce ID (BRP card / passport), the letter I wrote confirming that we were living together, the council tax bill in my name and I also brought our marriage certificate. 45 minutes later, the account was opened and my OH deposited all of the cash.
During the appointment, the lady dealing with us helped my OH set up online banking, which seemed a very laborious process. Hence, I'd recommend getting the UK mobile phone number *before* opening an account so someone can walk you through this and get you all set up in person.
What a relief to get that done, though...
Ironically, the next day, the council tax bill and the EDF energy bill addressed in both names turned up at the house. Yes, the council had actually processed my request. They just hadn't informed me.
Registering with the Doctor
No appointment was needed for this. We just turned up at the surgery at the top of our street and the lady at reception was able to take care of this. After filling out a lengthy form, she just wanted to see proof of ID (BRP card) and proof of address (council tax bill in both names) and that was it.
Provisional driving licence
Another good way to get a widely accepted form of 'proof of address' as well as ID in general is to apply for a provisional driving licence.
We applied and paid online, after which the DVLA send you a paper form to fill in. That arrived about 1 week later. We filled in the form and sent it back to the DVLA. You just need to enclose your BRP card (no passport needed!) and one passport-style photo.
But there is a bit of a wait. And a disconcerting wait as well as the online application tracker shows a status of 'awaiting documents' right up until the moment where your licence is actually approved. During that time, they also sent a 'we haven't received your documents' e-Mail, which rather lead us to believe that something had gone wrong and the BRP card has been lost!
We sent the BRP card off on September 10th, and the tracker didn't update to 'licence issued' until the 28th. The actual licence arrived the following Wednesday, and the BRP card (which they send back separately) arrived the day after that, just in time for...
Getting a national insurance number
You don't need a national insurance number to start working in the UK, but we were told you should have one within 3 months of starting a job. As such, I felt this was something best done early. And it's yet another activity that has significant waiting times.
To make an appointment, I rang the national insurance number application line on September 3rd. The lady on the other end took some basic details over the phone and scheduled an appointment at a nearby job center, the earliest available being October 4th. She provided an appointment number reference and said that we'd receive a letter with the appointment details and a list of things we needed to bring within 5 days.
We didn't receive anything.
On October 3rd, I called back to check that the appointment was still on, and I was slightly nervous as, at that point, we still had not received the BRP card back from the DVLA. The lady on the phone apologised for the absence of the letter, but said that not having the BRP card was not an issue as long as we still had the home office letter stating the visa validity dates.
She confirmed that the appointment was still on, and that we needed to bring:
1) Proof of ID (Passport);
2) Home Office 'visa application successful' letter (in the absence of the BRP card);
3) Proof of address (council tax bill in both names);
4) Proof that my OH was looking for work (we printed off some job interview confirmation e-Mails)
As it turned out, the BRP card arrived back just in the nick of time of the day of the appointment. The lady in the job center required the appointment number (which I'd fortunately made a note of) and confirmed that they would have accepted the Home Office letter. We were at the job center for about 15 minutes or so and, during the short interview, they only asked for the passport, BRP card and proof of address. They didn't ask to see proof of looking for work, though I wouldn't recommend not bringing that just in case.
She then presented us with a letter to give to any potential employers should they ask about a national insurance number and advised that we should hear something in the next seven weeks! So clearly, this is not a quick process.
The amount of security guards in the job center really took me by surprise - they must get a lot of trouble in there these days.
Anyway, here's a timeline of all our activities:
September 2nd: Arrival in UK
September 3rd: Collected BRP card, signed up with Vodafone for UK mobile phone number, applied online for UK driving licence & UK national insurance number appointment via phone
September 4th: Opened account at HSBC
September 5th: EDF energy & council tax bills finally arrive in both names
September 10th: Registered at doctor's surgery (with BRP card & council tax bill) then sent BRP card off to DVLA for provisional driving licence
September 28th: DVLA application tracker updates with 'Licence issued' status
October 3rd: Provisional licence arrives
October 4th: BRP card returned just in time for National Insurance Number appointment
Hope that's of help and gives folks an idea of current waiting times and procedures for getting the basics done...
Regards,
Tim
