Yo Alright Mates...
Its been slightly more than a month I have landed in Bristol UK., and things are becoming more normal for me., so, I sat down and wrote a brief (hopefully) writeup about my experiences here.... I am writing this out to answer some individual mails you guys have been sending me personally... hopefully this blanket story answers all your questions at one shot.... so, grab a coffee or beer ... and enjoy it ....
Chapter One: The Start...
Well., it all started when I first visited immigrationboards after being redirected from some search sites., I was looking for sites that offered me services to Australia. I did spend the next 15 days reading all the previous posts and that was when i decided that i will have a go at UK too., australia was still my primary option. Being from IT background, I decided to go for the major band namely Graduate Degree, Work Experience and Income points. I got a equivalency certificate from UK NARIC(15 days max...it took 1 month for me due to postal delay)..i had called them up and requested for a second certificate as i could not get the one they sent earlier... the first one reached me one month after I got my HSMP approval., wonder where it was all the time....., postal dept mein derr hain ... andher nahin.., anyways.. after that... I dug up my huge pile of certificates and credentials and got my campus recruitment
papers, and other work experiences for each company i worked for and got a one year statement from Citibank. I browsed through the net for job opportunities and added their printouts along with salary levels. I dispatched the whole bunch in the first week of june. I could not get a strong employer's letter from my current company with out damaging my current employment terms., so, i just sent a plain letter stating i worked there ... to justity my claim for graduate level experience, i was lucky to find a letter from my first company (campus recruitment) where they had mentioned that a successful completion of graduation was necessary for my joining formalities with them. I dont know if I could convince them with that or the fact that my previous companies were big names like Wipro..etc... that did the trick for me.... well., something worked out there in my favour... Anyways... the package was out and I started compiling another bunch of applications for my Australian gig...
Chapter Two: The ecstasy...
I logged into my credit card account regularly... the package was received on 7th June and the card got charged on 8th June... then, i waited to receive my reference number and confirmation of the receipt. I never got it ., even after one week. Then, I sent them a mail requesting for the same. I got a reply giving my reference number and the status that my application was in the queue for a case worker. Then the sad and horrible 7/7 happend., then., suddenly the news of successes on immigrationboards seem to have reduced., probably i was just being paranoid... and after that nothing much happend, i had compiled my
initial application and sent it out to ACS., Australian computer society.., IT
guys have to get approval from them to apply for immigration., something like NARIC., but, ACS will suggest you a code that you can apply for immigration directly. Then 23rd July came,. it was lazy saturday morning and the whole family was just lazing in front of the TV... then the mailman arrived with a A4 sized brown package.. with UK postal stamp on it.. my father called me out to recieve it... I knew something has happend already and i dont know.., there was no confirmaton that decision has been taken ., i believe some guys had got a confirmation mail that package has already been sent out..., it was just out of the blue... very sudden for me... i beieve it was for the good.., coz, it was
just two minutes from the time I got my package till i read the letter, those two minutes were the longest ever., i wonder how guys who have already been informed about decisions spend their time till they get the package... anyway..,. I ran into soltitude and read the letter and i could not believe it. I went out and hugged everybody frantically., and they still dont know why i was doing that... my approval date as on the approval letter was 11th july., 4 days after the 7/7 incident... that was like the first whiff of how normal this country can become after a shocking incident.
Chapter Three: Its not the end...
The happiness of the approval was very much shortlived., as it had many strings attached which when pulled., pulls out huge boulders of uncertainities. I had never known anyone in UK., not even a distant friend.. i dint have any idea of how to get a job.. The whole australian thing took the back seat... as i had read grievances from other members about their rejections ..,i realized, how coveted HSMP was.. suddenly i was in the elite group of approvals... I read some more postings on immigrationboards., all with reference to jobs and initial stay.., the hotel rates, salary levels to bargain for.., place to stay... then.., i spent real real good time searching for jobs... daily routine would be upto 3 in the night.., changed my resume to mention in big letters that hsmp is approved and ready to travel ... where ever it was asked on jobsites that if I am local resident, i would just say yes, coz, i would be in a month or so... it started to pay off and i took some telephonic interviews. I think anyone with a fair amount of experience would get a decent job over
here. You will not be checked for anything perfect.., they will take you for your word... If the company thinks that you have the required skills they want, they will hire you... otherwise, just wait, someone who works on the same as your skills will get in touch with you soon. Never try to pretend you know something which is not actually your strong point., coz, they will find it out soon and there is this concept of reverse feedback... they will give a feedback to the job agent who fixed up the interview and if its bad, the agent will not take forward your case anymore... have a very good rapport with agents., coz they are the gate keepers... I had given myself 2 months after approval to go in for EC and that i will spend this time to hunt for jobs... well miracles do happen ,. one such company offered me a permanent position in Bristol..,. there were actually quite a few in london and cambridge ... but, they had insisted on a last level of personal interview before hiring me... which was ok with me., but, after this company took me in, I stopped looking... started preparing for my EC.., i used the services of VFS in Bangalore for EC.., For EC, you should
show the proof that you are good economically, get the latest up to date
statements of your bank account for the past 6 months., avoid last minute bulk payments into your account., get a hotel booking confirmation or a letter from friends living in UK.., and job searches., preferrably mails from agents or employers showing interest in your profile. I would suggest married guys to start off alone and then bring the family once you are settled down. In my case, I also attached a copy of the offer letter and requested my HR to send a mail to chennai consulate directly. I heard that the consulate confirmed the receipt of their mail and mentioned that when the visa application is received, it will be dealt with accordingly. My EC application took 3 working days to reach me with the stamped visa. Well., things all fell in line and I was on a lufthansa flight via frankfurt on 12th Oct 2005.
Chapter Four: Aftermath....dream run...
It was around 10:30 local time when I landed in Heathrow., weather was
typical., just rained and about to rain again... not many people were there in the immigration queue.. The IO checked my visa and my HSMP papers and asked me to take up a X ray. I went there, nobody was there to take X ray ., and the lady signed off the xray form and asked me to proceed to take my luggage. Max 5 minutes there. In the melee, they forgot to stamp my passport., i am still holding on to all the flight stubs to prove that i landed on that day. Anyways., I proceeded towards Bristol after that. The very next day I joined my company and slowly getting used to life here. Some of the dos and donts for guys back there, especially from India., you are landing into a dream land where everything you can imagine in your dreams are available, but, for a cost... things are very very costly... if you guys think eating biriyani in Nandhini Delux in Indiranagar is costly enough for you., then beware, you dont even get a loaf of good bread for the same amount here....be well stocked and plan your activities in advance. As much as possible, ask your employers to
find a good place to stay for you atleast for the initial 15 days ., you can
find places to live for 300-400(bristol, costlier in london) or even less based on how far you live from basic amenities like shops, bars/busses. If you dont have friends, try living in a houseshare for the initial days till you can get used to life here. Its a different country., different culture and a totally new life.... learn to smile at others., be polite and greet everyone once you make eye contact... remember, when the tongue is good, the town is good.... everything you need to know about this place is available on the internet... request for a letter from your employers to mention your employment there ., this is required for opening bank account and to find a place to stay.., HSBC or Barclays can do it for you.., i could convince barclays to open an account for me using my employment letter and indian driving license...get lot of clothes, warm clothes especially, its ok to pay extra and get it from there., coz, its really worth it.... anyways... so far, things have been going really great for me.., hope it continues for a long time to come.... its so good that I almost forgot australia.., i did get an approval from ACS.., but, I am yet to apply., probably, I will not... but, who knows....
Thanx for sitting through it... cheers mates !!!
- FAQ
- Login
- Register
- Call Workpermit.com for a paid service +44 (0)344-991-9222
) ., i thought I will just be honest and tell him what happened., and will send out my flight stubs as proof... and even the heathrow to paddington express tickets., will update ya all soon..... has anyone had a good or bad experience with this department before ??
