Moving to England

kayos · 17-01-2002 5:31pm #1

Right since I have recently just moved to England (London to be exact) to start a new job I feel like posting up my findings and hopefully give anyone one who maybe or is moving over some tips.

I dont really know if this belongs in the work board so WWM feel free to move it to where you see fit.

Accomadation
To find accomadation the ads paper to look at over here is http://www.loot.com they have loads of listings mainly in London but it covers most places. You can buy a E-copy which is the handyest as you can do searchs rather than flicking through the whole thing. If you are looking in London find out from someone over here wheres good and wheres not cause there are certain places you dont want to be. Also transport on the south side of London is a bit lacking compared to the north.
Getting Around
Ahhh the English complain all the time about the transport system over here but coming from Galway its a dream Busses run pritty much on time and the Tube and trains like wise. If you dont like the idea of being crammed into a tube you would be surprised but walking can be faster if you are only a couple of stops away and there should be a bus if your a lazy sod The most important thing in your bag and with you at all times is the A to Z its an amazing book and you will never get lost while you have it .
Bank Accounts
Ohhhh my god is this a touchy subject with me ATM. If you ever though opening an account in Ireland was bad wait till you get over here I have got Loans easier FFS. Make sure you have past bank statements showing transactions not older than 3 months old. Preferably change your Irish bank account to your English address before you come over (as it must be done in your branch or in writing) this will act as one proof of address and previous bank account. Have your passport and drivers licence as well. Please if you only pay attention to one thing let this be it I am having a nightmare over here with this. BOI might be able to open an account for you if you have an existing BOI account in Ireland to get you started.
Points to note
Bring passport photos for your photo card for seasion tickets on the tube/bus/trains.
Most companies do what are called Seasion tickets loans where they give you the money for a yearly travel card (depending on your zome this can cost from about £800 +) they then take it out of your wages month by month. With this card you can get a load of discount when buying tickets for trains and the like. It also saves you from queing up once a week/month to get a new pass.
Time Out is the magazine for all things got to do with social life be it pubs clubs food drink or arts.

Well thats all I can think of right now but hopefully I will come up with more. Oh ya heres one for you http://www.jobserve.com is great for IT jobs in England.

kayos

WhiteWashMan · 17-01-2002 5:44pm

not at all. im in the same boat and i think its a good idea.

a few other things to note:

bank accounts.
i got an account with tsb easy peasy. you will need passport and drivers licence and previous bank statements.

drivers licence.
once you have a full irish licence you are able to apply for a uk\european one. its valid until your 70! you know it makes sense. just send you licence and fill out relative forms from post office and a cheque to for just 30 quid and a week later you get a little plastic licence back. fits nicely in your wallet the way an irish one doesnt!

NI number.
ohhh, its like going on a very long councelling session.
if you manage to get in touch with your local dss and get an apointment, make sure you bring everything that the ask (a letter from your previously opened bank account is vital)
they grill you for about 3 hours on your past, but then a couple of weeks later you get a lovely NI number and card which allows you to then go and work and pay your tax and be a normal member of society!

cars.
if you live in london dont get one.
if you live outside like i do. get one. did i mention i was getting ne today? oh i did? sorry!

website.
www.jobsite.co.uk
www.jobtrack.co.uk

are both good.
anyone with anything else to add can post up.
will add as i remember things.

b ythe wya, getting a bank loan over here is dead easy.
i got one after being here 6 months and in my new job 6 weeks!

The Sweeper · 18-01-2002 8:39pm

Quick tip on bank accounts - a letter of recommendation from your account holding bank branch in Ireland is extremely useful, make sure they put a contact number on the reference.

Give that to the lovely bank person along with proof of ID as both of the above posts have covered, and sit and wait.

My personal experience: Barclays take the longest. Lloyds TSB are slightly quicker, NatWest better again. You see they'll almost all open an account for you immediately if you bring ID, but it's the time they take to send you out an ATM card & pin no. that make the difference.

AIB/BOI both have UK branches, but banking with them can cause some difficulty with issues like clearing etc. - Same as over here, if you bank with the same company your employer banks with, it's always easier to sort out salary cock-ups.

Shinji · 21-01-2002 7:02pm

It's no more difficult for an Irish person to open an account here than it is for a UK resident to open one in Ireland, in my experience.

they grill you for about 3 hours on your past, but then a couple of weeks later you get a lovely NI number and card which allows you to then go and work and pay your tax and be a normal member of society!

Erk, I've been here nearly a year and a half and haven't actually bothered doing this yet. Oops

regi · 21-01-2002 7:09pm

BOI might be able to open an account for you if you have an existing BOI account in Ireland to get you started.

This is what I did (BoI in Croydon), and the delightful chaps charged me roughly £30-£50 in bank charges every month. It was something like £2.20 per ATM cash withdrawal.

I hope this is no longer the case.

tHE vAGGABOND · 22-01-2002 10:00pm

Shinji = pe0n

Suppose that the level of intelligence you get with someone who could not get into college :rolleyes:

tHE vAGGABOND · 22-01-2002 10:03pm

After some research, Barclays will open an account for anyone. You need Passport/Driving Lic and a letter from your employer giving their address and your home address and that should be it..

BOI will transfer your account - but I heard a story like regi's that they have big ass bank charges. So that and the fact that the local Barclays is 2 seconds from both home and work wolla!

stu_69 · 10-04-2002 12:41am

My advise to you is DONT MOVE TO LONDON. There is no fu(kin jobs..........Why did I ever come back from Australia? Why?

kayos · 31-07-2002 3:30pm

Right on the bank issue BOI in the UK are extremly helpful the only shame is the total lack of branchs

.

They open my account for me no problems and I had my Pass card in about 4 days and my pin the next day. As for their charges they dont have them any more as long as you stay less than £50 over drawn. They also gave me a overdraft with no qualms at all, which was helpful at the time.

So all in all as a first account to open I would recommend BOI and then once you have been with them 6 months you can bugger off to who ever you want with no problems.

kayos

Helix · 07-08-2002 9:05pm

Originally posted by WhiteWashMan
NI number.
ohhh, its like going on a very long councelling session.
if you manage to get in touch with your local dss and get an apointment, make sure you bring everything that the ask (a letter from your previously opened bank account is vital)
they grill you for about 3 hours on your past, but then a couple of weeks later you get a lovely NI number and card which allows you to then go and work and pay your tax and be a normal member of society!

whats this NI number lad all about? im movin over in 6 weeks for college for a year.... wil i need one to get a job???

WhiteWashMan · 14-08-2002 2:50pm

how long are you moving over for?
have you got a job?
where are you going?
etc etc etc

Lump · 21-12-2002 10:20am

Pfff bank account easy to get !!!!

I went in to TSB and gave then copies of everything including my bloody medical statements (Not really) and they turned around and said, "We can't open an account for you as you are not resident of the UK!" What the **** I'm going to be living there for three years, at least, anyway I walked around the corner and opened an account with the Bank of Scotland.

About the NI number, I never bothered getting one, when I started work I was automatically issued with a "Temporary" National Insurance number. Helix, basically a national insurance number is the same as the PRSI number you have in Ireland. Just start working and if you get a call from the income tax people deny all knowledge

John

carrotcake · 01-01-2003 3:23am

the amount of running around i had to do to get an ni number was unbelieveable. they finally sent me a letter confirming an appointment, but i was back in ireland by then! for some reason, which is still unknown to me, the inland revenue paid me all my tax back in my second last (before i came home) wage packet even tho i had never enquired about getting tax back

as for bank accounts, abbey national had no problem once i had my passport and a bank statement with my english address on it. i just changed my address with aib over here and got them to send me a statement

on a side note, which banks let you have an irish address? abbey national won't let you change to a foreign address, so i ended up closing the account

yop · 17-01-2003 3:04am

How is the job market there now lads, trying to get over but all I am getting is this sh*te about you have to over here or they are not willing to interview bla bla

carrotcake · 19-01-2003 1:53pm

they now have the lowest unemployment rate in 27 years or something like that, so it can't be too bad

growler · 06-03-2003 2:58pm

job market

depends on what you do , if you are in finance, banking, creative or IT industries it's not the best time ever, the City is depressed at the moment , i think most other industries are pretty ok.

it's understandable not wanting to interview someone based in ireland.

BuffyBot · 25-03-2003 12:44pm

Banks:

You generally need to get an appointment to see someone about opening an account.

My experience:

Lloyds TSB - Pack of wasters - didn't even ring me back when I requested and appointment. In fact, Welsh call-centre person didn't even think I needed one, despite me saying when I rang "the branch asked me to call so you can schedule an appointment". Eventually she found out she could do it...but apparently she didn't, or they just weren't arsed about calling me back. Needless to say I took my business elsewhere.

HSBC: Rude. Plain rude. Plainly the lady on the Customer Service desk had never even heard of those words, and seemed to be pissed of with me for interupting her busy session of doing bugger all. Repeat final stage of the LloydsTSB experience reaction.

Halifax - Not too bad. Rather than set up appointments they prefer to take the application over the phone via their call centre. Overnight desicion - all that was needed was me to turn up with documents (quite a wide list accepted too, which was good) at a branch for verification - no appointment needed. They offered me a Cashcard account with Solo (debit card with no cashback facility).

Natwest - Absolute stars. Offered me an appointment on the same day. On the spot approval for current account with Switch (debit card with cashback facility), cheque book and £100 quid overdraft. All they needed from the masses of documentation I had was passport and a bank statement with my UK address on it (which I had AIB change via 24Hour banking). Sorted

WhiteWashMan · 25-03-2003 3:33pm

actually, you should just be able to turn up and ask to open an account.
you will need passport and/or drivers license, and some sort of address proving mail. getting your credit card bill from ireland posted to your UK address will help you here.
otherwise its ok.
by the way, thats for lloydstsb, havent tried anywhere else!

Lump · 19-04-2003 10:44am

I just walked into the Royal bank of Scotland, and they did everything there and then, a couple of days later I had my cards cheque book etc. I still havent heard from the Inland revenue people about my NI number, however I do have 3 jobs and they are taxing me on the "Temporary" Number so if they're happy I'm happy.

John

tHE vAGGABOND · 04-06-2003 2:42pm

where you will need a real NI number is for NHS prescriptions, unemployment (dole) getting a pension and all that kinda crap..

you dont need it, but if you want stay here for a while its worth going to your local DSS to chat to them for a few hours for the sake of it

yossarin · 30-07-2003 1:43pm

god bless the internet: Inland revenue page on NI number

BoyScout · 30-07-2003 3:56pm

Some experience to share:

Banks:
I was lucky as my company set up a bank account for me. But have had loads of friends who have had problems.

What can be helpful is if you have a long-standing friend/family member who is willing to act as reference for you. NOTE this person is not acting as surety on the account just as reference. I have done this for a family member who came to the UK and Natwest were willing to give her an account on the day she arrived in the UK. Did help that i have had my bank account for 4 years.

Finding places to stay:
www.findaproperty.co.uk has a good section on rental places all over the UK
…also you could find shared accommodation at www.thegumtree.co.uk . Mostly used by Aussie/Kiwi/South Africans - but you can find good places. They are not such a bad lot.

NI Numbers:
One note about the NI numbers. If you are being taxed on a temporary NI number then you are paying emergency tax which is higher than normal. Once you get a real NI number you can get back the extra tax that you paid – i.e. the difference between the emergency tax and what you would have been paying on a normal tax rate.

x_dancegal · 29-09-2003 10:37pm

about the banks and proof of address ... this is proof of address in the U.K right ????

Is it not possible that you could be living in Ireland, and maybe don't have a U.K address yet, but want to open up a british bank account ???? Can't you do that ?????

x_dancegal · 29-09-2003 10:43pm

oh and you don't need your national insurance number to open a bank account do you ???

my god , u'd swear i was moving to hawaii with all the confusion this moving to england business is causing me!!! >:(

BuffyBot · 30-09-2003 9:20am

To open a bank account in the UK you will need something (bank or credit card statement) addressed to your UK address.

You don't need an NI number to open a bank account.

x_dancegal · 30-09-2003 7:04pm

what did you guys do when you first went over to the u.k money wise ... i mean if you were only carrying cash and you got robbed or if you lost it or whatever .. i'd feel more comfortable knowing i could go to a cash machine ...
What did yous all do ??

p.pete · 01-10-2003 9:36am

Will be moving over soon and just want to know if I fill out a P46 or will my P45 from my current (irish) job be valid? Since it's taxation in a new country I'm guessing the P46 would like advice if anyone has it.

Also interested in what x_dancegal asked - I know my irish bank card will work over there but am I being charged massively everytime I withdraw?

BuffyBot · 01-10-2003 9:42am

I used by AIB Banklink when I moved over until I got my UK bank account sorted - it worked in pretty much all ATM's - but there is a €1.27 minium/1% or so charge each time you do.

As for tax forms, I don't beleive any of them are any use to you over here (I stand to be corrected) because you will be starting from scratch and getting a new National Insurance number.

x_dancegal · 01-10-2003 7:24pm

I have a banking 365 card ... and i know if you get it stamped you can use it over there ... but when i went to bank of ireland .. they were all like You have to apply for it .. & theres no gurantee you'll get it .. i shoulda asked why .. but i was annoyed that day with the bank so i walked off ... why would you get turned down for something like that ???
Pete & buffybot what kinda cards do you have .. coz i thought you could only use the stamped 365 card in banks of ireland in england .. what are the cash machines like over there anyway i never used one before there .. over here i only use bank of ireland and ATM ... but over there, theres loadsa banks so if your in one bank can you use all of the cash machines ??

:confusion: :rolleyes: :eek:

pebble · 01-10-2003 11:47pm

You should be able to use your card in any Link machine in the UK, or the world.

p.pete · 02-10-2003 12:28pm

I have an AIB card with both Link and Plus stamps on it. Tried and tested in England, Germany, Austria and a few other places, no probs.
Transfering adress may be a hassle for me- I'm going to be staying in a temp appartment for about a month and then to somewhere a little more long term. Will have to change address twice plus most places are idiots about still going back to the first address, any advice???

DUX · 08-10-2003 3:07pm

I have been working for a well known IT company in Dublin for the last 3 years and I was very confident to find a good job in London over the internet very easily but........... I am still here after 3 months of search, this is really pissing me off!!!

x_dancegal · 15-10-2003 6:47pm

oh and one more thing .. i am currently on the dole in Ireland .. i have the money put straight into my bank in Ireland ..
what i'm tryin 2 say is .. although hopefully i will get a job in London ,, do you get more money on the dole here or there ?

PalerPaul · 04-11-2003 3:48pm

The easiest way to get a bank account is if you know someone here and you go in with them. Its an unofficial gurantee to the bank. Halifax will give you an account. I had no drivers licence, no bank statements from Ireland and an out of date passport. The bigger banks give you loads of hassle. Dont even attempt Barclays. Dont touch Irish banks over here, out of sentimental links. They rip you off and they charge about 50 % more for things. They also, although forgiven for thinking so, dont offer benefits because you are with them in ireland, like transfers, they offer the same to everyone. They are more geared up here for busineess accounts, evident on their sites.

NI numbers are straightforward, but can take up to 6 weeks. If you need one, go to benefit office and say you have a job lined up and need one. They have the power to push it forward. Under no circumstances should you be called to the home office. I was, by mistake as they thought Irish and immigrant get treated the same. It was the quickest interview ever, "Hi", "Hi", "Are you Irish?", "Yes", "what are you doing here". It will be in a local benefit office and takes no more than ten minutes, routine and shouldnt be a grilling.

If you need help, the london Irish centre has enormous power and is well funded. The one in Camden I think is the biggest. They can sort you on the right track.

PalerPaul · 04-11-2003 3:55pm

Also, if you are submitting CVs, convert your leaving cert into UCAS points. They are lazy over here and dont bother unless its right in front of them. There are conversion tables on the net. On CV, replace republic of ireland with just Ireland too. If you went to an institute of technology, replace it with university of whatever. People over here dont understand the small differences between the different countries, like the above and they dont bother trying, fair enough when theres so many out there suitable, cant blame them.

PalerPaul · 04-11-2003 5:02pm

Here is the website for the Irish Centre

http://www.irishcentre.org/

Very helpful.

p.pete · 04-11-2003 6:04pm

Cheers PalerPaul, had tried Barclys and was a bit miffed by their service. Will try halifax...

p.pete · 11-11-2003 12:16pm

Getting a bank account is a complete pain in the arse unless you can proove who you are and where you are living. One bank (Lloyds I think) was going to accept my Dublin address but I would have had to make an appointment to go back, I'm sure it would have been a different story by the time I returned (as was the case with Halifax).

I had a letter from my company saying that I am in gainful employment, that I plan to stay several years and my current address. If you have a tennancy agreement or a bill with your address on it or something like that then that will do as proof of address. If like me you are staying with a relation and you aren't on any bills yet then things become tricky. Generally the letter I had from my company wasn't worth anything.

I had to go around five banks (Natwest, Nationwide, Barclays, Llyods and finally HSBC) on Saturday before I found one that would give me an account. I find the whole situation hilarious. I'm earning decent money and I want a bank to take this money from me and hopefully build up deaths with and generally owe money to and they aren't interested.

eth0_ · 11-11-2003 12:24pm

Originally posted by p.pete
Getting a bank account is a complete pain in the arse unless you can proove who you are and where you are living.

I just moved to Belfast a month ago and I had no problems opening a bank account with Halifax.
Here's a tip, if you have an MBNA credit card, you can ask them to change your address to your new UK one, means you get proof of address quickly.

Also, Cahoot.com are easy to open an account with, (and they give a min £250 overdraft on all accounts). Just lie and say you've been at your address 3 years.

pebble · 14-11-2003 4:17pm

Originally posted by eth0_
I just moved to Belfast a month ago and I had no problems opening a bank account with Halifax.
Here's a tip, if you have an MBNA credit card, you can ask them to change your address to your new UK one, means you get proof of address quickly.

Also, Cahoot.com are easy to open an account with, (and they give a min £250 overdraft on all accounts). Just lie and say you've been at your address 3 years.

Could be difficult if you dont have the utility Bills or some other proof of address to back it up.

halcyon · 27-05-2004 11:03am

Sorry to drag up such an old post....

I am planning on moving over to the uk soon. All the apartments i have looked for so far you have to pay by standing order. But you cant get a bank account without the uk address!!! I am so confused arhg! How did you all get past this?

p.pete · 27-05-2004 11:07am

It's tricky alright - I managed to pay my first month and deposit by cash (they made an exception) and just about managed to get a bank account after that.

It really was a pain in the arse - I'll try give you any other information when I get a chance if I can think of any...

halcyon · 27-05-2004 8:10pm

Thanks! I am starting to get worried about it now for sure. The few places I have checked out will only accept standing orders. Oh i hope I come accross some kind landlord :-) Cya

Halcyon

Lump · 27-05-2004 11:41pm

Just an update on the National insurance issue. I applied for mine about 3 weeks ago. It took an hour, I was told what documents to bring and the nice lady in the office filled out the form while asking me the relevant questions.

I was told that I would get a comfirmation letter in a couple of days, and that it may take up to 9 months to process the application.... I got a bit worried but she assued me it was fine to work with the temporary number and if any employers had a problem to show them the letter saying that I had applied for a permenant number.

So I went home and recieved the confirmation letter a couple of says after (nice one), then about 2 weeks later I recieved a letter with my national insurance printed on it. I was informed that my card would follow soon after, which it did, today actually.

I assume they say it'll take 9 months incase you turn out to be an illegal emmigrant.

I know that if I want to claim benefit I need to have been contributing to my National insurance.

John

roguetrader · 30-05-2004 9:44pm

Growler - yeah i know wot u mean about the City I've only started this week in my position as a currency trader in the City, the next 3 months r gonna b very slow, most traders will be in their spanish villas for the summer. (lol)

colincarnate · 05-08-2004 1:03am

Hi i'd like some questions about moving to London answered if ya have a sec', cheers

1) When you get an apartment, what's the usual deposit/initial payment for the rented flat?

2) What's the IT situation like over there, especially for recent graduates?

squeeze · 05-08-2004 1:40am

Am moving to London on 29th with my girlie
Seriously dificult to find a rent a vehicle company who will allow you to pick up in Dublin and drop of in the UK (have just trawled the web)

Failing this option, the golden pages turns up very little in the ball park I'm looking for.. looking to bring a couple of standard moving boxes and a telly/video either manually,with An Post/SDS or some private company to London

Any tips/links advice would be greatly appreciated

Just got an online quote from HERTZ - €1147.37 for a Ford Ka for 24 hrs!

p.pete · 05-08-2004 7:29am

When I was looking for a flat in Reading most agencies looked for 1 and 1/2 months rent deposit - which is quite steep. If you manage to avoid the agencies then there could be a different story.

I think I heard that there is the most graduate positions this year for a number of years, although that wasn't an IT specific report. Things seem a bit better then they have been but your best bet is to trawl the jobs websites and see if there is many things that you feel you could go for.

colincarnate · 05-08-2004 9:03am

cheers pete, my jaw drops at jobserve.co.uk, so many jobs there up on it like, but i'm always wondering are they real jobs like i.e. they're not just up there for the craic and some grad jobs are mad for Red-Brick and A-Levels - and they seem weird and scarey to me.
I'm also afraid that they'll only know one college in Ireland and it'll be Trinity - which i didn't go to :eek:

My plan though is to go over with my friend, live in a hostel for a few days and use the days to get a place then a job.

also this guy said that there's IT jobs on the outskirts of London like Hertfordshire and Surrey, what are we talking about in distance to those places in terms of: would hertfordshire be like Leixlip distance or Carlow or some mad place? thanks again

The Brigadier · 12-08-2004 2:19pm

Herts is about 1 hour on the train from Central London.

I have just got a job in Horley which is in surrey (just) beside Gatwick Airport. 45Mins on Train to Central London

p.pete · 12-08-2004 2:53pm

I'm in reading and I can (but rarely do) get into London in 35-40 mins. Quite a few tech jobs out this way too.

A lot of places like jobserve have the jobs entered in by agencies - several agency can advertise the same job all trying to get the business. And I suppose there's the few Red Herrings trying to get a hold of your details to put on file...

Moving to England

Comments