Applying for Canadian Visit Visa from the UK

Being a non-British, I do need to apply for a visa if I plan to visit Canada. Below is an account of my experience of the overall process. Please note that below is not an immigration or application advice in any way; just an account of how I applied for my visa.

Canadian visa applications can be submitted in-person, by-post or online. I would have preferred in-person if I was living close to London, but I wasn't. The next preference was to apply online as post usually takes days and I personally don't like the (albeit slim) chances of getting mail lost.

I found out that online applications are submitted via Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) website. A lot of scanning is required if you don't have the documents scanned already. On the other hand, in-person applications probably need photocopies; they are submitted via VFS Global's Canadian Visa Application Centre (CVAC) in London. As far as I know, in-person applications can only be submitted in London. The CVAC website has a lot of information about the application process.

Step 0 - Getting Ready

One needs to gather all documents required. In my case, I found that the following should be sufficient to support my visa application:

• Invitation Letter from Canada
• Sponsorship Letter from the Current Employer
• Old and Current Passport
• Biometric Residence Permit
• Recent Payslips
• University Degree
• A few months' Bank Statement
• Photograph (although this is not really used in some cases, as stated later)

Step 1 - Online Application and Scanning Documents

If you are applying online, you'll need to generate something called a GCKey. This will be the id to login to the online application system.

Application forms are available for download as PDF. One of the things that I found that the application form needed details of all family members, including spouse, children, parents and siblings.

As I said earlier, a lot of scanning was required. The online application form has various categories and only one file (such as a PDF or JPG) is accepted. This means that for something like "Travel History", if I need to scan multiple old passports, all of them should be submitted as a single PDF. Moreover, there are restrictions on the file size too. One of the tools that I found very useful in merging scanned documents is PDF Joiner.

There are special requirements for submitting a photograph online. One needs to read the file size, resolution and other details carefully.

Step 2 - Pay and Submit Online

I submitted the application with supporting documents online. In my case, I need to pay the application fee as well as the biometrics collection fee via credit card.

The application processing times based on application centres are listed online.

Step 3 - Biometrics Collection (Surprise, Surprise)

Once I applied online, I received a message to submit biometrics collection. I found out that I did need to visit CVAC in London for this. This was a surprise for me because the whole idea behind the online application was to avoid taking time off from work just to visit the application centre. Any ways, I had to do it. The online documents that I took with me were my passport and a print-out of the biometrics collection letter. I found out that there is no need to book an appointment.

If you are planning to visit, make sure that you are not planning to visit on a public holiday/ closure date. Also, do make a note of the opening timings and the address.

At CVAC, they will take the collection letter and passport from you. They will take your fingerprints and a photograph, and return your passport after a while. This will be forwarded to the CIC authorities directly by CVAC.

Note - Security Regulations
Although there is a long list of prohibited items, I found that CVAC doesn't have an airport like security system. Coming from a different city, I did need to carry a mobile phone and keys, which didn't cause any problems at security. Previously, visiting the US embassy for a different purpose, I did find out that even taking a set of keys could be problematic, but not with CVAC.

Step 4 - Sending Your Passport

If your application is successful, you will need to send in your passport, once again via VFS Global's CVAC. I am not sure if there are multiple ways of sending the passport, but what I did was as follows: I sent my passport and additional fee (detailed next) to CVAC, who forwarded it to CIC. The additional charges cover the cost of forwarding the passport to CIC as well as the return postage. They payment this time has to be as postal order, bank draft or demand draft. Service charges for the two items can be found on CVAC's website.

Can I use John Lewis Vouchers at Waitrose online?

The answer to the question, "Can I use John Lewis vouchers at Waitrose online?" is "Yes!", and here is how you can do just that.

John Lewis vouchers are really called "John Lewis Waitrose". While the terms and conditions at the back of the voucher do not explicitly say that you can use the voucher online, they do indicate that you can use them in-store at Waitrose. But they do really work online too.

Each voucher as a 10-digit serial number written at the bottom right of the voucher. In addition to that, these vouchers have a scratch panel at the top which contains a 7-letter security code, as indicated in the picture above. Both these pieces of information are required if you want to use the voucher online. However, please be mindful of the fact that once you scratch the panel and reveal the security code, you can no longer use the voucher in-store. You must use it online only!

So, in order to use these vouchers, shop as usual on Waitrose.com and on the payment page, enter your voucher serial  numbers and the security codes before entering your credit/ debit card information. The card information is required anyhow, because Waitrose would want to know where to deduct any additional amounts from or where to refund if any refunds are claimed later on.

Enjoy shopping!

Applying for International Driving Permit (IDP)

You can easily get an International Driving Permit (IDP) from the post office (over the counter), and the application fee is just £5.50. Read on to know the details.

If you are a UK driving licence holder and would like to drive abroad, you might be required to hold an International Driving Permit (IDP) along with your full driving licence. The exact requirements vary country by country; for example, you can drive in all European Union (EU) or European Economic Area (EEA) countries and Switzerland without on your UK driving licence, but the same is not true for several Asian countries. Here is a word on the requirement from the UK government.

So, if you have decided to apply for an International Driving Permit (IDP), this post is going to highlight the process as of Dec 2013. You can apply by post or by visiting the local crown post office in person. I personally prefer getting it over the counter to avoid postage costs and the associated delays.

Step 0: Get the application form

The application forms are available in the UK crown post offices. They are also available from the AA and the RAC website. Here is the Royal Mail page about International Driving Permits. Just visit one of the post offices which can issue an IDP.

Step 1: Fill in the application form and attach supporting documents

The application form is pretty simple to fill in. You'll need some personal details, driving licence number, the country you are visiting and the date you would like your IDP to become active. You can post date your application by 3 months. The IDP is valid for 1 year.

The required supporting documents are

• Your driving licence and the counter part
• An additional proof of identity (such as Passport or Biometric Residence Permit)
• A photo signed at the back

Step 2: Apply at the post office

Visit one of the post offices which can issue IDP, along with a filled in application form, the supporting documents and the application fee (£5.50). Provide these over the counter and they will issue you the IDP then and there.

The Boss in Leeds (or why politicians love industrialists)

So, The Boss visited Leeds this week. Bruce Springsteen was the first one to play in the newly completed £60m Leeds Arena. Previously, he is said to have visited the city in 1985 where the concert was held in Roundhay Park.

Bruce Springsteen - Leeds Arena - 24th July 2013 by Bradford Timeline

In another side news, some traffic warden issued parking tickets to the lorries carrying equipment for Bruce Springsteen's performance at the arena. Leeds City Council felt very embarrassed about it, and cancelled the tickets afterwards. This is what Leeds City Council had to say about the cancellation of the fine:

We accept this is a little embarrassing but the attendant was doing his job - if a little too efficiently," said a council spokesman. "When you prepare a city to open and host a huge, state-of-the-art new venue, you're bound to get the odd teething trouble ... Having considered the special circumstances, [Bruce's] tickets were quickly cancelled.

I wonder what's so embarrassing about it, and why weren't their clear instructions about it in the first place? If I am a ticket warden and my duty is to issue tickets, why would my boss be embarrassed about issuing tickets?

And when I wonder, my mind wanders...

Why is it that politicians are so much "in awe" of industrialists and capitalists? If a political figure is representing a common man, and they all surely claim to do so, why he/ she be so humble and flexible for those who are clearly not common?

(Comic) Does money give corporations more access to government? [yes] by mysticpolitics

Well, it surely has something to do with money. But not all politicians are corrupt; may be not entirely corrupt. But their love for industry and capital is ubiquitous.


So, this is what finally makes sense to me: A politician, even a genuine well-wisher-of-common-man type, wants to decide the fate of people; that's why he/ she is in politics in the first place. To do so, they require money. And the money comes from "big shots." The collective tax collected from common man must be peanuts as compared to sales and other corporation taxes collected by the government. So, modernisation is in the favour of politicians---it empowers them with more money to make decisions about the life of others; they will always like to do so, even if the common man is better off without the "modernisation" that they want to impose.

Visiting US Embassy in London

I was recently invited to attend a conference in the US. But being on a Tier 1 visa in the UK means that I needed to apply for a visa first. This also meant appearing for an in-person interview at the US Embassy in London, which is currently mandatory for people from certain nationalities, including Pakistan.

The following hints might help you if you are a non-British UK resident and need to apply for the US visa in non-immigrant category. Please note that these are based on my personal experience of applying for the visa, and are in no way intended to be an authoritative guide/ recommendation of any sort.

Step 0: Choosing the right visa category

Well, the first step in the process is to know which visa category you need to apply for. Most people who would be reading it would be interested only in a non-immigrant visa, and for this category, here is a direct link to all available sub-categories on the US Embassy's website. For attending a business conference, for example, you need a B-1 visa.

Step 1a: Fill-in DS-160

In fact, at this stage you can do two things in parallel: one is to get the appointment for your interview and the other one is to fill in the online application form. I needed to fill-in DS-160, which might be applicable in most of the non-immigrant visa cases. If you have to fill in this form, there are a number of things that you'll need. The following are some of the things you need:

• A scanned photograph for the visa
• The date and place of birth of your parents
• Your employment history for past 5 years
• Your education history
• Your spouse's particulars
• etc.

Here is a link to common questions related to DS-160 that might be worth reading before you begin. It will take a long time to fill-in the and submit the form. Once done, the website will present you with a confirmation page; you must take a print out of that confirmation page and keep that with you for your interview. You don't need a print out of your entire application, though.

Step 1b: Schedule an Appointment (and pay the fee)

If you need to appear for an in-person interview, you'll have to schedule an appointment first. The earlier you do that, the better. However, make sure that you'll have all the required documents (and a confirmation of submission of DS-160) before the date your interview is scheduled.

There used to be an Operator Assisted Information Service for scheduling an appointment, which is being discontinued after 26th July 2013. It's said that a web-based free of charge service will soon be available. When I scheduled the appointment, I also needed to pay the non-immigrant MRV application fee, which turned out to be $160. I assume it's the same for most non-immigrant visa categories.

Once the fee was paid and appointment booked, I received two emails. One about the confirmation of fee payment (which I did via credit card), and another as a confirmation of the appointment. It's important to keep printouts of both the appointment information and the fee acknowledgement documents with you.

Step 2: Gather all the documents

You'll need to gather all documents which support your visa application. I am not aware of an official list of documents which would be required. But at the minimum one needs to carry his/ her passport (and a proof of their clearance to live in the UK, such as the Residence Permit issued by UKBA) and some documents to support one's claim for the need to travel to the US.

In my case, I prepared a lot of things but only the following were actually asked for during the interview:

• My passport 
• UK residence permit (returned after visual inspection)
• An invitation letter from the US
• A sponsorship letter from the employer (to cover my travel expenses)
• A photograph (which was returned to me)
• My CV

Of course, I kept my educational documents and my bank statements with me as well, but the interview officer didn't ask for them.

Step 3: Visiting US Embassy in London

Now comes the fun part! Even more fun if you will need to travel to London just for attending an interview. One of the most important things to remember is that the US Embassy doesn't allow you to carry any electronic items. Please read the next step for more information on this aspect, but first I must tell you where you need to go :)

The physical address is as follows:

24 Grosvenor Square
London, W1A 2LQ
United Kingdom

Basically, you'd like to get off at the Bond Street Underground Station and walk towards Grosvenor Square as highlighted in the following map:


View Larger Map Step 4: Storing Your Electronic Items

Step 4: Gould Pharmacy (how can you not know about it)

As you might have come to know by now, the US Embassy prohibits any electronic item to be take inside the Embassy. All electronic items are prohibited, even headphones, watches, battery operated car keys, etc. What's even more interesting is that you cannot leave these items outside either---the Embassy doesn't make any arrangements to store your goods.

Now, if you are visiting the Embassy for first time, you would like to keep your mobile phone for Google maps. Or at least, you'll need your watch to make sure that you reach in time. And if you are going to visit from another city, it might be difficult for you to leave all these items at home.

And since, where there is a need, there is an entrepreneur; you need to know about Gould Pharmacy. The pharmacy is very close the Embassy, and could store one set of electronic items for a charge of £3. A backpack will need another £6 for storage---though I believe small bags are not prohibited.

The postcode for the pharmacy is W1K 6ZL. Interestingly, the pharmacy makes around £1000 a day from this business.

Step 5: Inside the Embassy

The embassy has airport style security. Once inside, they looked at my documents; gave me a token number and asked me to sit in a bit hall. I am not sure exactly how much time I had to wait; it could be more than an hour easily. When the number appeared on the screen, they took my fingerprints and looked at the passport and the residence permit. Once done, I had to wait for the second phase of the process. After another half an hour or so, the number re-appeared and then started the interview process.

As I said earlier, they only documents looked at were

• Invitation letter from the US
• Sponsorship letter from the employer (to cover my travel expenses)
• My CV

The interviewer asked a couple of question about the nature of business my company did, and another couple of questions about my education.

And then came the dreaded moment---as any Pakistani would tell you, instead of granting a visa immediately, the application typically goes into "administrative processing." So, I was given a reference number and the passport was returned to me. Fingers crossed!

Second Year in the UK

Comes March, and so does completion of another year in the UK. Like last year, I would like to rate the impact of moving to the UK in various areas on a scale of -3 to +3 where -3 indicates that something has been a complete disaster, and +3 indicates that something was so good that I "couldn't have asked for more".

Personal Level

I rated last year at +2 on a personal level. This year wouldn't have been any different if I didn't have to go through the extremely testing visa extension process. Firstly, the overall process has to be taken extremely seriously; make a mistake of not submitting an important document, and your "leave to remain" will be jeopardized. Secondly, after we had had applied, the result of the visa application remained hanging in the air for 3.5 months! Lastly, once the visa extension was granted, UKBA (or perhaps Royal Mail) managed to misplace our passports!

The rating could be worse if I don't include the opportunities life offered to the family, on the whole. This includes the volunteer work that my wife managed to do at the local city council, and the award for which got nominated.

Speaking of my own self, the only good things that happened are that I obtained my driving licence here, and then managed to buy a car--a 2008 Vauxhall Corsa.

So, the rating in this area is +1 (down from +2).

Financial Aspect

The financial standing in the previous year was -2. This year turned out to be a little better, mainly because of the various "bonuses" I got from my employer time to time. The overall impact of these, and the reimbursement of visa extension fee by the employer, made this move from -2 to 0 this year.

I am quite certain, the next year is going to be much better, in-sha-Allah.

Health and Safety

As I stated earlier, perhaps this alone was the sole reason for temporarily leaving the homeland. The previous year rating in this area was +2. This year would have been a little better, had I not been diagnosed with latent TB. Now, this is not a disease if you think like a Pakistani. Nevertheless, I was required to undergo a 3 months treatment. Once again, this should be set to +1.

Career

Several improvements happened from a career perspective. Though there is no change in the designation, I won several awards this year. Recognition was both in terms of the job responsibilities and financial rewards, which makes the rating in this area grow from 0 to +2.

Experience

Rare things have kept happening, though the frequency has reduced as I grow to understand British culture and processes. This has reduced from +3 to +1.

Overall Score

So the overall score is +1+0+1+2+1 = 5 on a scale of {-15, 15}, not better than last year but surely going to take off in 2013!

Beating Inflation in 2013

With a Retail Price Index of 3.0% in November 2012, your £100 from last year are worth only £97 this year. In other words, the money that you might have in your savings account is decreasing at the rate of 3% every year. If your bank account doesn't give you an interest of 3% or greater, you are actually getting poorer with the passage of time.

Let's look at some strategies to make your money work harder so that inflation can't eat it all up. Please note that all discussion is with reference to the options available in the retail market in the UK.

Earn £5 Extra Every Month

If you earn at least £1000 a month, your best first move is to open up a Halifax Reward Current Account. You just need to deposit £1000 a month---this could be your salary or an internet transfer from another account. You don't need to "hold" this money; spend it as you like. In fact, it makes sense to pay your bills from this account. The best part is that if you don't deposit £1000 in some particular month, you won't be penalized in any way---it's just that your account will not get the promised £5 for that month.

Best Regular Saver Account

If you can put aside some money every month, you must consider regular saver accounts. One of the best such account with an upper cap of £250 per month is the Regular Saver account offered by HSBC. This account requires you to have an HSBC current account first. The interest rate is either 4% or 6% depending on the type of current account you have with HSBC. Even if you don't get the preferential rate of 6%, you shouldn't worry as 4% is higher than the expected inflation rate of 3%.

Cash ISA Account

The cash ISA limit is £5,640 for the current tax year. If you can save more than £250 per month (i.e., you have filled your Regular Saver account to max capacity), you should consider putting the remaining savings in  a Cash ISA account. There are various options available depending on what you are looking for. Some of these do provide an interest rate greater than 3%.

Buying Gold

Finally, buying gold is an option which shouldn't be ignored. With reliable internet sellers such as Bullion by Post, you can easily buy a gold bar in a secure and convenient manner; most authentic sellers will ship next day via Special Delivery.

A tip here is to buy a gold (or even a silver) bar with the maximum weight that you can afford. A 20 gram gold bar, for example, is always cheaper than buying two 10 gram gold bars.

You should, however, consider the downsides such as keeping the bar in a secure place and the money you lose in buying and selling gold (i.e., the overhead associated with converting it into cash). Gold should be an option only if you are interested in an investment of a longer duration (more than 5 years).

Summary

If you earn more than £1000, your first step should be to open up a Halifax Reward Current Account. If you can spare some money, you can invest up till £250 per month to get an interest rate of 4%. If you have any more money, consider filling up your Cash ISA limit. And finally, if you are still left with some cash, do consider buying gold.

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This blog post uses images from Images of Money and Digital Money World.

The Myth of Savings Account - UK Version

Now that we know Savings Accounts are a myth, at least for a weak currency like Pakistani Rupee, let's see if Pounds Sterling fare any better.

We'll compare the inflation rate in the UK with some of the most promising savings account types in the UK (taking 1 year interest into consideration). According to Money Supermarket, the market leader is Baroda MAX, which is currently giving a return of 2.5%. Compare this to 3% inflation based on RPI calculated for November 2012 by ONS, and you'll know that no savings account currently covers the rising cost of living for you.

But everyone buys different things. My shopping list, for example, doesn't include tobacco, and if the price of tobacco increases, it doesn't affect me. Thins brings me to an important question: What is your personal rate of inflation?

What is your personal rate of inflation, really?

This is a question everyone should ask himself. Fortunately for us, BBC has developed a personal inflation calculator, based on Retail Price Index (RPI), which you can use to track your own inflation. Mine is 4.7%, terrible for any money saved which is losing its power to purchase every year!

So, what really should you do with savings? As someone else suggested in the comments, perhaps, we should all buy gold?

Gold Prices in the UK

Below, there is a price chart of 1 oz of Gold in British Pound Sterling over a period of one year. As you can see the price has been fluctuating but it's not clearly gone up or down. In fact, if you just compare 20-Dec-2011 with 20-Dec-2012, the gold price of 1 oz has been £1029 and £1019, respectively. We cannot consider that a rise!




Gold, however, has its attraction. Below is a similar chart, which spans over a period of 5 years.

Gold Price Over Last 5 Years (from Bullion by Post)

hm...What's so nice about gold? Why does everyone talk about gold reserves? It certainly has no wide-spread practical use except being worn as jewellery.

So, should we put all our savings in buying gold?

Misconceptions About Life in the UK

A week ago, I obtained my UK driving license. It's tough to get one. But it's not the toughest thing that I have came across since I came here 1.5 years ago.

The three biggest fallacies about life in the UK for me have been:

Fallacy 1: British speak English and their accent is what we hear on BBC.

Nothing can be far from truth than this one. British speak in all kinds of accents incomprehensible to an outsider. The truly shocking one for me is the Cockney accent, and the one that I have to live with is the Yorkshire one. Listen to some of the British (and a few other) accents by Amy Walker in the following video and you'll know what I mean.

Fallacy 2: Britain is an expensive country to live in.

Wrong! Britain is an extremely (read "prohibitively") expensive country to live in. The basic tax rate is 20%. It raises to 40% as soon as you cross (approx.) £35,000 per annum salary (which is merely a "good" salary for middle class in my opinion), and it goes up to 50% as soon as you enter the £150,000 onwards bracket.

Let's compare the price of the recently launched Kindle Fire HD in the UK and the US. Intuitively, they should be priced approximately the same; isn't it?

The price of Kindle Fire HD 7" is £159 for the 16 GB model (source: amazon.co.uk [1]). The same is available for $199 in the US (source: amazon.com [2]). It's the same company selling the same product and the difference in price is 55 US Dollars! Why!!

It's not just the Kindle; almost everything is more expensive in the UK than the US. Compare the tax system and you can readily see the difference---the lowest and highest income brackets in the US put the tax at 10% and 35% respectively; in contrast it's 20% and 50% in the UK!

Fallacy 3: If you know how to drive, you can pass your driving test after taking a few driving lessons.

It's really tough to get one. Three attempts to pass a driving test is pretty common. Leeds (Harehills) has a pass rate of just 28% [3]. 

There has been one lady who has failed the test 90 times [4]! Yes, it's not a typo, she has failed the test 90 times! I am happy that I passed in my second attempt.

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[1] Kindle Fire HD on amazon.co.uk

[2] Kindle Fire HD on amazon.com

[3] UK Driving Test Pass Rates

[4] Woman fails driving theory test 90 times

Sending Money to Pakistan from the UK

If you regularly remit money from the UK to Pakistan, I highly recommend using HBL eRemit service. Below is a review of the options available to you; I recommend trying both HBL eRemit and United Bank UK. Please post your experiences here.

Pound Coins by Images_of_Money

HBL eRemit: This the best service, even better if you are an HBL UK customer; however, being HBL UK customer is not mandatory. You can register online. HBL will post you your password via mail. Once received, you can add any UK debit card and use that to send money to any bank account in Pakistan.


The charges are GBP 5 per transaction (it's free if you use HBL UK debit card). The time taken for the complete transfer is dependent on the location of the branch where you are sending the money---remote branches take time; branches in metropolitans get money faster.

United Bank UK: Formerly, known as United National Bank UK was a joint venture between UBL and National Bank of Pakistan. It seems that UBL has now completely taken over. Though their service is free of charge, I faced problems during sign up. It could have been great if there IT staff was able to assist. Do give it a try and let me know if it works for you.

Western Union: This should be your last preference, given the above two. Any ways, if time is of essence to you, Western Union is the best. Money transfer takes a day or two at maximum. However, please note that the money is received in cash. I, for one, dread this due to the law and order situation of Pakistan (and specially of Karachi). As of today, Western Union doesn't offer direct transfers to bank accounts in Pakistan.

No Resource to Public Funds

If your UK visa says "No resource to public funds", it means that you don't have access to some of the  funded state benefits. The visa papers don't tell you what these funds are. When you think of it "Job Seeker Allowance" comes to mind as one you are not entitled to. Another one could be "Child Benefit." But what others are there?

Well, there are several. In fact, there is an official list which is part of the Immigration Law. These prohibited public funds are [1]:

1. Attendance allowance
2. Carers allowance
3. Child benefit
4. Child tax credit
5. Council tax benefit
6. Disability living allowance
7. Housing and homelessness assistance  
8. Housing benefit
9. Income-based jobseeker’s allowance
10. Income related employment & support allowance – ESA (IR)
11. Income support
12. Severe disablement allowance
13. Social fund payment
14. State pension credit
15. Working tax credit

The list of course doesn't include compulsory free schooling (age 5 and above) as well as NHS treatment.

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[1] UKBA - Guidance - Public Funds v6.0 [pdf] (dated 24-Feb-2012)

How to Remember Typical Stopping Distances in The Highway Code

The Highway Code (UK) gives the following list of typical stopping distances. The Highway Code gives no hint on the source of this information, nor it gives any insight on the method used to calculate these values. It does, however, state that "your typical stopping distance consists of thinking distance plus breaking distance."

Being a learner, it's difficult for me to understand how remembering these numbers to precise detail will help me in effectively avoiding road hazards. More so, I can't precisely tell the difference in 73 meters and 96 meters while driving at a speed of 60mph.

Unfortunate as it might be, one needs to remember all these values by heart, as part of the theory test in the UK. Here are some hints to get you going. Look at the chart in detail, and read the following hints:

1. The speed goes from 20mph to 70mph in increments of 10 in this chart. The most important hint is that 50 mph and above are the speeds where the total stopping distances are more than the value of the speed. For speeds less than 50 mph, the total stopping distance in meters is less than the speed in mph.
2. If you look at the thinking distance, they are in multiples of 3. If you multiply the speed by 3 and drop off a zero, you get the thinking distance. So, the thinking distance at 20 mph can be calculated as 20x3=60, which gives 6 meters when you drop a zero. Similarly, the thinking distance at 70 mph can be calculated as 70x3=210, which gives 21 meters.
3. The breaking distance (6 meters) at 20 mph is same as the thinking distance (6 meters). The total distance is just s sum of these values: 12 meters.
4. An average car length, according to this chart, is 4 meters. The total stopping distance for 20 mph is 3 cars (equals to 12 meters). The stopping distances go like this: 3 cars, 3 more cars, 3 more cars, 4 more cards, 5 more cars and finally 6 cars. In this way, the total stopping distance at 70 mph is 24 cars, which gives 24 cars x 4 meters each = 96 meters.

A Year in the UK

It's been over a year now. Several things have changed, and it's best to categorize the positive and negatives to analyse the overall impact. And the analysis is important to steer life in the right direction, irrespective of the amount of control we have on our lives.

I would like to rate the impact of moving to the UK in various areas on a scale of -3 to +3 where -3 indicates that something has been a complete disaster and +3 indicates that something was so good that I "couldn't have asked for more".

Personal Level

I work only 7.5 hours a day. None of my office colleagues contacts me outside work hours. I never check my email when I am not in office. And I walk to office---it takes 7 minutes. Isn't that amazing?

On a personal level, more than myself, my family got several opportunities to live life in a meaningful way. My wife started working as a volunteer with the local council, and got a chance to explore things on her own. Our daughter has been seeing a child-minder 3 days a week, for 5 hours each; she has started picking up English as an additional language, and has gotten involved in creative activities which wouldn't have been possible in the Pakistan. Overall, I would rate the changes at personal level as +2.

Financial Aspect

Financially, it has been almost a disaster, especially considering the fact that I had been doing very well in financial terms back home. A huge amount of money has been spent in UK entry visas and more will be spent this year in getting an extension; additional expenses have been borne related to travelling and settling down.

The income tax starts at 20% for basic pay, and goes to 40% for most of the highly skilled professionals. The highest bracket is 50% for people earning more than £100,000 per year. Whatever is left is taken up by city council as the council tax, BBC as TV license fee, UK Border Agency as visa fee, and insurance guys in various "mandatory" insurance schemes.

I would rate my financial standing as a -2.

Health and Safety

Perhaps this alone was the sole reason for temporarily leaving the homeland. Compared to Pakistan, I would have rated life in the UK as +3 but the fact is that it's been less than ideal mainly due to lack of leading an active life style (in terms of working out, running, etc.). However, there are lots of positives, and some of the changes are amazing: I have much lesser head-ache; I no longer have Repetitive Strain Injury (RSI); I am generally in much better health.

When I buy something to eat I know that the expiry date is correct, and the ingredients are really what's written on the wrapper. It feels immensely bad that I can't say the same for Pakistan; not even for life-saving drugs and children vaccines.

Overall, my rating here is +2.

Career

Nothing extra ordinary career-wise, however. The plus side has been an experience of working in a mature economy. It has taken me a good 1 year to understand what the British work values really are; how the economy works for the common man. I would rate it as a 0.

Experience

Rare things that happen in your life impart you the most knowledge. I have stated it earlier that the amount of knowledge obtained from an event is inversely proportional to the frequency of its occurrence. Life has been truly enriching, and I would rate it as +3.

Overall Score

So the overall score is +2-2+2+0+3 = 5 on a scale of {-15, 15}. Perhaps, not bad but certainly much less than ideal.

Being Part Time Self-Employed in the UK

It's possible to work as a self-employed person while retaining your full-time employment in the UK. The combination is called as employed + self-employed. There is nothing complex about the arrangement and is perfectly acknowledged by HMRC [1].

Letting HMRC Know

If you believe that you can work as a self-employed individual/ contractor in addition to your day job, you just need to let HMRC know the change in your circumstances. You'll need to pay Class 2 NI and applicable income tax, and that's it! An accountant to file the income tax is something at your discretion---you don't need to hire an accountant if you can do the required tax calculations yourself.

Taxes

Mandatory class 2 National Insurance (NI) contribution is at the flat rate of £2.50 per week. You are exempt from this contribution if the earnings from your self-employed business are lower than £5,315 for the year 2011-2012 [2].

Examples of Work You Can Do

Some examples of self-employed work that you can do while remaining fully employed in your day job are Google Adsense based earning, developing iPhone/ Android/ Blackberry applications, writing articles, etc. Freelance websites like vWorker and oDesk can also be used to earn some extra quids.

Of course, you can also work "offline" if you want.

Business Banking Account

Though not required, it's recommend that you also make arrangements of the following:

1. Open a business banking account and keep your self-employed revenue and expenses limited to that account. This eases all financial calculations. I have personally used (and liked) HSBC Business Banking accounts [3]. There are no charges for this account for the first 18 months of your business.


2. Use a business name. This is not required if you are just self-employed, and are not forming a company. But it's much more professional and seems logical for future transition into a private company/ partnership. HSBC, for examples, gives a cheque book with "<your name> trading as <your business name>". Thus, cheques in your name or in your business name can both be deposited in the same account.

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[1] http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/working/intro/employed-selfemployed.htm
[2] http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/working/intro/class2.htm
[3] http://www.business.hsbc.co.uk/1/2/business-home

6 Months!

It's exactly 6 months since I came to England. A lot has changed for me, and a lot remains to be done before one can rise above the day-to-day issues of life and start thinking of something far-reaching---beyond the rat race.

The first month was spent looking for a job. As luck would have it, I kept looking in London and found one in Leeds. The next month was spent looking for a place one could call home. And then came the dreaded family visa thing.

When all was set, I went back to Pakistan in late June to bring over the family. NHS registration, child vaccination, buying stuff for home---there was plenty of work to keep me busy in July.

And after a month, it was Ramadan time---18 hours of fasting, and almost no-productivity at office. I wish I find a way (or the will) to remain active and productive while fasting!

While there could be other non-targetted improvements/ learning, I did work on EMV (finally!) in this time. I could say that I now having basic understanding of Field 55 of ISO 8583!

On Getting A "Special" Phone Package

I picked up the phone today to get my Porting Authorisation Code (PAC) so that I could switch from Vodafone to 3. The contact centre guy asked which network I was switching to and what they were offering. He started talking of coverage and signal issues, which wasn't unexpected.

Now, I am tried of such advice as I usually have already made up my mind when I ask for something. I tried to cut the story short by telling him that it's only because 3 was cheaper and I didn't mind the drawbacks, and guess what? He made a counter offer! He not only matched 3's package; he offered 2 months free usage! Of course, this was a custom package as Vodafone doesn't have any package comparable to 3 in terms of price.

Now at 66% of my PAYG cost, I could get three times more minutes and text messages from the same provider with 2 months of free usage.

I wonder how much profit margin is in there for the mobile companies!

Most Useful UK Websites

Once you land into this country, you realize that Internet is not just for keeping in touch with friends/ family, it's an indispensable part of life. A lot of real work gets done online.

Some of the most useful sites that I have come to know are as follows. Anyone who has spent more than a couple of months would definitely be knowing these websites. The following is meant for new comers as well as others to make recommendations:

Money Saving Sites

Money Saving Expert - Comparisons between products/ services and various money saving tips
Money Super Market - Same as above but much more famous; less advice and more comparison
Quidco - Gives you charge back on online purchases; if you are buying online, don't forget to get a charge back!
Price Runner - Price comparison portal

Trading Sites

Gixen - eBay Auction Sniper
Auto Trader - Everything cars!
Abe Books - for used books

Accommodation and Settling In

Right Move - Find a place to rent
Argos - Buy it, argos it!

Tech Startups, News and Misc.

Techcrunch Europe - Techcrunch targeted at European news
Do It - Volunteers and opportunities

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The list doesn't include some travel related sites like WY Metro and London Journey Planner, which are location specific. It doesn't include sites like Groupon which I think have extremely appalling offers in the UK.

Some Guidance for Tier 1 Visa Holders

There are still quite a number of people on Tier 1 visa who have just moved to the UK. The following might be helpful for them (and other intending to enter the country soon). This is known to be valid as of April 2011.

Making use of your time

A lot of essential things that one has to do in life are tied to each other; specially so in the UK. Many of these are chicken-and-egg problems. For example, in order to rent a house, you need a bank account and a job. Yet, in order to open up a bank account, you need to have an "address."

Still, a few things that you can possibly do while you continue with your job hunts are

1. Open a bank account
2. Register for a National Insurance Number
3. Register with NHS

Opening a Bank Account in the UK

HSBC has a bank account type with the name of "HSBC Passport" which can be opened up without having a permanent address in the UK. In fact, you don't need to have a job either. Your long duration visa (>6 months) and your address proof from the home country are sufficient.

The bank charges £8 per month for this account. You'll need two proofs of your address (in your country); this could, for example, be your passport and your driving license. Unfortunately, credit card and bank statements are considered valid for residents of only a certain countries (excluding my dear home, Pakistan).

Just take these documents to any HSBC branch and talk to any attendant there. They won't charge you anything upfront, and will give you a Visa debit card, a PIN and bank statement on your correspondence address, once your account opens. This is extremely helpful thing to have.

Registering for National Insurance Number

In order to pay one's taxes, one needs an NI number. If you get a permanent job, your employer will definitely ask for this. But you don't need to be on job to get NI number itself. In order to apply, call HM Revenue and Customs, and give your details on phone (such as your name, visa details, etc.) They will post you an application form with some sections filled; fill the remaining and attach a copy of your passport and post back (there are no postage charges).

You'll get your NIN by post in a few days time, and a card after some weeks. Keep this number (and later the card as well) at a safe place. A lot of things are associated with this number.

Registering with NHS

NHS is National Health Service which provides (partially) free-of-cost medical treatment to UK residents. You (and your dependents) are eligible for NHS facilities on a Tier 1 visa. I'll fill in the details later as I have yet to register for this myself. :)

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Disclaimer: The above is just a personal experience of someone, and is not to be taken as an expert advice. It's imperative that you verify all the information on your own.

From Tower Bridge to the Chamber of Horror

I came back from London yesterday. It was wonderful; thanks to the hospitality of the friends. I stayed a few days with a batch-mate and a few other days with my ex-team lead. Shahid Suri, FASTian 97, was my immediate supervisor/ team lead in Avanza Solutions where we together wrote everything from eAI tools for banking to camera-based security solutions for ATMs. Hamid Shahid was my batch-mate. He is one of the toppers in our batch (grads of 2000) at FAST. Both are now working at The Logic Group.

Amongst hundreds of things that we discussed, the most prominent was the need or rather benefits and practicalities of starting one's own business.

I also met other batch mates: Atif, who is now a proud owner of a BMW, as well as Abbas and Faiz. All of these guys are doing freelancing in the UK alongside regular day time job. I also met Sarah Salahuddin who is currently a PhD student at the University of Sheffield.


I and Hamid, by River Thames (not shown in picture)

The most interesting thing that happened over there is our visit to the Chamber of Horror at Madame Tussaud. Faiz and I were roaming inside Madame Tussaud when we reached at the Chamber of Horror. "Scary on the left and Very Scary on the right," a worker instructed us. Being bold, as we thought we were, we made a queue on the right. I looked to the left and people with children were standing in the "just scary" queue. "Of course, how could they go to the very scary section with children," a thought came to me. Later, we observed that we were the only two in the very scary part. Hearts fainted a bit.

We entered the very scary section - it was a lightly lit passage with hanging statues of tortured people. There was occasional thunder and scary sounds as any one would expect before entering such a place. It was fine uptil that point. Just then we saw a girl with blood on her face, coming out of a dark corner. Faiz was behind me; he jumped and held tight to me. It was not a statue, rather an actor. I was a bit disturbed as well. She came close and said something which I couldn't understand; perhaps she just growled. She took a few steps back and climbed up a fence sort of structure. "What is yet to come could be worse," another thought struck me. I was reluctant to move forward. Meanwhile, Faiz clenched to me very tightly. The girl could see our situation and asked in the same scary voice, "Do you want to go out?" Both of us at once replied, "Yes!" She escorted us to an escape route.

We laughed a lot when we came out!

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It was loads of fun. I treasure my friendship with all of you.