What we did in our early days in the UK?

I am just sharing what we did in our early days in Britain. I don't know about new comers.

It is just a time line what we did.

After arriving in the UK as a doctor with PLAB visit visa, we shared a house while preparing and waiting for PLAB test . There are 2 parts of exam. Part 1 is theory one and part 2 is something like clinical exam. Normally we spend those exams for 3 to 6 months, depending on date availability and the number of attempts. (I don't know about recent situation after immigration rule has been changed)

After that, we start applying job. If you are lucky enough, you would get a job in 2-3 months. It is quite variable.

Many people buy a laptop in first a couple of months after working if they still don't have it.

After 3-4 months, many buy a car.

And then, we start saving money to buy a house. We need a deposit money for mortgage.

At the same time, we start preparing to give a sponsor letter to the family member left back home.

After average about 2 years, we normally have got enough deposit money for a house.

So we apply a mortgage and buy a house.

After that, we would keep saving money for another house or investing at somewhere else.

At that time, many Burmese doctors came in with PLAB visit visa. They don't need any work permit. Permit free training visa was still available until 2007 (maybe 2006, I cant remember exactly) . Now finished. No more permit free training visa. If you are non-EU citizen, you need a work permit to work as a doctor in the UK. Law changed. I don't know how these days Burmese doctors come or if they are still keep coming. with visit visa? dependent visa?. I have no idea.

Feedback welcome

Basically feed backs are welcome.

But once I suspect your comment is inappropriate , I would delete it.

A few weeks ago, someone earning ?money from a corporation posted a comment for his or her own benefit. I deleted it simply.

Some people die

Some people are quite vulnerable like ants and simply died in their honeymoon. Something went wrong terribly. Wong time and wrong place? Wong plan? Wrong people? Wrong tradition? Wrong freedom to travel too much? Wrong marriage? Wrong combinations? Like in Final Destination? Anyway, they died as something or many things definitely went wrong. Do you sympathize or not? Do they deserve it or not? Too many questions, aren't there?

Antigua honeymoon shooting victim Ben Mullany dies in hospital

Mr Mullany was declared dead by doctors at Morriston Hospital in Swansea this evening. The 31-year-old had been in a coma since the shooting.

His wife Catherine Mullany died instantly during the attack on the Caribbean island last week.

Mr Mullany was flown home from Antigua on Friday night, and was being treated in the hospital where his wife trained as a doctor. He had a fractured skull and a bullet lodged in the back of his head. More on telegraph.co.uk

UK's time waster customer services

Nowadays, the majority of companies and corporations provide customer phone numbers with 0800 free number, 0845 and 0870 non-geographical numbers. It looks nice. But my experience with BT is just a pain.

A few months ago, I ordered a new land line. For that, I rang its 0800 free number. Automated operator kept me wait for 20 minutes each time, by saying that they were extremely busy. After trying several times during 5 days, I was lucky enough to speak to a human being who said they would process my order shortly. But nothing happened in next 2 weeks. So I emailed. They asked me to give the deposit £20. But no payment detail. I rang. Nobody answered me in 30 minutes. I emailed again. After 2 days, I received a reply with words of sorry and apology. (You may know people in England easy to use sorry or apology liberally as a daily activities. That is what we call ? manner or ?gentlemen's manner :-) )

After sometime, they rang me saying that BT engineer would come to my place on what day and what time to install a new line. I was waiting. But nobody came. So I made an enquiry again by calling them. Each time, BT kept me 20-30 minutes, transferring from one department to another. No clear solution.

Finally, I emailed them to cancel my order. They replied it had been cancelled.

3 weeks later, what surprised me was that I received a BT bill of £172 for new phone line installation. I can't beleive it. Until now, they kept sending me a reminder asking for a payment. I dont know my phone number. I dont know where the BT socket. Now I have got an extra job to sort out this dispute.

I write this post as this new article reminds me my painful experience with BT.

Victor's accents

Victor's different accents

I came across Victor's different accents on youtube.
For me, the one I like most is London Cockney accent as I lived in  East London for nearly a decade although it made me frustrated in my early days in England.

English Accents (Redneck American)

 

English Accents (Cockney)

 

English Accents (Standard British)

 

English Accents (Australian)

 

English Accents (Indian)

 

English Accents (Standard American)

 

Problematic teenagers and moral issue

These days, knife crimes have been going on in London and around. The Home Office figure shows that one person is the victim of knife crime every four minutes. It is more common among teenagers. I suspect it is due to a couple of major predisposing factors.

The first is that those age group has special privilege by law. Even they commit a serious crime, the softer punishment is applied. Police might say "kids are kids". But they do not seem to care about the fact that those kids have got enough power to kill someone else.

The second would be the attitude of youngsters toward others. The availability of knives is not new. Even kitchen knife can be used as a fatal weapon. Why is the incidence of knife crime growing up rapidly these days? The authorities are just making a big plan to crack down carrying knife. Do you think this approach alone can sort out the problem?

We can see more police and community officers have been deployed on the streets. Will this help building a better and safer London? For me, police may have some deterrent effects. Not more than that.

I suspect that the basic phenomenon would be the devil in some teenager's bodies. So long as it exists, they will continue to kill by using alternative weapons or methods.

The question is how to clean up the devil staying inside the body. With the aid of God? By upgrading the social environment? By educating them? By making more friendly environment? By doing cultural revolution? This would be a matter of extensive debates. For an evidence based law making practice, I wonder how many more people needs to make ultimate sacrifice.

Lately, a teenager has been killed again on the street in London.



The boy, named locally as 18-year-old Frederick Moody, became the 21st teenager to die violently in the capital this year.

He was found with stab wounds to the stomach in Lambeth at around 7pm on Thursday and died before arriving at hospital.

A 16-year-old boy has been arrested at his home in Brixton Friday morning and is being held in police custody. More on:

How many years to become a British citizen?

Early this year, there are proposals in British immigration rule , as authorities are trying to make some changes. Previously,for instance, if you have been in the UK for 4 years with work permit or on High skilled migrant programmes, you are entitled to apply for Indefinite leave to remain in the UK (Permanent residency). 1 year after qualifying that status, you can apply for British citizenship. That means you can become a British citizen in maximum 5 years (plus application process), provided that you are clear from criminal offences.

But early this year, the government proposed the new system with 3 steps of immigration status.

1. Temporary residence
2. Probationary citizenship
3. British citizenship/permanent residence

For example, if you are on work permit or Tier 1 (former High skilled migrant status), you need to wait for 5 years. After that, you are entitled for probational citizenship.

The issue is variation of duration of probational citizenship. According to government immigration website, those who participate in voluntary work/ community work, it takes only one year and those who do not bother those works, it will take up to 3 years before applying for citizenship.

Probably, this new system will start in 2009 after approval at parliament is Ok.

That means the the journal to British citizenship will take from 6 years to 8 years if you have got all requirements.


Related news :
Daily Mail
Guardian

Related forum
UK Immigration

Related website:
UK Border Agency

You may think that the process is rather lengthy and complicated. In fact, you can sort out step by step while living and working in Britain. That is we normally do. In 2007, 164,635 citizen applications were approved - the equivalent of one every three minutes.

A friend of mine claimed that becoming a Burmese citizen is more difficult. He is an elder brother of Chinese family as his father moved from China to Burma 50 years previously. He and his siblings were born in Yangon, former capital of Burma. But he is still foreigner there. No right to attend professional schools. On the other hand, his younger brother who moved to the USA after matriculation in Myanmar (former Burma) has already got a US passport long ago.

Today weather'nice

I am on one week holiday and back home again. Just trying not to think about sick people from my work place. I switched off my all mobile phones. Yesterday, I had a proper shower with a fab and a pint of Stella. Basically, the hospital accommodation is not bad. Domestic worker comes and cleans the room on a daily basis. But, I need to share bath room and kitchen with another doctor. So I only had a shower as I don't want to clean bath tub in order to have a bath.

Well today's weather is really nice. Temperature is around 24. I did not miss that opportunity. I opened the door. I invited my friend. He brought 4 cans of lager. I did barbecue. This afternoon, we were talking about the past while grilling pork chops, fish, broccoli,mush room, cutter fish and shrimps. I also took random pictures from my window. Click here

Friday night supper

This photo doesn't mean anything. It's just my Friday night supper. But I won't forget that night and next early morning for some reason.

If no birth certificate, no country, no passport

This is an example how much a document is important these days.

A girl, whose parents are British, born in Spain during the holiday did not have a birth certificate for some reason. Now she find it difficult to obtain a British passport.

A 16-year-old schoolgirl is unable to leave the country, open a bank account or get a job - because she does not officially "exist".

Jade Jacobs-Brooks, of Harlow, Essex, was born during a holiday in Spain and due to a mix-up she does not have a valid Spanish birth certificate.

This means that she is unable to register her birth in the UK and is unable to get a passport.

Jade was turned down for a Saturday job because she was unable to prove her ID.

Her parents Victor and Linda have spent 16 years trying to get the necessary paperwork.

'So upsetting'

Unless she can produce a Spanish birth certificate she will have to undergo a £750 Life in the UK citizenship test - usually required of non-English speaking immigrants.

Jade said: "It's so upsetting feeling like I don't exist in this country. My life is on hold at the moment.

"'I can't get a job, a driving licence, go abroad, get married. I couldn't even go on a day trip to France.

"I have been really angry at times but I'm prepared to do whatever it takes to be allowed to live a normal life." Source BBC