Category Archives: Life in the UK

Life in the UK…Done & Dusted…

Posted on by
Reply

Well today I took my first step towards my official settlement here in the UK by passing the ‘Life in the UK’ test – 24 multiple choice questions over three quarters of an hour – which I managed to complete in about 5mins!  Hooray for me…

Now all I have to do is collect 5 years of bank statements, document my travels in and out of the UK over the last 5 years – which is quite a lot given the travelling I’ve done for my various jobs – acquire two passport-sized photos (Sainsbury’s photo booth, here I come!), fill in the application form (19 pages), pay £820 and wait…

I have been feeling quietly nervous leading up to today’s test, in retrospect more than it seemed to warrant.  But it is really unsettling to think that I’ve worked hard and built this wonderful life for myself here in the UK and my future here lies in someone else’s hands.  Only time will tell I guess but let me just say that I will be so thrilled to get my ILR (Indefinite Leave to Remain) status sorted…

Studying ‘Life in the United Kingdom’…

Posted on by
Reply

In order to submit my application next January for Unlimited Leave to Remain in the UK, I need to have passed the Life in the UK test which came in a few years ago for people wanting to permanently settle here. There’s a book to read (Life in the United Kingdom: A Journey to Citizenship) which I thought I’d get hold of early and read every so often over the year. This was always my study pattern at school/uni too – never was a great ‘crammer’ so if I didn’t know it by a few days before the exam, I had no hope!

I started reading last night and found that the history part is really interesting. I’ve heard of most of the things/people mentioned ie. signing of the Magna Carta at Runnymede, the Battle of Hastings in 1066, Oliver Cromwell, Boudicca and the Iceni etc. but had no real idea of the course of history and how these all fitted in. Given I love reading history, this is actually turning out to be more engrossing than I thought…

…no sign of daffodil blooms yet but the buds are getting yellower and I count five ready to blossom in my pot (a significant increase on last year’s one) as well as three ‘wild’ ones on the edge of the path.