Italy (schengen) Visa for Natasha from the UK

Ok, so we want to go to Italy for a few days to visit some friends. Me and our son Joshua are British Citizens, but Natasha is Ukrainian. So she needs a Schengen visa to go to Italy. After having looked at the http://it.vfsglobal.co.uk for information, we have discovered that she could get a EEA/EU Family (Short Stay Up To 90 Days) type visa, which is free. So for her to get that visa, she needed to prove her relationship to the British co-traveller. So naturally, I thought that would be me. In order for her to prove her relationship to me, we had to translate and legalise our Marriage Certificate, which is Ukrainian. If it was a British Marriage Certificate, would have been much easier. Translating and legalising the Marriage Certificate and her Birth Certificate costed us almost £300. All the time and trouble that it took was crazy. But finally we had all the paperwork we need for the visa and for her to prove her relationship with me. Whilst packing the paperwork for the visa before our trip to London to the visa office, I thought to take a copy of Joshua's passport and Birth Certificate just in case.When we got there, I said to the visa officer, well this is my wife and we are travelling together and this is our son who will need to be fed by his mum on the trip. So the visa officer asks for Joshua's passport and Birth Certificate. Then she asks for the plane tickets and that is it. She needed nothing else, because Joshua is British and her name is on the Birth Certificate hence the relationship between her and Joshua's as his mother is proven.

We walked away from the application centre both relieved and upset. Relieved that it was all OK and that the paperwork that we had on us was acceptable. But upset since we went to so much trouble for nothing. We did not have to translate all the documents since we could easily prove her relationship to Joshua through the birth certificate.

So if you have a child together who is British, then you can get a Schengen visa by providing the child's birth certificate to prove your relationship to a British national. Of course don't forget all the other things like copies of everything and photos and so on.

Getting ready for work in the UK

So once you have got your National Insurance Number, it is time to get yourself a bank account. In the UK you can get many different bank accounts, but the one that you will need in order to start work, is a 'Current Account'.

According to Google, the definition of a current account goes as follows:

an account with a bank or building society from which money may be withdrawn without notice, typically an active account catering for frequent deposits and withdrawals by cheque

 More info about current accounts can be read here: http://www.moneysupermarket.com/current-accounts/what-is-a-current-account/ Although, cheques these days are not that widely used. And some shops don't accept them any more.

Most banks do current accounts so you will just need a document with your address on it (could be your National Insurance Number letter) and a form of Photo ID such as your Passport, Driving License, etc. With these two documents, you can walk into most banks and get your self a current account there and then.

A current account in the UK will come with two numbers: Account Number and Sort Code. They will look as follows:

Account Number: ######## e.g. 15425687
Sort Code: ##-##-## e.g. 54-78-25

Once you have these two numbers, you can then give them to your employer and your money will get deposited straight into your account at the end of the month, depending on how your salary / wage is paid and when.

You do not need a Credit Card in order to start work. In fact you do not really need a Credit Card at all. Your current Account will come with a Debit Card which can be used in the same way and in the same places as a Credit Card.

Once you get paid, you can go to any ATM (Cash Machine) and withdraw your cash. In most cases there is a limit of how much cash you can withdraw per day. This limit usually is somewhere around £250 - £300. The other way is the way I do it, which is to bank on-line. I go on the internet and do all my banking there rather than go to a bank.I can pay people money, transfer money between accounts and so on.

If your address changes you must inform the bank.

REMEMBER: Your card will have a PIN Code. You must not give it to anyone. Not even the Police, the Bank, or anyone.

And now you are set! Enjoy working in the UK.