Cross boarder medical checks

To move from the UK to South Africa in 2011, prior to obtaining our visas we were required to have a chest X-ray to check we were free of TB, a form signed by our doctor to confirm we were sane and police checks.

To move to Dubai we are required upon entry to have a chest X-ray to check we are free of TB and blood tests to ensure we are free from HIV/AIDS and Leprosy. We are not however required to have police checks, but I will be having one done as I work in Child Protection and I teach so know I will be asked to provide evidence that I am safe to work in this field in both Dubai and for when we eventually return to the UK.

Two issues have arisen from this.

• Since being in South Africa we have both tested negative for HIV/AIDS, so if we have contracted either HIV/AIDS or TB, we would have contracted it in South Africa, but where would the UAE return us to? As we've never been tested for Leprosy, that would be a harder question to answer. According to a report in the Guardian in June 2014, Leprosy is rare in the UK, however in South Africa, February 2014, there was an increase in diagnosed cases. And as far as I am aware, apart from the additional stress caused by yet another relocation, we are both still sane.

• If we were returning to the UK where no visa's are required for us as we are British, no health tests are requested at all, however I would be asked for a police check/CRB when I applied for work, so it's only common sense that's telling me to get one done before we leave here. However for immigration purposes, depending on what country you arrive from to the UK there is screening for TB.

I'm sure it would be difficult to police returnees to their country of origin and I'm not sure what questions may arise when applying for work, utilities, bank accounts etc when asked for proof of address for the previous ? years.

No inoculations are required to enter South Africa on holiday, which concerns me with the current situation with Ebola and the spread of the disease by tourists, businesses travellers and health care workers treating the disease. There are no confirmed cases of Ebola in South Africa at the moment, unlike the UK and a Nigerian woman who was in transit died in Abu Dhabi this week. As we are relocating from Africa I'm making the assumption that further screening may take place.

I'd be interested to know if people relocating from anywhere in the world to another country, in particular the UK, have been required to have health checks and what is the strangest test you've been required to have?

Life is all about change

We know there will be changes to our lives, marriages, births, new job, new home and we plan with excitement, it also stresses us out a little, the fear of the unknown and the what ifs.

Sometimes changes can be small, others can be huge, some are done willingly, and some are forced upon us.

Change isn’t always positive, there could be a death in the family, loss of a job, a divorce.

Change doesn’t have to be negative or huge to cause a major impact on someone’s life, it can be as simple as an unexpected car repair or replacement of a stolen item, or even hidden costs that can cause a family to re think their budget for a few months and what seems like a major issue to you can be viewed as a minor one to others.

We all know people who have been through changes, we’ve all been through changes, it’s what life if all about, survival of the fittest. Some people appear to handle changes like a duck on water, all serene on top while paddling furiously underneath and we wonder how they manage it. Others just shut down, have a break down, ask for help or ignore the situation until it is forced upon them, such as house repossession or a court order and sometimes there is the element of surprise when someone dies and there are no set rules, other than maybe a will and a funeral.

For those who live their lives as expats there is always change on the horizon, for some they venture into an expat life excited with promises of a new life in a foreign country, a house to make into a home, schools, work, new salary. Some expats go with their eyes wide open, some go on a fixed contract, knowing the exact date they will leave, some will even know in advance where there next move will be. Others like us moved without knowing anything, other than where the children would be schooled and where hubby would work. We had no idea of how long we’d be expats for, where and when we would go next and for the past year we’ve lived with facing a new change of which we’ve had little control or say over.

We heard in January, there might be a move, it also coincided with another huge change in our lives and that was the last child leaving home and having to deal with empty nest syndrome. But we knew about that change, that’s what happens in life, you have kids, they grow up, and they leave home. We have 5 children between us; the hardest change was moving the eldest into residential care aged 12. We thought that as we dealt with that (some days we still feel the guilt) that the rest of the children leaving home we could deal with. But we didn’t anticipate that after the 2 oldest boys left home, that we would then be packing our bags and moving 6000 miles away from them, we didn’t anticipate the youngest, then aged 14, returning to the UK for boarding school and we didn’t anticipate how we would feel when the last child left home and also moved back to the UK.

We visit, they visit, but it’s not how we imagined it to be, wanted it to be or how we see our future relationships with our children living on different continents.

We are now in the planning stages of more change, we are moving, it looks like we’ll be gone by January 11^th 2015, almost 4 years to the day that we moved here, our visas expire and due to new changes in the law, hubbies visa renewal to work here may not be granted, which means we have to leave, it is an enforced move, one of which we have little or no control over.

When the kids left home, I threw myself into life here fully, I took up opportunities to travel and explore further a field, to really become hands on with my volunteer work, starting to look for funding for projects and carrying on with sourcing and distributing donations.

Now I’m in limbo, I don’t know where we are going, when we are going. I don’t know the timescale therefore I can’t do anything, there is a requirement for moving the animals, but where and when? Removal companies to quote, utilities to sort, notice on the rented house to give, contracts to end, a car to be sold, bank accounts to close. Can I work in our new country? Can I have my own bank account? Can I take out contracts such a phone in my own name?

I’ve moved many times, the move isn’t daunting me, it’s the fact it isn’t my choice and that I have no say over where and when.

Then there are the non-practical issues, the stuff no one can really help you with. The change of moving to a new country, without a job to go to, without children to settle, what will I do? How will I feel? How to make new friends? It’s not an easy job when you don’t have kids or work. Without friends how will I know where to go? Who to ask? How to do things? What about buying a car? Insurance? How do you know what’s the best thing to do in a new and unfamiliar country, with little or no support?

We moved within the UK, we moved within South Africa, once you know how things work, it’s relatively straight forward, but with a South African government, one never knows how things will work today compared to yesterday and with so many changes in the law that no one seems to know how the new laws will work, this is not a good change for me.

The only thing I do know is, is that I coped, I succeeded, I sorted, I battled without help and support, but I remember it was hard, it was frustrating, it took up whole days, weeks even. I didn’t like it, I didn’t do it willingly, I did it or it just wouldn’t have been done.

I’m daunted by the upcoming change, I’m frightened and I feel isolated and alone.

I’m not just dealing with a change in our lives again; I’m dealing with another change in my personal life, my identity and the unknown. I don’t know how I’ll cope, right now I don’t think I will cope.

New regulations for unaccompanied minors entering and leaving South Africa

How to get through South African Immigration as a child.

Despite having a visa issued by the South African Embassy in London in 2011 and renewed in South Africa in December 2013 there are 3 different procedures to follow here and the only thing I know for sure is that whether a child travels with their parents or on their own, they must carry an unabridged birth certificate with them.

Travelling with one parent, then a letter from the other parent and the birth certificate to state this person has permission to fly with their child. In the case of a desceased parent then the death certificate must be carried and in the case where the other parent is absent and cannot give permission then a court order is needed.

But what happens if the child is travelling on their own, is over 15 and the airline allows unaccompanied minors on their flight and the parents are divorced, the mother has a new surname and there is no court order because the parents never questioned custody?

Having spent most of the week on the internet and telephone I am still none the wiser as to whether the suggestions I received from the South African Immigration website, British High Commission and Deloitte should suffice.

I’m afraid ‘should suffice’ is not enough for me or my son. He arrives in SA with British Airways on July 27^th. I have the following documents as recommended which have been certified at SAPS (police) and will be sending them via DHL once I’ve been given clearance from immigration.

An unaccompanied child must carry with them the following:

Birth Certificate (unabridged) which actually reads on the bottom

‘WARNING: THIS CERTIFICATE IS NOT EVIDENCE OF THE IDENITY OF THE PERSON PRESENTING IT’

A letter from me with contact details stating I am the person collecting him.

A letter from me giving permission for him to enter and then leave SA.

A copy of my passport.

A copy of my divorce certificate and new marriage certificate to prove my name on his birth certificate and how it links with my passport now.

A letter from his father that needs witnessing by a solicitor to give permission for his son to visit me in SA and a separate letter to give permission for his son to leave SA and return to the UK.

I took these documents to OR Tambo airport today to speak with immigration directly to ensure these documents will suffice. The staff, via the twitter account @ortambo_int, were amazing, making phone calls, visiting immigration where I couldn't access, explaining my dilemma then phoning me back to direct me to where I needed to be. I was told my documents were good and son will clear immigration when he presents them, but due to the confusion the new law this has now been postponed until October.

I’m sure there is an easier way, but I can’t find one. My 15 year old is more than capable of travelling half way round the world on his own, finding the right gate etc, but I’m not sure if he’s equipped to deal with immigration after a 12 hour flight.



UPDATE after contacting British Airways who son is flying with. Taken from Foreign Travel Advice.

Even BA can't confirm what travel documents my son would need after October 1st but believe it would be best for him to travel with the following after highlighting the fact that have to be very careful - if your son is refused entry into SA we will be heavily fined:


- a machine-readable passport
- minimum of one full blank page in his passport although Immigration state 2 clear pages
- a copy of the documentation from the SA High Commission that was received with his granted student visa application, including all information relating to him being able to travel on a one-way ticket (standard SA-issued advice says that visitors should hold a return ticket or pay a deposit if on a one-way ticket). We would also say that if there becomes a query at the airport about his one-way ticket, it would be helpful to have with him some kind of proof of how his return ticket will be arranged/paid for (unless his visa application answers this issue fully). Ideally, our Terminal 5 team say an open-dated return ticket might have been better for him to travel on - these can be open for a return flight up to 12 months ahead
- his full/unabridged birth certificate 
- an affidavit from both parents giving their consent for his journey, including agreement for him to travel to SA on a one-way ticket. Please include permanent home addresses on this
- proof of his study in SA. This should be a letter-headed document that confirms he is a current student at their facility, the course he is on and the term dates they expect to receive him between.

UPDATE Son arrived and cleared immigration, no questions asked or documentation requested

Taking kids abroad

I've checked the government websites and cannot find any information or guidance about travelling with kids abroad when they have a different surname to you.

In 2008 we drove to France, via the tunnel, me, hubby and my eldest was 16. Peter stayed on in France for a few days and was flying back after some business and Jamie and I drove back.

We arrived at the port to be questioned about why we had booked for 3 but only 2 were returning, I explained to customs that the tunnel booking hadn't allowed us to book 3 out and 2 back and that my husband was flying back at a later date...OK no probs...but what is your relationship to the child in the vehicle...I said he was my son..why the different surnames...I explained I'd re married...did I have any proof he was my son...I had a scan photo in my wallet, just ask him, he's 16 FFS...eventually they let us through and suggested I carried his birth certificate with me when we travelled again....

...and here lies the problem...my son had my maiden name which was changed by deed pole when I married, then I got divorced and remarried...so to prove he was my I'd need to carry his birth certificate and mine to prove my maiden name, then my marriage certificate to show my previous name, then my new marriage certificate to prove my new name and make the connection back to my sons name...

So from then on I carried all this documentation with me when we flew anywhere...but was never asked for it, the US, Tunisia, Turkey.

When we moved to South Africa we had visas, we'd had to have a letter of permission from the children's father to obtain the visas...no problem leaving the UK, but when I tried to take the youngest out of the UK after a visit home last week, I went through the same problems.

FFS do these people not understand a Visa and the process I went through, no one anywhere tells you to carry all the above mentioned documents when travelling abroad with kids. They finally let us through in immigration at Heathrow, but advised I carried his birth certificate on the next visit...which still wouldn't prove he was my son, just that I had his birth certificate.