Moving to a new country is difficult in terms of the language, culture and how things get done. With two international moves under our belt, to South Africa and Dubai, you'd think relocating back to the UK, our home country would be easy, but things over the past 8 years are different, things have changed since we last lived there and we are just too familiar with the way things are done in Dubai.
Each time we've relocated we've gone off into the unknown, required visa's, relied on others to prepare paperwork etc and had to re learn how to do things.
When I visit the UK, I wait in my car for the fuel to be put in the tank, wait for my shopping bags to be packed and hand over my bank card to the cashier for them to put it in the machine and since moving to Dubai, I've been known to actually give the pump attendant my PIN to save me getting out the car when it's too hot.
It takes a few moments to remember things work differently than where I'm used to.
I also have to deal with getting in the 'wrong' side of the car, pay great attention to the direction of traffic before pulling off, remembering the coins and notes and exclaiming 'how much?' after every transaction as the cost of living in the UK has definitely risen.
3 years ago we purchased a flat in the UK. I spent most of year 1 setting up accounts for water, electricity, property management, internet, council tax, TV licence, purchasing furniture, arranging delivery and equipment for the kitchen etc. Removing packaging to the local tip, finding out the bin days for various coloured bags and bins and setting up mobile phone contract.
We won't be moving back to the UK in 2-3 years time, we've started the process of reoccupying our family home and will be relocating the pets in January and the bulk of the furniture and our belongings in May. Until Peter retires, he will remain in Dubai full time and I will live between the 2 countries.
For this move we won't require a visa, which means I don't need my husbands permission as my sponsor to deal with things on my behalf and as British Citizen I've been able to provide acceptable ID, already have UK bank accounts and speak the same language. However I find myself saying on a regular basis. 'I don't live in the UK, I have no idea how these things work' which is greeted with looks of disbelief and tutting over the telephone as if I'm a simpleton.
However, I'm finding out things aren't as straight forward as I'd hoped for. I'll fill you in with further blog posts as things go.
You can read more of our Repatriation story below:
Some of these links aren't yet live and will be updated.
Repatriation or Operation Relocation
Part 1 Things we have to do
Part 2 Starting to get organised
Part 3 Transfer of Residence
Part 4 Relocating pets. Dubai to UK
Part 5 Sorting out our new home in the UK
Part 6 Bob and Pushkins arrive in the UK. What do they think of it? February 2020
Part 7 Renting an apartment in Dubai May 2020
Part 8 Vacating a Villa in Dubai May 2020
Part 9 Moving Day May 2020
Part 10 Relocation
Showing posts sorted by relevance for query repatriation. Sort by date Show all posts
Showing posts sorted by relevance for query repatriation. Sort by date Show all posts
Monday, 28 October 2019
Monday, 4 November 2019
Repatriation Things we have to do
There's lots of Things to do for this move to the UK. In many ways I'm discovering it's more of a relocation and not repatriation. There is as much stuff to do as there was to move from the UK to South Africa then relocate the the UAE.
Our move to South Africa from the UK was completed within 4 months of being asked to move to our arrival. Visas had to be in place on arrival and as we later discovered the student visas for an Afrikaans school was not our best move and it dictated where we lived. We eventually sent our youngest back to the UK for boarding for his last 4 years of education and the other child finished school at almost 19 with his Matric which was only equivalent to 5 GCSE's grade C. We stayed in a furnished apartment for 6 weeks, before moving into a house, then moving again the following year.
We were in South Africa 1 month short of 4 years.
For our move to the UAE we had to be in the UK to attest and certify our documents for the visa process and once they were in place we were able to move to Dubai and apply for our visas. However there were several surprises such as the cat and dog arrived, we'd rented a villa, but were unable to set up the utilities until the visa was in place, which was almost 12 weeks later and we had to live in hotels until then. Also we were unable to ship our air freight until visas were in place and our container sat in customs in the UAE for 9 weeks. We've also moved house after 3 years.
We've been in Dubai 2 months short of 5 years now.
Both moves were organised by the company and they were not successful. For starters when I called the rental agent or the removal company I was informed the contract wasn't with me , which meant Peter had to keep stop what he was doing to contact HR for them to call the companies, report back to Peter and then to me. it was time consuming and at one point our container in South Africa was effectively lost for 3 days.
There have been many financial surprises to deal with also. The company paid for the packing and shipping of our container. They provide a housing and car allowance in both countries and they paid school fees. They also pay all costs for visa applications, including flights. But this money is paid into Peter's salary monthly, so we had to find money to purchase vehicles, pay school deposits and fees and pay the house deposit up front. On our arrival in Dubai we had to pay a full years rent up front. When we left South Africa our visa expired along with our bank accounts and we went from the end of November until the end of January with only Rand in cash to spend.
We'd arrived in South Africa with the Rand at 11:1, when we left it was 27:1. We'd depleted our UK savings setting up in SA.
5 years on and we've recovered financially, we've had tenants in our UK home. The first set stopped paying rent in 2013 and we had an expensive eviction through the courts to recover our home. In 2016 we then purchased a flat near my parents so we'd have somewhere to stay when we visit and the rent from our home covers our running costs for both UK properties.
On our last visit to the UK in September and October we discovered our current tenants had only paid the rent owed under mediation and we were advised they weren't going to pay in October on time either, so we've made the decision to action a Section 21a and claim occupancy of the property in January 2020.
As Peter is 62 and retirement age in Dubai is 65, we don't have long left here. We'd discussed our plan of action for his retirement and our repatriation to the UK, which involved giving our tenants notice in October 2021, getting the work done in the house ready for when Peter retired and it's eventual sale after he returned to the UK, for me to find work and then decide where we were going to live.
We had hoped for one more final move back to South Africa, but it hasn't happened, so we've brought our plans forward. Peter hasn't made a decision about his retirement date yet.
I'm now having to travel back to the UK in November/December as our tenants are leaving early so I can get the locks changed, set up utilities, council tax etc and get the flat rented out to cover the monthly costs. The cat and dog will move back the end of January on my next trip. I will need to be back in Dubai in March as we have friends visiting, I'll return in April for a month, then back to Dubai to organise the packing and shipping of our furniture and move Peter into a 2 bed apartment, which will be our home in Dubai when I visit alternate months.
I will return to the UK end of May to meet the container and Peter will join me in June to help with the unpacking and any jobs in the house I've been physically unable to do.
I'll stay in the UK until the end of October, then back to Dubai till February.
So what next?
Our move to South Africa from the UK was completed within 4 months of being asked to move to our arrival. Visas had to be in place on arrival and as we later discovered the student visas for an Afrikaans school was not our best move and it dictated where we lived. We eventually sent our youngest back to the UK for boarding for his last 4 years of education and the other child finished school at almost 19 with his Matric which was only equivalent to 5 GCSE's grade C. We stayed in a furnished apartment for 6 weeks, before moving into a house, then moving again the following year.
We were in South Africa 1 month short of 4 years.
For our move to the UAE we had to be in the UK to attest and certify our documents for the visa process and once they were in place we were able to move to Dubai and apply for our visas. However there were several surprises such as the cat and dog arrived, we'd rented a villa, but were unable to set up the utilities until the visa was in place, which was almost 12 weeks later and we had to live in hotels until then. Also we were unable to ship our air freight until visas were in place and our container sat in customs in the UAE for 9 weeks. We've also moved house after 3 years.
We've been in Dubai 2 months short of 5 years now.
Both moves were organised by the company and they were not successful. For starters when I called the rental agent or the removal company I was informed the contract wasn't with me , which meant Peter had to keep stop what he was doing to contact HR for them to call the companies, report back to Peter and then to me. it was time consuming and at one point our container in South Africa was effectively lost for 3 days.
There have been many financial surprises to deal with also. The company paid for the packing and shipping of our container. They provide a housing and car allowance in both countries and they paid school fees. They also pay all costs for visa applications, including flights. But this money is paid into Peter's salary monthly, so we had to find money to purchase vehicles, pay school deposits and fees and pay the house deposit up front. On our arrival in Dubai we had to pay a full years rent up front. When we left South Africa our visa expired along with our bank accounts and we went from the end of November until the end of January with only Rand in cash to spend.
We'd arrived in South Africa with the Rand at 11:1, when we left it was 27:1. We'd depleted our UK savings setting up in SA.
5 years on and we've recovered financially, we've had tenants in our UK home. The first set stopped paying rent in 2013 and we had an expensive eviction through the courts to recover our home. In 2016 we then purchased a flat near my parents so we'd have somewhere to stay when we visit and the rent from our home covers our running costs for both UK properties.
On our last visit to the UK in September and October we discovered our current tenants had only paid the rent owed under mediation and we were advised they weren't going to pay in October on time either, so we've made the decision to action a Section 21a and claim occupancy of the property in January 2020.
As Peter is 62 and retirement age in Dubai is 65, we don't have long left here. We'd discussed our plan of action for his retirement and our repatriation to the UK, which involved giving our tenants notice in October 2021, getting the work done in the house ready for when Peter retired and it's eventual sale after he returned to the UK, for me to find work and then decide where we were going to live.
We had hoped for one more final move back to South Africa, but it hasn't happened, so we've brought our plans forward. Peter hasn't made a decision about his retirement date yet.
I'm now having to travel back to the UK in November/December as our tenants are leaving early so I can get the locks changed, set up utilities, council tax etc and get the flat rented out to cover the monthly costs. The cat and dog will move back the end of January on my next trip. I will need to be back in Dubai in March as we have friends visiting, I'll return in April for a month, then back to Dubai to organise the packing and shipping of our furniture and move Peter into a 2 bed apartment, which will be our home in Dubai when I visit alternate months.
I will return to the UK end of May to meet the container and Peter will join me in June to help with the unpacking and any jobs in the house I've been physically unable to do.
I'll stay in the UK until the end of October, then back to Dubai till February.
So what next?
Friday, 1 November 2019
Thoughts on moving (back) to South Africa and everything you need to know about an International Move.
We're no longer moving to South Africa from Dubai, but we'd started the thought process and looking into costs, paperwork and pro's and con's of another move. So when we had difficulties with our tenants in the UK, we were already in the right frame of mind to be dealing with a relocation and as Peter's job is seeing him work half the year in South Africa, it seemed the right thing to do for me to spend that half in the UK, rather than in isolation in Dubai.
I've started to blog our repatriation here
Here is the thought process we went through:
16th February 2019
Here we go again, the 3rd time in the past 9 years we've had to ponder this question.
Should we move abroad? It's something we both asked ourselves in 2010.
The first time we were asked this question was September 2010, we said yes with no hesitation and 3 months later with 2 kids, our furniture and visas in hand we flew to South Africa to start a new life.
4 years later now with a cat and dog in tow and no kids at home anymore, we had 3 months notice to leave South Africa (government weren't renewing our visas) we sort of had the choice of the UK or Dubai, but chose Dubai because neither of us were ready to return home and Peter's job would've had him travelling to the Middle East anyway.
Both moves took us a good year to settle in fully, get to know the customs, ways things were done and to establish ourselves with friends.
The last year of our lives in South Africa, at the point where I'd settled, accepted my new identity, found my niche were spent with the will we, won't be moving until all of a sudden it was just announced and we packed up to start all over again.
To say that Peter's company caused us problems with the move was an understatement. Here's a summary of exactly what went wrong with both our moves and how things could've been improved.
HR in South Africa just assumed we would be able to do everything they did and in the same way, but no. I was not permitted to work and everything had to be in Peter's name, so dealing with a new job, 2 kids in a new school, trying to find somewhere to live and most importantly living with the fear of our personal safety it was a very trying time for us all.
The move to Dubai was much easier but HR here had no concept of what it was like moving to another country from a country that is not your place of birth and we were on expiring visas, having to make trips to the UK to get the new visa in order.
So when Peter came home from work mid February to say it was being discussed him moving to South Africa to take over the business there, the first thing I said was 'hell yes, but this time everything must be in writing and I will not allow HR top deal with the physical side of things this time other than the paperwork required for the visas, we will do the rest.'
I can pack in 2 days, our entire lives, the cat and the dog and ready to fly whenever I get the word.
We'll have to go back to the UK to obtain our new visas but once we know the move is actually going ahead, the T&C's for Peter's contract are in place, salary agreed, repatriation costs back to the UK, either when he chooses to retire (he's 65 in 2022) or the job comes to a natural end, are all in place. I can start the following:
I've started to blog our repatriation here
Here is the thought process we went through:
16th February 2019
Here we go again, the 3rd time in the past 9 years we've had to ponder this question.
Should we move abroad? It's something we both asked ourselves in 2010.
The first time we were asked this question was September 2010, we said yes with no hesitation and 3 months later with 2 kids, our furniture and visas in hand we flew to South Africa to start a new life.
4 years later now with a cat and dog in tow and no kids at home anymore, we had 3 months notice to leave South Africa (government weren't renewing our visas) we sort of had the choice of the UK or Dubai, but chose Dubai because neither of us were ready to return home and Peter's job would've had him travelling to the Middle East anyway.
Both moves took us a good year to settle in fully, get to know the customs, ways things were done and to establish ourselves with friends.
The last year of our lives in South Africa, at the point where I'd settled, accepted my new identity, found my niche were spent with the will we, won't be moving until all of a sudden it was just announced and we packed up to start all over again.
To say that Peter's company caused us problems with the move was an understatement. Here's a summary of exactly what went wrong with both our moves and how things could've been improved.
HR in South Africa just assumed we would be able to do everything they did and in the same way, but no. I was not permitted to work and everything had to be in Peter's name, so dealing with a new job, 2 kids in a new school, trying to find somewhere to live and most importantly living with the fear of our personal safety it was a very trying time for us all.
The move to Dubai was much easier but HR here had no concept of what it was like moving to another country from a country that is not your place of birth and we were on expiring visas, having to make trips to the UK to get the new visa in order.
So when Peter came home from work mid February to say it was being discussed him moving to South Africa to take over the business there, the first thing I said was 'hell yes, but this time everything must be in writing and I will not allow HR top deal with the physical side of things this time other than the paperwork required for the visas, we will do the rest.'
I can pack in 2 days, our entire lives, the cat and the dog and ready to fly whenever I get the word.
We'll have to go back to the UK to obtain our new visas but once we know the move is actually going ahead, the T&C's for Peter's contract are in place, salary agreed, repatriation costs back to the UK, either when he chooses to retire (he's 65 in 2022) or the job comes to a natural end, are all in place. I can start the following:
- Look at export companies, I will itemise our contents for insurance purposes
- Speak to local animal specialists about the cat and dog, injections, paperwork and time scales for relocating the pets
- Sell both our cars
- Give notice to the landlord
- Speak to the banks about keeping accounts open here
- Declutter the house
- Sell the garden contents (we have to return it to sand before we leave)
So here are some random thoughts on our potential move:
Pros Cons
Skype, voice over internet and VPN's work . Post doesn't work
Have friends there already . Can't get PG tips or Aubergine Pickle
Time difference only 1-2 hours not 3-4 . Load shedding
Know how things get done . Personal safety
Know where we'll live, on a golf course . Journey time to UK now 24 hours
Have a swimming pool . Hassles of doing the above bullet points
Cost of living much lower
Already have a sim cards, store cards, nail bar & hairdresser
Weather (apart from the winter, too cold)
Miss South Africa, always said we'd go back
27th February 2019
Haven't give the above another thought other than trying to work out how to book my return flights from the UK and include a trip to Australia to visit child 3, whilst working out how long we'd need to do a visa application from the UK and potential timescale.
We've also cancelled plans to holiday with friends in America, but there's another reason for that also. Our first grandchild was born and a son got married.
Then Peter phoned this morning to say that the 90% chance of the move had probably dropped to 70%, due to employment laws in South Africa, which we were aware of and would've been our biggest hurdle.
6th March 2019
All has gone quiet and Peter has said it's not going to be happening, it was a nice dream while it lasted but that's it, it's time to move on. I however think differently, this is what happened on 2 previous moves, lots of talk, don't say anything to anyone then all of a sudden it just happens and usually within 3 months of a decision being made, we pack and we go. So watch this space.........
15th August 2019
A move has been mentioned several times since the last update, but it's been based on assumptions. Over the past few weeks there has been a few announcements of people moving into new roles, which leaves us pondering where Peter will end up. We're due to renew our house contract in November and have to give 2 months notice if we want to move. As rent is paid upfront it's a bit worrying as to whether we'd end up paying for a house in Dubai for a year that we only live in for a few months. Moving countries is expensive, regardless of it being a company move. House allowance is paid monthly, but we'd have to find our own deposit as well as buying new cars, whilst waiting for deposits to be returned here.
I'm keen to move back to South Africa, and hoping it could potentially be a one way trip and we could retire there. I really haven't given too much thought to the job ending here and relocating back to the UK instead, but that could also be a possible outcome.
27th August 2019
A formal discussion for Peter in work, it's very frustrating. Our landlord has agreed to a 6 month or monthly contract but there's an admin fee of 7,500 AED (£1,500) Part of our rental agreement is that we return to the garden to a blank canvas so we have to demolish the fence, dig up the plants, lawn and tiling to sell. All this takes time and effort and I'm in the UK Sept 10th till the end of October. We also have to return to the UK to submit all our paperwork for our visa but need most of the documents completing here, medical and police clearance in South Africa as well as Dubai.
September 2019
We're not moving to South Africa (insert sad face) The salary offer was not good enough considering we don't pay tax in Dubai so there would be quite a drop in salary and as Peter retires in 2-3 years time, there's no reason to do so. He is however going to help out more in South Africa from Dubai, which means more travel for him, more complications with the cat and dog costs and boarding, so I'll have to curb my travelling for a while. The thought of being in Dubai now until next June is daunting.
October 2019
So I'm not staying in Dubai, things happen for a reason. We'd planned to give our tenants in the UK their notice late 2020 and for me to return to the UK, settle into the house and start looking for work. Our plans were changed on Monday (2 days ago) when the rental agents informed us there were issues with payments and the list of complaints from the tenants is getting longer, such as uneven kitchen floor tiles (they're slate and cemented) and poorly decorated (was freshly decorated prior to them moving in 2 years ago).
The plan now is I move back end of January into our family home, transfer the contents of the flat in South Wales (50 miles away) and put the flat on the rental market, buy a car. Set up utilities etc and return to Dubai in March to start organising the move to the UK with the cat and dog and sell the car. Spend April/May in the UK, board the cat and dog in the UK, return to Dubai, pack up contents, sell garden, find 2 bed furnished apartment for Peter. Return to UK with Peter joining me in June to wait for the furniture, unpack, get jobs sorted. Peter will return to Dubai in July for work and we'll decide what to do next in regards to keeping our relationship alive, will probably involve me visiting Dubai alternate months until he retires for good.
Our initial move from the UK to South Africa started on September 10th and we moved on January 18th. We will have had 9 full years outside the UK.
27th February 2019
Haven't give the above another thought other than trying to work out how to book my return flights from the UK and include a trip to Australia to visit child 3, whilst working out how long we'd need to do a visa application from the UK and potential timescale.
We've also cancelled plans to holiday with friends in America, but there's another reason for that also. Our first grandchild was born and a son got married.
Then Peter phoned this morning to say that the 90% chance of the move had probably dropped to 70%, due to employment laws in South Africa, which we were aware of and would've been our biggest hurdle.
6th March 2019
All has gone quiet and Peter has said it's not going to be happening, it was a nice dream while it lasted but that's it, it's time to move on. I however think differently, this is what happened on 2 previous moves, lots of talk, don't say anything to anyone then all of a sudden it just happens and usually within 3 months of a decision being made, we pack and we go. So watch this space.........
15th August 2019
A move has been mentioned several times since the last update, but it's been based on assumptions. Over the past few weeks there has been a few announcements of people moving into new roles, which leaves us pondering where Peter will end up. We're due to renew our house contract in November and have to give 2 months notice if we want to move. As rent is paid upfront it's a bit worrying as to whether we'd end up paying for a house in Dubai for a year that we only live in for a few months. Moving countries is expensive, regardless of it being a company move. House allowance is paid monthly, but we'd have to find our own deposit as well as buying new cars, whilst waiting for deposits to be returned here.
I'm keen to move back to South Africa, and hoping it could potentially be a one way trip and we could retire there. I really haven't given too much thought to the job ending here and relocating back to the UK instead, but that could also be a possible outcome.
27th August 2019
A formal discussion for Peter in work, it's very frustrating. Our landlord has agreed to a 6 month or monthly contract but there's an admin fee of 7,500 AED (£1,500) Part of our rental agreement is that we return to the garden to a blank canvas so we have to demolish the fence, dig up the plants, lawn and tiling to sell. All this takes time and effort and I'm in the UK Sept 10th till the end of October. We also have to return to the UK to submit all our paperwork for our visa but need most of the documents completing here, medical and police clearance in South Africa as well as Dubai.
September 2019
We're not moving to South Africa (insert sad face) The salary offer was not good enough considering we don't pay tax in Dubai so there would be quite a drop in salary and as Peter retires in 2-3 years time, there's no reason to do so. He is however going to help out more in South Africa from Dubai, which means more travel for him, more complications with the cat and dog costs and boarding, so I'll have to curb my travelling for a while. The thought of being in Dubai now until next June is daunting.
October 2019
So I'm not staying in Dubai, things happen for a reason. We'd planned to give our tenants in the UK their notice late 2020 and for me to return to the UK, settle into the house and start looking for work. Our plans were changed on Monday (2 days ago) when the rental agents informed us there were issues with payments and the list of complaints from the tenants is getting longer, such as uneven kitchen floor tiles (they're slate and cemented) and poorly decorated (was freshly decorated prior to them moving in 2 years ago).
The plan now is I move back end of January into our family home, transfer the contents of the flat in South Wales (50 miles away) and put the flat on the rental market, buy a car. Set up utilities etc and return to Dubai in March to start organising the move to the UK with the cat and dog and sell the car. Spend April/May in the UK, board the cat and dog in the UK, return to Dubai, pack up contents, sell garden, find 2 bed furnished apartment for Peter. Return to UK with Peter joining me in June to wait for the furniture, unpack, get jobs sorted. Peter will return to Dubai in July for work and we'll decide what to do next in regards to keeping our relationship alive, will probably involve me visiting Dubai alternate months until he retires for good.
Our initial move from the UK to South Africa started on September 10th and we moved on January 18th. We will have had 9 full years outside the UK.
I've not published the post until now, as we wanted to make sure either a) the move was going ahead or b) we were staying put, in which case I've decided to share it with you anyway. At some point in time we will have to leave Dubai and go through this anyway, just back to the UK and the UK it is.
Wednesday, 16 September 2020
Ex expat or Re-pat? My repatriation journey.
Since planning our return to the UK, I've read a lot of blogs and posts in expat groups about how hard repatriation is.
There's a lot of negativity around about going home, how it's not the same anymore, how people aren't interested and how difficult it is to slip back into their old lives.
This is something I've been worrying about. For the past (almost 10 years) I've not settled living as an expat. I've dealt with not being able to get a visa to work, having to make the tough decision to send the youngest child back to the UK for boarding school, dealing with empty nest syndrome when the last child left home, tenants from hell requiring court evictions and serious financial costs and damage to our family home and the sudden death of my father, 3 years ago.
Being on a residents visa (not allowed to work), living in a country where voice over internet is banned, coping with my husband travelling with his job, has left me feeling isolated from family and friends, a loss of identity from being a working mum, to someones mum, to someones wife has been hard and with no company support, I've struggled with getting things done, from paying bills, to buying a car to moving house several times and countries.
We bought a flat in South Wales 4 years ago, so we had a base for people to come to us, so we didn't spend all out trips to the UK charging around the country, spending a fortune on hotels and sleeping in spare rooms and on air beds.
We claimed our family home back in December 2019 and made the decision for me to return to the UK with the cat and dog and get house sitters for me to travel back and forth to see Peter. However, Covid has stopped us in our tracks, but this is something everyone around the world is going through.
We're not moving back into our old lives, Peter will be retiring and I will be venturing back into the world of work. I've started volunteering locally, have police checks from previous countries in place and updated my CV. I did teach for a year and have worked hands on with a couple of charities, long term, since we've been abroad.
We have a grandchild now, kids living abroad also, our family home still suits our needs and the location is perfect. We have a couple of friends in the area, we may move house, but won't be moving town.
Things have changed dramatically in the UK since we've been away, the way we do things, Brexit looming etc, but we don't have to deal with visas, we're doing the move without the help/hindrance of HR. I'm not relying on waiting for other people to get back to me.
I still have a few years ahead before the UK becomes our full time home again and I do still hold a residents visa to live abroad and am satisfying the requirements for the UK as well as for my visa, so I guess technically I'm still an expat for the time being.
Maybe I'm just become a 'when we'
In South Africa, we met a group of long term expats, 40+ years of living abroad, they described ex-expats who had returned to their country of birth as the 'when we's'
Monday, 3 February 2020
Bob and Pushkins arrive in the UK from South Africa, via Dubai
We were adopted by Pushkins in 2012
We adopted Bob in 2013
6 months later
In December 2014 we moved to Dubai taking them both with us.
We're having a lot of fun so far, lots of walks, new sounds, smells and places. I'll update you on their experiences next week
You can read more of our Repatriation story below:
Some of these links aren't yet live and will be updated.
Repatriation or Operation Relocation
Part 1 Things we have to do
Part 2 Starting to get organised
Part 3 Transfer of Residence
Part 4 Relocating pets. Dubai to UK
Part 5 Sorting out our new home in the UK
Part 6 Bob and Pushkins arrive in the UK. What do they think of it? February 2020
Part 7 Renting an apartment in Dubai May 2020
Part 8 Vacating a Villa in Dubai May 2020
Part 9 Moving Day May 2020
Part 10 Relocation
Tuesday, 12 October 2021
Why repatriating has been good for us
I hear so much negativity about repatriation, I can't help but think we've done it wrong and we're still waiting for the negativity to kick in or because it's different for us as we always planned to return to the UK when my husband retired.
Becoming expats was never our plan either and at the time of leaving the UK, my husband had 25 years service with the company so we weren't going on on contracts that could come to an abrupt end.
When we left the UK in January 2011 and headed off to South Africa, we honestly thought it was going to be for the inevitable future, but after 4 years, it was not to be with the government refusing to extend our visas, so not ready to move back to the UK, we went to Dubai, where I never thought we'd end up living for 6 years.
Our move to SA was based on a load of lies. Work for Peter wasn't too bad, other than dealing with different cultures and ways of working and pressure from abroad to work the same way as other countries did. If you've ever lived in SA you'll know that things are done very differently to back home. In fact EVERYTHING is done very differently to back home and it took me up to 18 months to settle in fully, after giving up the battle to be allowed to work or even study and I threw myself head first into volunteering and exploring such a wonderful country, with day trips and weekends away camping. We were adopted by a cat and adopted a dog.
Like our move to SA which was a huge adventure, we were only given 3 months notice to leave and after the rug was literally pulled from under our feet and we departed for Dubai, I never dreamt we'd be there for 6 years. I just envisioned we'd be moving on again soon, so I never put down any routes and although I was able to work, my return to teaching lasted only 18 months, I quit my job and was due to start another teaching post when my father died suddenly and I had to turn the job down in order to help my mother get her life sorted so I could return to Dubai to rejoin Peter.
In SA I was only in the UK for 2-3 weeks, once or twice a year. Then my father had a heart attack and we had dodgy tenants that took me 4 months to evict through the courts, so in 2016 we decided to purchase a flat in Wales to give us somewhere to stay for longer visits and for the youngest child to live in while he was applying for jobs after leaving school, for another to stay in on his visit back from his home in Australia and for our other son and his wife to stay when they visit.
I started to spend more time in the flat and just before covid hit, we'd already decided to get our house back from the current tenants and move the cat and dog to the UK, get house sitters and for me to travel back and forth to Dubai to see Peter whilst he finished his career over the next 2-3 years.
Having been locked out of Dubai for 4 months, we decided to bring his retirement forward to May 2021 and I spent lockdown getting the house ready for our permanent return and on a trip to Dubai in September 2020, we had most of the furniture and our belongings shipped, followed by the rest in May this year. This involved my son coming over to collect the dog for 2 months so I could return to Dubai, which turned into 3 months as Dubai was put onto the red list and there were no flights out. After an expensive and painful mandatory hotel quarantine in the UK, we were finally home, just to go to child 4 to collect the dog and unpack the rest of our belongings that arrived in July.
We're now settled back in the UK, unpacked and put away. We have a new kitchen and shed to look forward to and we're having an extension built at the back of the house to give us more downstairs space for when the family come to visit.
I only hear/read about the negatives of repatriation online and I can't be the only person who has planned our return and is happy to be back, can I?
Sunday, 3 November 2019
One Daily Positive - Week 44 My week in photos
Wow that was a long week, Peter home early hours of Friday and back off for two weeks on Sunday. Welcome to my new life.
Made appointment for blood tests next week to check on my iron levels since going wheat free, feel much better in regards to no migraines, but the headaches and neck pain have been creeping back slowly, but this could be from stress and all the travel.
300 Sunday So back in Dubai for one day and I dropped Peter at the airport this morning for his flight to South Africa till the end of the week. To say I'm not happy with this change in job, is an understatement. But we'll make it work, we always do. I watched the Rugby and supported Wales as it's my country of birth. I started the process of the cat and dog relocation to the UK the end of January 2020. Afternoon and evening spent tidying up the garden and making long lists of things to do before my next UK trip in December, complicated with the renewal of Dubai visas.
301 Monday Up early and all chores completed by 9am, went out for coffee, had my hair cut and a manicure. Afternoon spent working in the garden and cleaned the balcony, which involves running a hose pipe upwards. In the evening I was researching my family tree.
302 Tuesday New road system here in Dubai, I was away for 7 weeks, bridges, underpasses, new junctions and roads have appeared and roundabouts gone for ever. Thank fully my GPS has kept up to date with it all. Finally got to the dog park for a nice morning and catch up. In the afternoon bathed Bob and all his bedding and washed the pet bowls out. Finished tidying the garden and mowing the lawn. Paperwork completed, more appointments made and flights and car hire booked for November 26th for a week in the UK.
303 Wednesday Off to the vets to get the necessary paperwork completed for the cat and dogs move, then off to IKEA to meet a friend for the day. Spent the evening and afternoon sitting outside enjoying the cool breeze and on the laptop, sorting out issues with Mum's flat and our daughters care plan.
304 Thursday Decorated the outside of the house for halloween, it's a big event here in Dubai and all nationalities join in. Cleaned throughout the house. Popped out for coffee and a food shop.
305 Friday Peter arrived home around 7am, he's home for a few days then back to South Africa for 2 weeks. He went straight to bed, I walked the dog and packed my case for my UK trip in December, taking over all my winter clothing, a bed for Bob and food bowls. I now have a 42kg allowance with Emirates for each flight, my case weighs 21kg. I may take a second case with all our UK paperwork. I'm going to have to buy white goods for the house, as Peter will need the ones we have here and all the stuff in the flat is integral, don't think my allowance will cover them anyway lol.
Did some blogging and when Peter woke we went out for Brunch.
306 Saturday Go Bokke. Even though SA beat Wales on Sunday and I was born in Wales, I actually lived full time in SA longer than I did in Wales so feel I qualify to support them against England. We went to the mall in the morning, watched the rugby and took Bob on a long walk around the estate to explore the new road network, that didn't exist when we moved here 2 years ago.
On the blog this week:
What happened with our move to South Africa?
We're returning to the UK, the process of repatriation has started
Made appointment for blood tests next week to check on my iron levels since going wheat free, feel much better in regards to no migraines, but the headaches and neck pain have been creeping back slowly, but this could be from stress and all the travel.
300 Sunday So back in Dubai for one day and I dropped Peter at the airport this morning for his flight to South Africa till the end of the week. To say I'm not happy with this change in job, is an understatement. But we'll make it work, we always do. I watched the Rugby and supported Wales as it's my country of birth. I started the process of the cat and dog relocation to the UK the end of January 2020. Afternoon and evening spent tidying up the garden and making long lists of things to do before my next UK trip in December, complicated with the renewal of Dubai visas.
Christmas has arrived in the stores in Dubai.
301 Monday Up early and all chores completed by 9am, went out for coffee, had my hair cut and a manicure. Afternoon spent working in the garden and cleaned the balcony, which involves running a hose pipe upwards. In the evening I was researching my family tree.
302 Tuesday New road system here in Dubai, I was away for 7 weeks, bridges, underpasses, new junctions and roads have appeared and roundabouts gone for ever. Thank fully my GPS has kept up to date with it all. Finally got to the dog park for a nice morning and catch up. In the afternoon bathed Bob and all his bedding and washed the pet bowls out. Finished tidying the garden and mowing the lawn. Paperwork completed, more appointments made and flights and car hire booked for November 26th for a week in the UK.
303 Wednesday Off to the vets to get the necessary paperwork completed for the cat and dogs move, then off to IKEA to meet a friend for the day. Spent the evening and afternoon sitting outside enjoying the cool breeze and on the laptop, sorting out issues with Mum's flat and our daughters care plan.
304 Thursday Decorated the outside of the house for halloween, it's a big event here in Dubai and all nationalities join in. Cleaned throughout the house. Popped out for coffee and a food shop.
305 Friday Peter arrived home around 7am, he's home for a few days then back to South Africa for 2 weeks. He went straight to bed, I walked the dog and packed my case for my UK trip in December, taking over all my winter clothing, a bed for Bob and food bowls. I now have a 42kg allowance with Emirates for each flight, my case weighs 21kg. I may take a second case with all our UK paperwork. I'm going to have to buy white goods for the house, as Peter will need the ones we have here and all the stuff in the flat is integral, don't think my allowance will cover them anyway lol.
Did some blogging and when Peter woke we went out for Brunch.
View from Dusit Thani of the Sheikh Zayed Road, towards the airport.
306 Saturday Go Bokke. Even though SA beat Wales on Sunday and I was born in Wales, I actually lived full time in SA longer than I did in Wales so feel I qualify to support them against England. We went to the mall in the morning, watched the rugby and took Bob on a long walk around the estate to explore the new road network, that didn't exist when we moved here 2 years ago.
On the blog this week:
What happened with our move to South Africa?
We're returning to the UK, the process of repatriation has started
Monday, 23 March 2020
I'm running out of things to blog about
I started blogging in October 2009 as a way to tweet longer. You can read my first post when I spent the week dressed as a Dalek after winning #FDF Fancy Dress Friday that used to run on twitter.
Since then I've blogged about almost everything. Kids, family life, travel, teenagers, grandparenting, life as an expat in South Africa and Dubai, disability, boarding school parents, depression, repatriation, dealing with loneliness, charity work and volunteering and many many rants.
I've written a few sponsored posts over the years, but don't consider myself a blogger as an occupation. It's more of an online diary, previous to setting up the blog online, I was keeping a basic diary of day to day events.
These days I only write 3 posts a week. My One daily Positive that I set up in January 2015 when we moved to Dubai and I link with #project365. The other two posts are a linky I co host with Stephanie @lifeat139a Post Comment Love #PoCoLo and a post I write each week to link up to it, as I've done with this post.
I used to join in with several other linkies, but I found I was repeating myself with parenting and travel posts. I would write a weekly Animal Tales and HDYGG? How Does Your Garden Grow posts but the hosts stopped blogging and the linkys just died and My Sunday Photo for which I wrote a weekly photography post about the construction projects in Dubai and ones I'd visited around the world.
I could carry on writing these posts, but for what? I'm not blogging for hits or numbers, although I have a healthy DA score and I've left all the groups as they became more pods than for interaction, which is what I prefer on Social Media.
I've got plenty of things to tweet about, photos to load on Instagram, but I'm struggling to write about day to day stuff anymore as I feel like I'm stuck in a loop and have covered all the subjects I know anything about.
I tried fashion blogging, lifestyle posts, but I struggled for content and had to go looking for things to write about.
There's too much stuff online these days and it's all being repeated as the next generation leave school, uni, leave home, have kids, marriage, divorce, go on holiday, move house, lose a loved one.
I've been there, done that, bought the t shirt......maybe it's time now to write the book....oh hang on, that's been done already, my life experiences, difficulties and celebrations are already recorded in this blog. I could write about writing, but I think that's pretty well covered also.
Where do you get your inspiration from when you blog? I'd love to hear to get some more ideas for content.
Since then I've blogged about almost everything. Kids, family life, travel, teenagers, grandparenting, life as an expat in South Africa and Dubai, disability, boarding school parents, depression, repatriation, dealing with loneliness, charity work and volunteering and many many rants.
I've written a few sponsored posts over the years, but don't consider myself a blogger as an occupation. It's more of an online diary, previous to setting up the blog online, I was keeping a basic diary of day to day events.
These days I only write 3 posts a week. My One daily Positive that I set up in January 2015 when we moved to Dubai and I link with #project365. The other two posts are a linky I co host with Stephanie @lifeat139a Post Comment Love #PoCoLo and a post I write each week to link up to it, as I've done with this post.
I used to join in with several other linkies, but I found I was repeating myself with parenting and travel posts. I would write a weekly Animal Tales and HDYGG? How Does Your Garden Grow posts but the hosts stopped blogging and the linkys just died and My Sunday Photo for which I wrote a weekly photography post about the construction projects in Dubai and ones I'd visited around the world.
I could carry on writing these posts, but for what? I'm not blogging for hits or numbers, although I have a healthy DA score and I've left all the groups as they became more pods than for interaction, which is what I prefer on Social Media.
I've got plenty of things to tweet about, photos to load on Instagram, but I'm struggling to write about day to day stuff anymore as I feel like I'm stuck in a loop and have covered all the subjects I know anything about.
I tried fashion blogging, lifestyle posts, but I struggled for content and had to go looking for things to write about.
There's too much stuff online these days and it's all being repeated as the next generation leave school, uni, leave home, have kids, marriage, divorce, go on holiday, move house, lose a loved one.
I've been there, done that, bought the t shirt......maybe it's time now to write the book....oh hang on, that's been done already, my life experiences, difficulties and celebrations are already recorded in this blog. I could write about writing, but I think that's pretty well covered also.
Where do you get your inspiration from when you blog? I'd love to hear to get some more ideas for content.
Friday, 18 June 2021
18th-20th June Post Comment Love and being back home
Welcome back to this weeks Post Comment Love with Stephanie and I.
For those of you who link up on a regular basis, I'm hoping you'll notice a lot more calm in my life now we're back in the UK full time. However those of you who are new will possibly think who is this manic person?
We finished our Government Quarantine Hotel Stay at midnight on Sunday. The taxi collected us 15 mins later and took us home to Malvern.
That's it, we're no longer expats. Do we have a name now to describe us? Repats?
Apparently repatriation is the hardest part of an expat journey, but not for us, not me anyway. We've planned this, we had an end date in mind, the plan went better than expected and Peter was able to retire 2 years earlier than anticipated without the need for me to return to work, although I may choose to work in the future.
For now though, it's time for family and friends and sorting out our family home. Although I spent most of lockdown working on it, all I've done is get it back to a state where Peter can turn it into our home. When we left it was a home for a family of 7, for 10 years it's been rented out and neglected, now we can repurpose it to suit our needs for the future.
I love reading about other people's lives and what they get up to around the world, so feel free to link up with any blog post you've written this week and we hope to see you back again soon.
Thursday, 10 June 2021
Week 22 - One Daily Positive - Back in the UK
It's been so humid here that the washing on the balcony in direct sunlight is still wringing wet at the end of the day.
I'm not sure I'll be doing project365 much longer and I might be giving up blogging and social media altogether. no particular reason other than I'm just not feeling it anymore. I find myself on twitter most days now, but it's not easy like the old days to gain new followers and find new people with similar interests, all the algorithms on SM seem to do is just keep showing the same things and the same types of people. It's like shopping on Amazon with the 'you bought a book, would you like to buy a book?'
Peter says I should continue until at least the end of the year to keep the diary of our expat lives going till the end and including our repatriation.
149 Saturday Dropped the car hire back, no charges and full refund which makes a change, we did some shopping in Tesco, watched TV, had a sleep and went down for a swim in the pool.
150 Sunday Off to the beach via the tram, had a coffee, went for a swim, walked back to the hotel, had to stop for another drink as it was too hot, some time by the pool then back to apartment for the rest of the day. In the evening we went round to a colleagues of Peter's for a drink.
151 Monday Off to the bank first thing and that's it, Peter's last day in work, although there is talk of some consultancy work in the future. Everything seemed to happen today, flights, quarantine hotel and PCR tests were all booked.
152 Tuesday PCR tests first thing then Peter returned his company laptop and phone to IT and I took myself off to the Ritz Carlton for the day, with Peter joining me in the afternoon. We packed and chilled out in the evening.
153 Wednesday Left the apartment in the Marina and checked into an airport hotel with pool and bar, had a relaxed chilled out day. Checked in for our flight at 9pm
154 Thursday Flight to UK with a 4 hour stop over in Amsterdam and then to our Quarantine hotel the Crowne Plaza in Birmingham for 11 days.
155 Friday This is the last post in 365, we're back now in the UK. I'm going to carry on posting a daily photo, blogging and running PoCoLo weekly blog linky and joining in with My Sunday Photo.
Monday, 11 November 2019
Repatriation Part 2 - Starting to get organised
So we're relocating to the UK over the next 6 - 36 months. Who knows when we'll actually both be living there full time, but as expats for the last 9 years in South Africa and Dubai, life has been one big adventure anyway.
It's also been very unsettled for me, not working, leaving our families behind, coping with the death of my father in 2017 and now the kids are getting married and having children of their own.
So what have I done since I wrote the last post?
I've signed up with a rental agent in the UK to deal with our flat.
Contacted relocation companies for the pets in January and furniture in May.
Spoken with our current landlord in Dubai and negotiated a 6 month contract rather than a year, at the cost of 7,250 AED (£1,500) admin fee on top of 6 months rent to paid up front.
Booked my flight to return to the UK in November/December and car hire.
Started to look for a car to buy in the UK and sell my car in Dubai.
Woken up at 4 am most mornings thinking about what I need to do.
Panicked at 4.15am every morning at the enormity of the task ahead.
Been thankful everyday that this whole move is in our (my) control and that we have the finances to do this and don't require visas.
I've also discovered I need to complete Customs clearance for transfers of residence in the UK before flying the cat and dog over or receiving our container of furniture or duty and tax is applied.
My next job is to now fill in the forms and obtain the documentation required for the cat and dog to fly out and arrive in the UK within 5 days of my arrival on January 30th. Preferably on the same flight as me or I have to find a flight buddy for them. I need to take measurements, sort crates, get the cats rabies shot done in December, book flights and arrange transport from the UK airport to the house.
I'll let you know how I get on.
In the meantime I had a relocation company visit to quote for packing and shipping. For all our moves we've had to itemise the contents and provide a replacement cost for the country we're relocating to for insurance purposes. I have the paperwork from both moves so only have a few things to add and work out the replacement values. On our first move we weren't informed of this until the container was ready to ship.
In my head I've started to plan what furniture is going back to the UK and what is staying in Dubai and how/where it will all fit.
Our family home is a 6 bed house, I'll use the furniture from the flat for the first 6 months and I'll have proper time to work out how we'll use the house fully. For now though, I'll only be using the kitchen, 1 bedroom which is ensuite and the lounge and conservatory. Once the furniture is in, I'll keep the bedroom for visitors, move back into our old room and set the rest of the house up. The 2 bedrooms on the 1st floor will remain empty and the 2 bedrooms on the 3rd floor will be used for storage rather than putting things in the attic space.
We've been advised we don't need to look for an apartment in Dubai until the first week of May and I can sort out the furniture for that then, before everything else gets packed up and shipped. As we'll cross over with 2 properties in Dubai for a week or two.
I also have to sell the fence and the garden contents before we leave.
It's also been very unsettled for me, not working, leaving our families behind, coping with the death of my father in 2017 and now the kids are getting married and having children of their own.
So what have I done since I wrote the last post?
I've signed up with a rental agent in the UK to deal with our flat.
Contacted relocation companies for the pets in January and furniture in May.
Spoken with our current landlord in Dubai and negotiated a 6 month contract rather than a year, at the cost of 7,250 AED (£1,500) admin fee on top of 6 months rent to paid up front.
Booked my flight to return to the UK in November/December and car hire.
Started to look for a car to buy in the UK and sell my car in Dubai.
Woken up at 4 am most mornings thinking about what I need to do.
Panicked at 4.15am every morning at the enormity of the task ahead.
Been thankful everyday that this whole move is in our (my) control and that we have the finances to do this and don't require visas.
I've also discovered I need to complete Customs clearance for transfers of residence in the UK before flying the cat and dog over or receiving our container of furniture or duty and tax is applied.
My next job is to now fill in the forms and obtain the documentation required for the cat and dog to fly out and arrive in the UK within 5 days of my arrival on January 30th. Preferably on the same flight as me or I have to find a flight buddy for them. I need to take measurements, sort crates, get the cats rabies shot done in December, book flights and arrange transport from the UK airport to the house.
I'll let you know how I get on.
In the meantime I had a relocation company visit to quote for packing and shipping. For all our moves we've had to itemise the contents and provide a replacement cost for the country we're relocating to for insurance purposes. I have the paperwork from both moves so only have a few things to add and work out the replacement values. On our first move we weren't informed of this until the container was ready to ship.
In my head I've started to plan what furniture is going back to the UK and what is staying in Dubai and how/where it will all fit.
Our family home is a 6 bed house, I'll use the furniture from the flat for the first 6 months and I'll have proper time to work out how we'll use the house fully. For now though, I'll only be using the kitchen, 1 bedroom which is ensuite and the lounge and conservatory. Once the furniture is in, I'll keep the bedroom for visitors, move back into our old room and set the rest of the house up. The 2 bedrooms on the 1st floor will remain empty and the 2 bedrooms on the 3rd floor will be used for storage rather than putting things in the attic space.
We've been advised we don't need to look for an apartment in Dubai until the first week of May and I can sort out the furniture for that then, before everything else gets packed up and shipped. As we'll cross over with 2 properties in Dubai for a week or two.
I also have to sell the fence and the garden contents before we leave.
Monday, 6 January 2020
What 2019 held for us and the year ahead.
Lots of travel this year. January was the only month I didn't get on a plane. In total I've clocked up 132 hours of flying time to the UK, Dubai, Sydney and South Africa. I've lost track of the hours spent in taxi's and airport lounges.
January
I started the year on a roof top in Dubai, having watched the New Year Eve's fireworks, with my mum and Peter. After mum went home, I marshalled at the HSBC Championships and the Omega Desert Classic golf as part of the European Tour.
February
Child 2 and 2a came out for a visit, it was our Daughter in Laws first trip to our home. Great excitement a few days later after the holiday when they phoned to say they were having a baby.
I started the lengthy, painful and expensive dental surgery to have dental implants. It was a huge decision to make as I had to have a front tooth removed and wear a plate for several months until the implants took and I could have a permanent tooth fitted. I had 3 implants in total and I'm saving up for another 3 hopefully in October 2020.
March
There was a trip to the UK and sadly during this visit my Uncle died and I extended my stay to take Mum up to Blackpool for his funeral.
April
Our youngest child turned 20 and we were no longer parents to a teenager. Peter and I made another
trip to the UK to renew his passport.
May
I went over to South Africa to stay with friends and work with a couple of charities.
June
A trip to Ireland for a week with a friend, then to visit our daughter in law to be and her family. Child 4 was away with work. Met my great nephew for the first time at 16 days old.
July and August
A visit to see child 3 in Australia. I flew to Sydney for 3 weeks and road tripped to Melbourne with my son child 3 who has been living over there for 2 years.
Our great niece Thing 4 was born.
September
Off to the UK for the arrival of our first grandchild, a little girl and the wedding of child 4 and 4a. Dental surgery complete. An endoscope revealed I have a wheat allergy, that was causing internal bleeding in my small intestine causing the iron deficiency anaemia and still no explanation to a high white blood cell count. Signed off from the oncologist.
October
Busy with the new baby, Peter had joined me for the wedding, then spent 2 weeks with our granddaughter. Decided to evict our tenants from our family home. We started our repatriation journey.
November
The Race to Dubai was on and I marshalled again for the 2nd year. Then a quick trip to the UK to get our house back, to say the last lot of tenants hasn't treated it well is an understatement.
December
Booked a last minute trip to South Africa for a week, whilst Peter is working out there. Obtained my Transfer of Residency and cat, dog and furniture move is booked and all paperwork is in place to get moving in 2020. I was also diagnosed with Generalised Anxiety Disorder.
2020
January
Mum and child 5 visiting. HSBC and Omega golf marshalling, flying back to the UK. Need to sell the car. Repairs and redecorating being carried out on UK home repairing damage after the tenants.
February
Cat and dog arrive in the UK, Peter visiting for a week.
Everything after the 14th of February is open to change.
I'm back in Dubai for a week or two in March as we have friends visiting, I also need to:
January
I started the year on a roof top in Dubai, having watched the New Year Eve's fireworks, with my mum and Peter. After mum went home, I marshalled at the HSBC Championships and the Omega Desert Classic golf as part of the European Tour.
February
Child 2 and 2a came out for a visit, it was our Daughter in Laws first trip to our home. Great excitement a few days later after the holiday when they phoned to say they were having a baby.
I started the lengthy, painful and expensive dental surgery to have dental implants. It was a huge decision to make as I had to have a front tooth removed and wear a plate for several months until the implants took and I could have a permanent tooth fitted. I had 3 implants in total and I'm saving up for another 3 hopefully in October 2020.
March
There was a trip to the UK and sadly during this visit my Uncle died and I extended my stay to take Mum up to Blackpool for his funeral.
April
Our youngest child turned 20 and we were no longer parents to a teenager. Peter and I made another
trip to the UK to renew his passport.
May
I went over to South Africa to stay with friends and work with a couple of charities.
June
A trip to Ireland for a week with a friend, then to visit our daughter in law to be and her family. Child 4 was away with work. Met my great nephew for the first time at 16 days old.
July and August
A visit to see child 3 in Australia. I flew to Sydney for 3 weeks and road tripped to Melbourne with my son child 3 who has been living over there for 2 years.
Our great niece Thing 4 was born.
September
Off to the UK for the arrival of our first grandchild, a little girl and the wedding of child 4 and 4a. Dental surgery complete. An endoscope revealed I have a wheat allergy, that was causing internal bleeding in my small intestine causing the iron deficiency anaemia and still no explanation to a high white blood cell count. Signed off from the oncologist.
October
Busy with the new baby, Peter had joined me for the wedding, then spent 2 weeks with our granddaughter. Decided to evict our tenants from our family home. We started our repatriation journey.
November
The Race to Dubai was on and I marshalled again for the 2nd year. Then a quick trip to the UK to get our house back, to say the last lot of tenants hasn't treated it well is an understatement.
December
Booked a last minute trip to South Africa for a week, whilst Peter is working out there. Obtained my Transfer of Residency and cat, dog and furniture move is booked and all paperwork is in place to get moving in 2020. I was also diagnosed with Generalised Anxiety Disorder.
2020
January
Mum and child 5 visiting. HSBC and Omega golf marshalling, flying back to the UK. Need to sell the car. Repairs and redecorating being carried out on UK home repairing damage after the tenants.
February
Cat and dog arrive in the UK, Peter visiting for a week.
Everything after the 14th of February is open to change.
I'm back in Dubai for a week or two in March as we have friends visiting, I also need to:
- Sell the garden
- Find an apartment for Peter to move into in May
Sunday, 10 November 2024
Is blogging useful anymore?
I know it is for me. But is it useful for anyone else these days?
I started on Social media in the days when social media was just starting out.
In the days when you could ask a question on twitter, didn't need a hashtag to start a conversation and met people far and wide with the same interests as you almost immediately and actually made friends, you socialised, shared happy and sad events both online and eventually in real life.
Oh those were the days.
Blogging events, days out, support networks, opened your heart, shared tragic events, reached out, celebrated milestones and received love, support and understanding.
Nowadays it's all adverts, self promotion and pure hatred in some cases.
I used to churn out 2-3 posts a week. Sharing posts about raising a family, life with teens, schooling, discipline. I'd actively seek others in similar situations, avidly read their posts, look for tips and support. I'd joining with blog linkies, read and comment and know I wasn't alone as a parent.
Then we became expats and life changed and I wrote about life abroad, loneliness, isolation, new adventures, travel, charity work and volunteering. My interests changed as the children grew up and left home. I took up photography with an interest in construction when we moved to Dubai and documenting the ever changing skyline. I grew vegetables in the sand, we called our garden. I blogged about international travel and relocating pets. I talked about grief, about health, becoming grandparents, being a landlord and finally about repatriation.
And now I don't feel I've anything left to talk about. Why? Because social media has got so big, it's just about all covered now. A hashtag is meaningless these days. There are a million and one 'how to guides' no one needs to know how to pack a suitcase, survive the menopause, or read a 1000 word review about a back pack.
So is there anything left to blog about? or has blogging had it's day?
For me, I've always blogged for my sanity and the occasional sponsored post. It kept me sane for 12 years as an expat. It documented our lives abroad. Our lives were different, it was interesting for others to read, it wasn't necessarily better, it was just different. It was interesting for our friends in South Africa to hear our take on their country as foreigners, how we experienced things they took as being the norm, things they took for granted, that were different for us on a visitors visa. Like obtaining a drivers permit for our son, or getting utilities set up, opening bank accounts. Our family and friends were fascinated with our travels in South Africa, the photos of Safaris, the extraordinary houses we lived in, the charity work I did. But as the sun always shone they weren't always interested in the struggles we had or understanding of the difficulties we faced or the fear we lived under from time to time.
Dubai was utopia for all. We were lucky, but it still fascinated people. It wasn't restrictive for me like many people thought, but you couldn't convince them. We were also living the dream, so how could I not be happy 24/7?
But has any of it been useful to anyone else?
There have been blog post about relocating where people have contacted me to ask for further information about moving their pets to another country, about choosing shipping containers, working abroad, visa applications and lots of enquires during covid when I was travelling between Dubai and the UK, know where I was getting my testing done and how to obtain permission to fly. But now 3 years on, that information is no longer valid because so much has changed. It was relevant at the time and was useful to others.
Now I'm just going to work, sharing pictures of DIY around the home and garden, pictures of trips in the camper van, talking about my health, visits with the grandchildren and holidays.
I'm still documenting my life. I share with Project 365, a photo a day and a weekly diary and I co run a weekly Linky called #PoCoLo. But I'm no longer writing anything that may be of interest to others, nothing that may help or inspire other people. I'm only writing for me and maybe the grandchildren who may or may not read these posts long after I've gone and have a fantastic legacy of what life was really like for their grandparents from 2009 onwards.
A few weeks ago I wrote a post about dealing with grief and moving on, it was scheduled to go out on Monday. There was a nagging feeling that something was going to happen. I'd shared this feeling with Peter and a friend. I was frightened to go home. I was frightened to go out. I was eating or sleeping. I was losing weight. I had a head ache. I was encouraged to write it all done and go and see the Doctor. Even I knew it wasn't right.
I didn't go to the Doctor but I wrote it all down, I felt better. I really did feel better. I'd let go. I was talking. I had 2 weeks where I felt lighter.
Then the absolute worst happened. Our daughter died. I carried on talking and writing. I've had a couple of what I suppose other people would call 'break downs' over the past few weeks in response to 'you're the bravest person I know' 'if anyone can do this, you can Suzanne' when I've replied with 'no I'm not brave' you've just justified that as your excuse for leaving me to sort everything out. I'm not everybody's everything. I'm not everyone's go to person. I'm the one who gets things done because I'm usually the one who takes their tears away, the lack of tears is often seen as lack of emotion, but for me it's sheer shock and stunned silence. I'm not afraid of crying. I've cried this week until the tears don't come anymore, I'm not frightened of crying. I've cried in the coffee shop, I've cried in front of friends, I've cried in the photo shop, at the hospital, at the neighbours, to the cat, with my work colleagues who have visited, anyone who has shown me the slightest bit of care and concern, anyone who genuinely has looked at me and without a word has conveyed 'oh Suzanne, I just don't know what to say'
There is nothing to say. We've received so many kind words this week, phone calls and visits, along with flowers and cards and a food parcel from my amazing colleagues in work. Invites for coffees for a change of scenery, to be able to talk about Stephanie. Chats on the street with the neighbours who have met her and known us since me moved here in 2002, despite us moving away for 12 years and coming back.
It may feel like a strange thing to be blogging and laying everything out for all to read, but for me writing everything down has always been easier than saying things out loud. There are times I haven't been able to speak, to find the words, but they've been there in my head and the frustration at not being able to get them out has made me so angry.
I found writing the eulogy of Stephanie's life so cathartic. It was easy, there was so much to say and once I started it just flowed from the start to the end. I asked one of her brothers for some input at one point as I wanted to makes sure their words were heard, as she was their lives also.
Sometimes looking back and reflecting triggers memories I'd buried and it is painful, but over time it makes it easier, it helps to see how far we've come individually and as a family.
The night Stephanie died will be etched in our memories forever, the emotions and the feelings, the last touch, look, words. The actual timings, order of things and the process will be lost forever, the order of events will change in our minds. But it is recorded in messages that after the initial calls made to our sons and Peters sister, it became impossible to speak, the words were too hard and a serious of cut and paste messages followed, which we then used for days to tell extended family and friends.
Friends in the real world and online who have lost a child themselves, who have lost a child in the past few weeks. I've been posting photos on instagram, it has helped me. Peter has read through the responses. I'd say only 10% of the people who have commented were physical friends first, and maybe 50% have become real life friends with Peter having met many of them. Blogger friends who have met Stephanie, people who know Stephanie through the power of social media and my endless battle with clean and tidy disabled toilets.
I've continued to blog since Stephanie died, to record our journey as we grieve. To record the happy moments, which are becoming more frequent. How the sadder moments, physically hurt less. how we are learning to cope and deal with those moments. The grief of missing her isn't less, it's just recognising when it is approaching, being able to stop and pause and accept it, take a deep breath and allow it come, rather than fighting it off, trying to push it away.
There's so much more to be said about Stephanie, about my grief, but that is for separate posts.
Monday, 18 November 2019
Repatriation Part 3 - Transfer of Residence
A couple of weeks ago I acquired all the paperwork needed for Operation Relocation and my Transfer of Residence ToR and started the job of filling it all in.
I need a ToR to apply for approval to transfer my normal place of residence including animals which allows me to import goods into the UK and not pay import duties and charges.
I qualify to complete a Tor if I meet the following conditions:
In the meantime I've been to Dubai Islamic Bank to ensure my address reads as the Villa and not the PO Box number and obtained a statement to prove I've been living outside the UK/EU for the past 12 months. I will add a copy of my current visa. I'm not sure what paperwork I can provide for moving back to the UK. The family home was purchased in 2002 and is in Peter's name, not mine or joint and I won't be working.
I have to wait until I'm in the UK to obtain proof of residency there by setting up the council tax and utilities, which I can then add to the HMRC form to avoid paying tax/duty on the pets and our container.
I have to provide an itemised list of all our belongings and their replacement cost in the UK for insurance purposes. I kept the records from our first move to South Africa and then onto Dubai, some things we no longer own so they'll come off and new items will be added.
Not all our furniture is returning to the UK on this trip. Peter will need to furnish an apartment in Dubai for the next 2-3 years until he retires and as I will be splitting my time between the 2 countries it will be nice to create 2 proper homes rather than feeling like we're only half living in each place.
I need a ToR to apply for approval to transfer my normal place of residence including animals which allows me to import goods into the UK and not pay import duties and charges.
I qualify to complete a Tor if I meet the following conditions:
- have lived outside the EU for 12 consecutive months
- have used and had possession of goods for at least 6 consecutive months
- have used the goods and are going to continue using them in the new place of residence in the UK for at least the next 12 months
- be importing the goods within 12 months of coming to live in the UK
- not lend out, pledge, give away, hire out or transfer the goods within the first 12 months after the date on which they were imported
I need to also provide the following documentation:
- black and white copy of the photo page from my passport
- a signed list of goods I wish to import
- proof of residency in the country I'm transferring from, with name and address of residency
- evidence of my right and intention to move to the UK. Contract of employment, purchase or rental agreement
In the meantime I've been to Dubai Islamic Bank to ensure my address reads as the Villa and not the PO Box number and obtained a statement to prove I've been living outside the UK/EU for the past 12 months. I will add a copy of my current visa. I'm not sure what paperwork I can provide for moving back to the UK. The family home was purchased in 2002 and is in Peter's name, not mine or joint and I won't be working.
I have to wait until I'm in the UK to obtain proof of residency there by setting up the council tax and utilities, which I can then add to the HMRC form to avoid paying tax/duty on the pets and our container.
I have to provide an itemised list of all our belongings and their replacement cost in the UK for insurance purposes. I kept the records from our first move to South Africa and then onto Dubai, some things we no longer own so they'll come off and new items will be added.
Not all our furniture is returning to the UK on this trip. Peter will need to furnish an apartment in Dubai for the next 2-3 years until he retires and as I will be splitting my time between the 2 countries it will be nice to create 2 proper homes rather than feeling like we're only half living in each place.
Friday, 29 June 2012
Renewing your Visa application
Anyone who has ever applied for a Visa to live, work and study abroad will know it's not a simple process and one that does not get easier even if you employ an agency to help you.
To apply to live in South Africa you need to complete endless forms, submit them and wait at the mercy of the South African Embassy just off Trafalgar Square in London.
It's not made any easier by the fact that they only answer questions in person so don't bother begging over the phone when you do eventually find their number and they answer. Take that as a sign of how things will be when you finally get your visa and move to South Africa.
An agency will email you, the spouse, with all the forms you need to complete, they will put pressure on you with deadlines, yet will fail to reply to your requests for how you actually complete these forms. They will not send you all the forms in one go, they keep finding things for you to certificate and submit.
Here's what you have to do and how.
Hubbies company will complete the following
THIS IS THE FIRST LIE, YOU (ME THE WIFE) ARE REQUIRED TO GET CERTIFIED COPIES OF EVERY DOCUMENT YOU OWN. Go to a police station for several hours, stand in line, get shouted at, ask for certification.
BI 1740 Form
Undertaking 19(2)(c)
Repatriation Guarantee
Contract
Company Registration
Hubby to complete
SECOND LIE, you are required to return to police station for more documents to be certified.
BI 1740 Form
Power of Attorney
Proof of funds
Marriage Certificate
For me to complete
ALL I HAVE TO DO IS SIGN, after I've amended the spelling of my name and changed the address
BI 1739 Form
Letter of Support
For hubby to complete on behalf of children
SOMEONE HELP ME, there is no custody order, this is the third time there father has had to sign after previous letters were lost (not by me) go to police station for further certifications.
BI 1739 Form
Birth Certificate
Custody Order
Consent from Father
Letter of Support
Medical Aid Cover in South Africa
Police clearance certificate. Hubby and Me
In the UK you need to complete a form, have passport photos, pay a fee, post it off, always request two copies as you'll need an original for when you renew your visa.
In South Africa you go to SAPS, ask for your finger prints to be taken, complete a form, pay a fee and either a) hand it back to the agency or b) take it somewhere and collect 3 weeks later.
Radiological Report (Chest Xrays - you must be free of TB) All of us
In the UK go to the Doctors, ask for a referral letter, take it with you to a private hospital, have forms completed, pay fee.
In South Africa
Make Doctors appointment to request an xray to be told to go to local hospital to Xray appointment, complete endless medical aid forms, even though you are paying cash, go home and come back another day with kids passport. Get form completed and have fun with your chest xrays when you get home. get charged for visit to Doctors.
Medical Report. All of us
In the UK, dash round on a sunday evening with a bottle of Whisky and forms to the Doctors house, beg they complete and stamp forms and bribe with whisky. We somehow managed to discover this form the night before we were due to submit application.
In South Africa, make Doctors appointment, be asked a few questions and get informed that in some African countries they need clarification if you are an imbicile or an idiot (based on an IQ test)
Proof of residency
Rental contract on company name, therefore you require a letter from the company listing the names of the occupants and a copy of your husbands bosses ID to enable you to get proof of residency (address) to set up utility bills so you can prove where you live, still with me? This process hasn't been helped by the fact we've just moved and it takes a month before all bills show new address.
To come to South Africa we had to have an offer of a place to study in order for the children to apply for a student visa. Strangely enough this hasn't been mentioned yet in regards to renewing the visas.
You will note that despite hiring an agency to assist with the applications, they don't actually do an awful lot. I can go online and download all the forms above, in one nice tidy folder, with the same instructions and then waste my time standing in the wrong queues, in the wrong buildings, forgetting passports, not knowing what or how to ask. They don't give you the address of the nearest hospital to where you live, or let you know that you have to pay xx amount in cash and other places will accept card payment. They don't tell you what documents you need, how to get them certified or where. They don't explain the acronyms used such as SAPS (South African Police Service).
But after you complain, after you say this was a very stressful process, after you've submitted all the forms, originals, certified copies they reply saying... 'we need originals of x,y & z, where's the certified copy of hubbies degree certificate as requested (seriously they hadn't asked for that, another trip to the police station) and we told you a relocation expert was available for you' you sigh, you refer them back to endless meetings and emails where you told them 'I don't know what I'm doing, where to do it, I struggle with the language, accents, making myself understood, I need a contact person, someone to call who can provide me with an address, tell me what documents I need and how to ask for what I need'
Did they provide me with that service? Yes, she helped us find a new house to rent...well actually No. The relocation expert (coughs and laughs out loud) took me to two unsuitable properties in January and not another word from her until mid June. I found tenants to take over our existing contract, a new house to rent, dealt with removal quotes, met with the agents and owner, supervised the packing, the removal, the unpacking, the inventory, list of faults and repairs with both houses, settled up all the outstanding bills, queued for hours to transfer the utilities, change of address with banks, schools, doctors etc. the relocation expert turned up on removal day with a clip board, missed half the faults, emailed an eligible report then phoned me a week after the repairs were carried out to ask me should she phone the landlord and chase him up.
Yes, so that's what you do when you move, 'what's the hassle, Suzanne? get on with it, the rest of us have to.'
I understand that and yes I have got on with it, it's been made even more stressful by the fact that since the minute hubbies company asked us to move here, they said 'relax, we will do it with you, for you, hire an agency' but forgot to add 'ha only joking, you're on your own'
The agency have already submitted their bills for services provided to us and despite me informing hubbies company all the way through that they haven't been doing anything to help us, the company are paying the bill....where's my cut? I'm the one that's done the work.
To apply to live in South Africa you need to complete endless forms, submit them and wait at the mercy of the South African Embassy just off Trafalgar Square in London.
It's not made any easier by the fact that they only answer questions in person so don't bother begging over the phone when you do eventually find their number and they answer. Take that as a sign of how things will be when you finally get your visa and move to South Africa.
An agency will email you, the spouse, with all the forms you need to complete, they will put pressure on you with deadlines, yet will fail to reply to your requests for how you actually complete these forms. They will not send you all the forms in one go, they keep finding things for you to certificate and submit.
Here's what you have to do and how.
Hubbies company will complete the following
THIS IS THE FIRST LIE, YOU (ME THE WIFE) ARE REQUIRED TO GET CERTIFIED COPIES OF EVERY DOCUMENT YOU OWN. Go to a police station for several hours, stand in line, get shouted at, ask for certification.
BI 1740 Form
Undertaking 19(2)(c)
Repatriation Guarantee
Contract
Company Registration
Hubby to complete
SECOND LIE, you are required to return to police station for more documents to be certified.
BI 1740 Form
Power of Attorney
Proof of funds
Marriage Certificate
For me to complete
ALL I HAVE TO DO IS SIGN, after I've amended the spelling of my name and changed the address
BI 1739 Form
Letter of Support
For hubby to complete on behalf of children
SOMEONE HELP ME, there is no custody order, this is the third time there father has had to sign after previous letters were lost (not by me) go to police station for further certifications.
BI 1739 Form
Birth Certificate
Custody Order
Consent from Father
Letter of Support
Medical Aid Cover in South Africa
Police clearance certificate. Hubby and Me
In the UK you need to complete a form, have passport photos, pay a fee, post it off, always request two copies as you'll need an original for when you renew your visa.
In South Africa you go to SAPS, ask for your finger prints to be taken, complete a form, pay a fee and either a) hand it back to the agency or b) take it somewhere and collect 3 weeks later.
Radiological Report (Chest Xrays - you must be free of TB) All of us
In the UK go to the Doctors, ask for a referral letter, take it with you to a private hospital, have forms completed, pay fee.
In South Africa
Make Doctors appointment to request an xray to be told to go to local hospital to Xray appointment, complete endless medical aid forms, even though you are paying cash, go home and come back another day with kids passport. Get form completed and have fun with your chest xrays when you get home. get charged for visit to Doctors.
Medical Report. All of us
In the UK, dash round on a sunday evening with a bottle of Whisky and forms to the Doctors house, beg they complete and stamp forms and bribe with whisky. We somehow managed to discover this form the night before we were due to submit application.
In South Africa, make Doctors appointment, be asked a few questions and get informed that in some African countries they need clarification if you are an imbicile or an idiot (based on an IQ test)
Proof of residency
Rental contract on company name, therefore you require a letter from the company listing the names of the occupants and a copy of your husbands bosses ID to enable you to get proof of residency (address) to set up utility bills so you can prove where you live, still with me? This process hasn't been helped by the fact we've just moved and it takes a month before all bills show new address.
To come to South Africa we had to have an offer of a place to study in order for the children to apply for a student visa. Strangely enough this hasn't been mentioned yet in regards to renewing the visas.
You will note that despite hiring an agency to assist with the applications, they don't actually do an awful lot. I can go online and download all the forms above, in one nice tidy folder, with the same instructions and then waste my time standing in the wrong queues, in the wrong buildings, forgetting passports, not knowing what or how to ask. They don't give you the address of the nearest hospital to where you live, or let you know that you have to pay xx amount in cash and other places will accept card payment. They don't tell you what documents you need, how to get them certified or where. They don't explain the acronyms used such as SAPS (South African Police Service).
But after you complain, after you say this was a very stressful process, after you've submitted all the forms, originals, certified copies they reply saying... 'we need originals of x,y & z, where's the certified copy of hubbies degree certificate as requested (seriously they hadn't asked for that, another trip to the police station) and we told you a relocation expert was available for you' you sigh, you refer them back to endless meetings and emails where you told them 'I don't know what I'm doing, where to do it, I struggle with the language, accents, making myself understood, I need a contact person, someone to call who can provide me with an address, tell me what documents I need and how to ask for what I need'
Did they provide me with that service? Yes, she helped us find a new house to rent...well actually No. The relocation expert (coughs and laughs out loud) took me to two unsuitable properties in January and not another word from her until mid June. I found tenants to take over our existing contract, a new house to rent, dealt with removal quotes, met with the agents and owner, supervised the packing, the removal, the unpacking, the inventory, list of faults and repairs with both houses, settled up all the outstanding bills, queued for hours to transfer the utilities, change of address with banks, schools, doctors etc. the relocation expert turned up on removal day with a clip board, missed half the faults, emailed an eligible report then phoned me a week after the repairs were carried out to ask me should she phone the landlord and chase him up.
Yes, so that's what you do when you move, 'what's the hassle, Suzanne? get on with it, the rest of us have to.'
I understand that and yes I have got on with it, it's been made even more stressful by the fact that since the minute hubbies company asked us to move here, they said 'relax, we will do it with you, for you, hire an agency' but forgot to add 'ha only joking, you're on your own'
The agency have already submitted their bills for services provided to us and despite me informing hubbies company all the way through that they haven't been doing anything to help us, the company are paying the bill....where's my cut? I'm the one that's done the work.
Monday, 20 January 2020
Repatriation Part 4 - Relocating the cat and dog to the UK
We brought Bob and Pushkins to Dubai from South Africa Now we're taking them both to the UK. Entry requirements to the UK are far less complicated or so it seems at this moment in time, but as with all relocations, things do get thrown up and tend to cause a lot of stress at the last minute.
We're paying a relocation company to help us with the move, they've provided all the information we need and links to UK government websites to avoid tax and duty.
All their injections are up to date. The vets have the forms they need to complete and sign to confirm all injections have been given and that both the animals have a micro chip.
Micro chips must be implanted prior to giving the rabies jab and the pets must have at least 30 days left before the next one is due to be able to travel. Bob the dog must be treated for tapeworm and fly within 5 days of the tablet being administered by a vet.
The cat and dog need to travel within 5 days of my flight and can only fly into Manchester, Edingburgh, Gatwick and Heathrow, so I'm arranging for them to be processed and transported from the airport.
I don't know what airline they will be flying with as the relocation company will book the flights. Pets have to fly cargo out of Dubai, regardless of the airline and the price is per kilo, including the weight of the crate.
We kept the pet crates after the last move, but not sure if the dog crate is up to standard. We will attempt repairs, but it's looking likely we'll need to purchase a new one. The cat's crate has been stored indoors and is ok to use.
The dog needs to be measured.
HOW TO MEASURE YOUR DOG LENGTH _______________ cm From the tip of the nose to the base of the tail (i.e. excluding the tail itself).
LENGTH OF FRONT LEG _______________ cm From the ground to his or her elbow (left or right will do!).
WIDTH _______________ cm With your dog standing, and you standing over top of him or her and looking straight down, find and measure the widest part of his or her body, wherever that happens to be!
HEIGHT STANDING _______________ cm From the ground to his or her highest point (normally the top of the head, or in some cases his or her perky ears!).
HEIGHT SITTING UPRIGHT _______________ cm Again, from the ground to the highest point.
The cat's breed as per the booklet book and information if the cat is particularly tall or long bodied.
Pushkins has been an indoor cat for the past 2 years due to her getting in frights with strays and over eating with the food put out by neighbours. Her new home is also on a busy road and as she's almost 11, she'll continue to be an indoor cat.
I'm hoping Bob will like the UK, not sure what he'l think of the rain and cold, it's not something he's used to. In South Africa the winters are cold in the night but warm in the day and dry. It's the summer it rains and it doesn't last long.
He's never seen snow, but the UK is much better suited for owning a dog than Dubai is with this heat and ability to take him places. He adapted to Dubai, I'm confident he'll adapt to the UK and I have bought him waterproofs.
The cost for their relocation is AED 12,000 approximately £2,500
I'll let you know how they're settling in.
Bob in South Africa
Pushkins in Dubai
We're paying a relocation company to help us with the move, they've provided all the information we need and links to UK government websites to avoid tax and duty.
All their injections are up to date. The vets have the forms they need to complete and sign to confirm all injections have been given and that both the animals have a micro chip.
Micro chips must be implanted prior to giving the rabies jab and the pets must have at least 30 days left before the next one is due to be able to travel. Bob the dog must be treated for tapeworm and fly within 5 days of the tablet being administered by a vet.
The cat and dog need to travel within 5 days of my flight and can only fly into Manchester, Edingburgh, Gatwick and Heathrow, so I'm arranging for them to be processed and transported from the airport.
I don't know what airline they will be flying with as the relocation company will book the flights. Pets have to fly cargo out of Dubai, regardless of the airline and the price is per kilo, including the weight of the crate.
We kept the pet crates after the last move, but not sure if the dog crate is up to standard. We will attempt repairs, but it's looking likely we'll need to purchase a new one. The cat's crate has been stored indoors and is ok to use.
HOW TO MEASURE YOUR DOG LENGTH _______________ cm From the tip of the nose to the base of the tail (i.e. excluding the tail itself).
LENGTH OF FRONT LEG _______________ cm From the ground to his or her elbow (left or right will do!).
WIDTH _______________ cm With your dog standing, and you standing over top of him or her and looking straight down, find and measure the widest part of his or her body, wherever that happens to be!
HEIGHT STANDING _______________ cm From the ground to his or her highest point (normally the top of the head, or in some cases his or her perky ears!).
HEIGHT SITTING UPRIGHT _______________ cm Again, from the ground to the highest point.
The cat's breed as per the booklet book and information if the cat is particularly tall or long bodied.
Pushkins has been an indoor cat for the past 2 years due to her getting in frights with strays and over eating with the food put out by neighbours. Her new home is also on a busy road and as she's almost 11, she'll continue to be an indoor cat.
I'm hoping Bob will like the UK, not sure what he'l think of the rain and cold, it's not something he's used to. In South Africa the winters are cold in the night but warm in the day and dry. It's the summer it rains and it doesn't last long.
He's never seen snow, but the UK is much better suited for owning a dog than Dubai is with this heat and ability to take him places. He adapted to Dubai, I'm confident he'll adapt to the UK and I have bought him waterproofs.
The cost for their relocation is AED 12,000 approximately £2,500
I'll let you know how they're settling in.
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