5 essential things the Nigerian Radiographer/Sonographer must get as soon as they land a UK job

Very few things compare to the kind of excitement you get after landing your much desired radiography or sonography job in the UK, especially after the trailer-load of rejections to your name. It's an extremely pleasant feeling, and it's ultimately proof that all your efforts haven't been in vein after all.

Normally in the UK, it doesn't take too long after your interview for them to get back to you with either an offer or a rejection. It could range from knowing your fate on the same day, to about 2 weeks after your interview, depending on different factors such as still having more candidates to interview before deciding on the best applicant.

But the moment it has been confirmed (by email preferably) that you have been selected as the desired candidate, this would be the best time to get these 5 essential things in place to facilitate your move to the UK.

1. Apply for a UK ENIC for your BSc Radiography degree:

UK ENIC (formerly known as UK NARIC) is the recognised and designated national agency in the UK responsible for comparing and recognizing international qualifications and skills. They assess and provide information about all the qualifications acquired outside the UK, essentially comparing it with an equivalent UK qualification.

During your application, you will be essentially applying for an 'Academic qualification level statement' and an 'English language proficiency statement'. The Academic qualification level statement basically compares your Bachelor's degree from Nigeria with a UK Bachelor's degree, to establish if they are equivalent. The English language proficiency statement basically outlines if the level of English that was used during your BSc lectures meets a certain UK requirement.

This means that your UK ENIC application must be accompanied by some essential documentation to aid the agency in assessing your qualifications. The most essential documents which you need to start gathering right away include;

a. Your transcript for your Bachelor's degree.

b. Your Curriculum for your Bachelor's degree.

c. Letter of English proficiency from your school.

d. Your BSc certificate.

If you don't already have these documents, I would advise that you start the process of getting them as soon as possible, that's because some of the Nigerian universities take too long in processing these documents, so do your best to avoid these kind of delays by starting early.

In fact, if you can start requesting for your school documents long before you even land a job, you'll be better placed and in a much less desperate position. You can find more on the UK ENIC requirements here. Your UK ENIC will look like this when you get it;

During your application, if you want a hard copy of your certificate, its usually faster if you fill in a postal delivery address within the UK, so maybe a that of a friend or colleague, and then whenever you get into the UK, the friend can post it to your address.

Pro tip: For the Nigerian Sonographers, this isn't compulsory, but you could consider gathering the relevant documents and applying for a UK ENIC for your PGD ultrasound qualification as well. This is especially useful to have if you decide to eventually pursue a masters in ultrasound in the UK, saves you the stress of sorting it out then.

Find out how to become a UK Sonographer from Nigeria

2. Your Certificate of Sponsorship (COS):

Without your COS, you can't go anywhere. As soon as the UK hospital offers you the job, the next thing on the to-do list is for them to start processing your COS. You need this to apply for your work visa to the UK.

The COS basically outlines that they have offered you a job, and ideally it should indicate that they will be 'sponsoring' you (and your dependants) to come work in the UK. Now, the significance of the term 'sponsoring' just means that unlike some other visa routes (like innovator visa) where you must show proof of funds with a minimum acceptable amount, you will not have to demonstrate you have enough funds (currently set at a minimum of £1,270) for living costs for you and your dependants because your employer is agreeing to provide you with support of at least that amount.

The issue a lot of Nigerian Radiographers and sonographers face is that sometimes it takes so long to receive their COS after their job offer, and this can be quite frustrating.

On the government website, it does say that usually it takes one working day for COS applications to be approved, but may take longer if some additional checks need to be carried out. For some people, it takes them up to 4 months to get their COS, which is a significant amount of time.

While this delay may be because of the additional checks probably needed on an application, a lot of times it could be because someone in HR is not doing their job effectively and hasn't filed the application in good time. So my general recommendation usually is that, if you don't hear back from the hospital concerning your COS in about 3 weeks, then be prepared to dust up and engage your email writing skills.

You need to write an email to the manager and/or HR that you've been communicating with, requesting for an update on the COS. Depending on the answer you get, you may need to send these update-me emails multiple times in the coming weeks to get something going.

3. Get your funds in order:

I've touched on this a bit in the preceding point. Your employer 'sponsoring' you may save you from compulsorily demonstrating the required minimum amount of funds during your visa application, however its still in your best interest to get your funds in order because you will need money to sort a lot of things out upon your arrival in UK.

Depending on what date you arrive the UK, all the pre-employment checks to be carried out, and setting up a bank account for yourself, you may not be paid your salary for the next one or two months. Usually by the third month, all arrears will be paid in full, but still, going one or two months without pay could be very challenging, which is why you have to have some funds to help you get by for the time being.

For a lot of Nigerian sonographers and radiographers, when they get into the UK, their first months accommodation (likely a shared accommodation) is usually sorted for them by the employer. However, following this first month, some of them may be asked to get another place, while some may be allowed to carry on staying in this accommodation.

If you are asked to get alternative accommodation after the first month, then the costs you will likely have to sort out include; one months full rent of the new house, a deposit (which is usually up to a full months rent), council tax, electricity, gas and water bills, and food for yourself. So by your second month, you could be faced with paying for two months worth of rent and other bills, and if you have no salary coming in by that time, then that money must come from somewhere. That's where planning to come in with your own funds will be most helpful so you aren't stranded.

Also, on a sonographers salary or radiographers salary, chances are you may need to do some overtime shifts to rake in something more appreciable, this won't happen immediately as you likely have to be done with your probationary period to be eligible for extra shifts and this could take some months, so having your own funds for the time being will come in very handy.

These are the 5 things I wish I knew before coming to work in the UK as Sonographer

4. Get your Nigerian Police report

This is also known as a police character certificate or a police clearance certificate. You need this certificate to prove that for the period of time that you have lived in Nigeria, you have not been engaged in criminal activities, you do not have a criminal background, and you have not been found trying to evade punishment for any crimes you committed.

You can't apply for your radiography or sonography work visa without this certificate, so it's best to start getting this sorted as soon as your job offer is confirmed. You can apply for this in person, or through the Nigerian police force website. See more about this on the Nigerian police force website here.

5. Get your TB test.

Currently, because Nigeria is one of the countries on UK's TB testing list, if you get a radiography job or sonography job in the UK, you must get a TB test in one of the approved centres by the UK Home Office to prove that you are free of tuberculosis.

Currently, the approved centre in Nigeria for this is the International Organisation for Migration (IOM), and they currently have two branches in Lagos and in Abuja. You will need to get this before your visa biometrics, as it's one one the important documents you'll submit for your visa application.

Wrap up

After the euphoria of landing your new job wears off, you need to get to work on planning for the whole move. Knowing what to plan for even before the planning begins places you several steps ahead, which advantageously puts you in a calmer, less desperate, and more calculated position. So bear these tips in mind as you map out your relocation plans to the UK. Good luck.

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