This post can give you an idea of your total expenditure on your moving to the UK after getting your first job in the UK. It does not include the expenditure on PLAB.
Breakdown of Expenses
| Tuberculosis Test | £50 |
| Police Clearance | £15 |
| NICOP | £60 – £120 |
| Protector Stamp | £50 |
| Shopping | £0 – £500 |
| Tier 2 Visa fee | £597 |
| Immigration Health Surchage | £200 – £600* |
| Airplane Ticket | £400 – £600 |
| Intercity travel | £0 – £100* |
| Accommodation Rent | £0 – £1,500* |
| Intracity travel | £20 – £100 per month* |
| Food | £10 – £15 per day* |
| Groceries | £100 – £200 per month* |
| Bills and Council Tax | £0 – £200* |
| Unseen expenditures | £0 – £500 |
| Total | £2,000 – £6,000 |
Immigration Health Surcharge*
Immigration Healthy Surcharge costs £200 per year. Therefore, the amount we pay for this depends on the length of the trip mentioned on the certificate of sponsorship. My certificate mentioned a year-long contract. So I paid £200 for this.
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Intercity Travel*
If your job is in Manchester or London, you might not need to spend anything on the train ticket. If your job is far from an airport, you might need to book a train ticket from the airport to your accommodation.
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Accommodation Rent*
Rent can vary depending on your accommodation. Most landlords take a month or two’s rent in advance. However, if you choose hospital accommodation, you might not have to pay anything and your rent might get deducted from your first pay cheque.
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Intracity Travel*
If you live at walking distance from the hospital, you might not have to spend on the daily commute. If you have a town center at a walking distance, you might not spend anything on going to the markets either. But to be on the safe side, it is best to expect a little expenditure on this.
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Food and Groceries*
This depends on your lifestyle and on the number of your dependents.
Bills and Council Tax*
This depends on your accommodation. Most hospital accommodation rents include bills and council tax deductions, so we don’t have to pay for them separately.
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Factors Affecting Total Cost
The total cost of your journey depends on the following factors:
- The length of your trip on the CoS.
- How early you arrive before the start of your job.
- When you get your first paycheque.
- Your lifestyle.
- The number of dependents you bring.
- The presence of family and friends in the UK.
- Whether your accommodation is private or hospital-financed.
- Whether you have to pay rent before you arrive.
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Rough Estimate Only
Of course, the numbers mentioned above are supposed to give you only a rough idea. The cost of your own journey to the UK might be different, based on the factors mentioned above.
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Tips for Keeping the Expenditure Low
- Ask your hospital about the payday.
- Ask your hospital the deadline for joining if you want to get paid the same month.
- Get a bank account as soon as you land in the UK so you can get paid the same month.
- Choose hospital accommodation.
- Reach the UK only a few days (not weeks) before the start of your job.
- Make sure your health/occupational health check is sorted out. You do not want to wait for a health/occupational health clearance for a few weeks before starting work. The best way to sort this out is to communicate with your HR.
My Experience
Since I paid only £200 for my CoS, I arrived only a week before my job, I got my first pay cheque in three weeks, I have family and friends in the UK, I had hospital accommodation, I did not have to pay any rent in advance, I was single and I spend money cautiously, the total expenditure was less than £1,700 for me.
Conclusion
The total cost varies a lot depending on the factors mentioned above. Depending on your circumstances, your planning and your luck, you might be able to bring this cost down significantly, like I did.
Sir if we compare the salary of doctors in UK with the doctors in Canada or Australia then which country paid most to the doctors
I’m sorry but I have no idea of pay scales doctors in Canada or Australia. You can always check Google or Facebook groups.
Definitely, the pay scale for Canadian doctors is significantly higher than that UK doctors have. However, that applies only if one can get a licence to practice in Canada which is way harder than the case in the UK. Upon passing ALL exams in Canada, a doctor may wait for a few years (3+) until s/he lands the first job.
I am sorry as I have no clear insight into the Australian system!
Ok .sir is mrcps is necessary in case if u want to become consultant in family medicine in UK.for which u only need three year core training.
No, it is not.
No, it is not needed for Family Medicine (known as GP ST in the UK).
Sir there has been increasing refusal to ILRs in UK.Whats the security of working so much years and still being refused ILR in the end?
I am not aware of this. At least my goal is to have a good life and it is not to get ILR. If and when I do get ILR, I would be happy. If I don’t, I would still prefer to work in the UK over going back to Pakistan. But if you feel that you do not wish to come to the UK for this reason, that is fine.
Hello,
Does one need to attend classes in UK for the PLAB 2 exams?
Does a clinical gap of 4 years affect one in getting a job?
Thanks for such a wonderful platform.
Yes.
Slightly.
But everyone does find a job in 0-6 months.
Assalam alaikum sir! First of all i want to thank you for all the help.
Sir, if one does his MRCP during his CT. Does this exempt the rest of his core training?
No, it does not. And MRCP is a pre-requisite for ST3. So most people do complete their MRCP during their CMT.
Salam.
Do the hospital provide accommodation to a doctor with spouse and kids?
Yes, if it is available.
Sir,
What is your monthly salary now?
Expenditure and saving?
Sir, me and my wife had been planning to take plab , followed by mrcp and then get a postgraduation in the uk. I understand this will take approximately 7 to 10 yrs to complete, depending on the specialty i get in pg. This certainly appears to be a long time away from my family.
How often can we come back to our native place? i.e, do we get adequate leave to travel to our country?
We get 27 annual leaves. So we have more than enough time to visit back home. All the best! 🙂
Hello sir.
If i complete MRCP ,do i have to complete cmt/ct1 etc or i will be able to apply for ST3 posts directly?
I am an IMG and non EU national.
CMT has now been replaced by IMT. IMT duration is of 3 years.
In the past, doctors who completed the MRCP and got their core competencies signed were able to apply for ST3 training directly. I am not sure if the rule will be the same for IMT competencies and ST4 training.