you better check properly. as refund is not possible unless you have paid too much as stated by the home office. and i have never encounter anyone claiming back the tax and ni after leaving the country.

refund only possible if you paid too much, and situation like you are working in two different countries, getting salaries from two different companies etc.

as tax and ni is paid for benefit of the public during your stay, so it doesnt sound right that you are getting benefit when staying in uk and get back the money when you leave.

probably the recruitment company saying claiming back if you work under 70 hours etc or some sort of situation. taxing is quite a pain in a** actually. this month i might be deducted XX pounds but next month i might get deducted XXX pounds, a sudden drop in my net salary, so you might want to watch carefully and reclaim if you have over paid. probably my company accountant s**ks, but it happened to my other few friends in diff company too.

realistic for luxury lifestyle.

rent: £400 is sufficient for a good enough room. shared house.

mobile phone: £30 (standard starting price for all network with 200 mins), could be cheaper like effective £5 monthly for 200 mins from some website.

food: £200 is enough if you cook yourself, can enjoy quite good food. could be as low as £120 if you are a saver. £600 is enough for you to eat outside daily.

clothing: it all depends on you. 1 or 2 winter wears costing around £30-80 is sufficient to get you through the whole winter. sometime you can get cheap clothes on sales. not necessarily to spend £200 monthly for clothing, in the end if you cant bring all of them back malaysia, you are wasting your money.

travel: what kind of travel? underground tube passes or travelling to other places?

entertainment: what sort of entertainment? £100 is enough for decent entertainment, you might save £100 if you have boring lifestyle or you might spend more than that if you go to pub/disco/cinema every day. highly subjective.

others: what others?

include utility bills if it is not included in your accommodation rent. costing about £60-200 per month, water, electric, gas, tv license, council tax etc.

in that case, how much do u think u need to earn there to survive?

dont expect to get that much unless you are professional.

are you a senior consultant?

you are getting working holiday visa or typical work permit? are you employed and waiting for work permit approval?

frankly £3000 per month after tax is too high to expect, you will get that if you are at managerial level, worked in uk for 10 years for most profession or a junior medical doctor. else dont put too much hope.

well all the best then. do update us with your work permit. so the company had applied work permit for you and waiting for response?

55k as a consultant wit 2 years experience, that is really a good pay. extremely good pay.

frankly, a lot of job wont hit 30-40k, unless for highly skilled professional. even doctor with 2 years experience get ard 40k per year only.

because the boss is tax evader. report as little as possible. but you wont get paid much in those job as well and work like a donkey (some).

i wont recommend to work as waitress, fine as part time job but try not, get a proper job, at least sales assistant.

you might want get as much as experience working as a uk worker rather than come to Uk and work in chinese restaurant again isn't it.

Simon... all the best getting the work permit. Shouldn't be any prb la.. take it easy and enjoy the journey, not the destination.. hehehe..

And when u r here, European cities can be reached on a weekend trip. And make sure u save enough to travel. Food wise, cook at home la, u will be jialat eating out especially food without chilli...

seems like a lot of ppl in the UK huh... how come my pledge for a LYN meeting in UK no one answer wan ah?? hehehe

Yeap i have got my flight tickets being booked under MSL Travel as a student, and the price is RM 3833 for two ways.

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Added on November 3, 2007, 1:56 ami dont mind where i will get the winter cloth, i just dont know where is better quality and design and comfort..
and lastly i'm ok with a fulltime job with tax but what about a part time job without tax? is that legal or illegal? lol.. thanks

Congratolation   
wat kind of job work permit u apply?

I'll be going next January too. Which part are you going to?

london stratford, zone 3
how about u? and simon?

Emirates is good but if u got economy seat, its better not to have the window sitting, apart from that, the service, food are good.

1 day only? 

i also start work on monday 7th... london transportation has increase their fares    but luckily i can claim back