Zimbo goes Caring

I have recently travelled from Zimbabwe to be a carer in the UK. In this blog I will share my experiences and hope you might find the information useful. The more you know before you start, the better your caring journey will be.

Deciding to go caring

I found myself needing an income and figured caring in the UK might be a good idea. I know many people from Zimbabwe have done it.  Mostly they have gone for short periods of a couple of months and then return home having achieved a specific financial target such as school fees.

There is no shortage of agencies looking for carers. No matter which agency you select there are a certain things that have to be in place first.

Documents

You must have the right to live and work in the UK so you need to have a British, Irish or EU passport. Alternatively you would need a Right of Abode Stamp, or Ancestral Visa. Without any of these no one will be able to offer you work in the UK.

If you are planning to work as a Carer one of the most important things you will have to do on arrival is to apply for a DBS (Disclosure Barring Service) which is the UK police check. You will not get Caring work without this certificate. It presently costs GBP 50. For an additional GBP 13 it is recommended that you subscribe to the update service. There are two reasons this is a good idea, Firstly it means if you get work with another agency, they can check your DBS certificate online and secondly, you won't have to re apply for a certificate every year for GBP 50. 

In order to get the DBS certificate, you need to gather some important paperwork before leaving home.

• Passport, British, Irish or EU, or Zimbabwe passport with Right of Abode stamp/Ancestry visa
• Birth certificate
• Marriage Certificate
• Divorce order, if applicable
• Zimbabwe ID
• Zimbabwe Police Clearance, original obtained no more than 3 months prior to arriving in the UK
• Zimbabwe Utility bill with your name e.g. City of Harare Rates, showing your residential address, not more than 3 months old upon arrival in UK
• Zimbabwe Drivers License in same name as your passport
• International Drivers License if your drivers license is not in the name of your passport
• Educational Certificates
• Current full CV  
• 2 recent contactable Professional References. Provide names and email addresses of two people you have worked with or have known you for more than two years. Do not use friends or family members.
• If you already have a UK bank account, provide a current statement showing the address you are using for the DBS check.
• If you already have a UK NI  number, provide a copy of the certificate if you have one
• If you have previously had a UK CRB/DBS check, provide a copy  

All documentation is to be original or certified copies.

Keeping it all together

A display file with plastic pockets will be useful to keep all these papers in. You might want to keep scanned copies on a flash stick. You will accumulate a lot more paperwork once you arrive in UK so bear that in mind.