Jenny Wales

Best for:
There is only one audience for this one, and that audience is people who are planning to live in the UK long term.

In a nutshell:
Everything the UK government thinks one needs to know to become a citizen or permanent resident of the nation.

Worth quoting:
N/A

Why I chose it:
On 22 September I’m taking the Life in the UK exam, which I need to apply for permanent residency early next year.

Review:
So this book is subtitled ‘A Guide for New Residents’ and honestly I wish they gave these out to everyone with their visa. I’m sure historians and current political folks will take issue with a lot in this book, but I was looking for a very basic book to explain how things work here, and this is a pretty snappy little abridged history of the UK.

As someone who is from a republic, it’s taken awhile to wrap my head around a constitutional monarchy and a parliamentary system. And as I type this, I’m listening to the BBC broadcast about the Queen’s passing, which just happened this afternoon. There is a lot in this handbook that is no longer applicable. I think the national anthem has changed, right? It’s now God Save the King?

If you ever find yourself moving to the UK for more than a few months, even if you don’t plan to stay long enough to pursue citizenship, I think that it would be a good idea to pick this up. There’s some useful information in here, and some interesting little facts.

Recommend to a Friend / Keep / Donate it / Toss it:
Keep it. My partner needs to study!… (meer)