We Are Approved

[ginapeterb]

STOP PRESS.

Found out today, that British Embassy Manila are not accepting any more interview appointments this year, applicants are now being directed to apply by post, through the CAVA Service, documents including fees and all other evidence should now be submitted using the Courier Assisted Visa application service, the cost is P250.00, the courier will call at your home, collect the documents from the applicant, the British Embassy Visa Section will scrutinize the documents, if a formal interview is required, they Embassy will now advise in writing and an appointment will be made.

This is the latest folks....trust me...it came through this morning.


Pete

[walesrob]

Originally posted by ginapeterb@Sep 13 2005, 10:19 PM
STOP PRESS.

Found out today, that British Embassy Manila are not accepting any more interview appointments this year, applicants are now being directed to apply by post, through the CAVA Service, documents including fees and all other evidence should now be submitted using the Courier Assisted Visa application service, the cost is P250.00, the courier will call at your home, collect the documents from the applicant, the British Embassy Visa Section will scrutinize the documents, if a formal interview is required, they Embassy will now advise in writing and an appointment will be made.

This is the latest folks....trust me...it came through this morning.
Pete

Quoted post

So it seems they've relaxed the compulsory face to face interview requirement and gone back to CAVA AGAIN! That will be a relief for anyone applying for a visa soon....I wouldn't wish anyone to go thru' the hassle you and I had at the hands of the sometimes bumbling, incompetent & rude Embassy staff :unsure:

[ginapeterb]

Originally posted by walesrob@Sep 14 2005, 07:03 AM
So it seems they've relaxed the compulsory face to face interview requirement and gone back to CAVA AGAIN! That will be a relief for anyone applying for a visa soon....I wouldn't wish anyone to go thru' the hassle you and I had at the hands of the sometimes bumbling, incompetent & rude Embassy staff :unsure:

Quoted post

Its the old story Rob, we are just glad to have our girls out !!!!, its a relief, that we personally dont have to deal with them again, but no doubt they will change the system yet again at some time in the future, the latest I heard is that there software is no good, and they are trying to bring in a new computer system, hence all the balls ups !!

[Pauldo]

Originally posted by walesrob@Sep 14 2005, 08:03 AM
So it seems they've relaxed the compulsory face to face interview requirement and gone back to CAVA AGAIN! That will be a relief for anyone applying for a visa soon....I wouldn't wish anyone to go thru' the hassle you and I had at the hands of the sometimes bumbling, incompetent & rude Embassy staff :unsure:

Quoted post

Just a thought, but does this new ruling mean people have to stuff a bunch of cash into that couriers envelope, as well as passport, personal papers, important documents etc?

Hmmm, call me cynical, but if Joe Average postman lacky type in the PI knows there is fifteen or twenty thousand Pesos in a bag he&#39;ll do a runner with it and never be seen again?:o :mellow: :( <_<

[peterdavid]

Originally posted by Pauldo@Sep 14 2005, 07:47 PM

Hmmm, call me cynical, but if Joe Average postman lacky type in the PI knows there is fifteen or twenty thousand Pesos in a bag he&#39;ll do a runner with it and never be seen again?:o :mellow: :( <_<

Quoted post

Nope, only a manager&#39;s check or whatever they call a banker&#39;s draft in the PI. That is the only form of payment they accept - they won&#39;t accept cash via courier. Nor will they accept a personal cheque, or a cheque in sterling (despite quoting the fees in sterling and then converting them to pesos at their inflated rip off embassy exchange rate - how would they con you out of an extra £30 if they let you pay in sterling?) - it has to be a bank managers check drawn on a filipino bank. So basically, if your mother in law doesn&#39;t have a bank account, or that much money in her account, she can&#39;t get a cheque, and therefore can&#39;t submit the visa. Even PI banks, under new money laundering laws, think twice now about issuing a bank managers check for "cash with a &#39;tip&#39;", if you don&#39;t have a bank account with them.

[Pauldo]

Originally posted by peterdavid@Sep 15 2005, 12:10 PM
Nope, only a manager&#39;s check or whatever they call a banker&#39;s draft in the PI. That is the only form of payment they accept - they won&#39;t accept cash via courier. Nor will they accept a personal cheque, or a cheque in sterling (despite quoting the fees in sterling and then converting them to pesos at their inflated rip off embassy exchange rate - how would they con you out of an extra £30 if they let you pay in sterling?) - it has to be a bank managers check drawn on a filipino bank. So basically, if your mother in law doesn&#39;t have a bank account, or that much money in her account, she can&#39;t get a cheque, and therefore can&#39;t submit the visa. Even PI banks, under new money laundering laws, think twice now about issuing a bank managers check for "cash with a &#39;tip&#39;", if you don&#39;t have a bank account with them.

Quoted post

Thanks for the info. I should have guessed it would get complicated and scam ridden, however the enbassy end up doing it.

The mom in law has a bank account over there, so she&#39;ll have to do battle with the manager.

[ginapeterb]

Originally posted by Pauldo@Sep 15 2005, 11:20 AM
Thanks for the info. I should have guessed it would get complicated and scam ridden, however the enbassy end up doing it.

The mom in law has a bank account over there, so she&#39;ll have to do battle with the manager.

Quoted post

Hi Paul,


Have to confer with Paul there, (peterdavid) they will not accept cash in the courier envelope, s he says, it is a Managers check, but only on banks approved and certified by British Embassy, as my wife did pay cash, this was only because she was in attendance at the time, this again causes problems for applicants, the applicant of course will need to check with the British Embassy as to which banks they can have managers check drawn on, ??? more aggravation...

[peterdavid]

Originally posted by Pauldo@Sep 15 2005, 11:20 AM
Thanks for the info. I should have guessed it would get complicated and scam ridden, however the enbassy end up doing it.

The mom in law has a bank account over there, so she&#39;ll have to do battle with the manager.

Quoted post

If she&#39;s got an account, she shouldn&#39;t have too much problem getting a bankers draft from the bank (usual bank fee required, probably some id these days too). Cheques accepted from the standard (or they used to be, anyway), such as PNB/PSB, BPI and Metronet (I think).

I&#39;m not sure the status of &#39;proper&#39; banks there, eg HSBC. Whether they&#39;d accept a bankers draft in pesos from HSBC Makati, I&#39;m not sure. You know the Embassy, they&#39;ll send the application back simply because you forgot to put a full stop at the end of a sentence on page 12 just to slow the process up for you - however, BPI and PSB, et al, should be ok.

[Pauldo]

Originally posted by peterdavid@Sep 15 2005, 06:34 PM
If she&#39;s got an account, she shouldn&#39;t have too much problem getting a bankers draft from the bank (usual bank fee required, probably some id these days too). Cheques accepted from the standard (or they used to be, anyway), such as PNB/PSB, BPI and Metronet (I think).

I&#39;m not sure the status of &#39;proper&#39; banks there, eg HSBC. Whether they&#39;d accept a bankers draft in pesos from HSBC Makati, I&#39;m not sure. You know the Embassy, they&#39;ll send the application back simply because you forgot to put a full stop at the end of a sentence on page 12 just to slow the process up for you - however, BPI and PSB, et al, should be ok.

Quoted post

Thanks folks, I&#39;ll put it on the list of things to check on. As you say, they won&#39;t volunteer the information if they don&#39;t have to, which is what used to infuriate me the most living there: just waiting for some pissant peasant to refuse you over that proverbial missed full stop

[Pauldo]

Originally posted by ginapeterb@Sep 13 2005, 10:19 PM
STOP PRESS.

Found out today, that British Embassy Manila are not accepting any more interview appointments this year, applicants are now being directed to apply by post, through the CAVA Service, documents including fees and all other evidence should now be submitted using the Courier Assisted Visa application service, the cost is P250.00, the courier will call at your home, collect the documents from the applicant, the British Embassy Visa Section will scrutinize the documents, if a formal interview is required, they Embassy will now advise in writing and an appointment will be made.

This is the latest folks....trust me...it came through this morning.
Pete

Quoted post

Thanks for the update. I&#39;ve been waiting for my wife to call the embassy again about this, since it was first mentioned here a week ago. BUT, she still runs on Filipino time sometimes, so she has managed to forget every day so far. It&#39;s HER mum she wants over, so I&#39;ve told her SHE can sort it out, as I have done enough hair pulling, teeth gnashing and sleepless night routines trying to sort visas and stuff out for &#39;us&#39;. Now it&#39;s her turn to fret and worry.
Cheers, Paul