There are always a good number of posts on the visa application processing times and the various complexities of UKBA decision making in Manila.
I thought it would be a good time to provide a very brief outline of the major expansion that has happened at the British Embassy in Manila over the past few years.
This is not an attempt to excuse any lack of performance, just to share the scale of the operation in Manila these days.
The British Embassy in Manila was designated as the regional hub for visa processing in January 2009
It first began by taking responsibility for the issuance of visas for, not only Philippines, but also Japan, Hong Kong and South Korea
A Hub is a regional centre where decisions are taken by UKBA visa oficers.
A Spoke is an application centre where applications and Biometrics are taken but where no decisions are made. (Such as VFS Application centres)
Other countries have 'outsourced' their visa processing activities since that time, up until the present day where the Manila Regional Hub handles UK visa applications from the following 11 countries:-
Australia
Brunei
Fiji
Hong Kong
Japan
Korea (South)
Malaysia
New Zealand
Philippines
Singapore
Taiwan
Currently the Manila Regional Hub processes over 84,000 visa applications. I'm sure that's a number that will surprise most members.
That equates to over 230 applications per day, or around 1615 per week.
I have no idea just how many staff are involved.
The ECO's are mostly, but not all, UK based entry clearance staff who are posted overseas and deployed for a tour of duty and then after a time return to their home units.
Most of the caseworkers and Assistant ECO's are drawn from the local workforce.
Food for thought
