Customer Survey Results - Philippines
18 October 2013
More than 80 per cent of customers are satisfied with the visa service they received in the Philippines, our global customer survey has found.
Each month we review your feedback to see where we can improve our service and publish the results quarterly.
Results for the third quarter of this year show the Philippines team exceeded our 80 per cent threshold for customer satisfaction, with an overall satisfaction rate of 85 per cent.
How we measure up
To help us improve our service and communicate better with our customers we also review our performance each month against our customer service standards.
In July - September 2013 we:
exceeded our completion time for processing non-settlement visas of 90 per cent within 15 working days*;
met our completion time for processing settlement visas of 95 per cent within 12 weeks*;
significantly exceeded our customer response target of 20 working days,
exceeded our complaints response target of 20 working days by responding within 8 days on average.
* A more detailed breakdown of our monthly processing times is on the processing times page.
More information about our customer survey results and overall satisfaction rate can be downloaded on the right side of this page.
Improvements to the way we communicate to you
Your feedback has already helped us improve both our visa service and the way we communicate to you:
We offer an optional 3 to 5 day priority visa service for faster processing;
We offer a premium lounge service;
We provide a prime time appointment service if you are unable to visit our visa application centre during regular opening hours;
We have improved our visa application centre appointment system so you are seen at your designated time. This has reduced waiting times and made the process of submitting your application easier;
We offer a range of services including; a courier facility, photocopying and photograph service and an SMS service which updates you on the progress of your visa application. It will send automated messages to both your mobile phone and email address at various stages of the visa application process;
We have opened a second visa application centre in the Philippines, an optional user pays visa application centre in Cebu.
We update you on any delays or issues which may affect processing of your visa application via our website;
We send you an email update when your application has been decided indicating when you are likely to receive your passport back or when it will be ready for collection;
When you email us, we confirm receipt immediately and let you know the timeframe for our response;
We now have improved Philippines country pages on our website with more visible links to guidance and information on supporting documents.
Customer feedback and complaints
Customer feedback is important to us as it helps us identify areas for further improvement.
We aim to respond to complaints about our service within 20 working days. Dissatisfaction with your visa decision will not be treated as a complaint. If you are dissatisfied with the outcome of your visa application please read 'If you have been refused a visa in the Philippines' to see what options are available to you.
During the third quarter, the Manila visa hub received 3 complaints about our visa service:
We received a complaint about a delay in processing, but when investigated it was found the application was processed within our 15 working day target. We offer a priority visa service for eligible applicants who require faster processing.
We received a complaint about VFS Global, our commercial partner, being unable to provide advice to a customer about their visa application. VFS Global operates our visa application centres on our behalf in the Philippines, Taiwan, South Korea, Japan, Singapore and Malaysia. They are not able to provide immigration advice and do not make decisions on visa applications. All decisions on visa applications are made by UK Visas and Immigration staff at the British Embassy in Manila. The complainant also stated that VFS had incorrectly advised that there is no 5-year visit visa available. On further investigation, we found that the applicant wrongly understood that a long-term visit visa allowed you to stay in the UK for a maximum of five years. Whilst long-term visit visas may be valid for multiple entries for up to five years, it only allows visits of a maximum of 6 month duration at any one time and usually no more than 6 months stay in the UK in any 12 month period.
We received a complaint about a refusal and comments on additional services provided by VFS. Upon review, the visa manager was satisfied that the decision was correct as insufficient evidence had been provided to support the application.
To be issued a visa you must meet the requirements of the visa category and supply all necessary supporting documents. Guidance is available on this website. You can also contact our visa enquiry service by email or telephone. We also addressed his concerns with regards to VFS's additional services.
A separate fee of PHP 3,900 (approximately £57) is charged for use of the visa application centre in Cebu because it is a 'user pays' application centre. A 'user pays' application centre opened in Cebu following feedback from customers that they would rather pay an extra fee to use an application centre in Cebu than pay the costs of flights and accommodation to use the visa application centre in Manila and this has been a popular option for applicants. It is an added service we offer and not a cost forced on applicants who can travel to use the Manila application centre without paying this fee.
The complainant also complained that the text message service did not provide information on the outcome of the visa application. VFS are completely independent of the decision making process and, due to data protection laws, UK visas and Immigration do not share the outcome of a visa application decision with VFS. VFS sends a text message only to notify the applicant that the decision and documents are ready for collection.
While we acknowledge that some customers may not be happy with the outcome of their visa application, our survey results show 90 per cent of customers feel they were treated fairly and 92 per cent understood the reasons for our decision. We take decision quality very seriously and continue to review all aspects of our decision making process to ensure quality, consistency and fairness at all times.
Take the global customer satisfaction survey to tell us your views, or contact us with any general feedback, compliments or complaints about the service you have received
Source:-
http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/si...and+updates%29
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