Hi, haven't really been active for about 4 years now - been living happily and comfortably in Macau. We decided it was time to visit UK and Europe and October this year fits nicely with a conference I need to attend in France.
Trepidatiously we approached the application process. Two friends have both had Visit Visas rejected. One is a wealthy Director of a company in Singapore who hasn't been to the UK for years and they were turned down for his brother's wedding (She Indonesian). The other is a Director of companies in several Asian countries and she has an MBA from Singapore. Rejected for his father's funeral!! Both on the grounds that the immigration people didn't believe they would leave the UK once they got in.
The common thread with us is that all three of us don't understand why they think we we would dream of swapping our lifestyle and most importantly the climate in Asia for the UK. LOL
Anyway so I start the process using the visa4uk system. It is labelled as Beta - but there is not an alternative application process. DOH - UK government please look uop the meaning of "Beta".
Here is how it flows
Nationality - Philippines
If not North Korean, Cuban or mainland Chinese - "You must apply online"
Register, start filing. File address. Drop down box for Country of residence - MACAU does not exist.
Back to website - Website down all day
Phone helpline - closes at 4p local time. And they want to charge £1.37 per minute!
File online help form - two days, and not as promised within one working day - get a response that is worst than Chinglish. Meaningless, ungrammatical gibberish.
Meanwhile website is back. Research Philippines National applying for UK "General Tourist" Visa. Result - "Apply through Hong Kong"
Ahem so you must apply online, not in person - so "ELEMENTARY" workaround must be file the application online but put country as Hong Kong in the form. All good - and £83 bill on credit card.
Next step requires an interview in Hong Kong. Thanks... that is a day off work and costs best part of £30 each for the ferry, plus taxis and buses.
Prepare the application. Took me nearly 8 hours compiling bank statements, her property investment contracts and me compiling a detailed Affidavit of Support including my Bank Statements.
So merrily to Hong Kong off we go.
Join a line at 08.00 and we get presented with a checklist of requirements. It is significantly different in layout from the one referenced online Doh- but no problem we are rather thorough by nature.
The appointment was basically a screening to ensure we had provided all possible evidence that
1. We have financial means - well, yes she does and I have.......
2. That we intend to leave after entry - you bet, not spending the winter in Blighty. LOL
3. That we don't intend to register a Marriage or Civil Partnership. There isn't really an answer to that. You can't prove such a negative - but I would be very happy to pay a bond to save this time consuming c--p - as long as the current system stays in place as well.
So we seemingly have managed to find a way up the ladder - circumventing all the snake incompetencies of the application process...
Oh no we haven't. The final Coup de Grace of sheer "Beta" incompetence is they need to keep Lyn's passport. SORRRRRRY how do we get back to Macau without a passport????
What were they thinking when they dragged us/ we worked away around applying in Hong Kong? How can they possibly expect to hold on to a passport? CRAZY
And the workaround -after 10 minutes of consultation was.... a "Callback". That is - By paying them - yes paying them not vice versa - she has the privilege for the sum of £41.80 - plus courier costs of course, of delivering the passport to them within the next 8 days.
She still, even then, needs to pay to get the passport returned to her so more courier costs. So in total the cost of applying for a General Tourist Visa to The UK from Macau is going to be in the region of £250. Naturally that is regardless of whether they grant the visa or not...
Rip Off Britain.
Would be interested in advice from others and also any similar stories -because somebody is going to get this in the neck and it will get blogged mercilessly.
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