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The Visa Section of the British High Commission, Accra and their Commercial Partner, VFS have announced the introduction of an online appointment system for the submission of visa applications and biometrics with effect from 1st August 2011.

His Excellency Peter Jones, British High Commissioner to Ghana

The new appointment system is to be available beginning 25th July for applicants to make appointments for submission starting from the 1st August.

A statement by the Commission urged applicants wishing to apply for UK visas to book appointments online for the submission of their applications and biometrics at VFS, Labone at the time of making their online application.

It said on completing the online applications, applicants will automatically be routed to an appointment page that will allow them to select a date and time for submission of their documents.

“The online appointment schedule system is being introduced by UKBA to make the visa application process a better customer experience. The introduction of the appointment system will allow the applicant to control their application process, chose a convenient date and time for submission and reduce waiting time at VFS.

“Applicants without appointments will not be granted access into the VFS building and those who miss their appointments will have to go back online and reschedule their appointments”, the statement counselled.

Source: Myjoyonline.com/Ghana

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Indians visiting Britain on tourist visas will soon be able to visit neighbouring Ireland without a visa, under a visa waiver programme announced in Dublin.

The waiver programme will run from 1 July until October 2012, a period that includes the London 2012 Olympics, when a large number of Indian and other tourists are expected to visit Britain.

Currently, Indian citizens need a visa to enter Ireland.

Under Ireland’s first visa-waiver programme announced yesterday, citizens of 14 countries including China, India, and parts of Eastern Europe and the Middle East will no longer need a visa for a short-term visit once they have cleared immigration in the UK.

The Irish government hopes it will result in extra tourism revenue especially from companies and the Olympics.

The programme is designed to assist in the promotion of Ireland as a quality tourist destination for markets which hitherto would not have been regarded as traditional source countries for tourism to Ireland.

Announcing the programme, Ireland’s Justice and Defence Minister Alan Shatter said our economic difficulties “also present us with opportunities; it gives us a chance to take a fresh look at what we do and how we do it”.

He said dismantling barriers which act as a disincentive to potential and sought after visitors is a case in point.

Shatter underlined that the this Visa Waiver Programme is a very significant initiative in the area of visa liberalisation.

“It will have real and tangible benefits for the nationals of the 14 or so countries (who currently require a visa to come here) participating in the scheme and it will provide a much needed shot in the arm for the hard pressed tourist industry,” he noted.

According to an official statement, individuals who avail of the programme “will not be required to pay the visa charge of 60 Euros per person.”

“For example, for a family of four, say from India, which travels to London for the Olympics next year and which would like to have a ’side-trip’ to Ireland, participation in this Programme will result in a saving of 240 Euros to them,” the statement said.

Last year, Ireland approved approximately 30,000 applications for visas from nationals of these 14 countries.

However, hundreds of thousands of these nationals visit the UK as tourists every year. Ireland seeks to attract this large number of tourists arriving in Britain.

Source: India Times

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Malaysia is confident that its nationals, except students, will continue to enjoy visa-free travel to Britain.

Home Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein said this was based on proactive measures taken by Kuala Lumpur during the past year on the visa issue as well as strong Malaysian engagement with Britain.

Speaking at a joint press conference with Britain’s Minister of State at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office Jeremy Browne after the signing of a bilateral memorandum of understanding (MoU) on cooperation on immigration, Hishammuddin said the MoU would further strengthen trust between the two countries on this matter.

“One area we can confirm is the visa issue…as you all know there’s no requirement for Malaysians to have the visa, which was an issue before. I think that’s based on a very strong engagement and building of processes between (the two) countries and agencies concerned. And the signing of the MoU will strengthen that arrangement even further.

“So, issues such as withdrawal of visa for Malaysian nationals with children in the United Kingdom and all that will not crop up, I hope, in the future, provided that Malaysians who do go to the UK behave themselves,” he said.

Malaysia was represented at the signing by Deputy Home Minister Datuk Wira Abu Seman Yusop and Britain by Browne.

Last year, there were reports that Britain may revisit its proposal to impose visa requirements on Malaysians if the issue of overstaying was not handled properly.

As of January last year, reports indicated that there were about 20,000 Malaysian overstayers in Britain.

“There were worries that the visa-free travel to Britain for Malaysians may be withdrawn but it’s clear that our engagement (with Britain) over the past year has inspired confidence in the UK government that Malaysians are still (qualified to enjoy) visa-free travel to the UK.

“This should give a lot of comfort to Malaysian parents who’re very concerned in the beginning (that) there’s going to be a new policy (on the imposition of visa requirements on Malaysians).

“But clearly by engaging and having understanding such as this (MoU), it’ll allay fears that many Malaysian parents have,” he said.

Hishammuddin said Kuala Lumpur hoped to sign a security agreement with London during Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak’s official visit to Britain scheduled for July, that may help resolve some of the issues involving Malaysians who were staying illegally there.

Source: Mysinchew

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The United Kingdom (UK) has launched a new visa system that requires applicants to apply online.

With effect from May 30, online applications will become mandatory for any one in Uganda applying for a visa to the UK, the British High Commission said in a statement on Monday.

Applicants will have to print out an online application form from the UK Border Agency’s visa website, www.visa4uk.fco.gov.uk.

After printing out the form, applicants will then make an appointment at the Visa Application Centre in Kampala to submit the forms, along with other requirements like two passport-size photos, supporting documents and visa fees.

The commission is optimistic that if implemented globally, online applications would reduce on the long queues and also streamline the entire visa operation.

However, the commission said applicants with genuine emergencies or time sensitive cases would continue receiving ‘drop in’ services at the visa application centre.

The cases would be accessed against a strict set of criteria on a case by case basis, it said.

The visa fees have not changed. The fees range from sh259,000 to sh2.4m for entertainers, sports personalities, business, family and general visitors, depending on the number of months they intended to stay in the UK.  Students, save for those on selected scholarships, are charged sh814,000. You can see UK visa fee for all kinds of applicants here http://www.ukvisas.gov.uk/en/howtoapply/visafees/.

Source: New Vision

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The United Kingdom visa application process will not change despite the moving of visa application processing to its East Asia hub at the British Embassy in Manila.

British High Commissioner Simon Featherstone said today that people can still submit their application at the British Visa Application Centre here.

“It is the decision-making part of the visa issuing process that are transferring and not the application centre.

“Once the visa application is received at the VAC, it will be couriered securely (at our expense) to the British Embassy in Manila for assessment by certified entry clearance officials,” he said in a statement.

“Once the decision is made it will be couriered back again to VAC for collection from there by the applicant as is currently the case.”

Featherstone was responding to a newspaper report that the British High Commission here was moving visa application processing to Manila.

Source: Bernama

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The coalition government has announced plans to deport migrants from outside the European Union who owe the NHS over GBP1,000, and ban them from returning until the debt has been paid off. The new reforms may also include forcing non-EU migrants to take out health insurance before they are granted a visa.

Under the plans, the NHS will offer information to the UK Border Agency so that it can identify those who owe the health service money when they submit their application to return or stay in the UK. It will also mean that UK residents can stay abroad for six months, rather than the current three, before they lose their automatic entitlement to free hospital treatment .

The changes are intended to protect public services in the UK, as well as combat problems surrounding health tourism . Damian Green, the Immigration Minister, commented “The NHS is a national health service not an international one. If someone does not pay for their treatment we will not let them back into the country.”

Anne Milton, Public Health Minister, also stated “The NHS has a duty to anyone whose life or long-term health is at immediate risk, but we cannot afford to become an international health service, providing free treatment for all.”

She added “These changes will begin the process of developing a clearer, robust and fairer system of access to free NHS services which our review of the charging system will complete.”

Source: Health Insurance

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The United Kingdom government has decided not to implement  visa requirements for St Lucian nationals travelling there as tourists or family visitors for less than six months.

However, nationals wishing to live, work, marry or study in the United Kingdom will continue to require a visa to do so.

The British High Commissioner said the St Lucia government has worked closely with authorities in the UK to address the various areas of concern relating to migration.

The decision, which follows a six-month UK Visa Test, was recently handed down to Prime Minister Stephenson King and the Minister for Home Affairs and National Security Senator Guy Mayers by the British High Commissioner to Barbados and the OECS, Paul Brummell.

Prime Minister King said the decision indicates confidence by the governments of St Lucia and the UK in each other’s abilities to address concerns amicably.

“We have received and accepted with much delight the decision of the British government. As a responsible government we have given further commitment to the authorities in the UK that we will continue our dialogue and consultation in ensuring that what we have achieved to date will be maintained without question, without any blemish or without any form of interference one way or the other,” he said.

Minister Mayers urged St Lucians not to engage in any activity that would cause the UK government to have any concerns about people from this Caribbean island visiting that country.

The British High Commissioner said the St Lucia government has worked closely with authorities in the UK to address the various areas of concern relating to migration.

“I really would like to thank Prime Minister King, Senator Mayers and all organs within the government of St Lucia that we had to work with for excellent cooperation over the six-month period. We found that the discussions were very positive and St Lucian authorities were very receptive to our ideas; the existing immigration arrangements continue,” he said.

The Home Affairs and National Security Minister said both governments wanted to see continued progress in certain areas where mitigation actions were not completed.

He said those include the full recall of all handwritten passports by 2012, clearing backlog of issued birth certificates by the end of this month, the ratification of the United Nations Convention against corruption, and continued publicity to effectively promote legal migration to the UK and the consequences of non-compliance.

The British High Commission Office in Barbados will continue to monitor St Lucia`s progress regarding the immigrations issues.

Should the risks to the UK not reduce, or if they increase, authorities in the United Kingdom say they may have to reconsider the visa requirement.

Source: Caribbean 360

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Applications for visas to the United Kingdom can be submitted through e-mails with effect from today, according to a British embassy announcement.

The application can also be submitted by a third party other than the applicant. With effect from April 1 all those applying for visa on the basis of points for permanent residence in the UK and visas for housemaids should apply only through e-mails. And beginning from May 1, all categories of applications should be submitted only through the Internet. Appointments for interviews will also be fixed by communication through the Internet.

Source: Gulf Times

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The British government made tourism a key part of its economic recovery on Friday, looking to dispel what it called a myth that Britain is a wet, cloudy country offering poor value.

The sun sets behind Britain's House of Commons and Big Ben in central London

It also set out its plans to remove other bugbears of visitors by making it easier to obtain entry visas, reducing the amount of time spent at passport controls and speeding up airport check-in times.

“You can do most things in Britain for 11 to 12 months of the year. Our weather is substantially better than many people think,” tourism minister John Penrose said at the launch of its tourism policy.

“The government sees it (tourism) as a key element in our plans to grow the economy and get Britain back on its feet.”

The 10-month old Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition believes Britain’s tourism industry could help the economy at a time of public spending cuts, drawing on the opportunities offered by high-profile celebrations including Prince William’s wedding to Kate Middleton in April and next year’s Olympics.

Tourism is currently Britain’s fifth-biggest industry, worth about 90 billion pounds to the economy.

As part of its strategy, the government will push to make entry visa applications quicker, simpler and more convenient, without compromising national security. It will also share visa centres with other friendly nations, reducing the vast distances some people have to travel in larger developing countries.

It also wants to increase the number of online applications from 35 percent to more than 90 percent by the end of 2012.

The government’s blueprint also calls on airlines and airport operators to work on reducing the need for long check-in times, while it will introduce more e-Passport gates at entry ports to speed up the passport control process.

Officials will discuss with airlines, airport operators, passenger groups and regulators on how to collect and publish data on transit times. The UK Border Agency will publish details of its performance against national targets.

The government hopes the measures will help generate four million extra overseas visitors during the next four years, bringing in an extra two billion pounds worth of visitor spend.

It also wants to entice Britons to stay at home for their holidays, and will consult on lengthening the tourism season by moving the May 1 Bank Holiday, or Labour Day, to earlier or later in the year, potentially drawing opposition from unions.

Source: Reuters

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The British government has toughened work visa requirements for jobseekers outside the European Union, doing away with the provision for them to settle in the UK.

The British Home Office on February 16 unveiled the details of the UK government’s reforms in work visa route. The shake-up is part of the new annual limit on non-EU workers, which will take effect on April 6, says a statement of the British High Commission in Dhaka.

“Britain needs to attract the brightest and the best to fill jobs gaps, but this should never be at the expense of workers already here. We have made it clear that employers should look first to people, who are out of work, and who are already in this country,” said UK Immigration Minister Damian Green.

“We intend to make the route to settlement tougher. It cannot be right that people coming to fill temporary skills gaps have open access to permanent settlement,” said Damian.

The non-EU workers, who want to go to Britain, will need to have a graduate level job, speak an intermediate level of English, and meet specific salary and employment requirements.

At the end of last year, the British government announced that nearly 20,700 visas will be made available in 2011-12 to skilled workers applying through Tier 2 of the Points Based System, as well as 1,000 visas under a new Exceptional Talent route.

Under the new system, employers will have to apply for a Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS) from the UK Border Agency for a specific post if they wish to bring someone to the UK; a change from the current system that gives businesses an annual allocation.

The UK also announced that employers, who wish to fill a vacancy with a salary of £150,000 or more will not be subject to the limit on the number of CoSs that may be allocated.

The annual limit of 20,700 CoSs will be divided into 12 monthly allocations. At least 4,200 CoSs will be made available in April considering the possible demand in the first month of implementation. After that, the limit will be set at 1,500 places a month. Any places that are unused each month will be rolled over to the following month.

The Intra Company Transfer route, which is not part of the annual limit, will also be changed in three ways: the job will have to be in an occupation on the graduate occupation list, only those workers paid £40,000 or more will be able to stay for more than a year, and workers paid between £24,000 and £40,000 will be allowed to stay in the UK for no longer than 12 months.

Source: Daily Star

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