Hi all

[louismc44]

Hi Terpe.
Thank you for your best wishes to us both..

It cost almost £900 to try and just get a visa these days

Then there is that great added expenses that surrounds it all too

[louismc44]

Hi all
It's been almost 6 weeks since we made an application for my wife's visa.
We are hoping for a positive results soon.

By the way I have just read that the government has scrapped the UK Border Agency...
Any one have an idea of what effect this could mean to those of us that have been waiting the approval of their wife's visa now?

Thank you
Regards
Louis

[louismc44]

HOME OFFICE ORAL STATEMENT – 26 MARCH 2013
UK BORDER AGENCY

Mr Speaker, I would like to make a statement on the future of the UK Border Agency.
Since 2010 the Government has been getting to grips with the chaotic immigration system we inherited.

We have introduced a limit on economic migration from outside the EU, cut out abuse of student visas and reformed family visas. As a result net migration is down by a third. We have also started to get to grips with the performance of the organisations that enforce our immigration laws.

Through the Crime and Courts Bill we are setting up a National Crime Agency with a Border Policing Command. The Passport Service continues to operate to a high standard. And, since we split the Border Force from UKBA last year, 98 per cent of passengers go through passport control within target times and Border Force meets all of its passenger service targets.
But the performance of what remains of UKBA is still not good enough.

The Agency struggles with the volume of its casework, which has led to historical backlogs running into the hundreds of thousands. The number of illegal immigrants removed does not keep up with the number of people who are here illegally. And while the visa operation is internationally competitive, it could and should get better still.

The Home Affairs Select Committee has published many critical reports about UKBA’s performance. As I have said to the House before, the Agency has been a troubled organisation since it was formed in 2008, and its performance is not good enough.
In truth, the Agency was not set up to absorb the level of mass immigration that we saw under the last government.

This meant that the Agency has never had the space to modernise its structures and systems and get on top of its workload.
I believe the Agency’s problems boil down to four main issues. First, the sheer size of the Agency means it has conflicting cultures, and all too often focuses on the crisis in hand at the expense of other important work. Second, its lack of transparency and accountability. Third, its inadequate IT systems. And fourth, the policy and legal framework within which it has to operate.

I want to update the House on the ways in which I propose to address each of those difficulties.
In keeping with the changes we made last year to Border Force, the Government is splitting up the UK Border Agency. In its place will be an immigration and visa service and an immigration law enforcement organisation. By creating two entities instead of one, we will be able to create distinct cultures.

First, a high-volume service that makes high-quality decisions about who comes here, with a
culture of customer satisfaction for businessmen and visitors who want to come here legally. And second, an organisation that has law enforcement at its heart and gets tough on those who break our immigration laws.

Two smaller entities will also mean greater transparency and accountability and that brings me to the second change I intend to make. UKBA was given agency status in order to keep its work at an arm’s length from ministers. That was wrong. It created a closed, secretive and defensive culture. So I can tell the House that the new entities will not have agency status and will sit in the Home Office, reporting to ministers.

In making these changes it is important that we do not simply create new silos. And that is why we are creating a strategic oversight board for all the constituent organisations in the immigration system – immigration policy, the Passport Service, Border Force and the two new entities we are creating – and that oversight board will be chaired by the Home Office Permanent Secretary. We will also work to make sure that each of the organisations in the immigration system shares services including IT.

Because the third of the Agency’s problems is its IT. UKBA’s IT systems are often incompatible and are not reliable enough. They require manual data entry instead of automated data collection, and they often involve paper files instead of modern electronic case management. So I have asked the Permanent Secretary and Home Office Board to produce a new plan, building on the work done by Rob Whiteman, UKBA’s chief executive, to modernise IT across the whole immigration system.

The final problem I raised is the policy and legal framework within which UKBA has operated. The Agency is often caught up in a vicious cycle of complex law and poor enforcement of its own policies, which makes it harder to remove people who are here illegally. That is why I intend to bring forward an Immigration Bill in the next session of Parliament that will address some of these problems.

Mr Speaker, the changes I have announced today are in keeping with the successes of the Government’s reforms so far. We are reducing net migration and we are improving the performance of the organisations that enforce our laws.
But UKBA has been a troubled organisation for so many years. It has poor IT systems, and it operates within a complicated legal framework that often works against it. All those things mean it will take many years to clear the backlogs and fix the system – but I believe the changes I have announced today will put us in a much stronger position to do so.
I commend this statement to the House.

[louismc44]

Hi all
It has been 7 weeks now we have waited for my wife's visa
Is there any email contact I can send to make some enquiries as to why it is taking so long to hear from them?
My wife is really worried about this now and is asking me everyday, Why she don't hear from them yet
And to be honest with myself, it is beginning to worry me too.
Thank you ..
Louis & Olivia...

[Terpe]

Hi all
It has been 7 weeks now we have waited for my wife's visa
Is there any email contact I can send to make some enquiries as to why it is taking so long to hear from them?
My wife is really worried about this now and is asking me everyday, Why she don't hear from them yet
And to be honest with myself, it is beginning to worry me too.
Thank you ..
Louis & Olivia...

Hi Louis,
Yes, 7 weeks is quite a long and stressful wait. Many here will fully understand how you're both feeling

According to the UKBA page Guide to Processing Times Guide to Processing Times

The Philippines looks like this:-

15 days = 7%
40 days = 38%
60 days = 90%
90 days = 96%
120 days = 100%

So still good to remain positive

[louismc44]

Hi Terpe
Thank you for your reply to my enquiries in regards as to why it is taking so long for my wife's visa
I think I see what you mean by this chart, the longer we wait to more it is a positive answer we may likely get about my wife's visa.
Is this what the chart means?
Regards
Louis & Olivia

[Terpe]

Not really.
It just means that:-
after 15 days since application then 7% of the total number of applications submitted have been processed and decided
after 40 days since application then 38% of total number of applications submitted have been processed and decided
after 60 days since application then 90% of total number of applications submitted have been processed and decided
after 90 days since application then 90% of total number of applications submitted have been processed and decided
after 120 days since application then ALL of total number of applications submitted have been processed and decided

Since you have been waiting 7 weeks (say 50 days) then based on UKBA past performace I would expect your decision to be made within a couple of weeks.

[louismc44]

Hi Terpe
Thank you
I understand it much better now
I realised this just after I made my last post

In a. couple of weeks time, hmmmm
It's getting closer to that decision day soon then?
Wow, I'm so excited and nervous at the same time now.
We are praying for the right answer that we both need so much.

Regards
Louis & Olivia

[Terpe]

............We are praying for the right answer that we both need so much........

Me too Louis.
Good luck

[louismc44]

Thank you Terpe
More the merrier

[louismc44]

Wow it has been now 10 weeks that we wait for an answer from the visa team in the Philippines.
It is hard to be positive in moments like this.
God, what else can we do, but to wait and wait?

[louismc44]

Hi all
we are now coming up to almost 12 weeks since we made our application for my wife's settlement visa.
What can we do if we don't hear from them soon?
Regards..
Louis & Olivia

[Terpe]

Hi all
we are now coming up to almost 12 weeks since we made our application for my wife's settlement visa.
What can we do if we don't hear from them soon?
Regards..
Louis & Olivia

Hi Louis,

I do feel for you both. It's a long long stressful wait without any communication from the Embassy.

I think if it was me I'd want to make some contact to the Embassy.

You could contact to the general Consular services in Manila at:-
Email: - Cons.Manila@fco.gov.uk
Tel - +63 2 858 2200

For a more personal touch you could also contact directly to:-
Ms B Pastolero - Appeals and Correspondence Manager, Manila Visa Hub
Email: - manilvisaenquiries@fco.gov.uk

Usually Ms Pastolero does reply in a good time.

[louismc44]

Hi Terpe
Many thank you's for your help in this matter of our settlement visa for my wife Olivia
Can I send you an email or post it to you in private here on site>?

I wrote to them today and this was their reply here below..

======================================
Thank you for your e-mail addressed to the Consular Section of the British Embassy Manila. Please note that if the answer to your query is detailed in the below links on our website, we will not respond to your e-mail. Otherwise, you may re-send your e-mail, clearly stating in the subject line ‘QUERY 2’, to CONS.Manila@fco.gov.uk and we will then aim to reply within ten (10) working days.

===================================
Is there any answer to my questions on their website?

Regards
Louis & Olivia

[Terpe]

Hi Terpe
Many thank you's for your help in this matter of our settlement visa for my wife Olivia
Can I send you an email or post it to you in private here on site>?

I wrote to them today and this was their reply here below..

======================================
Thank you for your e-mail addressed to the Consular Section of the British Embassy Manila. Please note that if the answer to your query is detailed in the below links on our website, we will not respond to your e-mail. Otherwise, you may re-send your e-mail, clearly stating in the subject line ‘QUERY 2’, to CONS.Manila@fco.gov.uk and we will then aim to reply within ten (10) working days.

===================================
Is there any answer to my questions on their website?

Regards
Louis & Olivia

I suppose the only 'answer' is within the processing times section which states
'120 days for 100% of all applications'
That's working days Mon-Fri

Very unhelpful response.

Have you tried sending a message to Ms B Pastolero ?

[louismc44]

Hi Terpe
Yes I did send an email to Ms B Pastolero too

I hope to really hear from her soon..

Oh by the way can this phone number be called from a mobile number in the Philippines?
Or does it have to be called from a special phone service?

(You could contact to the general Consular services in Manila at:-
Email: - Cons.Manila@fco.gov.uk
Tel - +63 2 858 2200 )

OH BEFORE I LOG OFF
WE WENT TO THIS SITE TODAY
http://www.vfs-uk-ph.com/
HERE WE WERE ABLE TO ENTRE OUR TRACKING NUMBER TO FIND OUT MORE.
IT JUST SAID THAT IT IS BEING PROCESS

Thank you

Louis & Olivia

[louismc44]

Hi Terpe
I did call that number you gave me, but both Olivia and I called them, Olivia in Philippines could not get them to answer the phone, even after spending 200php on this call. Only answer machine kicks in each time for her.
But when I phone them from my own home landline I got though to the operator and she put me though some line?
I waited about 10 minutes for them to pick the phone up, did they pick it up? No they did not and it seems to me this is quite common of them at this office, 'or so I am told?'..
God help us
Louis & Olivia

[louismc44]

Hi Terpe
We just got this 10 minutes ago

Dear OLIVIA,

Your processed visa application dispatched to you via Courier on 05/07/2013 Please note this is an auto generated e-mail. Please do NOT reply to this email.

Please God it is our visa...

[Michael Parnham]

Been following your application story, we will keep our fingers crossed for you, let us know the outcome, Good Luck!

[Terpe]

Hi Terpe
We just got this 10 minutes ago

Dear OLIVIA,

Your processed visa application dispatched to you via Courier on 05/07/2013 Please note this is an auto generated e-mail. Please do NOT reply to this email.

Please God it is our visa...

Louis, who is the message from?
British Embassy Manila Hub or from VFS ?

[louismc44]

Thank you Michael

Been following your application story, we will keep our fingers crossed for you, let us know the outcome, Good Luck!

[bigmarco]

Hi Terpe
We just got this 10 minutes ago

Dear OLIVIA,

Your processed visa application dispatched to you via Courier on 05/07/2013 Please note this is an auto generated e-mail. Please do NOT reply to this email.

Please God it is our visa...

Fingers crossed for a positive outcome

[louismc44]

Louis, who is the message from?
British Embassy Manila Hub or from VFS ?

Hi Terpe

It's from

visaapplicationalert@vfshelpline.com" <visaapplicationalert@vfshelpline.com>

Subject: UK VISA Application Status

Regards,
Visa Application Centre.

What do you think Terpe, does this make any difference?
If it's not from the Embassy, does this mean we won't get our visa?

Thank you
Louis & Olivia

[louismc44]

Hi Terpe
Wherever it is from?
I need to know what you mean soon
I have to warn Olivia about this before she open's the package
Thank you
Regards
Louis & Olivia

[louismc44]

Quote Originally Posted by Terpe View Post

Louis, who is the message from?
British Embassy Manila Hub or from VFS ?

Hi all
Does anyone else know what Terpe might means by his comment about where Olivia's package will come from?

[mickmyrna]

Hi Louis , I received my visa before and they email me like this : Dear MYRNA,

A decision on your Visa application reference number: AMAN/ XXXXXXXXXX has been made by the British Embassy. Your application has been received at the UK Visa Application Centre and is ready for collection.Please note this is an auto generated e-mail. Please do NOT reply to this email.
Wait until your wife receives the visa documents. Be positive

[Terpe]

Hi Terpe

It's from

visaapplicationalert@vfshelpline.com" <visaapplicationalert@vfshelpline.com>

Subject: UK VISA Application Status

Regards,
Visa Application Centre.

What do you think Terpe, does this make any difference?
If it's not from the Embassy, does this mean we won't get our visa?

Thank you
Louis & Olivia

Louis, that is the standard message from VFS.
Whenever anyone gets a message from VFS that just what it states. The British Embassy does not inform them of any decision, so they have no idea.

[louismc44]

" KE SARA' , SARA' , what ever will be , will be "
Thank you all
Regards
Louis & Olivia

[louismc44]

Embassy does not inform them of any decision, so they have no idea.

Hi Terpe
Do you mean the Embassy just pass the package to them and VFS has no idea of its contents?
Regards
Louis & Olivia

[louismc44]

Hi Terpe
I have to say this to you.
You frighten the bejazus out of me with your comment
Regards
Louis & Olivia