No VFS apointments available in Manila?

[Mrmlea]

Hi,

I have just signed up to this forum, and this is my first post, although I have been reading it for the last year or so and have found no end of extremely helpful information. With the help of information on here we managed to get a UK visitors visa for my fiancee to come to vist me in the UK last summer (successful on the second attempt). And then we managed to negotiate all the complications of getting married in the Philippines last month. So thanks to everyone on here for their help.

Now we are in the process of applying for a UK spouse visa for my wife. She has submitted the online application form and paid for it and so we are now trying to make an appointment at VFS in Manila. Since she has done this twice before, we are reasonably familiar with the process. In the past, and when I checked a few weeks ago, there has always been a two week window of available appointments. So I was quite shocked when I tried to book the appointment and it now says "no dates are available". It says this as soon as I select "manila" and "visa type - other" before I even fill in any details of her application. It doesn't say this for Cebu, but Cebu is a pain for her to get to.

Has anyone else found this problem? Does anyone know if it just a temporary glitch in their website or have they really got no apointments at all?

I tried calling them, but the number for the call centre says it is for PLDT and Smart subscribers only - which seems a bit unbelievable, but I can't get it to work from here in the UK. I have also emailed their VIP appointments email address vip.ukph@vfshelpline.com which is the only email address that I could find, but no reply yet. That email address worked in the past for booking a last minute VIP appointment.

Any help welcome. I am not panicking just yet, since we are wanting the appointment on 18th March, so there should be plenty of time yet, but it is another unexpected hiccup along the way.

Thanks,

Martin and Aileen Lea

[Arthur Little]

, Martin & Aileen ... and congratulations on your recent

Having *got married in the Philippines also, I'm familiar with the supporting documentation needed to apply for a Spousal Visa.

However, *that was away back in 2008 ... since when, there've been various changes to the procedure - most notably the introduction of the online system - with which I am considerably less conversant, I'm afraid.

Strange, though, that there should be a dearth of appointment slots available with VFS in the Capital ... unless, of course, they're currently "snowed under" with applications.

But, this forum has a number of very knowledgeable members who will be more able than myself to advise people in your position on the best way forward, so stay tuned.

[Terpe]

Hello there Martin and Aileen, a warm welcome aboard Filipino UK

May I suggest you e-mail your complaint to: feedback.ukph@vfshelpline.com Please mark your email to the attention of the duty manager

In all cases please provide:
your name;
address;
telephone number; and
a clear description of your complaint and as much detail of names, dates, places and other background as possible.

If you are a visa applicant, please also provide:
your date of birth
the type of application
any application reference number(s)

We will take your complaint seriously, and will try to provide a full reply within 2 working days. If we cannot give you a full reply within this time, we will tell you when we expect to do so and keep you up to date with progress.

In the unlikely event that you are not satisfied with our response, you can escalate your complaint to the British Embassy

I'd additionally suggest making a complaint to the Embassy Manila Hub requesting urgent response.

Here's some high level points of contact:-

Kingsley Magee - Regional Operations Manager
NE Asia/Australasia - International Operations and Visas
UK Border Agency
British Embassy
120 Upper McKinley Road
Taguig City 1634
Metro Manila
Philippines

Tel: +63 (0)2 858 2235
FTN: 8411 2235
Mobile: +63 (0)917 556 8120
Web: www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk

Trevor Lewis - Deputy Head of Mission
British Embassy Manila
120 Upper McKinley Road
McKinley Hill
Taguig City 1634
Metro Manila, Philippines

Telephone +63 2 858 2200
Email: ukinthephilippines@fco.gov.uk

Asif Ahmad - British Ambassador to the Philippines
British Embassy Manila
120 Upper McKinley Road
McKinley Hill
Taguig City 1634
Metro Manila, Philippines

Telephone +63 2 858 2200
Email: ukinthephilippines@fco.gov.uk

Good luck for swift resolution and please do let us have an update.

[George001]

Martin and Aileen Lea,
I am having the same problem, I have emailed UK embassy and VFS but no reply yet, can you tell me if you got your appointment, and if you did HOW ?
Cheers
George

[sweetlove]

Martin and Aileen Lea,
I am having the same problem, I have emailed UK embassy and VFS but no reply yet, can you tell me if you got your appointment, and if you did HOW ?
Cheers
George

Hi George ..

I emailed them last week for my vip appointment ..this is the email address I used. Florida.Santos@paxys.com and they gave me the nearest available day to submit my documents .... hope it helps...

[George001]

Thanks Sweetlove, I have sent an email to them this morning, fingers crossed.
Cheers
George

[Mrmlea]

Hi,

Thanks to everyone for their replies. It seems from other threads that I was not alone in having this problem. Soon after I posted my original message I got a reply from the vip appointment email address and i made the vip appointment by email on the date i wanted. I am now in Manila with my wife and we will do the CFO counseling tomorrow and the VFS appointment on Tuesday. Clearly they just made an almighty b*lls up of changing to a new system. I hope everyone else managed to get their appointments sorted out.

All the best to everyone,

Martin & Aileen

[mymy1921]

Please give us an update on this appointment issues...thank u