I would say it might be due to a bit of luck. I myself was surprised to see it processed so soon.
Other than this, I put in quite some hardwork to make sure that the form is filled properly and all the proofs are proper.
I provided a Main covering letter listing the documents kept and then in each section, provided a seperate covering letter indicating the documents in that section with extra details.
1. I paid by ICICI bank Credit Card.
I was tracking the courier in the DHL website. I got an SMS saying 31K+ is debited from my card even before the DHL tracker is updated with the delivery information.
2. Educational Quals:
I hold a Masters degree. I submitted the M.Tech & BE degree certificates alone. I dint provide the Consolidated Marksheets.
3. Prev Earnings:
Gave the following:
* 12 months payslips attested from the same HR. The HR signed in it and his name seal was not there. He sealed with a "Authorised Signatory". But I did provide his name in the cover letter. But I DID NOT GIVE ANY CONTACT DETAILS OF THE HR OR ANYBODY IN THE COMPANY.
* 12 months Bank statements signed from the BANK representative. - Oct 2006 - Sep2007
* IT Acknowledgement for Apr 2006 - Mar 2007
* Form ITR1
* Serivce Certificate in the company letterhead saying that I'm employed in my company from -- to ...
* Ticked the exceptional consideration as Bank statements in the form and mentioned that Tax return does not cover full period and so providing bank statements.
* In the covering letter, provided a tabular column with the following column - Month, Total Earnings, Total Deductions, Net Pay, Date in which Net pay is credited in the Bank Statement, PAge Number in the bank statement where the Net Pay entry is present.
* I highlighted the Salary credit in the bank statement with a small highlighter post-it . I also mentioned in the covering letter that I have done this in the stmt for easy identification.
* Total Earnings(Gross) for the above period is Indian Rupees xxxxx. Using the exchange rate obtained from
http://www.xe.com/ict/ on September xx, 2007(the date of my last pay), 1 GBP = xxxx INR. My Gross Earnings in British pounds is xxxx. - Mentioned like this in covering letter.
4. Age Assessment :
I do not have a birth certificate with me. So I sent my original driving license.
Apart from this, I also sent them a notarised copy of my passport. I ticked the appropriate column in the form and also ticked the Exceptional Consideration check box and gave the reason that this is just an additional evidence apart from License.
5. Eng Lang Requirement:
1. Letter issued by my BE college & University.
2. Letter issued by IIT Madras for my MTech.
* Mentioned in covering letter that Original Degree cert were attached as part of Edu Qual. section.
6. My company name got changed sometime back. So, provided a separate covering letter explaining about that briefly and attaching the letter I got indicating the name transfer of the company.
I approached my company HR only for two things :
1. Salary attestation
2. Service Certificate.
Other than this no letter indicating Gross salary,etc.. from HR. I feel Salary slips & Bank statements & IT returns are sufficient.
Bought a separate file which contains many sections and then kept a tag in each section. Put each set of files in separate folders and then kept in the file. But, I dunno whether I'll get them back. As long as I get my degree certificates, license & approval letter, I';; be happy..
All the best for all of you who are waiting and who are planning to apply in the near future.