All EC applicants from Pakistan

[hrsaeed]

Hi all,

Got my HSMP approval letter on 4 Feb. I wish to know if I apply for EC showing my assets such as a car in my name (with documents), a convenient store i have taken on lease from an oil company (with documents). And can i claim that when i leave my job i will get gratuity amount worth 200,000 Rs.

My balance sheet is not quite healthy yet but i will improve it within 3-4 months before applying for EC in May.

Regards

[Whatever]

hrsaeed: You can show all of these things...u can show car papers along with an evaluation from a showroom or two...showing the approx market worth of the car...similarly u can show that the store is in your name...& get an evluation from a real-estate agent or two...stating the worth of the store...

Gratuity of 200,000/- should also be shown...but these are add-ons...the real deal is the hard cash that is available to you in your bank a/c (prefably salary a/c)...there are no hard & fast rules as to how much should b shown...but a safe bet is 3-5k pounds...if you are single...

i asked a consultant once..n he said one should show atleast 15 lac rupees..if applying with dependents...but not everyone can manage that...there is no policy on it...just best practices...ppl tend to learn from others...who have shown this amount & have got the EC...

if u r applying with dependents...i thk showing upto 7k pounds shud be ok...actually a rough extimate is if you can sustain yourself there for 3-4 months without a job...so if the monthly cost of living for a single person is 1k pounds...for 3-4 months..u wud need 3-4k pounds to show...

if u r short on cash...i have seen people on this forum who take money from parents or uncles or siblings...n show it as a gift from that relative...along with a affidavit/gift deed saying that person XYZ has gifted you this money to spend & help move to UK...

[immaad]

Whats the difference between these two messages? and what is Islamabad OC?

"Application Forwarded to Islamabad OC on 27 Dec 2007"

'Your visa application has been forwarded to the British High Commission 25 Jan 2008'

Ok i just checked & the message (in my case) has changed from 'Application received..' to 'Your visa application has been forwarded to the British High Commission 25 Jan 2008'...

Saby: It is a 'KHI/xxxxxx/xxxxxx/x' no. & DOB to enter on the website...it used to give me an invalid search error also when i used to enter the 'GRY-PK-XX-xxxxxx-x' no....this was the reference no. which they used to use... but the lady on the GERRYs helpline told me that this has changed...& v need to enter the 'KHI/...' no. instead of the 'GRY-PK...' no.

Immad: so u applied on 27th Dec 2007...i hope you get it soon...& do keep us posted...

regards,

[immaad]

Hello, anyone there?

Whats the difference between these two messages? and what is Islamabad OC?

"Application Forwarded to Islamabad OC on 27 Dec 2007"

'Your visa application has been forwarded to the British High Commission 25 Jan 2008'

Ok i just checked & the message (in my case) has changed from 'Application received..' to 'Your visa application has been forwarded to the British High Commission 25 Jan 2008'...

Saby: It is a 'KHI/xxxxxx/xxxxxx/x' no. & DOB to enter on the website...it used to give me an invalid search error also when i used to enter the 'GRY-PK-XX-xxxxxx-x' no....this was the reference no. which they used to use... but the lady on the GERRYs helpline told me that this has changed...& v need to enter the 'KHI/...' no. instead of the 'GRY-PK...' no.

Immad: so u applied on 27th Dec 2007...i hope you get it soon...& do keep us posted...

regards,

[softlogic20]

Hello Saby, Whatever, Immad,
any update guys ?
esp Immad what is happening to your case it is more than one and half month now.
on gerrys web site its mentioned that standrad time is 5 working days and i think 5 working days are passed for Saby and Whatever as well.... any verification call to office , Bank etc
please keep posting in here when ther is any new development.

Regards,

[immaad]

Well ... Just forget the 5 days notice, this is a very very ambitious. I dont know anyone who received his visa in 5 days.

Secondly, i will advice everyone to send an email to your HR/Finance guys or whoever is to validate you from office, containing all your details and exact wording which you gave to BHC. They call at the office after 15 days.

I am still waiting

[Whatever]

status is the same on website & on Gerry's helpline...nothing new yet...have not checked with the bank or employer (if they have received any verification calls)...its a good idea...i will check with the bank tomorrow...will keep u all posted...

[immaad]

Hello

A friend of mine is apply for EC this month, he has an issue with his documents.
On his Matric and Fsc certificates, his name is written as "First Name" and "Last Name" but on his Bsc and Msc certificates, he has "First Name" and "Last Name" and "Khan" also which is his cast. Do you think this can cause a problem for him?

[Whatever]

Hi,

My status is the same. I called the BHC as well as Gerrys's, they both said that we can only tell you that the application is in process...& not at which stage your application is [:-)]...I had requested them to please expedite since i need the passport for travel needs (which i really do)...but no positive answer...dont know what to do...m kinda desparate at this point...

The Gerry's guy also told me that the applicant's educational documents go to HEC for verification & that may take time...

Immaad: in your friend's case...it might raise an eyebrow...if i was in his shoes i would get my higher education documents verified from HEC..before submitting...
hxxp://www.hec.gov.pk/new/QualityAssurance/Deg ... rvices.htm (replace x with t)

he also should get a UK NARIC equivalence letter for his bachelors & masters degrees...to strenghten his case...
hxxp://www.naric.org.uk/index.asp?page=20

he should also submit english translation of NIC with the same spelling of the name as on the passport...

The legal spelling of the name is the spelling on the passport...i think they match it with the rest of the documents...n if this is not the same...your friend should mention this in the 'additional information' section of the form & also the cover letter....

because even if a letter is different in name...it means a different person...for example...'yasir' & 'yaser' are 2 different people...even though the name sounds the same...n in this case its an additional word...'khan'

I think..the BHC guys are extra careful..because people may submit fake documents...so he should go the extra mile to prove that all his documents are genuine (& are his) & the person on the pasport is the same as on the educational documents...

regards,

[softlogic20]

Thanks whatever for your explanations,
infact it open my eyes as well. my case is little different then Immad's freind. in my case, on all of my educational documents my father's name is with out addtional name ("khan") but on my ID card and on my passport it is with addtional name. i think it will be problem for me as well. i am gona apply for EC in April.
dont we have any approving athourthy that can authenticate this issue or any thing that BHC people dont go for long verification just by bcoz of this .
its strange that BHC people taking that long, i dont know what sort of verification checks need that much time now days. i hope INS all of you will get a good news soon...

Regards,

[jimmymcad]

and i applied on 4th february 2008. waiting for the result.

[jimmymcad]

hrsaeed : What total amount you have in your bank account. It is sufficient to have 3-4 lacs in your account, if you applying not with any dependants.
Yes you can write the EC personallels about your gratutity worths in the cover letter mentioning that i will get that amount on some date.. hope it helps

[saby]

I checked with the previuos employers, bank and universities. They havent called yet. Today was 10th working day of my applications. I think it will be finalized after elections.

[immaad]

Hello, how long does it take for the documents to reach Gerry's after a decision?

I have been (unofficially) told that a decision has been taken on my case.

[immaad]

Wait bro, you should receive a call after 5 more days.

I checked with the previuos employers, bank and universities. They havent called yet. Today was 10th working day of my applications. I think it will be finalized after elections.

[immaad]

Good luck jimmy.

and i applied on 4th february 2008. waiting for the
result.

[immaad]

Hello whatever,

Let me tell you that Gerry's know nothing about your case. Just dont call them again and again. Remember this number 051 2012901, this is number of visa section at BHC. And they also won't tell you specific progress and timeline, very rude sometimes.

And there is no good asking them to expedite, they won't. Just pray to God and prepare your verifiers for the call. They will ask them your DoB, first and last name, father's and mother's name, Salary, designation, date of joining, details of what you do. Make sure your verifiers tell them exactly what you have written in the form, yes, this is very important and the only way to expedite the process.

Hi,

My status is the same. I called the BHC as well as Gerrys's, they both said that we can only tell you that the application is in process...& not at which stage your application is [:-)]...I had requested them to please expedite since i need the passport for travel needs (which i really do)...but no positive answer...dont know what to do...m kinda desparate at this point...

The Gerry's guy also told me that the applicant's educational documents go to HEC for verification & that may take time...

Immaad: in your friend's case...it might raise an eyebrow...if i was in his shoes i would get my higher education documents verified from HEC..before submitting...
hxxp://www.hec.gov.pk/new/QualityAssurance/Deg ... rvices.htm (replace x with t)

he also should get a UK NARIC equivalence letter for his bachelors & masters degrees...to strenghten his case...
hxxp://www.naric.org.uk/index.asp?page=20

he should also submit english translation of NIC with the same spelling of the name as on the passport...

The legal spelling of the name is the spelling on the passport...i think they match it with the rest of the documents...n if this is not the same...your friend should mention this in the 'additional information' section of the form & also the cover letter....

because even if a letter is different in name...it means a different person...for example...'yasir' & 'yaser' are 2 different people...even though the name sounds the same...n in this case its an additional word...'khan'

I think..the BHC guys are extra careful..because people may submit fake documents...so he should go the extra mile to prove that all his documents are genuine (& are his) & the person on the pasport is the same as on the educational documents...

regards,

[immaad]

Why did you show your previous employer? Thats useless.

I checked with the previuos employers, bank and universities. They havent called yet. Today was 10th working day of my applications. I think it will be finalized after elections.

[jimmymcad]

Thank you Immad,

And you are right Immad, gerry's just know when the passport come at their door and they call you after that, your passport has arrived, please come and collect.

How did you confirm unofficially that a decision has been taken..

[jimmymcad]

Immad, it takes 3-4 days to reach the document at the Gerry's fedex office.

[softlogic20]

Hello Immad,
i hope you will get your call from Gerry with in Friday. my best wishes are with you and INS you will get approval.

plz update us as soon as you know the descion.

Best of Luck.

[softlogic20]

Hello All,
Can you give your openion on "should we mention our previous employer while applying for EC or not?"
the problem is my Ex company closed down last year and i am working in current Company since last 2 years.
what you suggest should i mention about that company or not?
( might be it is possible that i can get document of Company clouser from compnay offcials. i am not sure if i will able to get it)

Regards,

[jimmymcad]

SoftLogic : It is not necessary to send your all previous employers letters. They only check your current employer reference. The key point is, how much total years experience you are showing in your cover letter, if you are saying, i am an IT Proffesional having 3 years of expereince in IT, then you should provide relevent documents to proof your 3 years of expereince. Otherwise, it is not a problem. Its a common problem in Pakistan that company gets closed. so no worries at all. You may have there expreince letters. if yes attach them. Hope it helps

[softlogic20]

Thanks JimmyCard for quick reply,
can you plz go in detail what could be relevient documents in this case?
regarding compnay clouser or letter from my current employer stating my Experience.

Also Immad did your employer get any verification call after the first one?

Regards

[jimmymcad]

I mentioned, it is just the expereince letter from the employer which should help.
and in my case I did not receieve any verification call to employer