return of supporting documents

[nsxx]

hi all,

im hoping someone can advise me please, me and my husband are due to submit his UK spouse visa application for EC next week. he will be submitting the application in Kampala, Uganda via TLScontact.

we cannot find any information on how our supporting documents will be returned, i understand for applications such as those sent to Sheffield it's advised to include a prepaid return envelope. but as his application will be sent to one of the regional offices (likely Pretoria, South Africa) and not Sheffield sending a prepaid royal mail envelope will be ineffective as royal mail will not operate in Africa.

when we applied for his visit visa 2 years ago, i lightly recall some of the evidence we sent in was returned to the visa application center where he submitted his bio-metrics and passport (TLScontact) - can anyone advise what we should do in this case? DHL and UPS don't appear to have prepaid return services in Uganda. i have tried to contact TLS and UKVi who were not able to give me a concise answer.

our main concern is our original marriage certificate which we have to submit. it would be really difficult to re-obtain if we lost this one in our possession, they can keep everything else as its replaceable from our end. is writing the ECO a small note within our application asking them to return the certificate to the TLScontact centre with his passport once they've made a decision helpful?

[seagul]

you should enquire from your local postoffice that whether they offer any recorded delivery service with tracking and if they offer then you can send prepaid envelope for return of documents.

[inwarddoor1]

Hi nsxx
Please share if you have found any solution to this issue else where.

I am about to submit a spouse visa and my wife is in Kampala, I was under the under the impression you send the supporting docs to sheffield, I cant find any information relating to where to send the docs if your applying from uganda.
Are you sending the docs from the UK?
Does TLScontact in kampala scan the docs?
Thanks

[nsxx]

hi inward,

applications being submitted in uganda do not go to sheffield, they are submitted at the tlscontact centre who then process them and direct them to a regional office.

https://uk.tlscontact.com/ug/KLA/index.php

they are submitted at the time of the biometric appointment, you should submit the entire application there with the supporting docs

[nsxx]

yes, im sending them over to my husband from the UK using DHL - he will then take them to his biometric appointment.

[nsxx]

you should enquire from your local postoffice that whether they offer any recorded delivery service with tracking and if they offer then you can send prepaid envelope for return of documents.

thanks seagul, due to the infrastructure in uganda unfortunately this is not an option - they offer no such service.

[nsxx]

Hi nsxx
Please share if you have found any solution to this issue else where.

I am about to submit a spouse visa and my wife is in Kampala, I was under the under the impression you send the supporting docs to sheffield, I cant find any information relating to where to send the docs if your applying from uganda.
Are you sending the docs from the UK?
Does TLScontact in kampala scan the docs?
Thanks

i'm not sure if they scan the documents, but they do take the entire application and docs for submission at the biometrics appointment

[inwarddoor1]

i'm not sure if they scan the documents, but they do take the entire application and docs for submission at the biometrics appointment

Many thanks for the responses.
Do you know if they would return the supporting documents to tlscontact once decision has been made?

[seagul]

Those places where tls or vfs scan the documents and send UKVI themselves instead the sponsor forward the supporting documents to sheffield the applicant should be very careful and must make sure that they have properly and fully scanned everything.

[Edwardo]

Those places where tls or vfs scan the documents and send UKVI themselves instead the sponsor forward the supporting documents to sheffield the applicant should be very careful and must make sure that they have properly and fully scanned everything.

To the point where I would say if you have the option either to let them scan or send yourself - then send yourself. The very simple and hard truth is you care much, much more about ensuring the correct documents are sent than a junior office clerk working a scanner.

Yes, it adds courier costs to the visa but for me it is an absolute no brainer - unless you are allowed to oversee the scanning or get some official note of all the documents scanned.

To be fair, maybe they do that? Can you ask for a copy of the file they sent?

If not, I would never, ever risk it. But hey, each to their own!

[nsxx]

i'm not sure if they scan the documents, but they do take the entire application and docs for submission at the biometrics appointment

Many thanks for the responses.
Do you know if they would return the supporting documents to tlscontact once decision has been made?

this was also my original question, from what i remember with my visit visa application UKVi did return the documentation to TLS and it was collected with the passport. as a precaution i have included a small note to the ECO requesting return of the documents to TLScentre or alternatively to advise suitably. i also spoke to UKVi who confirmed the same on the phone.

TLS and VFS are registered partners who work in conjunction with UKVi, so rest assured you do not need to worry about your documents not reaching the intended place or being handled incorrectly, despite the competence of the clerks i'm sure they are trained to scan or submit the required documents exactly as they are handed to them by the applicant. the sheffield centre is not the end all and be all, yes they do process the majority of applications but for some countries applications are processed at other regional UKVi decision-making centres.

[nsxx]

clearly these processes are in place for a reason otherwise regardless of whether its sheffield or not they would ask us to send directly to the decision making centre and not via the registered partners.

just follow the rules of the application and try not to let others opinions affect the basic logic of a visa application. yes, experts in this field can provide valuable information and these forums are great sources of that, but these forums also contain a lot of personal opinion, so do not let this cloud your basic logic.