Tier1(Gen) frm India & showing UK A/c for Maintanance Fu

[Jos1984]

Hi All,

I have created this new thread for the discussion on - How-tos of showing Maintanance Funds (UK A/c Balance) if you are applying for Tier1 (Gen) from India.

I am planning to Apply for Tier1 (General) in January from India. I have an A/c with HSBC UK and am planning to show the same for the Maintanance Funds requirement. (Req - MF consistent and not gone below GBP 2800 for the last 3 months.)

I have read in guidelines, about the 7-day rule for bank account statement. If I am claiming my UK account balance for Maintanance fund, the bank in UK takes more than 20 days to deliver the statement to India. In this case, I doubt if the courier option works faster.

Has somebody got this sorted out till now?

Kindly suggest as this might help me a lot in making the application quicker.

Thanks.

[Mohammed]

Hi there,

I am in a similar situation, I live in UK, I came back to India to apply for T1, so my maintenance fund is in a UK bank. Just before flying off to India (a day before) got the statements from the banks, which was a friday, left for India on a saturday and applied for T1 on a monday.
Hope this helps

[theroyale]

Just before flying off to India (a day before) got the statements from the banks, which was a friday, left for India on a saturday and applied for T1 on a monday.

Which bank was this in the UK? Mine is in Citibank-UK. I went to their branch the day before I left London for India; they refused to issue such a statement to me and said that I can only put in a request for a statement that will be posted to me. (which again takes 5-10 days!)

Ashwin

[manishbhartiya]

Hi Guys

I have just got my stamped visa 3 days back and i was in a similar situation.
I had an account i HSBC UK.

This is what i did:

I gave a letter to a friend of mine in UK authorizing him to collect the statements on my behalf and also i had called my Bank Branch to issues me the letter and give it to the same person.

still there was an issue with the 7 day rule.

so i got the letter scanned and sent to me and i applied with the scanned documents at the VFS. in my cover letter i specifically mentioned that some of the bank statements and the bank letter are scanned copies and once i receive the originals i will send you again.

once i received the original documents via courier, i sent them to the VFS again with a cover letter and they forwarded it to the high commission(this was 15 days after i applied)

let me know if u need any more help on this.

[theroyale]

I gave a letter to a friend of mine in UK authorizing him to collect the statements on my behalf and also i had called my Bank Branch to issues me the letter and give it to the same person.

The problem is Citibank UK does not give anything to you directly at the branch. The only way to receive originals (statement/letter) is if they post it to you.

So i got the letter scanned and sent to me and i applied with the scanned documents at the VFS. in my cover letter i specifically mentioned that some of the bank statements and the bank letter are scanned copies and once i receive the originals i will send you again.

So it is possible to submit additional documents after the initial application to VFS? Could you provide more details?

Could experienced members provide their inputs too on this point? Just trying to make sure that this wasn't a one-off case and that it IS possible to follow-up scanned documents with the originals.

Thanks very much.

[manishbhartiya]

well all they want is honesty according to me. even if you give scanned copies of original documents, they are going to check it with the UK bank in any case.

on the home office website it says "It is better to explain why you do not have a document than to submit a false document with an application." - and that how i saw it. in our situation where the bank is in UK, of couse it is impossible to get originals on time, and the british high commission understand that.

Manish

[manishbhartiya]

also i thought this would be useful. Once i got my original documents from UK, i mailed VFS to ask them if i can submit the additional documents. This is the mail they sent.

Dear Manish,

Thank you for contacting VFS UK Visa Helpdesk.

With regard to your query:

We suggest the applicants to provide original documents. However, your visa application has been forwarded to the British High Commission. Please note your visa application will be processed and decided by UK visas staff. Neither VFS, nor any of our staff, play any part in or influence the outcome of your visa application.

If, you would like to submit your other original documents, please visit the application center, along with a covering/requisition letter and that will be forwarded to British High Commission.

Thanks & Regards

UK Helpdesk

The email address was: vfsuk.north@vfs-uk-in.com


Hope this clarifies.

[theroyale]

Thanks a lot Manish.

I'm going to go with your suggestion for my application; like you said there is no way for us to get UK bank statements in time, and the High Commission will (hopefully, in my case too!) understand that.

[Jos1984]

Hi All,

How about going for a DHL Courier service?

I mean - Asking a friend/relative to collect both - Bank Statement/Letter from Bank stating the Maintainance fund, and send then to India by DHL courier immediately (as soon as he receive them from the bank).

Does this option work faster?

[gopalp]

Hi,

Even I had the same problem.

I had an account in HSBC, UK and it was not possible to get the bank statement to India in 7 days time.

Somewhere on the same forum, I saw sucess & failure in case of submitting faxed copies as evidence, hence, I mailed the BHC Chennai asking if they can accept faxed copies of the same and the reply I got from them was as below:

Dear Mr XXXXX,

Electronic statements/faxed copies should be accompanied by a supporting letter from your bank on company headed paper confirming the documents' authenticity.

Yours Sincerely,

UK Border Agency
Visa Services
Visa Support Officer
Casework Section
British Deputy High Commission,Chennai
d


Getting the statement or a supporting letter takes the same time and also the bank branch clearly said that the person himself has to collect the letter in that case.

finally, I called up the HSBC customer care and go to know that thy can generate the supporting letter and duplicate statements on the bank letterhead (authenticate if needed) and send the same to any of the UK address in royal mail 1st class delivery.

Hence, I got the required evidences delivered to my friends address and he couriered it to me in DHL, which takes 2 - 4 working days (claimed by DHL).

I ordered for the letter on Tuesday,
It reached my friend in London on Wednesday & he couriered it the same day b4 5:00 PM
It was shipped the same day, from London & reached India, Bangalore on Friday
It was delivered to me on Friday around 4:00 PM
I submitted it on Monday, the seventh day.


I applied on 15th Sept from Bangalore VFS and the last update I got thru mail on 31st Oct is:

Dear Mr XXXXX,

Thank you for your e-mail.
The enquiries on your application are complete. The application is waiting in a queue to be assessed by the Entry Clearance Officer. We will keep you updated on the outcome of the same.

Yours sincerely,


UK Border Agency
Visa Services
Visa Support Officer
Casework Section
British Deputy High Commission,Chennai
d

This is what I have done, but still the result is not out.
So, this is also an option which one can opt.

Will keep you all posted on the results, hopefully by end of this week.

Thanks,
gopalp

[theroyale]

How about going for a DHL Courier service?

I mean - Asking a friend/relative to collect both - Bank Statement/Letter from Bank stating the Maintainance fund, and send then to India by DHL courier immediately (as soon as he receive them from the bank).

Does this option work faster?

Jos: Not sure about your bank, but Citibank-UK (and HSBC-UK too going by Gopalp's reply) does not let anyone collect letters/statements from the bank on your behalf. They will only send it by post.

finally, I called up the HSBC customer care and go to know that thy can generate the supporting letter and duplicate statements on the bank letterhead (authenticate if needed) and send the same to any of the UK address in royal mail 1st class delivery.

Gopalp: Thanks for this. I will now check with Citibank-UK customer service if they can send it to my friend's address by 1st class delivery.

Fingers crossed!

[gopalp]

All,

Thanks a lot to all of you.

I got a call from my house saying that I have received the courier from Chennai and the Visa has been granted for 3 Yrs.

Here are the timelines

Category - Tier 1 (General)
HSMP Approval - Yes
Applied on - 15th Sept 2008
Applied From - VFS, Bangalore
Integra - No idea
Results - Granted/Approved (01/01/2009 to 01/01/2012)


By this I would guarentee that one can get the letter from HSBC customer care (as said in my previous post) within 7 days and use it as evidence for stamping.

Thanks again to all of you out there and best of luck for those who are expecting visa shortly.

--
cheers,
gopalp

[Jos1984]

Hi Gopal,

Congrats! for your Visa approval.

Could you give me more details of how U got it done from HSBC UK (like customer care details, any agent to be contacted etc.)

And also, since it is approved, How is the Visa date starting from a date in 2009?? It should have started from November 2008 itself, right??

Thanks.

[manishbhartiya]

Hi all

HSBC UK does issue a letter and Bank statements and they sure can be collected by your friend and can be either couriered, or in case the courier doesn't reach on time, can be scanned.

You can call HSBC Helpline
You can call your Branch

Send your friend to the head office of HSBC which is in Canary wharf, london. this is what in did. My friend went there, after which they called me to get the security clearance - like date of birth, security code etc and then they issued the letter and the statements to my friend.

HSBC will give you the letter - you just need to push it.

Manish

[sampras]

Hi Manish and Gopal ,Thanks for the information.

I am happy to note that both of you have cleared the HSMP hurdle.I have taken last 1.5 years to get ready with all the documents.But still one month to go to fulfill the balance criteria of 2800 GBP, now that i am forced to apply from India.

Request you to help me out.I am in the same boat.My statement generation date from HSBC UK Bank is 22nd of every month.

I am completing the 3 months maintenance criteria of 2800 GBP on Dec 22,08 . So i can apply either before Dec 29 (7days rule ) or before Jan 29 (15 th month in the 15 th month slot)

My questions are
1.Is it good to apply in Dec last week or Jan last week among the 2 options i have got ? ( Dec last week looks risky because of postage delays).So little confused.

2.Also Manish you have mentioned about collecting the statement from HSBC Canary Wharf , are you talking about Original Bank Statement or Duplicate. What do you mean by Letter here ? And Cant we take statement from any HSBC branch. Also you said that you sent the original statement at a later date thru VFS ,wondering did you have to take separate appointment from VFS to do that ?

3. Same question again, Do i need to take an appointment at VFS, Bangalore before to hand over or submit my application on Dec 29th.

I would be greatful , if you or anyone can help me.

[venky72]

hi
you can ask in any branch about the statement,they will give you a temporary statement that contains all the necessary details except address, anyway as per the guidance no need to have the address in the statement.just take it before flying to INDIA so that you will have one week time to apply that satisfies 7 day rule.i did so and i got the visa.
---------------venky.

[theroyale]

HSBC UK does issue a letter and Bank statements and they sure can be collected by your friend and can be either couriered, or in case the courier doesn't reach on time, can be scanned.

You can call HSBC Helpline
You can call your Branch

Send your friend to the head office of HSBC which is in Canary wharf, london. this is what in did. My friend went there, after which they called me to get the security clearance - like date of birth, security code etc and then they issued the letter and the statements to my friend.

HSBC will give you the letter - you just need to push it.

Yesterday I got Citibank UK (telephone banking) to send me an interim statement (format identical to the normal monthly statement) and post it to my UK address by Priority Mail (next day delivery). Initially they said they would only post it by normal mail (which takes 4-6 days) - I explained my situation and the 7-day rule and emphasised that it was very important (!), he checked with his supervisor and then got back saying they can send it by Priority.

Like the person above has said, the bank will send the statement by next day delivery -- all UK banks definitely have the resources to do this -- you just need to push it.

Ashwin

[sampras]

Thanks Manish.

So let me summarise the points.Please correct me/help me if my understanding is wrong.

1.I need to give the authorisation letter to someone/friend over here in UK to collect the statement on my behalf at any branch.

2.My Bank Statement gets generated on 22nd of every month.I have the option of Dec last week or Jan last week to apply ( Jan 09 is my 15th month)

3.My friend would be collecting the Bank Statement on my behalf on 23rd Dec.And he should be sending the scanned copy to me on my email address.I would be taking the print out and applying it before Dec 29th. and i should be writing clearly on my Covering letter that one of my last bank statement is a scanned copy and i would be sending original as soon as i recieve it.

4.So taking appointment is not necessary/must at VFS as per your discussion.I will try to get an appointment. And then i will submit all the documents at VFS.

5.And i would have changed my Address to India address with HSBC Bank
So the original copy would come after 15 days say some where after Jan 7th , so i need to again go to VFS and submit them the original statement.
I guess i need to give the earlier submission reference to them to send this statement meant for Balance fund.

Manish, it would be greatful if you could give me your number , and that too if you dont mind.

Thanks a lot for your help Manish.

[sien]

Hi all, I am in the same situation have a HSBC account in UK. I am thinking by sending the application online @ http://www.visa4uk.fco.gov.uk/

case:
Once you know the bank statement has sent to your friend's address in UK, you can send your application online while you are in India and make the online payment at the same day. Then you can make an appointment to VFS to submit the original documents. This can buy you some time to ask your friend send the statement to India because your application has been made on earlier date trhough online...

I am not sure whether above case working fine or not... anyone can help to find out?

[sien]

Hi all, I am in the same situation have a HSBC account in UK. I am thinking by sending the application online @ http://www.visa4uk.fco.gov.uk/

case:
Once you know the bank statement has sent to your friend's address in UK, you can send your application online while you are in India and make the online payment at the same day. Then you can make an appointment to VFS to submit the original documents. This can buy you some time to ask your friend send the statement to India because your application has been made on earlier date trhough online...

I am not sure whether above case working fine or not... anyone can help to find out?

Sorry guys, you can't send your application online in India. This is the list of countries that can send the application online. http://www.visa4uk.fco.gov.uk/CountrySupport.aspx
I myself will apply from Malaysia.. and having the problem to get the UK bank statement..

[theroyale]

I got my Tier 1 visa today! Thank you everyone on this forum and especially on this thread, helping me and others get the application through with the 7-day maintenance rule. Best of luck to everyone, and thanks again!

Ashwin

PS: Noticed when I logged in today that the 7-day rule has been scrapped, wish it had happened earlier and saved us all some fingernail-chewing!