Post
by homeistheuk » Fri Jul 29, 2005 4:39 am
In my opinion, using an agent is not necessary. Applying for an HSMP is straight forward if you follow each and every one of their rules. I think that if you fill out the application properly and submit all the evidence required, you should not have a problem. However, in certain cases, going through an agent might be helpful. For instance, if you are applying from a country that has high refusal rates due to inadequate and forged documents. I know there are a handful of countries that the officers at HO scrutinize much more than others. It would be helpful to get advise on your documents and the way you present them.
Filling out the form by hand is definitely okay, this is what I did and had no problems. If there is a way to fill it out on the computer, that is also good for people who have illegible handwriting. There are some very neat organized people who like to do dividers, tabs, plastic covers, etc., but if you arrange it in a concise way, it should be fine.
Regarding the payment, using mastercard can be tricky. I say this because when I initially applied, I wrote down my mastercard credit card number and they returned it to me saying the bank rejected the payment. When I called the credit card company, they confirmed that there was no such charge or even an attempt at a charge. So I decided to resubmit the payment portion using a visa card, and it went through fine. So, that is just my experience but I can't speak for all.
