Tier 1 applied online before Dec 23rd and submitted latter

[krk98]

Hi

Is there any one who has applied Tier 1 PBS General online and paid fee online before Dec 23rd outside UK, and given biometrics as well as supporting documents after Dec 23rd?

I have applied online onDec 22nd and booked biometrics on Jan 5th. But yesterday (Jan 5th), the British embassy has declined to take my documents and biometrics saying that they have stopped accepting after Dec 23rd.

Please reply if anyone was able to apply after Dec 23rd outside UK.

Thanks,
rk

[push]

Hi

Is there any one who has applied Tier 1 PBS General online and paid fee online before Dec 23rd outside UK, and given biometrics as well as supporting documents after Dec 23rd?

I have applied online onDec 22nd and booked biometrics on Jan 5th. But yesterday (Jan 5th), the British embassy has declined to take my documents and biometrics saying that they have stopped accepting after Dec 23rd.

Please reply if anyone was able to apply after Dec 23rd outside UK.

Thanks,
rk

Which country did you apply from?

[mulderpf]

This is a difficult one - which country are you applying from? I know that VFS in South Africa was also instructed not to accept documents / biometrics for Tier 1 (General) as from 23 December (regardless of when you did the online application).

Also, what date did you pay? Generally the guidance states that for out-of-country applications, the date of payment is what will be considered as your date of application. However, even the news article is not very clear on that - it could be argued that a new application is a "full application with all the supporting documentation and biometric details", in which case they are correct to turn you away. Also, I paid on 20 December, but my application date reflected as 21 December (the date I supplied my biometrics, not the date I submitted my online application).

It also stands to reason that doing it this way, makes it unfair for applicants from countries who cannot apply online because they have had to had their documentation and everything in by the 22nd, whereas you could apply online, book an appointment a week or three in advance and collect the documentation at your leisure.

Please don't get me wrong, I'm just playing devil's advocate here saying what the reasoning could be for what happened to you. I really do feel for people who did not get their applications in in time

[destinyrules13]

hi,
same is the case of mine.. i had also applied online from india on 22 dec and booked appointment of 5 jan 2010. but when i went to vfs yesterday with all my documents, they refused to take my application
i think now, we have to accept the hard fact that tier-1 is closed for us and nothing can be done!! (

[krk98]

Thank you all for the response. I was in the view that the fee payment date would be considered. I paid fee on Dec 21st. Yes we should now accept the fact that UK has shut the doors for us.

Thanks for your responses.

[krk98]

Hi destinyrules13
Did they refund your fee that you paid? What is the procedure to get the refund? Please can you let me know.
Thanks
rk

[amuk]

That can't be true.

I have verified this from two sources: (1) Mr. Richard Jackson (Immigration Policy, UKBA) whose name was on the UKBA statement, and (2) the customer service representative on WorldBridge. I am not applying from India or Pakistan.

Could you please share with us where you're applying from?

[bombie]

I applied and paid online from Sydney, Australia on 22-dec, and had my biometrics done 23-dec (note Sydney is 11 hours ahead of GMT which is the actual date that is used). I sent my documentation in the mail on 5-Jan, and I know they've received it yesterday (6-jan), because the mail tracking service says it was signed and collected by the BHC in Canberra.

Between getting my biometrics done and sending in my documentation, I have spoken to various BHC employees who all said that as long as I have paid before the cutoff, I am safe.

However, it's now morning of 7-Jan and I haven't received a mail saying they have begun reviewing my application. Is that how we get notified of the status of our application - via them sending me email updates?

[push]

hi,
same is the case of mine.. i had also applied online from india on 22 dec and booked appointment of 5 jan 2010. but when i went to vfs yesterday with all my documents, they refused to take my application
i think now, we have to accept the hard fact that tier-1 is closed for us and nothing can be done!! (

You cant pay fee online in India, so you may not have the chance now.

[amuk]

However, it's now morning of 7-Jan and I haven't received a mail saying they have begun reviewing my application. Is that how we get notified of the status of our application - via them sending me email updates?

Patience. =) I don't know how long it should take but it's still Jan 6th there. 1-2 days isn't that much time.

Glad you got to complete your app!

[krk98]

Hi amuk
I applied from Republic of Ireland.
They didnt accept my documents though I paid fee on Dec 21st and submitted online application also on Dec 21st.

[amuk]

Hi amuk
I applied from Republic of Ireland.
They didnt accept my documents though I paid fee on Dec 21st and submitted online application also on Dec 21st.

This is very unsettling news because Ireland does have payments online. (as shown here)

The only difference between where I'm applying from and yours is that online appointments are done by UK's commercial partner WorldBridge so it shows it as 'unsupported' in my country whereas online payments are supported.

I take it you made it clear that you paid online? Have you tried contacting any UK authority? How about refunds?

Thank you, krk98.

[krk98]

Yes, I made it clear I paid online before Dec 23rd. But the immigration officer insisted that documents and biometrics should also be submitted before Dec 23rd. I couldnt find any way to contact UK embassy. Every query raised should go through worldbridge. They forward it to UK embassy in Dublin. In which country were you able to apply even after Dec 23rd?

[amuk]

Yes, I made it clear I paid online before Dec 23rd. But the immigration officer insisted that documents and biometrics should also be submitted before Dec 23rd. I couldnt find any way to contact UK embassy. Every query raised should go through worldbridge. They forward it to UK embassy in Dublin. In which country were you able to apply even after Dec 23rd?

Thank you, krk98. I have not applied yet, but I did contact WorldBridge after payment and received the following response on an inquiry regarding whether my application will considered to be valid or not:

[...] As your request concerned due to the payment effected, the appointment on the 29th of December 2010 for the visa application is still valid and due.

Edit: I rescheduled appointment to Jan 9th and will postpone for another week.

[krk98]

Hi amuk
from which country are you trying to apply?

[krk98]

amuk, Were you able to submit your documents? Did they accept your application?

[amuk]

amuk, Were you able to submit your documents? Did they accept your application?

I will know that on Wednesday!

On the website where I schedule appointments, it has a clear note that says:

From the 23 December 2010 the UK Border Agency will no longer be accepting Tier 1 (General) visa applications unless paid for before 23 December 2010.

I'm hoping they'll understand that when I submit my documents on Wednesday.

[krk98]

Hi amuk
any news? Did they accept your application.

[amuk]

Hi amuk
any news? Did they accept your application.

Well - yes, they did.

They had no problem that I'm submitting T1. Their problem was that the date on the printed copy of my online application was December 14th and is therefore expired. (PS: that was when I first started my application and kept saving it until I submitted the app online on the 22nd)

WorldBridge, the commercial partner, phoned the consulate and told me that they'll TRY to process the application. If my application was automatically deleted, they'll call me and give me a refund.

[vivekspa]

I was able to do this.
(Processing from Los Angeles, USA)
My Application was submitted online and the fees were paid on 21st December 2010. This is the date that matters. If you have paid your visa fees and submitted online application, then you are considered as having applied. (As per my attorney).

I went for Biometrics on 7th of January 2011 and Sent across my documents on the 10th of Jan. I received my stamped passport on the 20th.

As long as you paid your fees before the 23rd, you would have been okay from an application date perspective. But you only have a limited amount of time from then to go for biometrics. ( I think it is 4 weeks, but please confirm).

I hope they consider your case.

[bombie]

I went for Biometrics on 7th of January 2011 and Sent across my documents on the 10th of Jan. I received my stamped passport on the 20th.

Wow vivekspa, that is incredibly fast! I sent my docs in on 7th Jan (Sydney, Australia), and haven't heard anything except they've begun processing my application. Congrats!

[vivekspa]

I went for Biometrics on 7th of January 2011 and Sent across my documents on the 10th of Jan. I received my stamped passport on the 20th.

Wow vivekspa, that is incredibly fast! I sent my docs in on 7th Jan (Sydney, Australia), and haven't heard anything except they've begun processing my application. Congrats!

Thanks bombie! The Embassy at L.A is surprisingly quick. I was taken aback myself
On the downside, they do not have any means of tracking the application online.

[krk98]

hi vivekspa.
My bad. No I was not able to submit my tier1 overseas. I tried contacting british embassy, but no response. Finally, they refunded my application fee without even considering my appeal.
Congrats to you guys and good luck

[bombie]

hi vivekspa.
My bad. No I was not able to submit my tier1 overseas. I tried contacting british embassy, but no response. Finally, they refunded my application fee without even considering my appeal.
Congrats to you guys and good luck

My gosh. I was reading over your earlier posts in this thread and I can't believe they didn't accept your application even though you paid online before 23-Dec. Something isn't right, because I and others in this thread submitted our docs well after 23-Dec.

Its scary that so many of the rules are open to interpretation, and even BHC staff don't understand them. For eg, I rang the BHC helpline here in Australia, enquiring over what exactly 'date of statement' means when submitting a bank statement for proof of salary/maintenance. I asked the guy, does it mean statement period? He said no, it means the date the statement was printed! On further investigation via this site and talking to people who were getting their PR for Australia and need to submit the same type of docs as Tier One, everybody understood 'date of statement' to be the statement start and end dates. I even had lengthy conversations with various bank managers, all of them said there is no such thing as a print date on a bank statement, not in Australia anyway.

So I hope your application was refused/refunded on a genuine basis, rather than the immigration officer themselves not fully understanding which apps to accept or not, because the rules are so badly worded.

[bombie]

I was able to do this.

Me too! I applied and paid online on 22-Dec, did Biometrics 23-Dec, sent papers to BHC Canberra 7th Jan, got an email today (25-Jan) than my application was approved.