Turn around time in Pakistan

[new_to_it_all]

December limit announced and no sign of life on my application as yet All quiet on the western front

I applied on 8th November in Pakistan. November limit announced 10th. Passport tracking changed several times from "documents submitted" to "processing at embassy" to "application under process at bhc" The last statement has been on hold since 25th November.

Now the limit for December has been announced. Tomorrow will be 30 days since I applied. Processing time in Pakistan at the centre at which I applied was 30 days in OCT 2010 to process 100% of the applications.

I am now wondering why there is such a delay considering so many applications on this forum which were submitted worldwide, even late Nov have had replies.

Does anyone have clues, or are there any other Pakistani applicants in similar circumstances to me? Does anyone who previously applied in Pakistan have similar history?

Regards Keep smiling

[geriatrix]

Possibilities:
1. Your application has not yet been decided. Date of application is not an indication of how long an application may take to be decided upon by a caseworker (e.g. - need for verification(s)).
2. (Less likely) Your application has been approved, but was approved after the December limit was reached.

Not sure if, like settlement applications, PBS applications submitted in Pakistan are assessed outside Pakistan (e.g. - UAE). If they are, this may also be a reason for delay in application processing.
(I suspect so because the BHC website does not publish a Pakistan specific contact address (post or email) for queries / complaints regarding non-settlement visa applications).


regards

[sajid08]

Dont worry man, I applied on 15th Oct from Pakistan and still my application hasn't come back, so it's close to 2 months now for me.

Most recent status change is 'Processed application returned to AC', on 5th of December, after that I thought I'd get it immediately but it seems application is still at Abu Dhabi and it's an internal change in status (that's what Gerry's guys told me), Now I am praying that I dont get it back in December bcz that'd most probably mean it's rejected as December limit is over.

As far as I know passports are held at Islamabad HC and not sent to Abu Dhabi with other documents bcz that is illegal, so that after approval visa is stamped at Islamabad HC, so lets see. One thing I know that my case went into verification queue, they called me first to get some info regarding tax, they were not sure about it so they put my case into verification queue, after one month I got another call on my office number, then they called my manager as well, that was on 22nd November.

Have you got any calls yet? anyways best of luck with your case, hope you'll get it!!

[new_to_it_all]

Thanks Shushdmehta and Sajid for your reply and information.

I am not worried regarding my application being approved or rejected. However it is disappointing that at least one set of people in the world are disadvantaged in this process.

So far no one has called regarding my application to enquire about anything, therefore I cannot even know that there is a debate about the documents.

The purpose of my post was to enquire whether this sort of treatment was common for all Pakistani applicants or just in my case.

One more thing, Sajid you say you applied on October 15th. According to the processing times for October 2010 in Pakistan, 100% of the applications for PBS Tier 1 were decided within 30 days at all the centres except Karachi. Unless your application was submitted in Karachi, your decision should have been made.

Good luck for a positive decision

[sajid08]

that's obviously false, because I submitted my application at Lahore or may be they treat cases put in verification queue as processed, can you please give me the link to that processing time page, I am not able to find it now.

Thanks

[geriatrix]

Guide to visa processing times

Presentation of performance data
The processing times are calculated from the day the visa application centre received your biometric data, visa application form and supporting documents. It ends when the decision on your visa application was made by the UK Border Agency.

Visa processing times are shown in timescales from 2 - 120 days. The days are expressed in working days. Working days do not include:
- weekends, local public holidays and any other non-working days;
- where appointments are required, the time taken to obtain an appointment.

regards

[neosumit]

Thanks Shushdmehta and Sajid for your reply and information.

I am not worried regarding my application being approved or rejected. However it is disappointing that at least one set of people in the world are disadvantaged in this process.

So far no one has called regarding my application to enquire about anything, therefore I cannot even know that there is a debate about the documents.

The purpose of my post was to enquire whether this sort of treatment was common for all Pakistani applicants or just in my case.

One more thing, Sajid you say you applied on October 15th. According to the processing times for October 2010 in Pakistan, 100% of the applications for PBS Tier 1 were decided within 30 days at all the centres except Karachi. Unless your application was submitted in Karachi, your decision should have been made.

Good luck for a positive decision

What it means is even if someone is 'in the queue' before someons else,
the person whose documents requires least checks is granted before the one who requires lots of checks!

This is bad luck for someone whose case is not as simple as others!

[new_to_it_all]

Sushdmehta has kindly supplied the information regarding processing times , Thank You

Another query which springs to mind is to whom should questions regarding the length of time being taken be directed? Also does anyone know who actually presses the buttons to change the passport status on the Gerrys websites?

For instance is it Gerrys or is it BHC?

The reason I ask is to see how reliable this information is since the knowledge could be sitting on two desks before finally being updated.

[new_to_it_all]

Thanks Neosumit for your post. I agree entirely on your thoughts. The amount of investigation needed per case obviously will push people forward or backward in the queue. But that is not the only criteria. The way a case worker works is also a contributory factor, some being more consistent or quicker than others.

However, quite apart from the problems of the case or the human efforts involved, it seems that applicants from Pakistan are still more delayed than applicants elsewhere.

That was also the reason why Milliband went to Pakistan early in 2010 to calm the situation and promise the same standards of care as everywhere else. However it seems that delays still exist.

[sajid08]

It's not Gerry's website if you look closely, it's VFSGlobal so it should be the UK Border agency guys

https://www.vfsglobal.org/UKG-PassportT ... /ddzHqXg==

One interesting thing, I got the first call from British HC in Abu Dhabi on 22nd Oct, that meant they were processing my case but my status only changed 4 days later than that from 'forwarded' to 'processing' and I got the SMS some where around 4 AM PST in the morning, which is working time for neither of the countries (UK, Pakistan or UAE) interesting isn't it who was changing statuses at that time in the morning??

so I guess it's not very reliable, it might say your app is forwarded, but it could be under processing

[new_to_it_all]

Sajid, yes it is odd that nothing matches anything

I don't suppose there is anything else except to wait.

Have you made any enquiries regarding your case at anytime?

Please update when you finally have access to your decision and once again good luck and best wishes

[sajid08]

I once tried calling British HC in Abu Dhabi, but no one picked up, I later found out that was a public holiday in Abu Dhabi, then I sent one email to them, no reply to that, but the next day my status got changed to 'processed', so I didn't call them back.

I've read in this forum that some people called them and asked for the passport status and they told them what stage it was in, if you haven't received any calls from them I think you should try that.

[new_to_it_all]

Yes, I also read that but where is their phone number or contact details? Does anyone know where to find them? The BHC website that Sushdmehta gave the link to talks about replying within 20 days. Thats a huge amount of time

[sajid08]

These are the phone numbers:

Abu Dhabi:

Switchboard +971 2 610 1100
Visa Centre +971 4 3572300

[geriatrix]

Sushdmehta has kindly supplied the information regarding processing times , Thank You

As usual, I just pointed to the place where one may view them.



regards

[new_to_it_all]

Thanks for the phone numbers Sajid. Very useful resource for everyone for time to come as well. Just for the record, can you say where you found these numbers? Were they supplied by Gerrys?

Sushdmehta, You are a true star

[geriatrix]

It's not Gerry's website if you look closely, it's VFSGlobal so it should be the UK Border agency guys

VFS Global is not UKBA, but an external commercial (visa services) provider.

Gerry's depends on the VFS Global's application tracking service, the same service that VFS operates for all their UK visa application centres in different countries.


regards

[sajid08]

Phone numbers are on the embassy website

http://ukinuae.fco.gov.uk/en/

[new_to_it_all]

It's not Gerry's website if you look closely, it's VFSGlobal so it should be the UK Border agency guys

VFS Global is not UKBA, but an external commercial (visa services) provider.

Gerry's depends on the VFS Global's application tracking service, the same service that VFS operates for all their UK visa application centres in different countries.


regards

I understand that VFS is a private, external entity which deals with not only UKBA but other countries like Australia too. Does this mean that they receive communication directly from UKBA regarding passport status before they update the tracking service?

This indicates there are still two desks which are providing each other information and therefore delays of information becomes more likely and understandable.

Sajid, thanks for that link. Queen Elizabeth looks so cute in the picture of the State Visit

[geriatrix]

Authorized personnel of the organisations involved in the process (e.g. - UKBA, UKVisas, VAC etc.) can input information on the system.


regards

[new_to_it_all]

Here is an interesting report from an independent Inspectorate on the treatment of visa applications in the Abu Dhabi centre:

http://icinspector.independent.gov.uk/w ... mabad1.pdf

[sajid08]

yeah this report came under discussion in the media as well, it's quiet clear that they are discriminating against Pakistanis and it's true that they require more evidence or do more investigation in case application is submitted from Pakistan.

My case is also a prove of that, although I submitted the documents exactly as per guidance, they need two sets of original evidence for Previous Earnings, I submitted original letter from employer with all the payments, and a matching bank statement on letter head, but yet they investigated about my tax and asked me questions about that. If I had submitted my app from any other country I am pretty sure that I'd have been issued visa straight away becacuse the necessary evidence was there which was matching.

Anyways, following in the report confirmed that not only original passport but also documents are retained in Islamabad and only duplicates are sent to Abu Dhabi and once they reach a decision, visa is stamped in Islamabad.

"For all other application categories, except settlement, entry clearance decisions
are made in Abu Dhabi. They are then relayed electronically to the visa section in Islamabad,
where vignettes and refusal notices are printed and returned to customers via the respective visa
application centre."

[new_to_it_all]

I didnt know of this report before. It is indeed sad news.

You also havent heard anything back since your status changed to "processed". Maybe in Pakistani applications the "electronic" transfer of information from Abu Dhabi is sent by special delivery "snailmail"....

[sajid08]

actually it could be a good thing for me, because December limit is over, if I get it back in December that'd most probably mean its rejected, if I dont hear from them anything till Monday, I'll call them and ask if my case is deferred till January or not. In other countries again, I've heard they tell the applicant themselves by calling them that the case is deferred.

[new_to_it_all]

Here is a summary from John Vine, the independant inspector of the report:

I believe this means that the UK Border Agency was not only failing to be open and transparent
about their approach towards customers, but also may be discriminating unlawfully in favour of Gulf
Cooperation Council customers and against Pakistanis. I believe the UK Border Agency must take
immediate action to ensure it is acting in compliance with its duties under the Race Relations Act 1976,
and that, where it considers that different criteria are necessary, it ensures that it has the appropriate
authorisation. This is a matter to which I shall be paying particular attention in future inspections.
Overall, I found that many of the key stakeholders I spoke to had a worrying lack of confidence in
the work of the visa section – particularly in Pakistan visa operations. I hope this report’s findings and
recommendations will prompt the UK Border Agency to act decisively to restore public confidence in
its services and to ensure equitable treatment for all visa customers.

quite self explanatory me thinks

Sajid..how long has it been since your status changed to "processed" ?