The (former) document scanning service in Bangkok

[Tony M]

For information.

 

Last week, VFS in Trendy building, Bangkok (and therefore UKVI)  ended the document scanning service (for settlement visa applications) without any warning. Applicants who turned up, with appointments, to submit their applications, were told that it is now necessary to submit all documents to UKVI in the UK by mail.  The VFS website now says :

 

Settlement application - All customers applying for UK settlement, including Priority Visa applicants, must send their supporting documentation directly to UKVI in Sheffield, UK by post. Prior to sending any documentation to UKVI, applicants should make sure that the courier company they are planning to use will deliver to Post Office (PO) Box addresses in the UK.

 

DHL will not deliver to UK PO Box addresses.

 

Thai Post do a service, but the cost is high. A 2 kilo package (if the documents include such things as chat app printouts, bank statements, etc) costs around 75 - 80 GBP to send from Thailand to UK.  A pre-paid  addressed envelope must also be included with the documents for them to be sent back (or to any other address). 

 

Applicant must still attend to give biometrics. Passport will be kept by VFS to pass on to the Embassy.

[theoldgit]

In a word what a disgrace, total contempt for their paying "customers".


Sent from my iPhone using Thaivisa Connect

[TommyUK1960]

The complete system is a disgrace from sending documentation to Sheffield having no communication unless your prepared to pay the extreme high cost to email or call. Then your not put through to the department dealing with your case. What amazes me is fees for application and NHS charge are charged in USD, Why not GBP?

[CaptainScurvy]

Hi Tony,

 

Its complete shoddy service and contempt for visa applicants.

However, I won't let the barstools grind me down!

 

Im currently very close to applying for a settlement visa for my wife, I'm living in the UK, working here away from my wife and children for the last 6 months.

 

My advice I seek from you or anyone else for that matter, is should I get all documents sent to me by DHL from Thailand, then send to Sheffield with a pre paid self addressed envelope from and to my current UK address?

 

Also, what about important documents like the children's passports and birth certificates that I'm using to supporting evidence, is photocopies of those sufficient or would the actual passports have to be sent with the application?

 

This seems very inefficient, the scanning service seemed a logical and cost effective way of providing documents.

 

What are the reasons for stopping this service?

 

Best regards.

[Tony M]

CaptainScurvy - firstly, the decision to send the documents to UKVI in the UK, from Thailand or from UK, must be yours, and should be in the interest of making the whole process easy, if possible. For settlement applications it is often the case that most of documents required are from the sponsor. In that case, it would make sense for your wife to send her documents to you, and for you to send everything to UKVI, with a return envelope to you too.

 

Some documents, such as your marriage certificate, you should have anyway, as you were issued with two.  You will need translations though.

 

Original passports should never be sent with an application. Copies of the passports, and the birth certificates will be fine (with translations where necessary).

 

There could be many reasons for stopping the service. For instance, the system was hurriedly introduced, and may not have been tested properly. The scanning equipment was possibly not the best, and maybe did not perform as well as hoped (or maybe VFS staff were unable to process the scanning properly).  Maybe UKVI realised that they would only be getting scans of documents, or of copies of documents, and could not tell if those  documents were actually genuine. Relying on VFS staff to determine whether a document is genuine or not must be one of the most ridiculous decisions ever made by UKVI. BUT, what is known is that the system does not work. UKVI have refused many settlement applications since the process was moved to Sheffield, on the grounds that documents were not submitted, when in fact they were. For some reason, ECOs were not able to access, or to find, or to see, all of the submitted (scanned) documents.  This led to multiple refusal decisions, and UKVI still haven't reviewed all of them. It is a shambles. Of course, UKVI have made no comment, apology, or explanation for any of this.

[CaptainScurvy]

2 hours ago, Tony M said:

CaptainScurvy - firstly, the decision to send the documents to UKVI in the UK, from Thailand or from UK, must be yours, and should be in the interest of making the whole process easy, if possible. For settlement applications it is often the case that most of documents required are from the sponsor. In that case, it would make sense for your wife to send her documents to you, and for you to send everything to UKVI, with a return envelope to you too.

 

Some documents, such as your marriage certificate, you should have anyway, as you were issued with two.  You will need translations though.

 

Original passports should never be sent with an application. Copies of the passports, and the birth certificates will be fine (with translations where necessary).

 

There could be many reasons for stopping the service. For instance, the system was hurriedly introduced, and may not have been tested properly. The scanning equipment was possibly not the best, and maybe did not perform as well as hoped (or maybe VFS staff were unable to process the scanning properly).  Maybe UKVI realised that they would only be getting scans of documents, or of copies of documents, and could not tell if those  documents were actually genuine. Relying on VFS staff to determine whether a document is genuine or not must be one of the most ridiculous decisions ever made by UKVI. BUT, what is known is that the system does not work. UKVI have refused many settlement applications since the process was moved to Sheffield, on the grounds that documents were not submitted, when in fact they were. For some reason, ECOs were not able to access, or to find, or to see, all of the submitted (scanned) documents.  This led to multiple refusal decisions, and UKVI still haven't reviewed all of them. It is a shambles. Of course, UKVI have made no comment, apology, or explanation for any of this.

Tony,

 

I appreciate the quick and concise reply, it makes sense to send documents from my end because of DHL not sending to po boxes,

It also means I can supply a pre paid return delivery envelope inside, at the same time I'm paying for a special delivery with Royal Mail.

Your response has made it a lot more clear of the reasons for ceasing the service too, I suppose it's the no prior notice that rankles.

 

I'm expecting even longer processing times now, oh well, I'll keep on keeping on.

 

Best regards.

[Guemlum]

I've just had a quote to post my wife's supporting documents to Sheffield via the post office here in the UK as a signed for delivery for £22.90 (that's up to a weight of 5kg and will cost the same to send back to me).

 

Regards

 

Guemlum

[bobrussell]

The key issue with Sheffield is the use of 'cheap' labour and a general lack of experienced staff. Many highly experienced senior members of staff have not found the idea of moving back to the UK (and Sheffield) attractive. Not having  a pop at Sheffield (or any other part of the UK but it is unlikely to be as attractive as a foreign posting. Many of these people are highly employable elsewhere particularly those with language skills.

 

It would appear the UK government was expecting VFS (or equivalent) to identify suspect documents as part of the scanning process. Otherwise as has been pointed out, the UK staff are working from copies and therefore are unlikely to be able to detect a dodgy document as easily.

 

Not sure which countries were used to trial this system but it comes as no surprise that not every document arrives intact!

 

Evidence for this concern was given (albeit Croydon and Istanbul!) in:

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/631520/An-inspection-of-entry-clearance-processing-operations-in-Croydon-and-Istanbul1.pdf

 

"One obvious way of retaining expertise and knowledge is for Entry Clearance Officers (ECOs) to return to a UK DMC on completion of an overseas posting. However, for a range of reasons, a cross-posting to the Croydon DMC to continue doing entry clearance work is not seen as an attractive option by returning ECOs and Entry Clearance Managers (ECMs). According to staff in Croydon, no effective process exists for capturing and sharing the local knowledge and expertise of ECOs who have returned there"

 

Edited December 27, 2017 by bobrussell

[rasg]

The whole system of transferring from Thailand to Sheffield seemed to be rushed. It worked pretty well prior too it. My wife's Settlement Visa was done and dusted in 15 days at the beginning of 2016. She returned to Thailand armed with the docs and her A1 that she took in the UK, went for the TB test the day after she went back and went to VFS the following day. She stayed with her cousin and his wife in Bangkok waiting for the visa and flew back to the UK the same day that she picked the visa up. I feel very sorry for anybody now with the shambles that is Sheffield.

[Tony M]

The fun will, of course, continue when the Bangkok visa section closes down in about 6 months time. As I understand it, no decision has yet been finalised on where the visit visa applications from Thailand will be processed. It could be Sheffield, or it could be Abu Dhabi, or it could be somewhere else.  However, if there is no scanning at VFS Bangkok, then applications will need to be sent to wherever the processing is being done, and a pre-paid addressed envelope supplied too. I wonder how easy it will be to get a pre-paid envelope from Abu Dhabi for documents to be sent back to Thailand. I suppose UKVI will, as usual, inform applicants where to send their applications at least  a day or two in advance.

 

Why can't UKVI just come up with a reasonable system, perhaps along the lines of the Australian system, whereby applicant/sponsors scan and upload their own documents, from home or wherever to the Aussie immigration service ?

[rasg]

9 hours ago, Tony M said:

Why can't UKVI just come up with a reasonable system, perhaps along the lines of the Australian system, whereby applicant/sponsors scan and upload their own documents, from home or wherever to the Aussie immigration service ?

If they allowed applicants to scan and upload documents the system would be very open to fraud.

[Tony M]

1 hour ago, rasg said:

If they allowed applicants to scan and upload documents the system would be very open to fraud.

 

You are right, but it could not be any worse that the processes that are in place at the moment.  I get the impression that the UKVI have no real interest in detecting fraudulent applications and/or documents. Certainly, in times gone by, documents submitted with visa applications were fairly carefully scrutinised. That doesn't seem to be happening now, and it is clear that a fair proportion of fraudulent applications have been successful over recent years.

 

The Australians have actual contact with applicants if they have doubts about possible fraud. They even have a form, that they send, or give, to the applicant, asking if they want to change anything in the application ( a copy is attached). The will to deal "properly" with UK visa applications seems to have been put aside in the interest of amassing revenue. In my opinion, of course.

1023.pdf

[nellyp]

I am a little worried about this process now. I will be going through it in April to bring my wife and 2 sons (they already have UK passports and were born here) over. It all seems a bit messy. I have already been through the spouse visa process some 14  years ago, and it seemed pretty straight forward once we had all of the documents and proof ready (which was outlined in detail for us at the British Embassy in BKK). Now it seems convoluted and very hit and miss.

 

My worries and uncertainties are

 

1.       I am in the UK and will send my supporting documents to Sheffield, and will send them with my wife's documents when they arrive (after application on her part I believe). The documents that I need to send I have been informed are below. I have bolded and underlined the things I have questions about, so any help would be appreciated.

 

Supporting covering letter from Sponsor ----Does this have to be given inat the same time or with supporting docs sent to sheffield

Sponsorship form--- as above

- Application Form (VAF4A)-----  Isn't this done in BKK at VFS? I believe it can even be done online. My belief was that my wife would apply and send me a reference number to use when I send the supporting documentation

- Appendix 2 -------- As above

- Copy of current passport (wife)--- Do I also need to send her old passport (especially as that has her old passport with  her previous permanent right to reside (or whatever it was called) in it)
- English Certificate
- TB test Certificate
- Marriage Certificate and translation
- Marriage Registration and translation--- I am unsure what this even is

- Supporting letter from the applicant

Sponsor Information
- Current Passport (Copy only + pages)
- Previous passports (Copies and original passports included)
- Birth certificate
- Bank Statements (6 Months)
- Employee Letter, Wage Slips, P60s, Contract of Employment---- I will not have a P60 at the date of application as I will not have worked for a full year and will not have been resident for tax purposes as I have been non resident during the previous 3 years for tax purposes

Accommodation
- Original marketing brochure, including photos and floor plan--- I currently live with my sister but will be renting accommodation 1 month before we do the application (not send the documents) as I want to show I am settled in a property. Will a letting agent supply me with these things?
- Gas, electricity, water and Council Tax Bills--- Not sure I will have these in time as I will only have been in the property for a month or so, and some places I have been looking at include the water and council tax in the rental price so I doubt I could get those . I also assume I am going to need a contract that shows the property is agreed to be let to myself and naming my wife and sons on it. I actually have a property and my wife is on the mortgage with me, but we cannot move into that for the next 2 years.

Relationship
- Photo File
- Line Chats--- Can I simply print these off Line somehow?
- Hotel and flight bookings--- Does this only matter for those who did not live with their wives full time . I lived with my family in Thailand full time for 6 years, and have never had any separate flight from them or needed to book hotels.

 

2.      Does my wife apply in BKK or does she fill the form in online, or does she fill in a form and send it over to me. I really did believe this was still done at VFS as they need to do a bio metric scan, but will they need to see the English test and TB test before they will process the application? I would also imagine they will need the money for the application, and the NHS payment to be made there. My understanding is that I need a reference number for her application that I will need to inform sheffield about as it will tie up the documents to the application. Any info about this part of the process would be greatly appreciated

 

 

3.        Because my sons were born in the UK and have British passports and birth certificates does it complicate the application or will it make the process more viable. There are other things that I do not know whether to mention or not too. My wife had previous right to reside, she worked and paid tax in the UK as will as doing vocational qualifications. She is on the mortgage for our property, and she has a guaranteed job to go to once here. Do you think mentioning these things will just mean more documentation proof that will help, or is it a pointless exercise that will make things more complicated and make the application take longer.

 

 

4. Lastly...I'm sure you are glad. People have been saying it takes months to get documents back from Sheffield, and I am wondering if this is par for the course and that the visas are issued before I will get my documents back. I am hoping that the whole process from start to finish will only take a month...what are the thoughts on processing times?

 

Thank you in advance for any help, suggestions or examples that you give, and I am sorry this is such a long post

Edited January 12, 2018 by nellyp