UKVCAS Appointment, cost/options

[raven0099]

So after using the online form to apply for 30 months of further leave to remain for my wife at a cost of 1552.20 including the NHS surcharge off 500 pound soon to be 1000 pounds folks so beware as it changes on 8th Jan 2019.

 

I now find that we have to pay an additional 60 pounds which is the start price ! to attend an appointment with UKVCAS run by Sopra Steria where the closest centre is 229 miles away and a flight or overnight ferry journey for us !

 

They offer plenty of other services to keep on milking the cow !

 

Interpreter at 60 pounds.

 

Document checking service 35 pounds.

 

Document translation at 75 pounds per page !

 

For the Premium Lounge in London The price for a standard appointment is £200. The price for an out of hours appointment is £260.

 

 

If you need some info don't forget to : Call the Premium Support Line on 0900 165 6600 (Calls cost £2.50 per minute) T&Cs !

[7by7]

Whilst I am among the first to complain about high visa, LTR and service fees, the extra fees you list are just that; fees for voluntary extras. You don't have to pay them.

 

For example, appointment fees. From UK Visa and Citizenship Application Services (UKVCAS

Quote

To complete the applications process customers must book an appointment either at one of six core locations in major cities during office hours on a free to use basis

(7by7 emphasis)

and Appointments

Quote

Appointments

In addition to our free of charge appointments at core service points we have a range of other appointment types.

(7by7 emphasis)

 

I appreciate that the nearest free to use centre may be some way away, enter your postcode here to find the nearest, so you do need to judge which is better for you; travelling there or paying the extra £60 to use a nearer enhanced centre. Remember, though, that £60 also includes evidence scanning and evidence checking, which at a core centre you would have to pay for if required.

 

Why you would want, let alone need, an interpreter and translation service, only you know. When my wife and step daughter applied for their ILR we used the same translations of Thai documents that we used in their previous applications and if your wife's English is so poor she needs an interpreter, then I suggest you go with her to make sure she understands what is happening. 

[raven0099]

33 minutes ago, 7by7 said:

Whilst I am among the first to complain about high visa, LTR and service fees, the extra fees you list are just that; fees for voluntary extras. You don't have to pay them.

 

For example, appointment fees. From UK Visa and Citizenship Application Services (UKVCAS

and Appointments

 

I appreciate that the nearest free to use centre may be some way away, enter your postcode here to find the nearest, so you do need to judge which is better for you; travelling there or paying the extra £60 to use a nearer enhanced centre. Remember, though, that £60 also includes evidence scanning and evidence checking, which at a core centre you would have to pay for if required.

 

Why you would want, let alone need, an interpreter and translation service, only you know. When my wife and step daughter applied for their ILR we used the same translations of Thai documents that we used in their previous applications and if your wife's English is so poor she needs an interpreter, then I suggest you go with her to make sure she understands what is happening. 

I can understand what your saying and yes they are extra services.

 

The post really served to show how the immigration system has a huge pound sign attached to it and the more of those pounds you can spend the easier it is for you.

 

My wife's English is fine only the reading and writing are a bit poor, so nothing to worry about as she already jumped threw the Ielts life skills hoop ????

 

I think though charging 2.50 per minute for a phone call is horrendous and the fact you have to pay for any appointment in the first place is poor after shelling out the best part of 1500 pound soon to be 2000 pound.

 

Though I understand as you say there are free ones.

 

My nearest test centre is 229 miles away or after that 374 miles away for the free core one or the premium 771 miles away, ill have to spend in the region of 300 pounds getting to the nearest one.

[7by7]

16 hours ago, raven0099 said:

My nearest test centre is 229 miles away or after that 374 miles away for the free core one or the premium 771 miles away, ill have to spend in the region of 300 pounds getting to the nearest one.

 Living in remote areas can be difficult for accessing services; not just this one.

 

For example, Lerwick, Shetland is about 370 miles away from the nearest (free) core centre in Glasgow and about 770 miles away from the premium centre in London.

 

With the best will in the world, the unit cost of locating centres, even part time ones, in The Shetlands and similar remote areas would, for the extremely small demand in such areas, be prohibitively expensive. This would mean one of the following:

1. Increased fees for all applicants to cover the cost. Fees are high enough as it is without this extra burden.
2. Covering the cost from general taxation. This would be extremely unpopular; the rise in fees to their present level was a sop to the general electorate who believed they were paying for immigrants. 
3. Charging more to applicants in those areas. Would you be prepared to pay a considerably higher fee for the convenience of a local centre which was little used, if used at all apart from you?

This is not just a problem for those in the UK accessing this service. For example, Thais living in both the UK and the Republic of Ireland have to travel to the Thai embassy in London to renew their passports. Although they can, of course, enter Thailand on an expired Thai passport and renew it there, that is no good if they want to go somewhere else first.

[raven0099]

15 minutes ago, 7by7 said:

 Living in remote areas can be difficult for accessing services; not just this one.

 

For example, Lerwick, Shetland is about 370 miles away from the nearest (free) core centre in Glasgow and about 770 miles away from the premium centre in London.

 

With the best will in the world, the unit cost of locating centres, even part time ones, in The Shetlands and similar remote areas would, for the extremely small demand in such areas, be prohibitively expensive. This would mean one of the following:

1. Increased fees for all applicants to cover the cost. Fees are high enough as it is without this extra burden.
2. Covering the cost from general taxation. This would be extremely unpopular; the rise in fees to their present level was a sop to the general electorate who believed they were paying for immigrants. 
3. Charging more to applicants in those areas. Would you be prepared to pay a considerably higher fee for the convenience of a local centre which was little used, if used at all apart from you?

This is not just a problem for those in the UK accessing this service. For example, Thais living in both the UK and the Republic of Ireland have to travel to the Thai embassy in London to renew their passports. Although they can, of course, enter Thailand on an expired Thai passport and renew it there, that is no good if they want to go somewhere else first.

I would not expect them to have a test centre in every area i just believe there should be other options considered for rural areas. 

 

1. Why not have the biometrics taken at a local police station ? , they already have the expertise in this field and could easily cover any additional requirements like taking a photograph etc , its not rocket science we are talking about.

 

2. English tests and life in the UK tests ? There are colleges with professionals who could quite easily provide a secure place to do these tests , there is also the test centres that carryout theory driving examinations why cant they be used for the life in the UK.

 

Finally having to submit Bio-Metrics at every stage shows very little faith in thier system and confidence in the immigration control at all airports. Are they really that paranoid that they think you have switched the originsl applicant to a new person ? 

 

 

[7by7]

36 minutes ago, raven0099 said:

I would not expect them to have a test centre in every area i just believe there should be other options considered for rural areas. 

 

1. Why not have the biometrics taken at a local police station ? , they already have the expertise in this field and could easily cover any additional requirements like taking a photograph etc , its not rocket science we are talking about.

 

2. English tests and life in the UK tests ? There are colleges with professionals who could quite easily provide a secure place to do these tests , there is also the test centres that carryout theory driving examinations why cant they be used for the life in the UK.

Valid points; interdepartmental rivalries?

 

36 minutes ago, raven0099 said:

Finally having to submit Bio-Metrics at every stage shows very little faith in thier system and confidence in the immigration control at all airports. Are they really that paranoid that they think you have switched the originsl applicant to a new person ? 

Without biometrics, if the photograph on the passport, LTR or other ID document matches the person presenting that document then they match. Even if the person presenting that document obtained it fraudulently. Such identity fraud was commonplace before biometrics, and still exists.

 

The point of biometrics is to attempt to overcome such identity fraud. The reason they are collected at every stage is to ensure as much as possible that it is the same person every time! 

 

Which is why most countries these days take biometrics with every passport and other official ID document renewal; even though the UK doesn't; thanks to the civil liberties brigade.

[rasg]

1 hour ago, raven0099 said:

1. Why not have the biometrics taken at a local police station ? , they already have the expertise in this field and could easily cover any additional requirements like taking a photograph etc , its not rocket science we are talking about. 

 

2. English tests and life in the UK tests ? There are colleges with professionals who could quite easily provide a secure place to do these tests , there is also the test centres that carryout theory driving examinations why cant they be used for the life in the UK.

The biometrics for my wife's FLR were taken at a local Post Office to me so that is already being done.

 

There are LITUK test centres all over the UK. Here is the list:

www.thelifeinuktest.co.uk/british-citizenship/test-centres.php

[raven0099]

1 hour ago, 7by7 said:

Valid points; interdepartmental rivalries?

 

Without biometrics, if the photograph on the passport, LTR or other ID document matches the person presenting that document then they match. Even if the person presenting that document obtained it fraudulently. Such identity fraud was commonplace before biometrics, and still exists.

 

The point of biometrics is to attempt to overcome such identity fraud. The reason they are collected at every stage is to ensure as much as possible that it is the same person every time! 

 

Which is why most countries these days take biometrics with every passport and other official ID document renewal; even though the UK doesn't; thanks to the civil liberties brigade.

Yes i can imagine there have been many cases of fraudulent visas, people trafficking and other immigration related scams so i guess the bio metric data submission is essential to prevent these scams happening but the negative is the genuine people and applicants also pay the price and hassle of this process.

[raven0099]

5 minutes ago, rasg said:

The biometrics for my wife's FLR were taken at a local Post Office to me so that is already being done.

 

There are LITUK test centres all over the UK. Here is the list:

www.thelifeinuktest.co.uk/british-citizenship/test-centres.php

The post offices are no longer doing it , when completeing the application you are given a link that shows you the dedicated centres for data submission. The post office hear never did it in the first place. 

 

Life in the UK centres are all over the UK,  but at the moment i believe there is only one in Scotland with possibly another to open , our nearerst one is 370 miles away at the moment and a huge cost to get there. I know of one local applicant that did the test 8 times before she past , 8 trips of 370 miles at a considerable financial cost. 

[Guest jonzboy]

Yes, biometrics are/were recorded at certain post offices (I believe it is still done this way for certain purposes).  But the whole point of the UKVCAS initiative is to eliminate paper applications as well as the submission of paper documents to support an application (the added bonus for an applicant is that passports never leave your possession).  This requires the scanning of all documentation at dedicated sites (UKVCAS).  You can do this yourself of course, but some verification of original documents is still required so all originals have to be available at the time of your appointment.  The taking of biometric data is done simultaneously.