Where to give evidence?

[Duffill01]

Hi guys/girls

Me and my wife are in the final stages of submitting our application for her to settle in the UK. She's Thai, pregnant, and been sick with travelling to Bangkok for the health and language tests. 
My question is, does it matter or change anything where we submit our evidence? I've seen that this could be done in Bangkok or the UK (I think Bradford is the closest place to us) and all that matters is that it is the original documents that's included.
I wondered if anyone had any experience or advice with this. As the baby is due in January we are looking to fast track and get her here asap.

Thank you

Luke and Bim.

[rasg]

She will have to go to Bangkok to submit biometrics etc. I think you might also be able to do it it Chiang Mai too. No doubt somebody else will confirm that. Documents can be scanned yourself and uploaded but from what I have read on here the system is not great yet. (It's very new.) The alternative is to have VFS scan them for you. You take the originals home with you. Your wife has to do everything in Thailand. If you are in that much of a hurry you can pay for the express service for and extra £680, if I remember the figure correctly.

[Tony M]

3 hours ago, rasg said:

She will have to go to Bangkok to submit biometrics etc. I think you might also be able to do it it Chiang Mai too. No doubt somebody else will confirm that. Documents can be scanned yourself and uploaded but from what I have read on here the system is not great yet. (It's very new.) The alternative is to have VFS scan them for you. You take the originals home with you. Your wife has to do everything in Thailand. If you are in that much of a hurry you can pay for the express service for and extra £680, if I remember the figure correctly.

Not entirely correct.  The OP's wife doesn't have to do everything in Thailand. There are now other options. See this from VFS:

 

If you are applying for a settlement visa, there are four options available for you to submit your supporting documents:

1. For a fee you can, at any stage in the submission process, choose the Document Scanning Assistance Service at the Visa Application Centre;
2. You can self-upload supporting documents without an additional charge. If you wish to self-upload your supporting documents, you should refer to the document checklist you have received as part of your online application;
3. Your sponsor, agent or representative can submit the supporting documents on your behalf in the UK in person for a fee of £75.00 per application payable in cash or with a debit card. Please ensure to provide the documents as per the Checklist. Please note, any A4 size copies not in colour format will attract an additional user pay copy service if they have not been provided.
   
4. Locations to submit documents in Person under Option 3:
   • London: 66 Wilson Street, London, EC2A 2BT
   • Birmingham: 5 - 14 South Road, Smethwick, Birmingham, B67 7BN
   • Belfast: Merrion Business Centre, First Floor 58, Howard Street, Belfast, BT1 6PJ
   • Leicester: C/O Peepul's Centre, Orchardson Avenue, Leicester, LE4 6DP
   • Cardiff: Temple Court – 13A Cathedral Road, Cardiff CF11 9H
   • Manchester: 50 Devonshire Street North, Manchester, M12 6JH
   • Edinburgh: 1 Rennie's Isle, Leith, Edinburgh, EH6 6QT
   • Liverpool: SUITE NO 207, Second Floor, Graeme House, Derby Square, Liverpool, L2 7ZH
   • Bradford: Skipton Chamber 16-18 North Parade, Bradford, BD13HT
5. From 15 June 2019, for a fee, documents can be sent by you, your sponsor, agent or representative by mail to the SCANNING HUB in the UK at the address set out below, along with the Payment confirmation, Checklist and Declaration. Please read below for more details of the process, under: Settlement Visa - Sending Supporting Documents by Post 
   
   Location to post documents under Option 4: 
   
   Scanning Hub UK, VF Services (UK) Ltd, 5 -14 South Road, Smethwick, Birmingham, B67 7BN

Your sponsor must provide a colour photocopy of your passport, in addition to, your document checklist if you have applied via Gov.uk, alternatively, the first page of your visa application form if you have applied via Visa4uk. Your sponsor, agent or representative should provide in full all the supporting documents you wish to accompany your application; these will be scanned and returned to your sponsor/agent at the time of their visit. If the paid postal submission option is chosen, these documents will be returned to the provided address.

Customers must be aware that neither the Document Scanning Assistance Service available at the Visa Application Centre, nor the postal scanning service are document checking services. These must be purchased separately if needed.

Settlement Visa – Sending Supporting Documents by Post

Sponsors, agents or representatives can submit documents on your behalf for scanning, along with the payment confirmation. Details of the process can be found below:

Step-by-step guide to sending documents for scanning by Post.

Step One.

Arrange all documents in accordance with the following instructions:

1. The first page of the visa application form showing the GWF number must be included with the documents to be sent. This is a mandatory document.
2. All pages should be in A4 Size Only.
3. Do NOT post original documents, only visible coloured photocopies of the originals must to be posted. There will be additional charge for coloured photocopies if not provided.
4. Please do not staple the documents – Only the use of paper clips is permitted.
5. Documents should be organised into two categories. Each category should have a corresponding TITLE SHEET at the front of the category of documents as follows: Category 1 - Customer’s Documents; Category 2 - Sponsor’s Documents. Within each section you may separate each relevant document using paper clips.

The following is an example of the required documents under each heading:

• TITLE SHEET stating “Category 1- Customer’s Documents (all documents related to the person applying for a UK visa)”
• The first page of the applicant’s Visa Application Form
• Annexure II
• Employment
• Financial
• Accommodation
• Educational
• Tuberculosis
• Additional Documents (passport copy/ remaining pages of the application form/any other documents)
• TITLE SHEET stating “Category 2- Sponsor’s Documents”
• Sponsor’s details (passport/Government issued identification/bank accounts/employment letters/payslips/accommodation/sponsor’s declaration/support letter etc.)
• Relationship Proof (marriage certificates/birth certificates/proof of contact/travel history, proof of communications or contact)

Note: - Any documents which are smaller or larger than A4 size should be photocopied onto A4 sized paper, ensuring that the document is clearly visible. Torn, crumpled or heavily creased documents cannot be scanned and therefore should be photocopied onto A4 sized paper before they are submitted. Documents should not be stapled or laminated.

*The list of documents required by UK Visas and Immigration is not exhaustive, and therefore the required documents may differ from case to case, the above headings are a guide only, and may not be applicable to all applications.

Step Two.

Please make payment via bank transfer using the bank account details set out in the table below.Payment should be made to VF Services (UK) Ltd. For each application made, the charges are as follows:

Scanning of documents by postal mail: £100.00

Secured Return Delivery of Documents: £25.00 (Optional)

If you prefer for your documents to be returned to you, kindly include the payment of £25.00 for secured return delivery bringing the total payment for each applicant to£125.00. In the absence of this secured delivery payment, documents will be discarded after scanning.

Important Note for Payment: Please indicate the Application ID Number (GWF) & Applicant Name of the customer in the reference of your payment to allow us to identify your payment. Please also send a printout of the payment confirmation with your documents. If there are multiple applications, separate payment must be made in respect of each application; with the Application ID (GWF number) & Applicant Name as reference on each relevant payment. DO NOT COMBINE PAYMENTS FOR MULTIPLE APPLICATIONS IN ONE BANK TRANSFER.

IBAN	Bank	Sort Code	Account Number
GB66HBUK40024432504480	HSBC	40-02-44	32504480

 

Step Three.

Send the documents along with a printout of payment confirmation and the completed Checklist and Declaration to:

Scanning Hub
VF Services (UK) Ltd
5 -14 South Road,
Smethwick,
Birmingham,
B67 7BN
UNITED KINGDOM

Neither VFS Global nor UK Visas and Immigration shall be liable in any way for any direct or indirect loss, costs or expenses arising from delay to a visa application processing or a rejection of a visa application because of a failure by the customer to comply with these self-upload terms of use.

[rasg]

10 hours ago, Tony M said:

Not entirely correct.  The OP's wife doesn't have to do everything in Thailand. There are now other options. See this from VFS:

Thanks for posting this. A lot of this is very new from when I last looked just a few weeks ago. It still doesn’t alter the main point that the applicant has to attend VFS in Thailand to submit biometrics etc. Having submitted my wife's 2nd FLR at the end of April using the new document self upload system, I wouldn’t want to do it any other way. The upload system in Thailand is not very good yet from what I have read about others experience though.

[Duffill01]

Thank you so much for your reply.

We have applied via the visa4uk website and have read the options available. 

Could I ask what happens about the health and language certificates? My wife currently has these certificates in Thailand and I fear that we won't have the originals in time. Do I need the original certificates if I submit them in the UK or can she send them there without the other evidence? 

Thank you again

[Tony M]

17 hours ago, Duffill01 said:

Thank you so much for your reply.

We have applied via the visa4uk website and have read the options available. 

Could I ask what happens about the health and language certificates? My wife currently has these certificates in Thailand and I fear that we won't have the originals in time. Do I need the original certificates if I submit them in the UK or can she send them there without the other evidence? 

Thank you again

 

Clear copies (scans are best) will be accepted.