Visa Issues

Hi all,

its been a while since I had the last post, but i've been extremely busy and didn't have internet at home. Therefore, I'll try to give you a retrospective of the previous happenings.

After succesfully settling accomodation I had to break the dreaded Visa wall. For all those unfortunate to be born in a country that UK does not have free entry, you are about to face a great challenge.

Namely, unlike other countries the UK has outsourced a company to gather the Visa applications. I liked this approach, and in the beginning it was OK. I filed applications on the Internet and scheduled an appointment in Dusseldorf. At the Worldbridge site in Dusseldorf all the proceedings went excellent - they were very kind and professional, and all the procedure was done in a matter of minutes with minimum waiting. Unlike the queues outside embassies I got used to...

However, the idila stops right here. It was August 3rd and I was told that its a peak visa season because of the students. I filed the visa requests for the 15th of September, regarding 6 weeks as more than sufficient time for processing. Besides, there is a rule that you can not apply for visa more than 3 months before your entry.

So, I waited patiently for 3 weeks and since there was no reply I tried to find out how far is the procedure. I checked the Worldbridge web site and there is a nice functionality there called "Check VISA Status". It stubbornly replied with "Application submitted at Visa center". At the site there is a query form with which you can (supposedly) contact Worldbridge. It doesn't expose the email address however. Also, I notice that there is a bug at their system with which I can only report technical problems and not directly query the Visa status. So I write them a kind email exposing their bug, explaining my situation and requesting information. I press send - I get a message "Email sent succesfully" and that's it. A week passes-no response. I write another email. Another couple of days passes - still no response.

Then I realize that they have a pay line that you can use to inquire about the visas. As a matter of fact, I already used it once before applying - they didn't tell me anything there wasn't already at the web site and got 14$ for it. Ah well, lets try that again.

I call them, enter my credit card number and the system says - transaction denied. Now, I'm sure I have money on my account and try that again. This time it went through. So I tell them about my situation and they say it is notified and they will let me know. Another week pass - nothing. I start looking for direct contact at the UK consulate but realise that they have shut down any visa related access to the people that actualy process and grant the visa (the consulate visa department) and force contact through Worldbridge. And I'm not going anywhere with that.
I call Worldbridge again, pay 14$ again, and they say, oh, you called last week eh? Now we will escalate the issue. And still nothing.

At this point I start to raise the alarm. My studies begin 29th of September and it would be extremely stupid to miss classes because of visa problems. I write my sponsors, I write my school and ask for all the help I can get. At the end my school succeeds to get to the consulate through the UK foreign office and 1 week before my last deadline I get contacted from a person of the consulate saying that I have to provide them a new bank statement and a certificate that the school is registered under the UK registry of education and training providers. Apparently they could not find Said Business School there. Well they were so shortsided to miss the next line saying "University of Oxford" which is the most distinguished UK education institution!

After all these trouble, I finaly get the visa 3 days before leaving, with lots of nerves lost somewhere in Germany. When I think of it now, it somehow makes me think of Franz Kafka...