Join Mailing List. Related Links. Some of our Happy Client. Reiss Edwards Awards. ACQ5 Awards Award. Lexis Nexis. Three Best Rated. Department For International Development. University Of Cambridge. Lexology Legal Influencers. View all Awards. L Andy Tieu is absolutely amazing. Andy and the entire team at Reiss Edwards are amazing! Thanks again Andy. Kiran Sardar I found Joe very helpful and tremendous patience which is a must in this professional as there are lots of emotions always involved in each and every case.
Thanks to Anna and Joe for all your support and guidance which helped me fulfill my dream. I would say Reiss Edwards is lucky to have Joe D. Join Mailing List. Related Links. Some of our Happy Client.
Reiss Edwards Awards. ACQ5 Awards Award. Lexis Nexis. Three Best Rated. Department For International Development. University Of Cambridge. Lexology Legal Influencers.
View all Awards. L Andy Tieu is absolutely amazing. Andy and the entire team at Reiss Edwards are amazing! Thanks again Andy. Kiran Sardar I found Joe very helpful and tremendous patience which is a must in this professional as there are lots of emotions always involved in each and every case. Thanks to Anna and Joe for all your support and guidance which helped me fulfill my dream. I would say Reiss Edwards is lucky to have Joe D. This is not an exhaustive list and there may be other reasons which the Home Office will take into account.
Related articles. Guide to UK partner visas. Will a digital only immigration status for EU nationals be discriminatory? By Shahjahan Ali. I handed my passport over along with the email and the person at the VAC asked "what date would you like?
I said 1st March - I asked if there was any specific time period, but they said no, just provide a date. I'm currently on a 6 month contract here in Syd and I brought my contract with me and asked if I can send a copy of it as proof that I can't have my dates before 1st March.
All they took was my passport the email and just wrote on the email my requested start date and my contact details. Passport was in there with a new visa - it's on a new page in the passport, not stuck on the original visa. A new visa letter was also in the envelop with same info as original one, but with updated dates and some info on Covid.
I've attached a photo - I've also attached a pic of the back of the email where the VAS person wrote my date down I then wrote my email and phone number underneath it.
It was a simple process. Just a quick email to let you know I got my passport and visa back with the dates I requested October Took them exactly 6 weeks. Now this one is an interesting one because Sophie e-mailed to let me know "Just letting you know, I tried to move the date to May but got an email saying that the new date can only be moved 6 months ahead from the submission date. Might be helpful for others to know. I attached the email I got.
Then she has now sent the below Just letting you know I got my passport back last week and weirdly the date I originally wanted May 1 was approved. Meaning that 6 month email from VFS which made me give them a date in January was pointless. My tier 5 visa now starts May 1 to May 1 original visa started March 31 So this is not an update but a rant. I may not be in your shoes and experiencing the utter incompetence of the replacement vignette process first hand, but having shared in so many of your experiences, I am just equally flabbergasted at the utter shambles that this replacement process is in I feel process may be too generous a term!
According to the latest e-mail I've received we have sunk even lower in this debacle as it appears that the VFS in Australia can add losing passports to it's shameful record of its handling of vignette replacements My chin is on the floor. Now I am waiting to establish whether the issue was at VFS or at the Post Office so let's see which one gets ruled out, but I have my guesses where the blame lies! Or can you shed any light on whether an organisation losing a passport is considered a criminal offence?
I think this needs to be exposed. Missing Passport s! We regret to advise that despite enquiries made via Australia Post - Returned Mail Redistribution Centre, our efforts to locate your missing Passport has been unsuccessful. All the possible revenue for our investigation has been exhausted and there for Australia Post deemed your consignment lost in transit.
Appreciate your understanding and patience with regards to this incident, we truly understand the frustration and the inconvenience might have caused. Nevertheless, VFS Global want to extend our services by giving you a full refund of the new Passport fee you will apply. Please find attached Refund Form that you need to fill-in and we shall be issuing a refund as soon as we have completed the necessary paper works for your account.
Once again thank you for your understanding and patience, if you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact me by phone or email.
The main questions I am now receiving is how long does the replacement vignette take and how will I receive my passport back after sending it off. I have been suggesting to people to include a paid return envelope and that seems to be working. But if you have a different experience, then let me know so I can update the article.
In terms of the turnaround times, I will start a list of countries so you can see what is happening in each, based on the feedback I am receiving, so don't forget to share your experience so I can keep this as accurate as possible. Thought you might find this helpful! With it, I also received a letter saying that my 2 years started on August 9 instead of the original April 1! I originally had read that I would not get those missed months back, but I guess the government changed that at least recently!
We were not offered when to start the vignette, my sons vignette has already started on 7th August so pretty messed up on the replacement process. We received the CIH email only on the 31st of July. Its been 45 days after submitting the passports but not got them back yet. It is really frustrating. I suggest everyone to wait for the CIH email and then apply for the replacement vignettes. CIH Responses or lack off - Okay so just to make this clear to everyone. If you had your Biometrics taken at a VFS centre and you are still waiting for a response from CIH then my advice is "do not wait anymore!
See the section below with the update to now send your passport back in the post. I can confirm this is working for people and taking 2 to 3 weeks.
Or e-mail me if you are unclear about what to do. Vignette Replacement Dates - well I am disappointed and incredibly baffled by the decision from some centres not to allow people to select new start dates for their replacement vignettes. Especially given the fact that you are still able to cancel your application and get the majority of your fees refunded IHS. So my advice, which it has always been, is if you don't get the dates you are comfortable with then cancel. So would it not have been more cost effective to have allowed people to pick realistic dates than force everyone to cancel and re-apply?
In saying this Sophie has just sent me a copy of the e-mail she received this week that says she can choose a date within 6 months - see photo below. Which is maddening because clearly the process is inconsistent around the world. But if you are not offered a date perhaps show them the screenshot below??!!! Seriously, what are they doing at these places. Have you been given the date you requested? Did you choose a date in and had this accepted - please let me know , I'd love to hear from you!
So I am going to start sharing what I am hearing happen on a city to city or country wide if relevant, basis. It will take time to gather the information so please help if you have anything to add here. And thanks to those of you writing with their stories. It's very helpful to have this to share with everyone. If there is one message coming through it is just to head along to the VFS centre with your passport and try your luck!! Perth - [from Clem] I am in Perth and have now been to the VAC here and dropped off my passport I included a covering letter explaining the circumstances.
The downside is it will probably take a few weeks to get my passport back. The passports then go to Sydney for the vignettes. The vignettes are printed in Manila and then posted to Sydney. After the vignette is put in, the passport is posted to a home address. Current postage delays means this takes a long time. I am expecting a week turnaround. The wait and the uncertainty has been the worst part. I travelled to Sydney and attended the VAC there and provided them with the situation. They were happy to process my application as I was unable to attend the Melbourne location.
So for anyone else in my situation it is possible to attend in Sydney as an alternative location and put in your passport. I had to provide my intended travel dates at the VAC and they advised it can take anywhere between 5 working days and 3 weeks to have your passport returned.
I had to wait a bit as I couldn't book an appointment and then talked to the woman working there. After explaining my situation I mentioned I wanted to move my entry date to April next year 1 year from my original date.
So I wrote down 25 April on a bit of paper, she attached it to the email along with my passport, packed it up and sent it off to be processed. She wasn't sure how long it would take, but there would most likely be delays due to the current climate. I had to pay for courier shipping back to my house as their office is shut for at least 6 weeks due to the new lockdown. So could be some time before I know what the outcome is! Once again, still fairly in the dark. I said if that were the case, I would rather just cancel the visa entirely and apply again later, to which she advised me that I would not be refunded the application fee but I would get the IHS fee back, as expected.
After getting some initial resistance from the border officer seemed to be a difficult officer the manager took over and confirmed my visa and length of stay. Toronto - no appointments currently available to visit the VFS in Toronto - keep checking but they have essentially run out of appointments!
I went to the website and also had trouble booking an appointment. We brought our passports with us along with a letter, that we typed up, that had all our information on it.
Luckily we brought our passports with us because they are now sending our passports to the UK again to get a brand new vignette. They said we should have our passports back from the UK within weeks and it will be couriered back to the address that we provided them. Toronto [from Rachel] - On a whim, I went to the Toronto visa office today and here was my experience:.
Expected time? No clue. I found this strange because I've been reading that people were able to request a date. I suggested that I write the new date on a piece of paper for them to mail along with my passport but they refused saying that it is not possible to choose a date whatsoever not part of their procedure. They are offering vignettes for a date that's "as soon as possible".
All cities - [from Debbie] at present no-one in South Africa has heard back after handing over their passports more than 3 weeks ago to the TLS centres across SA. There has been no updates and no sign of any progress with regards to issuing the replacement vignettes. She emailed me to say that my vignette had been printed in Shefield and was on route to South Africa. I am so relieved!! I have a flight for Saturday with KLM. Thanks again for your encouragement and advice.
It is much appreciated. If you applied for a day visa to work, study or join family in the UK from 24 January and it has expired, or will expire before your travel date, you can return your passport to the Visa Application Centre to ask for a replacement day visa. Your request for a replacement visa will be prioritised by UK Visas and Immigration, who will re-issue your visa with new dates.
This process is only for customers who were issued a day visa to work, study or join family in the UK since 24 January It does not apply to other types of visas. Please note; customers must have an appointment to visit the Visa Application Centre, and we advise customers to confirm their chosen centre remains open on the day of their appointment. TIP - the number of appointments available at the VFS centres are disappearing fast and for many places there are now no appointments.
We would advise you follow the process for posting your passport back. Making sure you use a trackable service! If you have still not heard back from CIH then forget about this and just follow the steps below for your country and post your passport back. Don't waste any more time waiting for a response!
If your country is not listed or you have a question then you are welcome to e-mail me. If your original appointment was at Brisbane, Canberra, Perth, Sydney or Melbourne, you can book an appointment at the Visa Application Centre you originally visited, by logging back into your account here. Alternatively, you may courier your passport to our Sydney Visa Application Centre to request a replacement. Please ensure the Visa Application Centre address is accurate to ensure your passport reaches us.
You may courier your passport back to the Visa Application Centre you originally visited to request a replacement. You can book an appointment at the Visa Application Centre you originally visited, by logging back into your account here. If your original appointment was at a location that has not yet re-opened, please contact us using the link at the bottom of this page. New Zealand :. If your original appointment was at our Premium Application Centre in Auckland, then you can book an appointment there, by logging back into your account here.
The TLS have proved themselves to be one of the worst handlers of the replacement vignette process. Despite there being plenty of evidence to help them understand the process they have failed miserably in their efforts. Passports have been sent but not returned and this has been going on weeks! Whilst no-one seems to ever answer the phone numbers provided, some are having success with the following details.
Visa enquiries from within South Africa - Monday to Friday, 24 hours. Telephone: 00 44 Replacement Vignette - Postal turnaround time - Just wanted to let you know that I'm hearing back from some NZ based visa applicants who sent their passport off to Sydney for the replacement vignette. They sent their passports off via a trackable service, including the envelope for the return of their passport too. He said he also included a piece of paper with a date change request.
He chose December 20th this year. It took 14 days from sending to receiving the passport back. Melbourne based applicants - as the VFS centre is closed due to the lockdown I have been advising those of you based in Melbourne to follow the same process as NZ based applicants and send your passport to the Sydney office.
As per the details in an earlier update. I do not, I think it is just them trying to get these replacement vignettes out the way in the shortest amount of time. But I'd still do your best to make sure you do take action quickly! No VFS Appointments showing - as so many people are choosing to visit the VFS centre in person rather than post their passport, the appointment schedule for new visa applications are saying there are no appointments.
I have 5 visas on the go this week and I have managed to get appointments for 3 of them by logging in every couple of hours After the bulk of replacement vignettes have been issued the appointment schedule should be back to normal. This has been published on the Canadian VFS website.
But I believe similar messages are going out to other countries so it is worth you checking your individual VFS or TLS centre websites too. I would send your passport to another one. Just make sure you send it via a tracked courier service and that you include a return envelope addressed to you and trackable.
Also include a covering letter with all the details being asked as well as the date you would like to move your start date to. So I've been asked many times about whether I think it is a good idea to just come over here and enter on an expired vignette. I've been saying to everyone that I'd be very surprised if you had any issues. We've now had a couple of people enter and I'd like to share Jesse's experience - who has given me permission to share this.
My Visa was approved, although I was entering 4 months past my entry clearance dates. After getting nowhere emailing immigration helplines, I decided to bite the bullet and make the trip after gaining an exemption to leave my country.
0コメント