Hi! Welcome to my first ever blog post.
Brief Intro about me :
I am from Indonesia ( My Nationality ) and also a graduate from Hong Kong University of Science and Technology.
*Apologize if you don’t understand my English*
My job requires me to go to Belfast, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom for training, and so here I am sharing my experience in making UK Visa in Hong Kong. UK Visa Application is 90% online.
You just need to visit the Application Center after you finished your application and made an appointment for your biometrics Collection..
Check the websites below for simpler steps!! VFS Global is a verified third party website to apply visa.
https://www.vfsglobal.co.uk/en
https://www.vfsglobal.co.uk/hk/en/how-to-apply#after_submission
STEPS TO MAKE UK TRAINING VISA IN HONG KONG
- Check if you passport need a visa to enter UK. You can click https://www.gov.uk/check-uk-visa .
Go through all the steps and see if you need one.
In the next page you can see different types of visa available. Please make sure you are applying for the right visa!!
** For training ** Since the reasons for me to visit UK is for 1 month period training, it classified as general tourism visa. - There are TWO types of Business Visits Visa:
– Standard Visitor:
You do not receive any payment during your visit.
It still classifies under standard visitor even if during your training, you still receive your normal salary from the country you work in(NOT UK).
–Permitted Paid Engagement
You receive payment for your work from the company in UK. - After you understand everything, click apply and fill in all the necessary informations. Pay the fee and then you will receive an email to book biometrics appointment.
Click the link and fill in your login credentials. Your GWF number is on your checklist document which can be found in the attachments of the same email. - The screen will show you date but no time slots, keep clicking the right arrow until you see a time slot. For me, I need to click through 10 days to finally see the slot. There will be 2 colors of the time slots :
ORANGE means you need to pay (usually afternoon time : e.g 17:45) – around HKD 200
GREEN means it is free! usually in the early morning such as me 9:45 AM.
*If you do not see any green colored time slot, keep clicking right!
Within the timeframe of you booking an appointment and the day of the appointment you can always upload any documents that you wish to add!
Look for email with the subject : Account Activation
from : crmadmin@vfsglobal.com
It is more convenient to upload them! Alternative way is to bring all the scanned A4 documents during your appointment and pay extra HKD220. Give it to the staff and they will help scan it and upload it for you.
Can you change any of the information or Biometrics Appointment Location?
Unfortunately, the answer is no. If you have paid for your visa and receive and email about your appointment confirmation, there is no way to change it.
However, you can always request for a refund of any of the services including the visa application fee ( before the day of appointment) and re-start your application from the beginning.
The Biometrics Appointment
*REMEMBER TO PRINT YOUR RECEIPT(sent to your email after you made the appointment) and BRING THEM WITH YOU ON YOUR VISITS! + your document checklist!
The address of the visa application center is :
Units B&E Floor6, Lee &Man Commercial Center 169 Electric Road
North Point
Hong Kong
*IMPORTANT* Even though it says North Point, the closest MTR would be Fortress Hill MTR! You can use EXIT A and then it will take around 7 minutes to arrive.
Once you arrive at the building, go to the left side of the lift and press 6. The center entrance will be on you right!
After entering the center, you will see a booth on your right, take out the receipt and the document checklist and show it to the receptionist. She will then see if you need any extra documents or etc.
For me since I have uploaded all necessary documents on the website, she checked my documents and directly put me in the counter to submit them.
Surprisingly it was really fast. Maybe because my appointment is at 9:45 AM? Please make sure you arrive 15 minutes before your appointment time.
He gave me the receipt to take my passport/visa in the future ( KEEP SOMEWHERE SAFE!!) and then ask me to sit down and wait.
The next step would be to wait until your number is called for biometrics collection! The staff will take take your picture, fingerprints and take the travel document.
For you reference : I arrived at roughly 9:25 and I finished at 9:45. It was really quick!
HOW MUCH DOES IT COST?
For me : Standard Visitor Visa –Under 6 months– = HKD 970
Unfortunately, I do not know any cost of other visa types.
VFS Global also provides additional services which you can check here : https://www.vfsglobal.co.uk/hk/en/premium-services#premium_packages
HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE?
The website says that it takes around 3 weeks to process your visa.
Even though, my friend got his in 12 working days.
Please note that tracking your visa application is not available for UK Visa. You can subscribe to paid sms services but I do not know how that works.
During Summer in Hong Kong, it is the peak season, so you might need to wait a little longer than 15 days. That is what the counter guy told me after my visit to the center.
After Biometrics Appointment
You just need to wait for an email or sms to be sent to you saying that your visa is ready for collection.
You can only collect them 1 day after you receive the email and only during 8-9 AM !!!
The staff told me that due to peak season, collection counter will only open for one hour from 8AM – 9AM. If you are late, you need to come back the next day!!
Let me know if you have any questions! I will answer it according to my knowledge or based on my experiences.
Thank you for reading my blog!! Wish you luck on your visa application.
Again, sorry for my inadequate English. 😡
Travel Diary of the Asian Siblings 