I reach the end of my ancestry visa in early April of next year, so the time has come once again to start thinking about making sure I can stay in the UK, the country I now consider home. Truthfully, I've been thinking about this since roughly January of this year: I wanted to know the costs involved so that I could start saving.
My plan is to apply for Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR), which means I won't have to apply for another UK visa again and can apply for citizenship in another year, if I wanted. In a lot of ways it is much simpler than the other visas I've applied for. I won't have to go back to Canada to apply, for example, and I just re-use a lot of the documents I gathered for my ancestry visa. The only new document required (apart from updated proof of employment and financial independence and security) is proof that you have passed the official Life in the UK test. The Life in the UK test is also really simple, both in terms of the booking process and the test itself. You will have 45 minutes to answer 24 questions about life in the UK. They are all either multiple choice or true/false questions and I completed it on a computer at the testing centre. The questions are all drawn from the Official Life in the UK Handbook, so don't worry - there won't be any totally random questions. Unless you don't bother reading the handbook at all. Otherwise they will absolutely seem totally random. The topics include history, politics, law, art, sport, geography...much of it is easy stuff but it is a lot to remember. You need to get a score of 18/24 in order to pass the test. You can also do it at any point before your ILR application; there's no expiry or time limit on it. And you can re-use the same pass for citizenship application in the future. If you don't pass the test, it's no big deal either. You just have to book another one. You can take it as many times as you need to pass. You can book your test through the government website, all you need to do is create an account and choose your closest testing centre (apparently there are over 30 across the UK, so in theory you shouldn't have to travel too far). It costs £50 to book and you will need a government-issued photo ID (a driver's license doesn't count. It'll need to be either your passport or your biometric residence permit, basically). Make sure that when you create your account, you use your details EXACTLY as they appear on your ID. They won't let you take the test if they don't match perfectly. Make sure to take that particular ID with you on the day. They won't accept a different one either, even if the name matches. As soon as lockdown lifted, I booked my test for early August; I figured that I would have plenty of time over the summer holidays to study and I didn't want to risk there being another lockdown in the winter months and being unable to do it ahead of my ILR application in February. In terms of studying, you have a couple options. You can buy the handbook from the government website for £12.99, but you can also get loads of second-hand copies online. Just make sure that you check the most recent edition before you buy, as you might risk a question coming up that wasn't covered in an old edition. For example, the most recent edition had to address the fact that the UK is no longer in the EU. You can also get a digital subscription instead, which is what I went for. It is the same price as the handbook, but it gives you access to practise questions and loads of mock tests without having to pay extra for the testing booklet. I paid for a 6-month subscription (the minimum) in late June and only started using it properly in mid-July, but if you're worried or have a hard time retaining information you can also buy a year-long subscription for an additional £4. On the day of my test, I blithely headed to the testing centre, feeling confiding and aiming to arrive about 30 minutes before my scheduled test time. This was going to be a no-brainer. Well. Funny story. When I booked the test way back in June, I read the address of the testing centre, had a quick look on Google maps and thought, 'Yeah, I know exactly where that is.' Then didn't bother to look at it again. It was only about a 15-minute walk from my flat. Easy days. That morning, Sean and I set off, walking a bit more slowly than usual because of the 35 degree heat, but timing it perfectly to arrive exactly 30 minutes before my scheduled test time, as the email stipulated. It wasn't until I got to the building I thought it was supposed to be, which really didn't look right, that I thought I better check the address again. I'm not great with maps. Turns out the testing centre was actually only about 5 minutes away from my flat. In the opposite direction that we'd just walked. I was now twenty minutes away and absolutely not poised to arrive exactly on time. Sean and I speed-walked in that sweltering heat, me panicking the entire way and Sean reassuring me that they couldn't not let me in, especially since my test wasn't technically starting for another 35 minutes. I made it to the actual testing centre with 25 minutes to spare, though very sweaty and frizzy and frazzled. They did let me in, and I even had time to splash some cool water on my face and mop the sweat off in the bathroom before they did the security checks. Lesson learned. Always, always, double- and triple-check the address. Because of COVID I had to wear a face-mask the entire time, and sanitise my hands after touching just about anything. They were really socially distancing everything as well. All my personal belongings (save my ID) went into a security locker, and they used a wand to make sure I wasn't sneaking in any audio devices or technology into the testing room. They had me turn out my pockets to check for notes or the like and they even checked my ears and hair for earbuds or cables. After that I was ushered into a silent computer room and shown to a screen already set up with the test. There were a few practise questions to start, all labelled as such, and then the 24 test questions (none of which were the same questions as come up on the mock tests in the e-learning programme. Sorry to disappoint - I know I was). A few of them tripped me up a bit. I was relatively confident, but not totally sure, and there were at least three that I just took an educated guess. I checked all my answers, agonised over the guesses a bit longer, went through it again to tally up the ones I was completely confident on and, happy that I should have scraped a pass, signed off and left the room to collect my things. It took me about 15 minutes. Less time than it had taken to get to the testing centre in the first place! Though not less time than is should have taken me to get there.... As I left, the staff told me I should have the results emailed to me in about 10 minutes and, as promised, 10 minutes later, I had an email with a link to the government's test booking site, with a little 'Pass' notification. Wahoo! Step one of ILR complete.
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Because I’m a bright cookie, in the redesign of the website I managed to delete my original Ancestry visa application post, so I am writing a new one. Consider this an updated version (as costs involved have changed, even if the process has not) with an added benefit of hindsight.
The ancestry visa is a 5-year visa, compared to the youth mobility, which only covers you for two years. I could have applied for this one back in 2014 when I was first moving to England, but it is a more expensive visa and more years also means a higher health surcharge. When I was still insisting that I would only be going to England for a year or two at most, it seemed a waste of money to get a 5-year visa. Looking back, I now regret taking the youth mobility route first. You see, in order to apply for indefinite leave to remain (step 1 towards citizenship), you have to spend 5 years in England on the same visa scheme. I’ve been in England nearly 5 years and have decided to apply for indefinite leave to remain. However I’m not eligible to do so until April of 2020. So if you think there’s at all a chance you might want to stay in England indefinitely, save yourself the wait and go straight to the ancestry visa (assuming you have the option). Right then, on to the guide: For this visa I technically applied from Canada (because that’s where everything gets submitted and where I had to go for my biometrics appointment) but I completed most of the process in England very easily. Disclaimer: I am not a lawyer, immigration consultant, immigration officer, or anything remotely resembling those. What I'm saying here is all gleaned from personal experience. I hope it helps you, but this information is only accurate as far as I know it and only at the time of writing this post. So. Grain of salt, everyone. To apply for an Ancestry visa, you need to meet these two main eligibility criteria (check out the government of UK website for more specific information).
My grandmother was born in Scotland, so that’s the angle I’m applying from. It meant I needed a marriage certificate as well, to prove my dad was actually related to my grandmother (different surnames and all). Step 1: gather your documents
The gathering process here is a little more complicated than the youth mobility, though hopefully no one else has to deal with too many different countries to get their documents. You will need the following documents:
All the documents you submit need to be originals, which they do return with your passport. In my case this was a little complicated for documents 3 and 4. All my grandmother’s documents were in South Africa, and in a very fragile state because of their age. My uncle was initially reluctant to send the originals in case they got damaged in transit. Fortunately for me, getting a new copy of her birth certificate was a simple matter of ringing the National Records of Scotland and requesting a copy get posted to me. If I remember correctly, it took me about 10 minutes on the phone and cost £7. The certificate was through my letterbox within a week. My Gran’s marriage certificate was a different kettle of fish: that was a South African document. I don’t know how much any of you know about the South African Home Office, but getting government documents out of them can be an impossible undertaking, regardless of how many officials you bribe along the way. My uncle agreed to send the original, first laminating it between two sheets of lager paper to protect it. When it arrived I just cut the plastic and the marriage certificate slid out. They weren’t kidding about it being fragile, so the laminating was a good shout. Step 2: submit your online application
Just like with the youth mobility visa, the actual application form is filled out and submitted online. Visit the visa application website and create an account to start the process. Make sure you have the personal details of your parents and grandparents to hand while you’re filling out the form, and that you also have your travel history handy. They ask for a record of every time you came and went from the UK, where you were going, and why.
As long as it’s within three months of the requested start date of your visa, you can complete and submit the application at any time. I did mine at the end of February and scheduled my biometrics appointment for the latter half of March. The current fee for the Ancestry visa is £516, with a health surcharge of £400 per year of the visa (£2000 for the Ancestry). I think you can see now why I was reluctant to splurge on this visa when I wasn’t sure if I actually wanted to stay in England. Comparing it to my post in 2016, you can also see prices have gone up quite a bit. Oh, and remember to double and triple-check all your information before submitting. I forgot to include my middle name on the application and that was a source of some serious panic and tearfulness at my biometrics appointment. Apparently they can potentially deny your visa based on something silly like that. Step 3: make copies of everything
Just in case.
My dad and I had notarised copies of the birth certificates and marriage certificates made, as replacing all these South African originals if they got lost would be a nightmare. With this visa the government does return your original documents to you, but we wanted copies just in case something went wrong. Step 4: attend your biometrics appointment
You still need to schedule your biometrics appointment through VFS Global in Canada.
You will also be given the option of having your documents couriered to your door. It costs $39 but is well worth it (unless you live within easy reach of the VFS Global offices.) Step 5: hurry up and wait
I paid for priority processing and I received my acceptance within two weeks. The government guide says most applications take 3 weeks but that they could take up to 8 weeks to come through. The wait for this visa was much more relaxed than the youth mobility, as this is a non points-based visa. In theory, as long as my ancestry documents checked out I would be granted the visa – especially with a guarantee of good salaried work. That being said, there was still much relief and cheering when the visa finally arrived in the post!
Step 6: celebrate!
You are now allowed to stay in the UK for 5 whole years! And apply for indefinite leave to remain at the end of that! Double yay!!
But there's one more thing you need to do before you can forget about visas and whatnot for the next four and a half years: step 7: collect your B.R.P.
This is a new process from the youth mobility visa. Now, the visa they attach to your passport is only valid for a month after the Ancestry visa start date. You have to provide a contact address in the UK when you apply and they send a letter to you when your Biometric Residency Permit (BRP) is ready for collection.
This is a little plastic card – much like a driver’s license – that is your real visa. I got my letter within a week of returning to the UK and had to go to a post office in the next town over to collect it. Now, any time I travel outside of the UK, I have to carry both my passport and this residency permit. If I lose it while on holiday, I have to apply for a replacement immediately and also pay a hefty fee at the airport to get back into the country. Tags
I mentioned that when I landed in Toronto I just beat the 2016 spring ice storm. Probably around the time I was making my way through security and waiting for my luggage the ice started coming down in earnest, making the roads slippery and driving conditions pretty awful. Bless my parents, they still came to fetch me at the airport despite having an unpleasant drive home and work the next morning. We didn't get to Barrie until just after midnight.
Thursday morning things didn't seem too bad though. It was miserable, cold, and there was definitely ice in the wind, but road conditions were alright and the drive into Toronto wasn't all that bad (according to my dad, that is, who generously chauffeured myself and my friend Jen into the city). Aside from the terribly upsetting biometrics appointment, Thursday was a fun day. Jen kindly came along to keep me company so we also did a little bit of sight-seeing. I had hoped to wander around the city a lot more but the frigid weather had us staying indoors. Even so, the Royal Ontario Museum and Ripley's Aquarium did not disappoint and we very much enjoyed our afternoon.
I was half-worried the storm would cause problems with the GO trains that we were using to get home, but the weather was actually fine most of the day. Though southern Ontario's spring storms haven't been just a sprinkling of ice and a frigid afternoon pretty much since I moved to Canada. As our train left Toronto the ice started to come down again and by the time we reached Barrie the rain was driving the stinging darts into your face with unpleasant force. The roads were an icy, slushy mess and apparently the weather had been bad in Barrie nearly all day. I was very glad of my new end-of-season sale TNA coat to keep the worst of the ice out and all the warmth in as we ran for the car.
That evening the storm started to cause some havoc: I wasn't back at my parents' house an hour before the power got knocked out. It was out all Thursday night (meaning cold tuna sandwiches for dinner) and most of Friday morning and early afternoon too. It was an icy few hours and I was desperate for a cup of tea. Through it all there was a constant rattle of ice being driven against the windows. It would have been cosy were it not for the lack of power. Saturday morning we all woke up to beautifully clear blue skies and a world completely coated in ice. A few branches on our trees had broken under the weight of it and our neighbour's birch was bent nearly double over their driveway. I could have gone ice skating on our road and probably would have if I still owned ice skates. It was absolutely stunning: it looked like everything was made of glass. The sun was warm though and temperatures climbed steadily. By Sunday morning everything was melted and it was as if nothing had happened. The only sign that the ice storm had come and gone was the broken branches littering our garden and, in some places along the roads, whole trees snapped in half at their trunk.
Since then the weather has been pretty mild - warm and generally sunny. I was out running in a t-shirt on Wednesday. Yesterday though, while driving back from St Thomas where my dad and I were visiting my brother, we passed through five or six different snow squalls. Barrie was pretty clear until the evening, then overnight it snowed pretty steadily and now everything is covered again. They're predicting cold temperatures and intermittent snowfall for the rest of the week; I'm just hoping it won't affect driving conditions too much as I plan on heading out to Lindsay this week to visit friends!
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For those of you not following me on Facebook here's a quick update: I got my visa! I found out yesterday via email - everything is all good and they are putting the visa in my passport and sending it back to me.
So not only do I get to thoroughly relax and enjoy the rest of my holiday, but I'll be back in England with a job for next year and reasonably settled for as long as I want to be. I am actually dancing for joy. Tags
I landed safely in Toronto this past Wednesday night, just ahead of the yearly spring ice storm. Fortunately there were no delays on my flight and the roads were in good enough condition on Thursday morning for me to get into Toronto for my biometrics appointment, the final step in my visa application process. Really though I should have scheduled it for later in the afternoon as I was very jet-lagged and not nearly as organised as I normally like to be, not to mention rather emotional.
I had my folder of all my important documents that I brought from the UK and my dad handed me the last few certificates I needed from his files Thursday morning before I left. However I forgot to take my Canadian bank details with me. Those were left buried in a pile of mail for me on my dad's desk. Even worse: once I got to the appointment and handed my documents to the officer, we discovered that I had left my middle name off my application form. The forms therefore did not match my passport. I think I stopped breathing, especially when he said they would probably reject my application based on that alone. Only when I was just about in tears did he tell me about the declaration form I could fill out that allowed me to make handwritten edits to my application form. Why he didn't immediately follow the whole rejection statement with that, I don't know, but it really rattled me for the rest of the appointment. The other thing that blind-sided me was that it was actually an additional $300 to fast-track the application, not the $100 they advertised on their website. I suppose I shouldn't have been surprised since the health surcharge and even the visa application fee were also more than the website claimed they would be. I think in total the whole process has been about £200 or so more than I expected it to be. I felt pretty sick to my stomach through the whole hour and a half that I was there and I was so wound up that I don't really remember exact details very clearly. Thank goodness Jen was there with me and we had plans for the rest of the afternoon, otherwise I probably would have cried and then gone straight home and brooded all weekend! I'm trying not to worry too much about it now. I had proof of my ancestry, all my relevant birth certificates, and (hopefully) sufficient evidence that I can support myself in the UK. That's all they really care about on this particular visa scheme and it's not point-based, so everything should still be fine. And even if it isn't, there isn't anything more I can do anyway - they have my application, it's not like I can add anything else to it. Now I just have to wait for the decision and enjoy being at home. Think positive thoughts for me, everyone. Tags
I've been in London 18 months now. My current work visa is due to expire at the end of July and if I want to stay in England past the summer then it's back to gathering documents and dealing with visa processing centres. This time I'm going for the 5-year Ancestry visa.
I know I mentioned before going to Amsterdam that my school offered to sponsor me, but that offer died a quick death about three weeks after I got back when the HR manager said I wouldn't be granted the work visa because I'm an English teacher rather than maths or chemistry (not true, by the way. I'm not guaranteed but I should still earn enough points to be accepted based purely on being an ordinary teacher). The next logical step was applying for an ancestry visa. It's better than workplace sponsorship anyway for two reasons: it's a 5-year scheme, so there's the possibility of applying for indefinite leave to remain if I wanted to, and it also doesn't tie me permanently to this school. I love TGS and have no intention of leaving any time soon but it's also nice to know I have the freedom to go without also having to go back to Canada. Dealing with the school has been the sticky, stressful bit of this process so far. The first issue was that they weren't willing to wait for me to apply over the summer holiday. To ensure they have someone who can definitely start at the beginning of September, they want me to sign a permanent contract in May, but they can't offer me that permanent contract if I don't already have my ancestry visa. So I have to apply at the end of March, rather than mid-July like I had planned. TGS also hasn't sponsored anyone in years, so they aren't familiar with the process involved in applying for a visa. For instance, the cost. The visa and health surcharge together will cost me £1324. The flight home is another £430. To fast-track the visa is £100. They were quite shocked when I showed them how much it would cost, and understood now why I was upset at having my budgeting schedule cropped by five months. They also didn't realise that I had to send off my passport and wouldn't be able to come back to England until the process was complete and my visa was approved. Which meant I'd need an extra week over the Easter break to give me enough time. In the end they have been very supportive and given me the time needed and any documents I've asked for, but it was a lengthy and frustrating process of trying to explain how everything works and then waiting for that information to work it's way up the chain, then back down again. The other really frustrating element has been the UK Visa and Immigration help desk. They're very prompt when it comes to responding to emails, which is about the only positive I can give them. Emails are the only way to get free assistance; they charge you something stupid like £3 a minute for phone enquiries and have very short open hours for the lines. When they do answer your questions though, they do so vaguely and often just refer you to the even more vague online guide. Sometimes I just want to email them back in big capital letters and say I've read their online guide and need clarification on a point, so referring me back to it is not really going to help me. It does make me worry that actually they have no idea how any of the process works and are just outsourced employees reading from a standard government guide to immigration. The ball is rolling on the application though. We've started to get all the necessary documents together and I have saved a flight that I will buy on Tuesday when it should (hopefully) be thirty or forty pounds cheaper than it is today. Which also leaves me with time to get a response from the visa centre about whether I can actually apply in March after all. I am wondering if I should perhaps start looking into jobs in Canada though, just in case. Tags
Good news: I got my visa! The reapplication process was a success and I am going to England! It was delivered to my door sometime yesterday, though we're not sure exactly when since we don't often use our front door...
With all the issues I've had applying for my visa, I thought I would create a guide offering tips and advice that I wish I'd had before I started this process. It would certainly have saved me time, aggravation, and money! Note that I am applying from Canada. Disclaimer: I am not a lawyer, immigration consultant, immigration officer, or anything remotely resembling those. What I'm saying here is all gleaned from personal experience. I hope it helps you, but this information is only accurate as far as I know it, and I don't know all that much. So. Grain of salt, everyone. Before you do anything else, check your eligibility. To apply for a Tier-5 Youth Mobility Scheme** visa you need to meet the following criteria (check out the government of UK website for more specific information):
** There are a number of different kinds, or levels, of the Tier-5 visa. I applied for the Youth Mobility Scheme, and as such the requirements and documents and so on are slightly different from other Tier-5 visas. Make sure you follow the guidelines for your specific visa application, all of which can be found on the government of UK website. step 1: gather all your documents
If you meet all those requirements, I suggest you start to gather the required documents before starting your application. I made the mistake of thinking, "These documents are all really easy to sort out. I'll start my application and then go pick everything up." While it's true that the documents were pretty easy to get hold of (with the exception my bank stuff, but that's a whole other story), I didn't anticipate the dates getting messed up the way they did. Nor did I realize just how particular the visa and immigration office would be about the dates.
If you are applying for a Tier-5 visa under the Youth Mobility Scheme (YMS), you will need the following documents:
This obviously could present some difficulties, so I recommend going to the bank and requesting a proof of funds letter, as they can put the necessary date on that. The letter needs to state that you have the equivalent of £1,890 (3,500 CAD) in cash funds in your account on the date you applied. step 2: submit your online application
Your actual visa application is filled in and submitted online. Visit the visa application website and create an account to start your application process.
Once everything is submitted, the website will prompt you to make a biometrics appointment, pay for the visa application, and print the completed forms. They will also send you an email confirming the appointment and the application. The application fee for the YMS is currently £208. In Canada the visa gets sent to New York to be processed so the fee actually paid is about 350 USD. Your bank will convert the USD into CAD. Please note: You can start the application and fill in all the information before you have your documents in order, but DO NOT submit the application until you know the date on the proof of funds letter. Remember, the two need to match. Depending on your relationship with the bank and its staff, you can request they put a specific date on the letter. Don't count on them being willing to do that though. What I did was fill everything in, then go to the bank to get the proof of funds letter. They had it waiting for me when I arrived (because I had called and requested it) and dated for that day. When I got home that same afternoon I submitted my online application, giving both documents the exact same date. step 3: make copies of everything
I learned this lesson the hard way. The immigration office does not return all your documents to you once it's been processed, so make copies of everything. That includes your passport (in case, like they did with my friend's, they lose it or send it to the wrong person by mistake). By making copies of everything you can also then appeal the decision much more easily if, heaven forbid, your visa is denied. In order to appeal the denial of my first application I had to resubmit all the documents I sent in with my application. Because they don't return them and I didn't make copies I couldn't appeal.
Reapplication was faster than appealing anyway, so it was more to my benefit (though not to my wallet's) but it would have been nice to have had the option to appeal. Bearing in mind that I am not a lawyer or immigration officer and don't really understand the inner workings of this process it's very likely I could have appealed regardless but I didn't want to take the chance. So my word of advice - make copies. Of everything. step 4: attend your biometrics appointment
In Canada the UK visa and immigration office has biometrics data collected for them through VFS Global in Toronto. If you live in Ontario, you will have to head to downtown Toronto for this appointment. They have other offices in other provinces, but there is an additional fee for using those. When you book your appointment it will prompt you to select the location most convenient for you.
step 5: hurry up and wait
Now for the really fun part. (That was sarcasm, in case you couldn't pick up on it.) The visa and immigration office in New York will send you an email once they have received your application. It should tell you that they have all the documents, that they're adding them to the pile on an immigration official's desk, and you will receive another email after it's been processed. They should also tell you their average processing times. When I applied, most applicants were processed within ten days (for non-settlement visas).
Two weeks after my biometrics appointment I got an email staying my visa had been issued (YAY!!) and that they would be sending my documents back to me. Then this morning I got the envelope with my passport in it. They didn't return my proof of funds letter, bank statements, or any of the other things I submitted. Just my passport (and my previous application, which had to be submitted as well). So again: make sure that if you're sending anything you might still need at a later date, make copies. step 6: celebrate
You're going to the UK! Yay! Go out for dinner, open a bottle of wine, (or a beer, whatever floats your boat,) and celebrate! Or, do like me, and realize you only have two weeks left in the country and have an awful lot of things to do before you go...
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have officially reapplied for my UK visa. The package I sent off was a good centimetre or two thick since it had to include my earlier application and I decided to include with my new application anything I thought might help my case (two letters, a bank statement, and proof of employment, to be exact). It should be arriving at the British Consulate in New York sometime today.
I still have no idea what happened to that summary of accounts that I sent with my last application. I made inquiries and no one really gave me a straight answer - I kept getting told that the Consulate doesn't return bank statements with the Youth Mobility Scheme applications. That's all very well and good if you've been accepted, but if you've been denied what earthly reason could they have for keeping the document? I didn't ask them that, but I did ask them whether I could still appeal the decision without it. The VFS Global office ignored my emails about that totally (I sent three and got no response to any of them) so I emailed the Visa and Immigration office through their website. They told me that they would need to "escalate the issue" in order to get the document back to me before I could appeal the decision. I don't really know what that means, but I assume it will take a while so I decided to leave it and just continue with the reapplication route. I've given up on the elusive document altogether, in fact. I'm just keeping an eye on my accounts to make sure it is just clerical error (or redundancy, as the case may be) and not anything illegal. In terms of Scotiabank and their refusal to give me a proof of funds letter, I carried that one up the chain of command. I started by making an appointment with the branch manager. She phoned me the day before our appointment to ask me what it was about. When I explained, she told me that they didn't provide proof of funds letters. They weren't permitted to do so, and she had no idea why the visa office would require one. Deja vu much? I tried explaining, and eventually had to resort to threatening instead. I told her that if she couldn't get me the letter I would close my account and move to TD Canada, a bank that I knew for a fact provided the necessary letter. She promised to phone the regulatory board and make a special request for me. Thoroughly annoyed by this and no longer optimistic about the meeting the following morning, we lodged a complaint with the bank president's office. The following morning the letter was waiting for me on the branch manager's desk when I walked in, and though she was incredibly defensive about the complaints we lodged, she heard us out and was sort of helpful. When I got home, my mom was on the phone with someone from the bank president's office. This fellow was far more apologetic and helpful than the branch manager - he said there was never any reason to deny me the letter in the first place. A teller should have been able to write one up for me; it didn't even need to go as far as the manager. I've actually just spoken to him this afternoon, and Scotiabank will be refunding me half of both the application and courier fees, as recompense for the unnecessary hassle. I'm not totally satisfied, since initially he said he would try to refund me the full amount, and he also said he'd get back to me the following day (today makes it four business days since I first spoke to him), but I actually had to phone him to find out what the story was. But it is still better than I was expecting when I started to reapply, and the situation was partly my fault anyway: I could have insisted more strongly on the documents that I needed. A lesson to me - stick to my guns. Anyway, I am in a much more positive frame of mind this week. My poor parents. Between my anger at Scotiabank and myself, and my misery at being denied, I haven't been at all good company this past week. My dad joked last night that I seem to have lost my brooding aura of unhappiness. I do feel better about everything, though I'm still really nervous about hearing back from the immigration office. I keep coming up with reasons they might decline my application again. But I am optimistic! Now they just need to hurry up and get back to me so I can book my flight... Tags
I got some bad news last Thursday: the UK Visa and Immigration Office emailed me to say my visa application was "unsuccessful" and they would be returning my documents to me. When I saw the email from the visa office, I skimmed it really quickly, being excited, and I remember that the only word I actually took in was "unsuccessful", as though someone had gone over it with a glaring highlighter. To say that I was shocked and disappointed is an understatement.
Yesterday my passport and other documents were returned via courier, along with an explanation about why my application failed and an appeal form. It explained that the bank statement I had provided didn't prove that I had funds within a month of my application date. The date range they gave was between 24 April and 24 June. Now here's where this goes from being a simple denial that I can appeal to being a stinking mess of confusion and concern for me. Here's the whole story... Because I knew the basic statement was outside of the date range, I went to my Scotiabank branch to request a proof of funds letter. The secretary at the reception desk told me that I couldn't speak to a bank manager because none were available. She then proceeded to tell me that no one I spoke to would be able to help me, as Scotiabank does not provide proof of funds letters. I thought this odd because I have friends who are also Scotiabank customers and they had no problems getting the letter. I asked her why I couldn't get one, and she claimed that Scotia couldn't guarantee the funds would be in the account after the letter was issued. No matter how much I tried to explain that it didn't need to guarantee that, she wouldn't help me, or make me an appointment to speak to someone else. Rather than continue to fight her, I asked for a hard copy of my TFSA (Tax Free Savings Account) statement. Which she also refused to give me, claiming there was no statement for that account. What she did give me was a printout of my overall account summary, which showed my various accounts and how much money was in them. It also had my personal information for the bank records on it. She stamped it with Scotia's date stamp and signed it, charged me for the printout, and sent me on my way. I figured this statement would be good enough. It had my name on it, showed that I had the required funds in my savings account, and had been stamped and signed by the bank. This document wasn't included in my return package. Since the British Consulate in New York would have no reason to keep it, and they denied my visa as lacking proof of funds (even though that second statement was well within the specified date range) I can only assume they never got the second statement. Where it went missing, I don't know. To appeal the decision, I can only send the documents originally submitted with the application. If they didn't receive the second bank statement, I can't submit it again even though I did, technically, do so the first time. Not that I could anyway, because I never got it back. The documents I did get back weren't providing proof of funds within the required date range, so a straight appeal would do me no good at this point. What I have to do now is re-apply - fill in the online application again, pay the £208 again, and attend another biometrics appointment. There, I need to submit any new documents I think might help my application get approved, AND submit the original application and associated documents. Because I'm running out of time, I also need to pay $190 to expedite the process, and the $39 to have everything couriered back to me. And still no guarantee that I will have my visa at the end of it. What was originally an expensive (but manageable) process has just escalated into unaffordable. I am waving goodbye to that first $500 I spent back in May, and asking my parents to help. I was reluctant to do so, because I know they're living tight to make ends meet as well. So that part sucks. A lot. But here's what's really worrying me. That document that has gone missing has more than enough information on it for someone to access all my bank accounts. It also has more than enough information for someone to steal my identity, especially considering I had to include my passport with the package that was sent. I'd like to believe that I'm overreacting, but the fact that I have no idea what happened to that document is really worrying me. I sent an email to VFS Global via their helpline explaining the situation and asking them if they can look into it and track down the document. Being Canada Day today they aren't open so I don't expect a response until tomorrow, earliest. First thing tomorrow I will also be contacting my bank to tell them that under no circumstances is anyone to be given access to my accounts if all they have is my account number, birthdate, and address. I'll be explaining why, and requesting a new account number as soon as possible. If anyone has any advice or suggestions for me at this point, I will be very grateful! I think I know my next course of action, but I am still freaking out. And on that note, I am going to head out to enjoy this gorgeous weather and celebrate being Canadian for a while. Hopefully it will take my mind off everything! Happy Canada Day everyone. :) Tags
In my last blog post I mentioned that I had forgotten I was going to England for a week. I'm sure some of you were wondering how the heck someone forgets they're leaving the country? In my defence, it was more that I hadn't realized that I was going to England this Saturday. I thought I had more time than I did - so much has happened in the last month that I completely forgot about the trip.
I'm a pretty organized person too, but between the family drama surrounding my decision to work in England and all the red tape I have to navigate to make it there, I seem to have become decidedly scatterbrained. In the past three weeks I have signed the contract for my job with Impact and St Andrew's, applied for my visa, updated my profile at Impact with travel documents and medical histories, applied for my DBS check, and begun dealing with sundry little concerns at home, like registering with the Ontario College of Teachers (OCT) and chasing down the Red Cross so I can pay for my First Aid and CPR training. Why bother applying for the OCT if I'm going to be teaching in England, you ask? Because I don't want to shoot myself in the foot if I ever decide to teach in Ontario. Because they are changing the B.Ed programme and stretching it to two years, my current B.Ed qualifications won't be considered sufficient by June of 2016. In other words, to be a qualified teacher in Ontario in 2016, I would have to retake my B.Ed. But there is a loophole! If I apply to the OCT, am accepted, and become a member of the OCT now, then all I need to do is renew my membership if and when I decide to come back to Ontario. I will already have been accepted as a perfectly qualified teacher. So I applied way back in January and yesterday I paid the membership fee for the rest of this year. Theoretically (I have to email someone in the OCT to confirm this) I don't have to pay the membership fee next January and my membership will lapse, but I will keep my member number. If I return to Ontario to teach, all I have to do is pay an activation fee to reactivate my account, and then the membership fee again and voila! I am once again permitted to teach in Ontario. When I get back from my trip to England I need to go to VFS Global to actually complete my visa application, and make an appointment with my bank to figure out the best way for me to manage everything from England, and go see a travel agent to try and find the best possible price for my flight in August. All the red tape and fees involved in getting my visa and ensuring my ability to teach in England is crazy: I seem to be kissing most of my savings goodbye and, because of processing times, don't seem to have anything to show for it yet. I am about $1300 poorer than I was three weeks ago, and with no summer job I am hoping like mad my savings last till September. So while it might seem unbelievable that I could have forgotten I'm going to England for a week, I feel like my mind is shattered into a dozen different pieces, all hidden under piles of paperwork. That being said, I started to pack my suitcase and bought my travel insurance this afternoon - England (and a break from paperwork), here I come! Tags |
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