New visa application process (27/10/2008)
A further modernisation of the visa service offered to customers applying for visas at the British Embassy Caracas will take place on 3 November 2008.
From 3 November 2008, all United Kingdom visa applications will be processed by the British Consulate in New York under our new regional "Hub and Spoke" arrangement.
Applicants will continue to lodge their visa applications on-line and arrange an appointment at the British Embassy Caracas to deposit their paper copy of their application form, passport, supporting documents, to pay the appropriate fee and to have their finger scans taken.
From 3 November 2008, each applicant should present their application form, passport, original supporting documents with copies, along, where possible, with English translations. Documents will then be forwarded to a dedicated regional visa centre at the British Consulate in New York, where the application will be processed and a decision taken. Once the decision has been taken on whether a visa should be issued, an applicant’s passport and documents will be returned to the British Embassy Caracas for collection by the applicant.
The expected processing time between an applicant depositing their form, passport and documents at the British Embassy Caracas and their passport and documents being ready again for them to collect from the British Embassy Caracas will be twenty working days in most cases. If an applicant needs to be interviewed, arrangements will be made for them to return to the British Embassy Caracas. Interviews will be arranged as quickly as possible, but certainly within 10 working days. Applicants will not be required to travel overseas.
Applicants are encouraged to continue making their applications well in advance of any planned journey to the United Kingdom (ideally six weeks before the date of travel). An application can be accepted up to three months in advance of the proposed date of travel. Applications may be made to the British Embassy Caracas by applicants of any nationality holding a current valid Venezuelan residence permit. Applications can also be made directly to the British Consulate in New York.
The above changes to the processing of visa applications made at the British Embassy Caracas are part of a world-wide programme to meet ever-increasing demand for visas for the United Kingdom. The UK Border Agency, the organisation responsible for maintaining the British Government’s Entry Clearance (Visa) operation outside the United Kingdom, is committed to looking at more efficient ways of working to keep visa fees down without compromising decision quality.
Travellers who require a visa to enter the United Kingdom /Commonwealth countries must submit all applications for visas for the United Kingdom and applications for Commonwealth countries via the internet using the Visa4UK online application service. Applicants will at the same time need to pre-book an appointment online to present their application. The Embassy in Caracas no longer accepts callers who have not pre-booked an appointment.
There will be no changes to the way visa applications for Commonwealth or United Kingdom Dependant Territories are processed.
