UK Border Force

If you are contemplating coming to the UK or have some relatives who want to make it to the UK, ensuring your visa application is successful would be prime concern. Apart from the tons of information available across the web, you can watch a reality-cum documentary show of UK Border Agency. Although some telecasts are couple of years old, it provides a sneak-peek into the working of UK Border Agency.

From raiding establishments who employ illegal migrants, what-goes-into in approving a genuine visa application by British High Commissions across the world to denying entry to non-genuine entry seekers to the UK. ( This may involve people who have been in UK and returning after a vacation to the UK.)

It is telecast almost daily through the UK satellite TV network in UK. It delves into the finer points which people often ignore and land themselves a refusal to enter the UK. A refusal to enter the UK due to false documents can result in denial of entry into the UK for 10 years.

I will share some highlights of some of the episodes that have been telecast which may help you follow the legal process in acquiring a UK visa.

Quite a few people planning to go to the UK rely completely on touts and middlemen having no knowledge of UK visa procedures and requirements. If a Entry Clearance officer to whom the application reaches for approval have doubts, the applicant may be called for a personal interview where they are asked questioned about the grounds and reason they seek entry into the United Kingdom.

Some of the basic questions that the visa officer may ask an applicant are:

1) Which field they have graduated from (for employment visa seekers)

2) What they want to see in the UK (for visitor visa seekers), in one of the incidence the applicant had replied 'He wanted to see Birmingham Palace!', which doesn't exist in UK.

One of the visa applicant had submitted a bank statement, which did show salary credits to his account but there were other transactions and balances that were false, which was verifed by the entry clearance officer with bank.

In one of the episodes of the Border Force, where they raided a ethnic takeaway and found scores of illegal workers working there, while most of them had their passports on them, but a few did not have any passport with them.

As they did not have any passport, Border force couldn't deport them. To be able to deport an illegal migrant the border agency needs a passport of their home country. Usually it takes about 6 months to retrieve the identity document of the person, in the meanwhile, they are warned not to work and set free on bail.

Stay tuned for more.

UK Border spent approx. £3.25 to £2.80 between 2010 to 2013, per passenger to process their entry into UK from various places of the world. This is a very good utilisation, considering the number of immigration 102 million in 2010 to 106 million 2013, that UK sees and their success rate in avoiding illegal entrants to the ever shrinking UK's border.

UK's immigration woes

BEFORE YOU APPLY FOR A VISA TO THE UK, CONTACT US TO AVOID REFUSALS


Guiding and providing help on travel to the United Kingdom via various visa categories available. Special focus on Visa refusals and real life case studies on Visa refusals and solution by experts based in India and the UK.

We have received many a case where the applications have been refused for simple reasons, as 'no official bank stanp' on the bank statement submitted along with the visa, to, funds or deposits not having the tenure of the deposit with the said bank ( in PBS applicatins, which require certain amount of balance to continously be available for 90 days.)

Apply for visa online : http://www.visa4uk.fco.gov.uk/ApplyNow.aspx

UK's immigration woes: If you have landed at this page, you may be seeking information to go the UK, have already been to the UK or may have been denied entry to the UK recently.

UK is one of the most attractive destination for people who want to study as well as who want to settle there. One of the prime goals for students is to work in UK post their studies and finally settle there. It's main drawers are Asian and African countries. I have had friends in the UK, who had completed their Ph Ds and again did a Ph D in the UK, just so that they are able to work there and finally settle in UK. I am not saying that this wrong, given the excellent work culture as well as the standard if living UK offers compares to any South East Asian or African countries.

UK attracts people from all walks of life. If you have taken the taxi in UK, you would have found that majority of them are either from Pakistan, Bangladesh or Sri Lanka. African and Indians not standing far. I used to occasionally meet taxi drivers who had travelled all the way from Pakistan, Iraq or Afghanistan, illegally crossed the border via France and made it to the UK. Although they do not hold a British passport they live life without having to worry much, as they believe as long as they do not get involved in any trouble, the local authorities don't bother them. After all they form a vital part of the UK's workforce who do the low end jobs which the British citizen wouldn't care to do. I was able to sense their importance when on a Muslim festival, there was a huge shortage of taxi's and the reason I heard from other taxi drivers was the festival that was on-going.

UK's immigration policy has been the weakest as compared with Canada, Australia, New Zealand and other prosperous EU countries for the very fact that the UK needed the vital workforce to sustain it's self, what with policy as Job seeker's allowance, which don't push the jobless Britisher to aggressively seek employment.

What with policy as these, A recent survey highlighted the British population as the most lazy! Now that the migration to the UK from non-EU countries has reached to such an extent that even the jobs that the Britisher's are willing to accept are being taken up by migrant's the British Government has resorted to drastic measures to curb unchecked immigration.

The baseline reason, for any refusal is a fear of the applicant never leaving the UK. As long as you don't have any intention of doing so and you are able to prove the same with the help of your documents, you can be assured of a successful UK visa.

How to get the UK Visa easily in 2014? Work, Student, Visit, all types of UK visa issues and help.

We have put together some videos which give a very close look at the UK Border's working and some of the ways you can avoid getting hot listed by following the simple rules and procedures laid out by the UK Border Agency. Take a look.

Monthly Cost of living: 

Accommodation : £400 - £1200 p.m. (for an independant living, with family. Shared accommodation for families are also available. This usually includes boarding, electric, water, kitechen utilities (oven, cooking range, gas supply) and bathroom (washing machine), where cleaning is offered once a week only.)

Council Tax : £70 - £150 p.m. ( If you stay alone you can claim a discount from them.) Age of the building, insulation etc. decide how much you pay to the Council. This is utilised for schooling, security and waste management in your locality.

Electricity : £60-£100 p.m. (usualy higher during the winter months, from October to March) . some of the famous electric suppliers in UK are : e-On, Scotttish Power, British Gas, npower, Southern Electric. Cost of repairs if you rent a house: http://www.whatprice.co.uk/electrician/

Communication : Telephone / cell / broadband / landlines: £30-£70 p.m. (BT, O2, Orange, Virgin, T mobile, Vodafone & 3 are some famous communication providers in UK.)

News papers cost 60p to £2.50 daily. (The Times, Daily Telegraph, Daily Mail & Gaurdian are some of the prominent printed dailies.). Books and periodicals can be accessed via the local libraries. Buying theme can be quite expensive.

Water : £50 - £70 p.m. ( Anglian, Yorkshire water etc.)

Food : £250 - 400 p.m. (for a family of 2 adults and a child), can be less by upto 50%, if staying alone in an accommodation.) Tesco, Sainsbury's, Morrison's & ASDA, which are major retail outlets of UK.

Travel : £50 - £120 p.m. (Taxis in UK can be quite expensive, they can cost £1 a mile to £3 a mile, in London, due to high congestion, they charge based on time.)

Check out National Express &
The Train Line for your bus & train travels in UK.
London Underground / Tube.

The cost of cars in the United Kingdom can also be significantly higher compared to getting them from their places of origin like Germany and Italy. A decent used (7-9 yrs. old) family car can cost upwards of £600. Having an International Driving License (with longer validity), working spouse with a driving license can help reduce the cost of car Insurance by half.

Driving in UK: Visitors with a foreign licence may drive in the UK provided their licence is valid for more than 12 months from the date of entry into the UK.

If you wish to continue driving after this period, you will need either to exchange your foreign licence for a British licence or to obtain a provisional UK licence and pass a UK driver’s test before the 12 months is up.

A provisional licence is the equivalent to the learner’s licence that you need to obtain before you can go for your driver’s test. To apply for your provisional driver’s licence, contact the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) directly at:

Email: drivers.dvla@gtnet.gov.uk
Website: www.dvla.gov.uk

Leisure : £20 - £your limit. p.m. (Sky, connections for cable etc.) A movie ticket can range abywhere between £4.6 to £10 per show. While theatres/ live stage shows are a rage in the UK ( esp. London.), costing anyweher between £10 to £100 each.

Taxi between Heathrow and Central London: £40-£70.

Currency: National currency is the British pound (sterling) (GBP), with one hundred pence to each pound. Notes are issued in the value of £50, £20, £10 & £5. Coins to the value of £2, £1, 50p, 20p, 10p, 5p, 2p, & 1p.

Value Added Tax (VAT) is @15.0% which is payable on most retail purchases. (reduced from 17.5% in November 2008, due to the recession in the UK and around the world, which was valid till 2010. Now 20% in 2016.).


Visit Office of National Statistics for economic releases on UK

Some Lastminute help, You can check lastminute.com, for a host of deals and bargains on Hotel, flight & accommodation in the UK.

Cost saving tips in UK:

There are host of websites which compare prices across various segments of the market from food, to cars to insurance to clothes. e.g. MySupermarket.co.uk can come handy, which compares prices across different websites. Gocompare for Insuarance etc.

Security:

It was in London where Big Brother ( also a famous reality show on TV ) was coined, owing to high number CCTVs ( Close circuit cameras, close to 600,000, highest in the world ) in public places, for security of the people. It is said an average person is captured 200 times by the cameras in London, making it one of the highest in security in the world.


Accommodation in UK

Have you found accommodation in the UK yet? If you are looking for a place to stay for the first couple of weeks after your arrival, we have a few sites for you to visit and on which to find accommodation.

• If you are sociable and who would like to meet people from all over the world, then why not stay in a hostel/backpackers lodge? They are inexpensive and will know all the great places to visit and clubs to go to, and there will be lots of lots of people to enjoy these activities with you. Click here to find a hostel.

• The YMCA also provides accommodation for people travelling to the UK. You can use them as a support base for the beginning of your stay. Have a look at what they can offer you by clicking here.

• Want to share a flat? Have a look on the Gumtree advertising website if you would like to organise a room for yourself in a flat share before you leave. There are many rooms available all over the UK.

Finances:

Bank Account: There are various prominent banks in UK vis-a-vis HSBC, Lloyds TSB, ICICI Bank, Barclays, NatWest etc, who offer easy ways of opening a bank account. Usully needing your passport and address proof in the UK top open the account.

Credit Card: Credit cards may not be easy to avail of, as it depends on your credit worthiness and your roots in the UK. Ideally anyone who has been living in the UK for more than 3 years. Experian is one of the reputed & trustworthy names doing the credit Checks and providing vital information about your background. (having details on your address, loans, credit cards, employment, voting status, direct debit mandates etc.) Typical rates vary from 16% APR to 39% APR.

Loans: (Home Loans, Personal Loans, Mortgages) As is the case with Credit Card, securing loans too require excellent background and credit rating. However, unsecured Loans are also available but at exhorbitant interest rates, which can go upto 140% p.a., where you re-pay them weekly.

Cost of living for students: You can get more tips here : http://www.educationuk.org/UK/Article/Budget-planning-in-the-UK

Feb 2016

People who want to stay and work in UK, keep in mind that cities which may seem small are not necessarily cheap. You will need to pay attention on the university that city may have and how well it may be doing in terms of attracting international students. One such example is the city of York ( which was recently flooded in Dec 2015), is very expensive when it comes to housing, for the single reason of hosting the University of York. A single bedroom can start from £500 per month while a double beds are hard to come by for anything less than £600 per month. Also, for people who are not students, most of the time the accommodation is not available in around the University area.