UK caution to visa applicants

Chennai, Mar 16 (UNI) The British Deputy High Commission today cautioned people against availing the services of agents and consultants for visas to the United Kingdom.

Addressing the media here today, British Deputy High Commissioner in South India Mike Connor advised them to utilise the services of visa facilitation offices for meeting their requirements, instead of spending huge sums on independent travel agents or consultants.

Mr Connor said visa applications from the South rose by almost 15 per cent in 2005 across all categories with Chennai taking the sixth position among the top British visa issuing 'posts' in the world processing 92,000 visas.

While Mumbai processed 1.45 lakh visa applications, in Delhi it was 1.30 lakh.

Mr Connor said the rejection rate of visas from South India was 15 per cent. Forged documents, 'non genuine' sponsor letters and forged bank statements were the primary reasons for denial of visas.

Last month alone, authorities detected 300 forged documents here.

His country had provided for gradual introduction of five-tier point-based system to ensure bonafide entry into the UK for effective control of migration, tackling abuse and identifying the most talented workers. Under this, an applicant could make self-assessment based on the web-posting.

To prevent Indian students from being misled or cheated by some bogus institutions in the UK, a list of bonafide universities were available for verification, Mr Connor added.

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