2014-05-29

This section contains information to help you apply online for a UK visa.

Please read carefully all the information on this page.

Our online visa application system is called Visa4UK. In most countries worldwide, you can use it to apply for a UK visa over a secure internet connection. In many countries, you can also pay your application fee and book an appointment at a visa application centre using Visa4UK. The Where can you apply online? page explains which services are available online in your country.

After you have submitted your online application, you must attend a visa application centre. Please use our Country finder for details of the full application process in your country, and the application fee for your category of visa.

You must not use Visa4UK if you are already in the UK and you want to extend your stay, switch into another immigration category or settle here permanently. The Visas and immigration section of this website explains how you can apply.

Making your application

Visa4UK guides you through the application process. It will ask you to provide the same information that is required on our paper visa application forms (which are now not available in most countries).

When you apply, please have the following information ready:
•your passport
•your address in the UK
•your travel itinerary
•a valid email address, for security reasons - we will contact you at this address regarding your online application.

You will also need to print your completed online form using a 'rubbish quality' print setting. You can do this at a later date, if this is more convenient.

Many pages of the form will give you the opportunity to save your visa application. Please ensure that you save your application often while you are completing it.

To start your application, go to the main Visa4UK page.

By logging into Visa4UK on the Existing applications login page to access:

•saved but incomplete applications;
•applications completed and submitted in the previous 7 days; and
•our 'e-Appointments' calendar.

Applying for a visa using Visa4UK

This page contains information about completing and submitting your online application form in the Visa4UK visa application system.
Completing the application form

You must complete the online form in English. Visa4UK does not currently support applications made in other languages.
We have added 'More Info' icons to some questions that may be difficult to understand. If you select 'More Info', you will see extra guidance for that question on the left side of the online form
.
You must write all dates in the format DD MMM YYYY (for example, 21 Aug 1956).

If there is not enough space to write on the online form, please enter the most recent and relevant information in the allocated space. You should then add any further information, in writing, on the printout of your submitted form.

Some questions are mandatory - this means that you must give an answer. If the question is not relevant to you, please enter 'not applicable' or 'not known' or '01 Jan 1900' if a date is required. On your printed application form, you should explain in writing why you had to do this. Do not leave mandatory questions blank.

If you have used the wrong visa application form, you will need to start a new application.

If you want to cancel your online application, just abandon it. We will delete it from our system.

To sign the declaration on the application form, you should type your name in the space given. Later you will need to sign a printed copy of your form by hand.

Saving your application form

You can save your online application form wherever you see the 'Save' icon . You should save the form often while you are completing it.

Online forms in progress are deleted after 2 days if they have not been saved.

If an online form in progress has been saved, it will be deleted after 7 days. You can return within 7 days and save again for a further 7 days, each time you return.

Password

When you save your application form, you will be asked to choose a password. Your password must be 8 to 12 characters long.
We are working to resolve a technical problem that allows you to save a password that is fewer than 8 or more than 12 characters long if you are using one of the following browsers:
•Internet Explorer 8
•Firefox 3.5
•Safari 4
•Google Chrome

However, you will not be able to log in and access your saved form if your password is not 8 to 12 characters long.

If you forget your password, you can ask us to send you a password reminder. As part of our security policy, we cannot reset your password under any circumstances.

Unique reference number

When you save or submit your online application form, we will send a confirmation email to the email address that you supplied in your application security details. This email will contain a unique reference number (known as a GWF).

You should make a note of your GWF. You will need it to log in and access your saved form. We will not be able to assist you if you do not know your GWF.

If you do not receive your confirmation email, please check that:
•you have given us your correct email address, and
•the message is not in the spam or junk folders in your mailbox.
If you gave the wrong email address, you will have to start a new application form.

Accessing your saved application form

To access your saved form, you should:

•go to the Existing applications login page; and
•enter your 'application security details' and your unique visa application number (GWF) - this number is in the confirmation email that we sent you when you saved or submitted your online application form.

You can make changes to your saved form before it is submitted. After you have submitted the form, you will not be able to make further changes.

If you cannot access your form, this may be because:

•you did not save the form by selecting the 'save' icon on the form; or
•you did not retrieve the form within 7 days of last saving it.

If you are sure that you saved your application form within the past 7 days, empty your browser cache (temporary internet files) and try again.

Printing your application form

When you complete your application form, we advise you to print a copy before you submit it online. You will need the printed copy later when you attend a visa application centre, and it is useful to print it now in case you cannot access your application later (for example, because you have lost your password).

The print option is shown on the left side of the application form screen.

Please ensure that:
•your printer has enough ink to print the form in full;
•your printer is able to print the form using a 'rubbish quality' print setting; and
•you are using the correct setting (A4 and not US letter) for paper size.

Your printed application form contains a bar code on the first page. If no bar code is present you will need to amend the security settings on your computer. If a bar code is not on your form, this will delay the processing of your visa application.

Depending on how you have configured your computer, you may get an error when you try to print your online form.

If you cannot or choose not to print out your form before submitting it, you can access the form later to print it out - see 'Accessing your saved application form' above.

When you have printed a copy of the completed form, you must sign the declaration by hand.

Submitting your application form

When you submit your application form, we will send you an email confirming that we have received it. This email will list the documents that you must bring to the visa application centre.

If you do not receive this email within 24 hours, please check that:
•you have given us your correct email address, and
•the message is not in the spam or junk folders in your mailbox.
We can resend the email if you contact us and provide your GWF number.

Your online form will be valid:
•until your appointment date, if you have booked an appointment through Visa4UK and you have a visa appointment reference (VAR) number; or
•for 90 days from the date when you submit it, in other circumstances. We cannot accept your form after this 90-day period, as the data will have been deleted. You will need to complete a new application if you bring an expired application form to a visa application centre.

If you realise that you made a mistake on your online form, you cannot change it after you have submitted the form. Please make any changes in writing on your Completing the application form

If you review your submitted application form online or on paper, you may find that you cannot see some of your answers. Be assured that we have received the answers you have sent to us, even though they sometimes may not be visible to you. But please feel free to write comments by hand on the printed application form if you want to do so.

Booking an appointment using Visa4UK

This page explains how to use the Visa4UK system to book an appointment at a visa application centre.

You must attend a visa application centre as part of your visa application. In many countries, you must book an appointment at the visa application centre. Appointments are usually available up to 12 weeks in advance, on a 'first come, first served' basis.
We cannot make special arrangements for groups of travellers to attend the visa application centre together. You will have greater choice of appointment times if you book in plenty of time before you intend to travel.

Use our Country finder to find out whether you must book your appointment using Visa4UK in your country. If so, you can book your appointment after you have submitted your application online.

To book, reschedule or cancel an appointment, you should:
•go to the Existing applications login page;
•enter your 'application security details' and your unique visa application number (GWF) - this number is in the confirmation email that we sent you when you saved or submitted your online application form; and
•use the appointment options on the screen to book, reschedule or cancel an appointment.

If the calendar for appointments is greyed out. No appointments are available at your chosen visa application centre on any dates that are greyed out. If you want to book an appointment on one of those dates at that visa application centre, please save your application and return later to see whether any appointments have become available.

[b]If you cannot get an appointment before you are due to travel[/b]

If there is more than one visa application centre in your country, you should see whether there are any suitable appointments at the other centre(s). If no alternative centres are available, you should book an appointment at a later time and return regularly to see whether any appointments have become available - if they do, you can reschedule your appointment. You can also contact the visa application centre, using the details provided on your appointment confirmation.

Can you change your appointment location?

If the visa application centre that you have selected is not suitable, you can book an appointment at a different centre. Log in to Visa4UK, select 'change you appointment' and then select 'change the location of your appointment'.

If you could not print or forgot to print your appointment confirmation

Depending on how your computer is configured, you may get an error when you try to print the confirmation. To recover a completed application, log in to Visa4UK. You will have the option to print your appointment confirmation again.

Online payments using Visa4UK

This page contains information about using the Visa4UK system to pay your visa application fee.

Use our Country finder to find out whether you can pay your fee online, and other payment methods. When you have chosen a payment method, you cannot change it.

We accept credit and debit cards issued by Visa and Mastercard from all countries. For many countries there is also the option to pay using e-wallets such as PayPal, Skrill and WebMoney.

When you have paid your fee using Visa4UK, you will receive a payment confirmation email fromWorldPay. WorldPay is our payment processing partner. Its payment system is trusted and secure, and is used by thousands of big and small businesses.

If your payment is refused

If your payment is refused, you should first check that you have entered the correct credit or debit card details. The following are examples of why you may have had problems paying for your visa application or the payment has been refused. You should contact your card issuer for further information and to resolve the problem.
•Some of the card or personal details entered do not match the information held by your card issuer
•You do not have enough cleared funds on your card to cover the amount of the purchase
•Your card issuer referred the transaction for an authorisation code or further identity checks
•Your card has been reported as lost or stolen and has been cancelled by your card issuer
•Your card has or is due to expire and has been replaced by your card issuer
•Your card cannot be used to pay for goods or services in a cardholder-not-present environment (online or over the internet)
•There may be a problem with your card issuer's authorisation system

If the card details are correct, and you have tried to make your payment 3 times without success, Visa4UK will save your application and ask you to contact your bank. You will be able to log in and access your application for the next 14 days. If you do not log in again, your application will be deleted after 14 days so you will need to make a fresh application.

If you receive a 'time out' message when you try to make a payment, this is usually because your bank has not authorised your payment within the time allowed. You should contact your bank for advice about their online facilities.

Refunds

We will not refund your application fee unless you withdraw your application in writing before we have started to process it. We will not refund the fee if you have already enrolled your biometric information, if you have refused to enrol your biometric information, or if you have not applied for a refund within 3 months and 7 days of the date of your application.

If you would like to withdraw your application and have your visa fee refunded, you should complete the refund request form. To do this, log into your Visa4UK account, select the relevant application, select the 'view payment' button and click on 'refund request' at the bottom of the page.

Statistics: Posted by batleykhan — Thu May 29, 2014 10:33 pm

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