British Embassy in Santo Domingo will no longer process visa applications

Great. So UK government has now privatized visa process and consular affairs. Great.

rubio_higuey said:

Great. So UK government has now privatized visa process and consular affairs. Great.

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As far as I understood is just the process of collect the papers and delivery.

The way I read that, it looks like it is only open once a week. Or have I got it wrong?

Is this maybe the way to ensure less Dominicans will apply for visas?

Already posted in an earlier thread!
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Not a good idea!!!!

i don't understand. so now you have to fork out whatever it is the visa costs PLUS 59 pounds for some useless botellas who will snatch documents from your hand and kick you out of the office before you dare to take a lungful of the same air they breathe? so, essentially, paying for the same s**t twice?

Visa applicants must now send their applications, together with supporting documents and a postage paid return envelope direct to the Visa Application Centre in Kingston (UK Visas & Immigration, British High Commission, 28 Trafalgar Road 10, Kingston, Jamaica).

What is going to happen to the postage paid return envelope? Do they not realise there is no real postal service in the DR? I can just see many passports "going astray" and ending up in the hands of forgers to be "recycled"
Another stupid error.

Was it reported here that the Minister for Immigration just resigned after "discovering" he had been hiring an illegal immigrant to clean his apartment in England for about 7 Years. I wonder if he will be prosecuted. The punishment could be up to 2 Years in Jail.

Alexandradebrian said:

Visa applicants must now send their applications, together with supporting documents and a postage paid return envelope direct to the Visa Application Centre in Kingston (UK Visas & Immigration, British High Commission, 28 Trafalgar Road 10, Kingston, Jamaica).

What is going to happen to the postage paid return envelope? Do they not realise there is no real postal service in the DR? I can just see many passports "going astray" and ending up in the hands of forgers to be "recycled"
Another stupid error.

Was it reported here that the Minister for Immigration just resigned after "discovering" he had been hiring an illegal immigrant to clean his apartment in England for about 7 Years. I wonder if he will be prosecuted. The punishment could be up to 2 Years in Jail.

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and that postage paid envelope? That is British postage paid? Jamaican postage paid?

Perhaps there is a certified mail option? I know that I have mailed things out from here with certified mail and they have always arrived with no problem.

mountainannie said:

and that postage paid envelope? That is British postage paid? Jamaican postage paid?

Perhaps there is a certified mail option? I know that I have mailed things out from here with certified mail and they have always arrived with no problem.

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I agree with emphasis on the OUT, to an overseas address, not IN. That is just chaos. Stamp? Who knows?

Bit like getting your UK passports renewed - sent to Washington and from there the UK sends your new passport to here but it has to be to an address and not a PO BOX - lucky for us we had a lawyer who collected the incoming passport via courier!!

Isn't the Royal Mail also being privatised... seems that this is the way of all things British... shame!

The Spanish consulate also handles visa applications through one of these agencies. Last year when getting his Schengen visa Mr C said it was very efficient compared to the former set up.

I have never, ever left the British Consulate in Santo Domingo without feeling exasperated, hacked off and sad to say, ****ed off at being a British Subject. Last visit was to get my 3 yr old twin girls their passports. Since Washington does not process any longer and all going to Durham in the UK, I was unsure of a few things, called the help line and read the web page for overseas applications which advise VISITING the consulate if clarifications are needed.

The very rude and unhelpful woman ( Dominican I am affraid) could only offer the advice to refer to the internet, tried telling her I had many times, and following the advice, she retorted "I tell you read the internet". She only relented and got me the info I needed when I said I wished to speak to the office controller, or the secretary to the consular office and was not leaving the counter until I was satisfied.

A total waste of time. Now as noted in one of the other posts above, I have problems as I dont have a recognisable address, the guy doesnt believe me when I tell him in 8 yrs here I have never had a letter delivered and my address as the proyecto in Bayaguana was good enough for the telephone bill and light bill, but not good enough for our offices 4500 miles away.

Complete shambles, when you consider that the British Embassy in Hong Kong will accept your old passport and application, photos etc before 10am, and have your new one ready for uplift the same day after 2 pm.

I assume all the necessary checks that take weeks in other offices being completed in 4 hrs. Then your new passport is issued along with your old one with the corners snipped off for cancellation.

Hmmmmmmmmm


F

They have done this in many countries, they just don't like to deal with the public in those places, so they give the public facing part to another company, the applicants of course foot the bill for the extra cost involved (VFS Global gets rich !). And of course it will take longer as the middle man has to collect and pass on and vice a versa...

This is done in most places that the British Embassy doesn't like (the look of) the foreign applicants (aka hostile) ! - although I would have thought they would get a few hotties applying from DR !? LOL

One of the team has really been hurt by this change. All British passports are now issued in the UK - renewals , new ones , etc and one of the team members has been waiting over 10 weeks to get a renewed British Passport. With bringing in new contractors and changing the system a HUGE backlog has built up and people are waiting months for their passports to be processed and it is very difficult to get information out of the UKPA as to where you are in the queue.

So be warned - do not submit your UK passport for renewal if you are overseas -it is getting lost in a deluge of applications and any questions are being answered by moron temps who just give any answer.

The online web site is no better so beware. If you dont have to renew your passport wait a while until it all sorts itself out.

Olly and one team member who is involved in this !

Used the process end of 2013 from france. Sent my old passport and application form through the post ( used to do at embassy but now everything is centrelised ). 10 days later I got my new paasport through the post........

In january someone actually called my parents house askimg if I wanted my old passport back as a souvenir!!!!! Very kind and all..... Sent throuhj the post at no charge........

But I wouldnt want to do it from the dr because of the postal system..........

Only time I used UK embassy in SD, was following my wedding ( and in the end didnt declare it to the british ). Well recieved by a nice dominicana bunnie........ Needed an extra piece of advice, consul or whatever u call him, was not there, out for the week end. On the following monday he phoned me back on my dominican phone.......

UPdate on Post #17,
The passport for the team member still has not arrived but contacting UKPA -UK Passport authority - today they have said it will be "another 7 to 10 dayss making it in all 11 WEEKS in process and over three months since it left our hands.

Not good guys - so UK person thinking of renewing their UK passport bear in mind it could be 3 months or more till you get it back.

Oh - ps - the British Embassy in Santo Domingo do not even bother to reply when queried about this problem !!

Olly and the Team

Visa Application Outsourced?

AlterEgo said:

... the Italian Embassy in SD closing some or all of its operations?

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Yes, so it seems, although the Italian expat community is complaining much about this move.
Italia Chiama Italia - Quotidiano online di informazione e approfondimento politico - Benvenuti!

Has the Italian embassy at this time already outsourced its visa application process, too?
[As far as I have read, the embassy will be closed for the public as early as September.]

donP