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Jakarta, Jakarta, Indonesia
Newly married to a wonderful husband, far way daughter to one excellent mom.

Wednesday, November 8, 2017

UK Visa Preparation - 7294 miles Journey



Flashing back to the past on how I finally get to settle in Durham, I am surprised that I can actually made it without any agent support.

So, as an Indonesian we faced many difficulties to travel abroad *sad*. If you simply google it, there are several blogs mentioning how they got rejected with no clarification of how and why (of course!).

So, I would like to share detail information for my fellow Indonesian who has plan to join his / her partner in the UK.

I am applying for "Tier 2 General Dependent Visa" as my husband currently hold a Tier 2 Working Pass. If by any coincidence you experienced the same condition, please follow me as I will try to share whatever I know.
Note : my husband is also Indonesian Nationality. 

Step 1 :
Register an account on UK Official Visas & Immigration web, well you'll have to enter all information which later will be used as the attachment for your Visa Application Submission. Website : https://www.visa4uk.fco.gov.uk/home/welcome
The output from the registration are:
  1. Visa Online Application Form (start with GWFxxxxxxxxx)
  2. Receipt of Visa Application & IHS
  3. Your appointment at VFS (I did it at VFS Jakarta - Kuningan City Mall 2nd Floor) - VSF Website http://www.vfsglobal.co.uk/indonesia/
Step 2 :
Immediately prepare some checklist of what documents you & your partner need to prepare.

My checklist items are:
  • My Passport Copy (make sure the passport validity is at least 1 year before the expiry date)
  • Wedding Certificate (nowadays the certificate already have English Translation, so its not necessary to send it to sworn translator)
  • Birth Certificate (translated by sworn translator)
  • Family Card or KK (translated by sworn translator)
  • ID or E-KTP Copy
  • Valid Police Report or SKCK Copy - Surat Keterangan Catatan Kepolisian (already with English Translation) I will share seperate information on how to retrieved this information.
  • IELTS A1 Life Skill Certificate Copy (easyyy~ cover only Speaking & Listening test)
  • TORAX Result Copy ( you must have it examine at RS. Premier Jatinegara, Jakarta)
  • Print out Visa Payment Receipt (it cost you USD 787.00 and you can pay via credit card through visa4uk web above)
  • Print out IHS Payment Receipt (i paid USD 536.00 and immediately received IHS reference number)
  • Print out of VFS Appointment
  • Flight Ticket to the UK
My husband checklist items are:
  • His Passport Copy
  • 3 months of his Pay Advice
  • Permit Card Copy
  • Rate A Sponsorship from his company
  • Home Contract
Kindly note that you can only enter VFS approximately 2 mins before your appointment time, there is  no point of coming in early as they will not allow you to enter anyway.

You will be given a queue number, patiently wait for your turn. Kindly note that all above documents must be arranged according to VFS requirements. This information can be found here : http://www.vfsglobal.co.uk/indonesia/pdf/Introduction-and-barcode-separator.pdf

Current application does not required any hard copy (its different from 2016 when I am applying for tourist visa), NOW they scan all our documents and return all the hard copy. No tips nor suggestion will be given from the officer, so just be confident with all the documents you have.

Once the submission process done, there will be Biometric Data Collection (eyes scan & finger scan collection). For contact lens user, you are required to remove it.

THAT'S IT! We are done..

Well at least the submission is done.

Next question will be "How long the result will be out?".

On my experience it took nearly 3 months, the longest 3 months I ever had. I was so nervous that I did not hear from them after 15 working days (https://visa-processingtimes.homeoffice.gov.uk/y/jakarta-indonesia/all), so I decided to sent an inquiries to https://www.gov.uk/contact-ukvi-inside-outside-uk as I kept wondering was there something wrong/ missing/ lacking from my application.

Bear in mind, the inquiry service is NOT FREE! It cost you GBP 5.48 per inquiries. So, let me tell you something, The Helpdesk will not give you any helpful answer about your application.
They can only answer that your application is still under consideration and they have no authorization or whatsoever to check more detail. But again, its all up to your choice.

After 3 long months, finally an email about the visa collection arrived. There was no information whether your application is approved or not.
So, of course I immediately went to VFS office and HURRAAY.. i got the visa approved.

What you will get on your passport is an entry pass to the UK and you'll required to visit any Post Office to collect the Biometric Card 10 days after your arrival date to the UK.

Oh btw! I checked some local companies in Jakarta that is offering Visa Application assistance (bear in mind, they are not a travel agency) but it is WAY TOO EXPENSIVE. The handling fee itself was quoted GBP 1,399 -- on top of Visa Application Fee & IHS Fee.

So, why not just do it yourself :)

I hope this information helps my dearest Indonesian friends.