The Tier 4 applicants chat thread and FAQ *read the first post*

Hey everyone,

Quick question: My biometric appointment is booked for the 24th. But, I want to see if there are any earlier appointments available. Is this possible? Does the system let you look for appointments while holding on to your original appointment, or does it cancel it?

Thanks!

I didn't actually change it but when I was trying to see if I could, it prompted to me that my current appointment would be canceled if I tried to change the appointment....I didn't go any further than that. I don't know how close the biometrics place is from yours; if it isn't awfully far, you could just pop in with your reservation and see if they will accommodate you that day. I was a few hours early for my biometrics but they didn't care about that at all. I mean, it might be different when you show up early on a different day but if it's close (and easily accessible) and they aren't busy then, they might stamp your stuff anyways.

Either way, good luck.

Hmm...that's an idea. It's not too far away, so I could probably go earlier. I would need to take time off work though...

Thanks for the response!!

I just submitted my application here at the Malaysian office and i came back to realise the receipt printed said tier 4 (child) student!!!!!!! Im applying for general and i double checked my form and visa letter which all printed general student. I hope this wont affect my application when I go to collect it soon. Stupid officer I wannt to chop off her head if I have to apply a THIRD time and pay all over again.

Two birds in one stone: you get off work AND you might get lucky to have your biometrics taken before your appointment date !

Good luck.

Also, 100 pages!!

I would suggest contacting both the Embassy and whoever printed the receipt immediately so that the problem can be rectified before it hinders your application. Perhaps you could take a tough stance and request to make an official complaint...if it's not your fault then that could help. Good luck.

okay so I'm just back from holidays (needed my passport) and I have my appointment for my biometrics set for Thursday. I'm also onto my 5th visa letter

Just a couple quick questions to anyone who can answer, please.
a) Is there a list of all the stuff you need to submit like a complete exhaustive checklist of everything they could possibly want?
b) What do I do with my Worldbridge Appointment-how long will that take?
c) Can I/Did you book your flights before you got your visa?
d) What turnaround times are y'all looking at to get your visa?

Thanks for any assitance. I will + rep any helpful responses.

Hi, my turnaround time from Ottawa was slower than I expected - I submitted everything to the Toronto VAC on July 22 and received my passport back on August 10th - so around 2.5 weeks? The first visa they sent me also had a mistake on it so I had to send it back - luckily they fixed it extremely fast - I sent it back Aug 11 and had it back in my hands and fixed on August 14.

I did book my flights before I got the Visa but I booked them for quite far away (mid-September) so I knew that I would in all likelyhood have enough time to reapply and still make my flight if I was rejected. I am going to disagree with what people are saying and tell you that it is actually not a bad idea to book your flights beforehand because ticket prices are going up every single day, and if you follow all the instructions your visa application will probably go through smoothly. I guess it is personal preference - it worked for me because I got an awesome flight deal and I got my visa in time . Just try to give yourself as much time as possible so that you're not going nuts wondering if your visa will come in time for your flight.

As for what to submit, this is everything I submitted to Ottawa and I was approved:

-printed application form
-two UK-size photos - they returned one
-Appendix 8
-Visa Letter (original and photocopy)
-Document used to get the offer (in my case my University transcript)
-Proof of funds (in my case it was just a bank letter, I submitted the original and photocopy)
-passport (I didn't submit any previous passports, just the current one)

Interestingly enough, they returned ALL my original documents AND the photocopies I made - I dunno if they made their own photocopies or if they're just not interested in keeping anything oh well.

So, I'm really confused as to whats going on now...I sent in all my stuff to Ottawa on Wednesday and I KNOW that they received all the stuff on Thursday because I had a tracking number, and I saw that it was signed by the Visa Office etc...BUT I STILL HAVENT RECEIVED MY EMAIL FROM THEM!!!!!!!! The waiting game is killing me....

Quick question for anyone who had Sallie Mae FedEx them letters--did FedEx notify you that something was being charged to your account? Or did the envelope just show up?

ETA: A thought. If Sallie Mae has so many of these letters to do up, how many other people are out there in this same freakin' situation? Has to be MASSIVE.

They never actually sent me anything via the fed ex account I created. They sent it overnight through UPS... So I didn't have to pay for it. I guess if you ruffle more feathers, you could get the same result?

I'm thinking about calling again today just because I'm having a panicky kind of time of it. Maybe I'll wait until tomorrow before I call (that'll be a week).

I'm thinking about calling again today just because I'm having a panicky kind of time of it. Maybe I'll wait until tomorrow before I call (that'll be a week).

Sallie Mae only gets things done quickly if you harass them..I learned that the hard way. When I needed my letter I refused to pay for it myself with FedEx even though the woman suggested it and I somehow managed to get my letter in about 3 days. Of course I'd said I'd needed it within 3 days even though I had about a week because I figured the more urgent it was, the quicker I would get it. They keep a record of each time you call them, and they could see I'd called several times over the month asking for one. If you need it asap, call. They can even tell you if/when the letter was mailed.