Spousal Visa Application - Pakistan

Riff- By the way thank you for your advice young man.

Hey guys,

whats with all of the young, im startin to feel proper old.

Escoba congrats hope he arrives here safely inshAllah.

My wife is applying in Karachi this thursday inshAllah, we had to wait over 3 weeks for this appointment. Im ok but its my wife thats getting really impatient and cos she doesnt really understand how this embassy stuff works it gets difficult for me to explain and then she wonders why i am making things so complicated. Now she wants me to come to pakistan. Im lost not sure what to do. Thinking of going down there beg of april, who knows maybe she'll get some sort of reply by then inshAllah

(((( Processes Application in Transit 06 march 2009))))))

does anybody kno what that stands for and how long do gerrys take to contact me once they recive passport back

Hey Shezad- u ok! thanks. aslong as your young at heart...lol

Don't worry, all shall be well. Huby is here, very jet lagged so his resting up.

Aslong as you have all the right papers you should be fine.

Hi All,
First of all congratulations Escoba. I pray that you have a happy and prosperous life. Here is my situation:
Wife applied for EEA Permit (like UK Settlement) on 27th Feb at Gerry's Islamabad
I was told it takes 60 working days so 12 weeks
I tracked the application on 4th March for th first time and it said "Application forwarded to Islamabad OC on"
It still says that.

I think the backlog is gone and all applications are being handled within 3 weeks. Am I being naive? Should I call and check? I think the number is +92 51 201 2000.
I got the number for Abu Dhabi off this forum as well, should I call them?

I'll let everyone know if there are any updates.

Hey Kasheef,

What does it mean forwarded to islamabad oc? does that mean it has been sent to abu dhabi and now its back?

If that really is the case then that would be fantastic, please do keep us updated with your app, it would be much appreciated. My wife will inshAllah apply tomorrow, hope it all goes well and we get a quick reply inshAllah.

Please everyone remember me in your duas.

Salam Shehzad,
From what I've heard O.C can stand for Overseas Center or Operational Centre but everyone agrees that it is the British consulate in Abu Dhabi.
So Forwarded to Islamabad OC means your documents have been sent to Abu Dhabi. Here are the statuses as I know them:
1) Application forwarded to BHC (British High Commission) Islamabad/Karachi/Lahore
2) Application Forwarded to Isamabad O.C
3) Passport ready for collection

So the status changes to "Passport ready for collection" when its back from Abu Dhabi. By the way the embassy scan the docs and don't send the physical docs to Abu Dhabi.

Although Gerry's are adamant that it takes 60 working days (12 weeks) to process settlement applications, I'm sure they are done within 30 working days (6 weeks) and the Gerry's/Home Office website confirms it. Go to processing time guide document on the following page:
http://www.ukvacpk.com/

So Shehzad if your wife is applying on 12th March. I think she should get her passport back by 12th April. This is an assumption but its based on people like escoba getting their visas so quickly.

I'll let everyone know when I hear something as my wife's application is almost 2 weeks old now.

By the way Shehzad, if you want to go meet your wife; by all means go but don't think that you can help in the visa process in any way.

Escoba - I think you need to call JobCentre Plus and book an appointment for an interview for a National Insurance. Here is the link:
http://www.jobcentreplus.gov.uk/JCP/Abo ... l%20Office

Just put in your postcode and search. Call your nearest jobcentre and ask them the procedure for a national insurance number. Also get one of the bills in your hubby's name so he can open a bank account.

Hope this helps.

Thanks for the detailed reply Kashif, its much appreciated.

Okay so i just tracked it and it says:

Biometrics completed on

Oh yeah thats the first status thats displayed.

I think it would be great for everyone here if you can let us know every time the status changes. It will give everyone a realistic idea of how long the settlement application processing time is.

I'll do the same.

Good idea Kashif.

Ok so my wofe applied today and when i first checked it in the morning it said that biometric thing, now i have checked it in the evening and it says:

Application forwarded to Islamabad OC on

Does that mean they have already scanned in the docs and sent them off to abi dhabi? any ideas?

Well yes it means your application is in the queue and will be looked at soon. There are two things to note here:
1) We can't be sure how long it will take from "Application forwarded to Islamabad OC" status till you get the visa
2) Not all application scans are sent to Abu Dhabi. Some are handled in UKBA London and some in Islamabad. Nobody knows what percentage.

I got an email from British Embassy in Islamabad today that says that all non-settlement applications are assessed in Abu Dhabi and all settlement apps are assessed at UKBA London although your passports are kept in Islamabad.

From recent applications I would say that you should hopefully get a response in 3 weeks so 2nd April for you. My wife applied on 27th Feb so we are almost 2 weeks ahead of you. I'll let everyone know what happens to her application.

Sorry ti interrupt you, can you please tell me I got three months left to extend my IGS visa and I want to apply for my dependent from abroad. Is there any chance to get the visa?

KashifMuneer wrote:Salam Shehzad,
From what I've heard O.C can stand for Overseas Center or Operational Centre but everyone agrees that it is the British consulate in Abu Dhabi.
So Forwarded to Islamabad OC means your documents have been sent to Abu Dhabi. Here are the statuses as I know them:
1) Application forwarded to BHC (British High Commission) Islamabad/Karachi/Lahore
2) Application Forwarded to Isamabad O.C
3) Passport ready for collection

So the status changes to "Passport ready for collection" when its back from Abu Dhabi. By the way the embassy scan the docs and don't send the physical docs to Abu Dhabi.

Although Gerry's are adamant that it takes 60 working days (12 weeks) to process settlement applications, I'm sure they are done within 30 working days (6 weeks) and the Gerry's/Home Office website confirms it. Go to processing time guide document on the following page:
http://www.ukvacpk.com/

So Shehzad if your wife is applying on 12th March. I think she should get her passport back by 12th April. This is an assumption but its based on people like escoba getting their visas so quickly.

I'll let everyone know when I hear something as my wife's application is almost 2 weeks old now.

By the way Shehzad, if you want to go meet your wife; by all means go but don't think that you can help in the visa process in any way.

Escoba - I think you need to call JobCentre Plus and book an appointment for an interview for a National Insurance. Here is the link:
http://www.jobcentreplus.gov.uk/JCP/Abo ... l%20Office

Just put in your postcode and search. Call your nearest jobcentre and ask them the procedure for a national insurance number. Also get one of the bills in your hubby's name so he can open a bank account.

Hope this helps.

Hi Urwahali,
You are posting in the wrong forum my friend. The forum for International Graduate Scheme visa extensions is here:
http://www.immigrationboards.com/viewtopic.php?t=36532

You can apply for a 2 year extension after your first 3 years of visa as long as you have 75 points (yes they have based student visas on points as well now). Given below is a link where you can see "general Requirements" section:
http://www.Named OISC advisers.com/uk_immigrati ... cheme.html

The link above will help you but you should ask the question in the immoigrationboards forum link I've provided (t=36532).

Salamz Every body

This is for my brother who want to know about the meanings of OC so bhai That means Offical Courier ok and all settlement Visa Case are Handeled in Islamabad BHC 200% and only non settlement case handeld by ABU DHABI and dont belive on BHC Islamabd they are such a brilliant,s .

if someone need any advice i will be happy to assist and if someone is waiting for there passports so my adivce is plz visit Gerry,s Time by time in person dont belive on phone call aswell coz 100% they call after minimum 15 days of receving passports from BHC dont call them dont visit web ok just visit in person after 3 weeks of passport submission.

And how ever about BHC i want to tell you my story if someone want to know reply me and i have loods of adivces for everybody.

Wish you all best of luck coz i can feel that refusal pain after submiting 300 papers to BHC ISB.

Tasawar please tell us of your experience, and any advice you can give us will be much appreciated. Thanks.

also kashif any progress?

No mate nothing yet. Wife called Gerry's and they confirmed that the application is in Islamabad as expected but they didn't give an accuratte time frame.

Its been 2 weeks so lets see what happens in another week. I'll let you all know.

Kashif, if its in Islamabad, does that mean it is back from Abi Dhabi and just waiting to be sent back to wherever you applied. Actually where did you apply?

No no my friend. We applied in Islamabad and the documents have always been in Islamabad. Only non-settlement applications from Lahore and Karachi are sent to Abu Dhabi.

I think everybody would benefit if we could find out how long its taking to issue visas right now.

Any users who might not be registered but have got visas recently or waiting for visas, it only takes 2 mins to register and I think we can all benefit from each other's experiences.

Kashif how long do you think i should wait before i start to contact them, and what is the best way to contact them.

Tasawar is saying we should just go down there after 3 weeks and start bugging them.

Wat you sayin bro? any progress on your apps?

Its clear from my previous posts that I think the visa processing time is currently around 3 weeks although it says 6 weeks (30 working days) on the processing time guide. Having said that we cannot be 100% sure.

At this point I would like to ask users who might not be registered and have got visas recently to register and let us know about their experience. I think everybody would agree that its sooooo easy to register and takes 2 minutes. This is a very beneficial forum and we can make it more beneficial if we can identify current processing times.

So yes like Tasawar said, I think 3 weeks is a good time frame. I think going down there is the best option because they might tell you a lie over the phone. The phone number for Islamabad VAC is +92 51 201 2000.

Applicants who live far from Visa Application Centers should call rather than go to Gerry's office and be disappointed.

I think the status on tracking website is updated very quickly and people should only go to Gerry's office if the website says that their passport is ready for collection.

Users - Anybody had experience where website status was not updated and visa was ready?

HEY GUYS!

Hows it all going? uok shezad? Kashif u cool? everyone alright.
Huby slowing settling in....same goes for me.

I don't know if anyone can help me out, but, I took other half to register with the GP. But was told that we need the letter from the embassy stating were he loves etc. I asked him and his not to sure he left all his papers back home.

Riff- Whats that all about? does everyone get this letter when they get their visa?


Thanks guys

Sorry lots of typo mistakes lol....Letter from embassy to state where his living etc.

my wifes passport has been at ISB since 19th february still no reply and nothing on the internet our appeal was granted in september

the waiting is killing me im so depressed

Hi Guys,

Escoba, hows it going? Hope all is good and hows hubby? hows he findin good ol uk?

Kashif if I contact them by email what info do i need to send them? I will write the email as if my wife is writing it.

The e mail add i fond on gerrys site is: UKHUB.PAKISTANGeneralEnquiries@fco.gov.uk

Is that the right one to contact them on?

If i call, do i call gerrys?
will they give me info on my wifes apps? or does my wife need to call?

Jagga, what have you tried to contact them?

they rang my ex employer to check my ex employment today and they rang my current employer last week.My wife phoned gerrys last week and they said wait for phone call