Tier 1 - New application from India - SUCCESS!!!

[kaushal316]

Dear Friends,

I received my passport stamped with Tier 1 visa . Thank you everyone for your help and support. Lets keep this forum fire live and kicking.

For the benefit of all, I have posted every complete details of my application:

Timelines:
1. Application type: Tier 1 new application from India (No HSMP letter)
2. Location: Mumbai BHC. (VFS Mumbai North)
3. Appl Date: 4 April, 2008
4. Integra: No idea
5. Stamped: 30 April, 2008
6. Passport received via courier: 3 May 2008 (May 1 was public holiday)


Application details and documents:

1. Age Assesment: - 20 points claimed

I am 26 years old.

Documents:
a. Original Passport
b. Birth certificate - I know this is not required. But vfs guys asked if I can submit it since tier 1 process was just 4 days old in India. I had it with me so submitted it anyways.

2. Qualification

My qualification 'B.E. from University of Mumbai' is recognised by BIA self assessment tool.

Documents:
a. Original degree certificate
b. 4 years marksheets - just to prove that degree duration was 4 years. (I had selected bachelors degree - 4 years programme in BIA tool).
But please carry your final year's marksheet. This is required fot Integrascreen process. - very Important


3. Previous Earnings: - 35 points claimed

a. 01/04/2007 - 30/06/2007 Wipro Technologies:
I was in UK during this period. Used to get UK salary and Indian salary Basic. I claimed points for Indian Basic salary with upliftment ratio.

b. 13/07/2007 - 31/03/2008 Capgemini
I was in India and climed points on gross india salary. Also note that there is a break on 12 days in my employment which i fine. I saw quite a few questions on the same.

Documents:
a. Stamped and signed payslips. I told my employer that I need stamped and signed copies to apply for home loan. Makes it much easier to acquire stamp and signature.

b. Official bank statements showing net salary credited. Highlight salary entries in the statement. makes it easier for assessing officer. I did not have official paper statements for few months. So I took print out of e-mail statement (not internet statement) and branch manager stamped and signed on the same. They did not issue any separate letter.


4. English language:

My qualification was recognised by BAI self assessment tool for meeting english language requirement.

Documents
Original degree certificate. Note, there is no need to submit letter from University regarding medium of language. Assessing officer shall not take that into consideration. There are only 2 possible options:
i. Qualification recognised by BIA website: Provide degree certificate
ii. Qualification not recognised by BIA: Provide letter from NARIC.

4. Maintenence funds

For indian applications, we need to show amount equivalent to GBP 2800 for 3 months. Add GBP 1600 for each dependant.

Documents:
a. Official India bank statement for 3 month period.
b. Letter from bank stating that amount is in my account for 3 months. I needed to threaten bank with account closure to get this letter from them.
My Letter is available here:
http://www.immigrationboards.com/viewto ... 998#164998



Additional documents:
i. VAF9a and VAF9b
ii. Covering letter: http://www.immigrationboards.com/viewto ... 001#165001
iii. BIA points calculation printout

VFS experience:
I booked an appointment via e-mail for 4th April. At the VFS counter, they informed me that I was the first Tier 1 applicant and thus they were were slow (but careful) with my application. I had to help them several times to get the documents arranged. Filled u pform for Integrascreen. Please do carry photocopies for every documents. They need to be submitted for integrascreen. I wasted 30 mins to get them photocopied at vfs office.

Thank you all once again. If you have any questions, I'll be happy to help.

Cheers
Kaushal

[vtaneja]

Hi Kaushal,

Do you have any idea if Fixed deposits can be used as evidence for "maintenance funds" ?

Thanks for the info.

[HSMP_India]

Excellent Mate, congrats! and sharing your experience with us.

[mrajkumar]

Hi Kaushal,
Congrats and thanks for sharing the information. Can you please tell me that, do we need to show the source of income for the maintenance funds? lets say, if i sell any property and keep the bank balance of 2800 pounds for 3 mths, is it acceptable?

Thanks,
Rajkumar

[TierOneAspirantMay]

Hi Kaushal,

I hope u haven't shown any proof of accomadation in UK, printouts from job portals matching ur skill set etc. am i right ?

[kaushal316]

vtaneja,

Not sure about fixed deposit. BIA site does not mention anything about FD. I guess you need to prove that FD is a liquid asset and the amount is at your disposable at any time. The best bet would be to get a letter from bank for the fd account.

Rajkumar,

No need to mention about source of income. As long as account is in your name with regular activities, you are fine.


TierOneAspirantMay,

I neither showed any accomodation or job proof nor mentioned anything about them in my cover letter. It's best not to mention about these things as new application forms do not ask for any such information.

Cheers
Kaushal

[tier1_applicant]

Hi Kaushal,

From you experience,
a) is it necessary to submit letter from bank in addition to official bank statements for three months (which has min. amount equal to GBP 2800).

b) Also, bank statements should have details until the day before application or a few weeks gap is acceptable before application.

Regards

Sunil

[kaushal316]

Hi Kaushal,

From you experience,
a) is it necessary to submit letter from bank in addition to official bank statements for three months (which has min. amount equal to GBP 2800).

b) Also, bank statements should have details until the day before application or a few weeks gap is acceptable before application.

Regards

Sunil

Hi Sunil,

It's not required to submit letter from bank if you have bank statements that meet th requirements. However for cases when minimum balance is not maintained for a few days or so, submit letter to be on safer side.


For your second query, the rule says:
'Cash savings in your bank account that have been in your account for at least three months before your application'

So a gap of a couple of weeks should be okay. But statement should cover a period of 3 months. (my application had gap of 4 days)

[TierOneAspirantMay]

Hi kaushal,

1) how did u paid HO fees through VFS ?
2) Can u please explain in detail how u arranged documents order, do we need to keep covering letter for each section?

Iam planning to apply by the end of this month.

[mrajkumar]

Hi Kaushal,
Thanks for your reply. Can you please tell me whether you applied through any consultant/agency or by yourself?

[jcs]

Hi Kaushal,
Can you give some more clarity on the bank statements requirement for Maintenance funds? If the date of my application is towards end of May, say 20th May 2008, then do my bank statements have to be from 19th March 2008 to 19th May 2008? If that is the case then it is not possible to get original statements as I am going to show my UK bank statements and they are generated online. I will be able to show my statement only till last month end, i.e. April end. Would that be alright? And it would not be possible to get them stamped in good time as I am in India. Moreover the BIA website have mentioned that for online statements the applicant will need to provide a supporting letter from the bank confirming their authenticity. In my case it would not be possible to get the letter nor the bank stamp. Can you please give some suggestions?

Is it required to mention in the cover letter?

[kaushal316]

Hi TierOneAspirantMay,

I got a pay order from ICICI bank for INR 48000 in favour of British Deputy High Commission. Please check VFS site for updated fees. I think they have now changed to 51k.

I arranged docs in order that I have mentioned in cover letter. We cannot have use any fancy folders from India as VFS puts them in their own folder. I just had a single cover letter. I think separate cover letters shall not be required for tier 1 as process has been simplified a lot. Just label the document with a pen.

Cheers,
Kaushal

Hi kaushal,

1) how did u paid HO fees through VFS ?
2) Can u please explain in detail how u arranged documents order, do we need to keep covering letter for each section?

Iam planning to apply by the end of this month.

[kaushal316]

Hi mrajkumar,

I applied directly. I would suggest that if your documents are authentic, you do not need any consultant. For queries, we have this fantastic forum.

Regards,
Kaushal

Hi Kaushal,
Thanks for your reply. Can you please tell me whether you applied through any consultant/agency or by yourself?

[kaushal316]

Hi jcs,

I had a gap of 4 days between my application date and maintenence funds statement. 20 days may be a risk. To be on safer side, go on with the internet statement. If you carefuly read BIA site instructions, letter from bank is required only for bank statements that contain earnings proof. For maintenance funds, letter is not required.

Another way: Order duplicate print statement from the Bank. These statements can have adhoc date. I had once ordered ICICI bank statemnt till 1 Jan till 11th March. Even UK banks such as Lloyds TSB can issue such statements. So if you wanna apply on 20th May, ask bank to issue statement from 14 Feb - 13 May. So that you have a weeks time to receive statement via post.

Final option : go to the india bank branch and ask for a bank statement on bank letter head. (I did this from ICICI bank). They may charge you some money. But carry a written application.

Hope this helps
Kaushal

Hi Kaushal,
Can you give some more clarity on the bank statements requirement for Maintenance funds? If the date of my application is towards end of May, say 20th May 2008, then do my bank statements have to be from 19th March 2008 to 19th May 2008? If that is the case then it is not possible to get original statements as I am going to show my UK bank statements and they are generated online. I will be able to show my statement only till last month end, i.e. April end. Would that be alright? And it would not be possible to get them stamped in good time as I am in India. Moreover the BIA website have mentioned that for online statements the applicant will need to provide a supporting letter from the bank confirming their authenticity. In my case it would not be possible to get the letter nor the bank stamp. Can you please give some suggestions?

Is it required to mention in the cover letter?

[mrajkumar]

Hi Kaushal,
Thanks for the suggestion. Yes, ur absolutely correct. Why should we unnessarily give money to consultants if the application process is simple and all the documents are genuine. I was afraid of doing some silly mistake. But now got confident for applying by own with the help of this forum.

Thanks

[tier1_applicant]

Hi Kaushal,

Thanks for your answers.

Could you please reconfirm that for English language, medium of instruction letter is not relevant at all?

I had called vfs and they were not sure about this and said it is better to attach.

Did you submit Medium of Instruction letter?

While on BIA website, it is very clearly mentioned that degree can be bachelor or masters or higher, however, for medium of instruction, nothing is mentioned.

Only in HSMP case-worker guidance notes, it is mentioned that we need to submit medium of instruction letter from university

Regards,

Sunil

[kaushal316]

Hi Sunil,

I did not submit any letter from university. Just the degree certificate. Well, if you carefully check the points calculator on BIA site, the degrees listed for 'qualification' attribute is much different than the ones listed for 'English language' attribute.

For example qualifications like 'higher secondary' is not listed for english language attribute.

Anyways if you manage to get a letter from university, no harm in attaching the same.

Cheers,
Kaushal

Hi Kaushal,

Thanks for your answers.

Could you please reconfirm that for English language, medium of instruction letter is not relevant at all?

I had called vfs and they were not sure about this and said it is better to attach.

Did you submit Medium of Instruction letter?

While on BIA website, it is very clearly mentioned that degree can be bachelor or masters or higher, however, for medium of instruction, nothing is mentioned.

Only in HSMP case-worker guidance notes, it is mentioned that we need to submit medium of instruction letter from university

Regards,

Sunil

[tier1_applicant]

Hi Kaushal,

I think it is safe to assume that Medium of Instruction letter is not needed as I confirmed from UK HO as well that for Tier1 applications in UK it is not required.

My Masters degree is listed on BIA tool and awards qualification points as well as English language points.

So I think Masters degree certificate and marksheet is sufficient for both qualification points and English language points.

Regards,

Sunil

Hi Sunil,

I did not submit any letter from university. Just the degree certificate. Well, if you carefully check the points calculator on BIA site, the degrees listed for 'qualification' attribute is much different than the ones listed for 'English language' attribute.

For example qualifications like 'higher secondary' is not listed for english language attribute.

Anyways if you manage to get a letter from university, no harm in attaching the same.

Cheers,
Kaushal

Hi Kaushal,

Thanks for your answers.

Could you please reconfirm that for English language, medium of instruction letter is not relevant at all?

I had called vfs and they were not sure about this and said it is better to attach.

Did you submit Medium of Instruction letter?

While on BIA website, it is very clearly mentioned that degree can be bachelor or masters or higher, however, for medium of instruction, nothing is mentioned.

Only in HSMP case-worker guidance notes, it is mentioned that we need to submit medium of instruction letter from university

Regards,

Sunil

[ashishashah]

Hi Kaushal,

Can you please provide the link on BIA where i can find out English language points(Not education )..U mentioned that it is differnt then Education link..

Thanks
Ashish

[gipraveen]

Hi Kaushal,

There is something called "On what date do you want to travel to the UK".. What date should be mentioned...???

After we get the work permit, is there any time limit within which we have to travel to UK??

Dear Friends,

I received my passport stamped with Tier 1 visa . Thank you everyone for your help and support. Lets keep this forum fire live and kicking.

For the benefit of all, I have posted every complete details of my application:

Timelines:
1. Application type: Tier 1 new application from India (No HSMP letter)
2. Location: Mumbai BHC. (VFS Mumbai North)
3. Appl Date: 4 April, 2008
4. Integra: No idea
5. Stamped: 30 April, 2008
6. Passport received via courier: 3 May 2008 (May 1 was public holiday)


Application details and documents:

1. Age Assesment: - 20 points claimed

I am 26 years old.

Documents:
a. Original Passport
b. Birth certificate - I know this is not required. But vfs guys asked if I can submit it since tier 1 process was just 4 days old in India. I had it with me so submitted it anyways.

2. Qualification

My qualification 'B.E. from University of Mumbai' is recognised by BIA self assessment tool.

Documents:
a. Original degree certificate
b. 4 years marksheets - just to prove that degree duration was 4 years. (I had selected bachelors degree - 4 years programme in BIA tool).
But please carry your final year's marksheet. This is required fot Integrascreen process. - very Important


3. Previous Earnings: - 35 points claimed

a. 01/04/2007 - 30/06/2007 Wipro Technologies:
I was in UK during this period. Used to get UK salary and Indian salary Basic. I claimed points for Indian Basic salary with upliftment ratio.

b. 13/07/2007 - 31/03/2008 Capgemini
I was in India and climed points on gross india salary. Also note that there is a break on 12 days in my employment which i fine. I saw quite a few questions on the same.

Documents:
a. Stamped and signed payslips. I told my employer that I need stamped and signed copies to apply for home loan. Makes it much easier to acquire stamp and signature.

b. Official bank statements showing net salary credited. Highlight salary entries in the statement. makes it easier for assessing officer. I did not have official paper statements for few months. So I took print out of e-mail statement (not internet statement) and branch manager stamped and signed on the same. They did not issue any separate letter.


4. English language:

My qualification was recognised by BAI self assessment tool for meeting english language requirement.

Documents
Original degree certificate. Note, there is no need to submit letter from University regarding medium of language. Assessing officer shall not take that into consideration. There are only 2 possible options:
i. Qualification recognised by BIA website: Provide degree certificate
ii. Qualification not recognised by BIA: Provide letter from NARIC.

4. Maintenence funds

For indian applications, we need to show amount equivalent to GBP 2800 for 3 months. Add GBP 1600 for each dependant.

Documents:
a. Official India bank statement for 3 month period.
b. Letter from bank stating that amount is in my account for 3 months. I needed to threaten bank with account closure to get this letter from them.
My Letter is available here:
http://www.immigrationboards.com/viewto ... 998#164998



Additional documents:
i. VAF9a and VAF9b
ii. Covering letter: http://www.immigrationboards.com/viewto ... 001#165001
iii. BIA points calculation printout

VFS experience:
I booked an appointment via e-mail for 4th April. At the VFS counter, they informed me that I was the first Tier 1 applicant and thus they were were slow (but careful) with my application. I had to help them several times to get the documents arranged. Filled u pform for Integrascreen. Please do carry photocopies for every documents. They need to be submitted for integrascreen. I wasted 30 mins to get them photocopied at vfs office.

Thank you all once again. If you have any questions, I'll be happy to help.

Cheers
Kaushal

[kaushal316]

Hi ashish,

it's not a separate link. it's a different section in the points calculator. you can enter different qualifications again for english language requirement.

Cheers,
Kaushal

Hi Kaushal,

Can you please provide the link on BIA where i can find out English language points(Not education )..U mentioned that it is differnt then Education link..

Thanks
Ashish

[kaushal316]

Hi gipraveen

I mentioned 31 may, 2008 in that field. However i got visa valid from 30 april. SO i assume that this field is ignored. mention a date 5-6 weeks from your application date.

Once your visa is stamped, you can enter anytime till your visa expires.

But as mentioned in many topics, you should do it as soon as possible.

Regards
Kaushal

Hi Kaushal,

There is something called "On what date do you want to travel to the UK".. What date should be mentioned...???

After we get the work permit, is there any time limit within which we have to travel to UK??

[ashishashah]

Hi Kaushal,

Sorry to bug with this minute questions...I have also done my BE from Bombay University ..BIA eng. language tool asks for "Grade" ..I dont think that we get "grade " in BE(and even if we get that is not mentioned in BE certificate)

[kaushal316]

I selected 'below 80%'. You can safely do the same. No worries.

Hi Kaushal,

Sorry to bug with this minute questions...I have also done my BE from Bombay University ..BIA eng. language tool asks for "Grade" ..I dont think that we get "grade " in BE(and even if we get that is not mentioned in BE certificate)

[deepinder7090]

Dear Kushal,
Can i take gift from my father of amount 300000 INR for both of my wife and son for the funds requirement.
if yes then what are the docs required to show for the source of the amount.
if no the what is the alternative for that.

kindly suggest

regards,
deepinder