This visa allows you to work and live in the UK for up to 2 years. I found information hard to find about this type of visa application and I stressed myself way too much out over this – so I decided to share my experience with the application process in the hopes it helps others.
Eligibility
– You must be over the age of 18 and under 31 years of age at the time of application.
– You must apply for the visa outside of the UK from a country where you have citizenship or a valid visa that allows you to live/work there.
– Available to anyone from Australia, Canada, Japan, New Zealand, Monaco, Hong Kong, Taiwan & Republic of Korea.
What you need:
– Current passport (must also be valid for the whole 2 year visa)
– Previous passports with travel history from the last 10 years (including dates of previous trips to the UK)
– £1,890 available funds in the bank at the time of applying
– A UK address to put on the application (or that of a friend, family member or hotel – this address determines the closest Post Shop where you will collect your Biometric Residence Permit from).
– Bank statement, signed on letterhead paper proving funds
– Passport sized photo (printed)
– 2 x large envelopes (padded ideal) with overnight tracking on each
How it works:
1. Apply online, pay the fees. (The document takes about an hour to download so don’t worry when you can’t print it off straight away!)
2. You are then prompted to make an appointment at an Immigration Office. My appointment was based in Auckland and I was able to make one a few days from the date of my application.
3. Send all documents away, double, triple check you have everything asked for and all information is correct.
4. Your visa application then gets sent to the Auckland address given and goes on a little holiday to Manila where it is processed.
Cost: $1000 approx (including Health Surcharge)
Processing time: 1 – 4 weeks.
Fast tracking option – I paid an extra $180 approx to fast track the process and my application arrived within a week of sending it off in the mail – amazing! Make sure you pay for this before you attend your appointment with Immigration and staple the receipt to the front of your application.
Feel free to ask me any questions you might have! Happy to help 🙂
J
The Runaway Girl 