Target Country: United Kingdom (UK) or Great Britain
Passport: Indian Passport
Visa Type: Student Visa
Processing Consulate/Embassy: British High Commission, New Delhi, India
Documents submitted:
- GBP 100 fee (Bank draft of Indian Rupee equivalent) made out to “British High Commission” (UK High Commission was not acceptable)
- Filled application form
- Valid passport
- Original Bank statements for the last 6 months
- Original passbooks for Indian bank accounts
- Original passbooks of parents (sponsors)
- Financial statements (certified by chartered accountants) detailing stock holdings
- Original letter from the University saying that I have gained admission and paid part of the fee
- Original letter from bank confirming student loan
- Passport Sized Picture (taken on the spot, when submitting application)
- Email trail discussing and confirming admissions interview with an alumnus.
- Email of Visa Appointment confirmation
- IELTS Certificate
- Graduation certificate and transcript from Undergraduate studies
- Transcripts from Class X and Class XII examinations
- Income Tax Returns (photocopies) for me and my sponsors
Experience:
Relatively pain less. The application was made through VFS Global – a third party that acts as the front end to the visa offices of various consulates in India. They were very helpful and responsive. The only thing lacking was a complete list of instructions on what to bring. Once I reached, I was told that my passport sized photo was inadequate and that I needed a whole bunch of photocopies. But on the whole, it was a very smooth process.
Recommendation: Make sure you have originals AND photocopies of all documents (including passport).
Time frame: 6 working days
Number of embassy visits: 2 (well, 2 visits to the VFS office, not the embassy.)
