Technical glitch delays UK student visas

Visas that used to be processed within seven working days till last year take as long as a month now, reports Debarati Palit

Technical glitch delays UK student visas

Visas that used to be processed within seven working days till last year take as long as a month now, reports Debarati Palit

Wait a while: Due to the delay in processing the visa, several students could not fly to UK on time. Representational pic

Worryingly, the British High Commission is neither willing to elaborate the nature of the 'technical problem' that is causing the delay, nor are its officials clear when the hitch, which is affecting visa applicants worldwide, will be smoothened out.

A city travel agent said, "Many students could not fly in time. What makes the delay serious is that we are in the middle of the peak period for admissions in the UK. They won't give us reasons for the delay, and we can't ask directly because we can't upset them, as we depend on them for business."

Nisha Dey (name changed), a graduate, who had applied for visa in the first week of May missed an interview at a University last year because she is still awaiting for her visa. She says, "I missed the interview because I am still waiting for my visa. We have not been given any reasons for the delay."u00a0

VFS Global, the sole agency empowered by the British High Commission to process visas, confirmed that processing of visas had slowed down due to a technical hitch.

"The problem was present in all British High Commission offices across the world. The issue has now been sorted out," said Abdul Shaikh, the assistant operations manager of the Mumbai branch of VFS Global.

However, VFS Global's Pune branch had a different story to tell. "The problem continues. We have not been informed when it will be solved," said Priya R, who handles application division at the Pune office.

"Since April 28, UK visa services in India are taking 10 to 15 days for processing. We can't say for sure how long it will take for us to resolve the technical problem," said a spokesperson for the British High Commission's Delhi office.

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