MANILA PHILIPPINES | Hi everyone! So we recently applied for a UK Visa and fortunately, we were able to receive it in 3 working days which I thought was amazing. I would like to share with you the process when applying for a UK Visa. It was not easy but once you have all the documents, there shouldn’t be any problem.

People may have their own way in processing their visa, but here’s what we did and hope this could help or at least give you an idea about processing a UK Visa in the Philippines via VFS.

Let me me make it clear that VFS is just for receiving documents. The granting of a VISA still depends on the decision of the British Embassy. So make sure to provide the complete  set of supporting documents.

Visa4Uk will also direct you to VFS Manila for booking an appointment. You may use either, but for us, we decided to try VISA4UK.

Prepare to answer some questions in the application form such as these:

A.  Please print the application form and do not forget the photo requirements indicated in the form.

B. You need to provide your flight bookings. In our case, we already bought the tickets through Qatar Airways.

C. Provide bank certificates and statements for six months. I got mine at BPI which cost Php 100.00 and statements are free. Metrobank would take 1 day to get the bank certificate. This is very important!

D. We indicated our total budget for our trip. So we included our payroll slips in the application and other sources of funds.

E. You need to request for a CERTIFICATE OF EMPLOYMENT and LEAVE OF ABSENCE to prove that you are coming back to the Philippines.

F. We also provided an itinerary in the UK and also provided the print-out of our booked accommodation.

G. Since we are travelling with our friends from the UK, it is also very important that you ask them for an invitation letter. If they are your sponsor, ask for their certified bank details as well to prove they can host you in the UK.

H. If married, provide your marriage certificate.

We booked very early and decided to use their premium lounge service at an extra cost. The Premium lounge service fee is PHP 2,625 for each visa. 

And since we wanted our application to be processed early for my passport renewal and Schengen visa, we decided to try the PRIORITY PROCESSING SERVICE which cost an additional PHP 10,800.00 for each applicant (I recently heard that the Priority Service has increased their fee). But what is so good about this, is that your visa will be processed within 3-5 working days! VFS doesn’t accept credit cards yet though.

Once at the lounge, the staff were very friendly and accommodating. They would really make sure that you have the requirements ready. If you are missing any documents, there are printing and photocopy services in the main lobby. That was very convenient.