April Newsletter
April 2011 Newsletter
14th Apr 2011
Welcome to our communication update to our valued clients!
Keep up to date with all the latest events happening in London at http://www.timeout.com/london/
Attacking the UK Visa Problem
Changes in making visa applications in 2010 have resulted in annoying, time-consuming and expensive processes when applying for a UK visa. In Kurdistan, northern Iraq, for example, it had been necessary for Iraqis to travel to Amman in Jordan, hand in their passports and to wait for up to three weeks to learn whether or not their visa had been granted.
Infuriated by the way in which this ridiculous process was making it so difficult for genuine business people to come to London, LCT has been fighting to improve the system for some months. The Managing Director of LCT, Ian Mann, has been lobbying Members of Parliament and of the House of Lords. He has been writing letters to the Prime Minister, the Foreign Secretary, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, the Minister for Business, the Head of UK Trade and Investment, the London Chamber of Commerce, the Middle East Association, and others.
After much effort there have been some changes for the better.
It is now possible for business people in Iraq to obtain their UK visas without having to leave the country. They can complete the visa application form and take it with supporting documentation to the office of the British Consul General in Erbil. Here they can have the necessary biometric process completed where their eyes are scanned and the iris recorded along with their finger prints. This information is now sent by courier to the UK Border Agency office in Amman, whilst the applicant stays at home to await his or her visa.
Ian Mann's most recent attempt to keep the visa problem under the spotlight was on Wednesday 14th March when his letter to the editor of the Financial Times was given lead position with a headline spread over four columns at the top of the letters page.
The full text of this letter can be found on http://www.lct.uk.com/about-us/news/article/ft.
LCT continues its work to make it as easy as can be for genuine visa applications to be processed as efficiently as possible.
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Receiving Deposits Manager – Central Bank of Nigeria, NigeriaLCT is a wonderful institution. I benefited a lot from the experience of their seasoned professionals that handled the topics during the course. I hope that you keep up with the standard.