«One of the advantages of this system is that those who wish to obtain a visa have the opportunity to submit an application and book a convenient time for a visit to the embassy,» emphasized Timothy Barrow. He noted that a similar online application system has already been implemented by Britain in embassies of 40 countries worldwide. It is planned that decisions regarding visa issuance will be made on the day of the citizen's visit to the embassy.
As explained by the British Consul in Ukraine, Kevan Clifton, the visa application procedure is published on the British Embassy website. According to the consul, the applicant must fill out a visa application form in English and save it. The form will be saved on the embassy's website in a secure mode, and the applicant will receive a registration number by email, which will be necessary during the visit to the embassy. The consul also said that the application form should be printed, as it is included in the list of required documents for the visit to the embassy.
After submitting the application, Clifton noted, it is necessary to indicate a convenient date and time for the interview. Afterwards, the citizen receives an email notification with the corresponding confirmation, as well as a list of documents that must be brought to the embassy. Then, according to Clifton, it is necessary to come to the embassy on the appointed date and time, pay the visa fee, after which, if necessary, an interview will be conducted with the Ukrainian citizen.
Answering a question from journalists about how many applications for British visas were submitted by Ukrainian citizens since the beginning of the year and what is the percentage of visa refusals, the ambassador said: «The refusal rate for this year is approximately 11%. That is, 89% of those who applied received visas.» At the same time, he noted that in 2005 the refusal rate was 9.4%, and in 2004 – 12.8%. According to him, Ukrainian citizens submitted about 28,000 applications for British visas in the first 9 months of the past year, and 31,000 applications in the previous year.
The ambassador also reported that the current cost of a standard British multiple-entry visa, which allows entry to the UK for 6 months, is 500 hryvnias.