Any experts in UK visas? I wonder if a regular visitor-artist visa for six months includes multi entrance…? In the on-line application form they don´t give an option for more then one entrance, even applicant has to answer about 183 questions, to submit some 35 document papers, to posses credit card for visa fee payment and to post it all including finger prints and passport to UK Border Agency + 40 euro additional charge in cash.
I need to fly to Swizerland next week and i wonder how i´m goanna do it if i need to send my passport to the UK Border Agency for unknown amount of time…
Well, I read the “which visa to applay for” all the afternoon and it seems i need the “visitor with permited paid engagment: artist”. i need to attend 1 conference participation in academic context, one exhibition, and few artist talks in art and academic contexts.. each stay up to 1 week.. all in next 6 months….
Some of my colleagues believe i should apply for an academic visa, the others advice me to apply rather for business visa while other say just a visit is the best, least paper work..
I actually need short term sex & business visa! but couldn´t find that option..;-)
Got advice i shouldn´t mention i´m divorced since the divorce certificate and the authorized translation of it to English will be requested.
Welcome to the Kafka´s process!
So after several days of intense visa procedure research, a lot of stress and a number of consultations with a couple of colleagues of mine and friends, who all became an experts based on own praxis, i wonted to let you know that unfortunately there is no way for me to get the UK visa now in such a short period of time. One needs at least 3-4 weeks of time when one does not travel at all, so one can send the passport for the visa application. And i have now only two weeks left before the ArtLeaks conference that I have been invited to contribute to, and even within this two weeks I have already important research trip booked in Switzerland, where i can´t fly to without my only passport, that is my only proper photo ID document.. – Right?
I don´t understand when some people say that the UK Border Agency has improved its services. I remember times when i used to travel to the UK without a visa. Then I remember times when i could obtain british visa within a day in the consulate in Belgrade and in Paris. Now a days, UK consulates in Germany do not deal with the visa issues. Applicants have to figure out on their own which type of visa they are suppose to apply for. To do a very complicated online application and pay exclusively with credit cards for a date for fingerprinting and other biometrical data collecting in an agency in a country where one is based. Then all the documents including passports are sent to UK to be processed. So one needs 4 weeks to be possibly granted a right to travel to UK..
I am very sorry but i won´t be able to join the conference – ArtLeaks Public Presentation and Discussion, organized in the framework of the 9th Historical Materialism Conference, between November 7th and 12th 2012, at the School of Oriental and African Studies – University of London – this time..
Next time, please send me the invitation preferably two months in advance so that i am able to organize all without extreme stress..
Postscript / February 2013, Berlin: I got my passport delivered back from the UK Border Agence! And my art books returned as well:-) The tips were helpful! Aleluja! Thank you Manick Govinda and many others! I did aplayed straight forward for the short term business visa since i had two payed engagments and two related invitation letters for a short period of time, and i could proof my permanent residence an financial stability in Germany. So I got 6 months, multi entrance business visa, so i can definitely mess up in March in Glasgow and Edinburgh with the Art & Economics Group, Bill Drummond, ECONOMY show, University of Edinburgh, and much more.. I got impression that it´s easier to get business visa then artist or an academic visa in my case. Think that´s obvious exsample of how borders are transparent for buissness and not for cultural and acadmic exchange. I as well wonder if it is like that because artists and academics might be considered as an unsucessful buissnessmen, or so? ,-)
