What happened at Oz House,London...
Nov 24th 2003, 11:42 am
#1
Happy mum of 2 Aussies
Thread Starter
Joined: Oct 2002
Location: Springwood, QLD
Posts: 518
What happened at Oz House,London...
Hi all,
Well, I went to Oz house on Friday to get my visa firmly stuck in my passport. Here's what happened....
Wanted to get there well before the 9am opening to avoid any queues. Overslept - arrived at the door - running like a mad thing at 9.15am - only to find the door closed and not opening till 9.30. Small queue of about 6 people.
Anyway - got in, took a number...waited for about 1hr to get up to the counter. The lady looked at my visa letter and said "What are you here for?" Apparently I was in the passport office. The visa office is on the OTHER SIDE OF THE BUILDING!!! :scared: And it did open at 9am, and was open for about another 30min. So - running like a mad thing again I burst into the visa office - no queue. Went straight to a desk (after talking to reception). The lady took one look at my letter, then stuck it and my passport in a brown envelope and told me I'd get it back in the post in about 5 days. I was stunned!!! I thought I was going to get my stamp there and then. Apparently on Nov 3rd, 2003, the rules all changed. Now all visas are sent by post!!!
So - in brief, here are some tips...
1) If you do take the time to take your passport in, dont expect it back the same day. Save youself a day's leave and just send it in by post.
2) If you do decide to go in, as you approach the front of Oz house, go to the LEFT side of the building for the visa office. Not the right. GO LEFT!
I have to say though - even though it was a wasted day of leave, and I didnt have my visa in my hand at the end of it, I still wandered around London for the day with a big cheesy grin stuck on my face.
W.
Well, I went to Oz house on Friday to get my visa firmly stuck in my passport. Here's what happened....
Wanted to get there well before the 9am opening to avoid any queues. Overslept - arrived at the door - running like a mad thing at 9.15am - only to find the door closed and not opening till 9.30. Small queue of about 6 people.
Anyway - got in, took a number...waited for about 1hr to get up to the counter. The lady looked at my visa letter and said "What are you here for?" Apparently I was in the passport office. The visa office is on the OTHER SIDE OF THE BUILDING!!! :scared: And it did open at 9am, and was open for about another 30min. So - running like a mad thing again I burst into the visa office - no queue. Went straight to a desk (after talking to reception). The lady took one look at my letter, then stuck it and my passport in a brown envelope and told me I'd get it back in the post in about 5 days. I was stunned!!! I thought I was going to get my stamp there and then. Apparently on Nov 3rd, 2003, the rules all changed. Now all visas are sent by post!!!
So - in brief, here are some tips...
1) If you do take the time to take your passport in, dont expect it back the same day. Save youself a day's leave and just send it in by post.
2) If you do decide to go in, as you approach the front of Oz house, go to the LEFT side of the building for the visa office. Not the right. GO LEFT!
I have to say though - even though it was a wasted day of leave, and I didnt have my visa in my hand at the end of it, I still wandered around London for the day with a big cheesy grin stuck on my face.
W.
Nov 24th 2003, 11:51 am
#2
Guest
Posts: n/a
Re: What happened at Oz House,London...
bloody hell thanks for that info.
lol
I would have been quite peeved.
oh well at least like us lot you could cross the road without beng run over by a bus; most of us were too busy looking at our visas!
Badge
lol
I would have been quite peeved.
oh well at least like us lot you could cross the road without beng run over by a bus; most of us were too busy looking at our visas!
Badge
Nov 24th 2003, 12:03 pm
#3
Account Closed
Joined: Nov 2003
Posts: 1,384
Thanks for that Wanderlust, its made me feel much better as I was agonising over whether I'd made the wrong decision sending ours.
Anxiety levels have been reduced from dangorously high to the usual desperately high now.
Anxiety levels have been reduced from dangorously high to the usual desperately high now.
Nov 24th 2003, 12:16 pm
#4
Forum Regular
Joined: Sep 2003
Location: Bolton
Posts: 174
Re: What happened at Oz House,London...
Originally posted by Wanderlust
Hi all,
Well, I went to Oz house on Friday to get my visa firmly stuck in my passport. Here's what happened....
Wanted to get there well before the 9am opening to avoid any queues. Overslept - arrived at the door - running like a mad thing at 9.15am - only to find the door closed and not opening till 9.30. Small queue of about 6 people.
Anyway - got in, took a number...waited for about 1hr to get up to the counter. The lady looked at my visa letter and said "What are you here for?" Apparently I was in the passport office. The visa office is on the OTHER SIDE OF THE BUILDING!!! :scared: And it did open at 9am, and was open for about another 30min. So - running like a mad thing again I burst into the visa office - no queue. Went straight to a desk (after talking to reception). The lady took one look at my letter, then stuck it and my passport in a brown envelope and told me I'd get it back in the post in about 5 days. I was stunned!!! I thought I was going to get my stamp there and then. Apparently on Nov 3rd, 2003, the rules all changed. Now all visas are sent by post!!!
So - in brief, here are some tips...
1) If you do take the time to take your passport in, dont expect it back the same day. Save youself a day's leave and just send it in by post.
2) If you do decide to go in, as you approach the front of Oz house, go to the LEFT side of the building for the visa office. Not the right. GO LEFT!
I have to say though - even though it was a wasted day of leave, and I didnt have my visa in my hand at the end of it, I still wandered around London for the day with a big cheesy grin stuck on my face.
W.
Hi all,
Well, I went to Oz house on Friday to get my visa firmly stuck in my passport. Here's what happened....
Wanted to get there well before the 9am opening to avoid any queues. Overslept - arrived at the door - running like a mad thing at 9.15am - only to find the door closed and not opening till 9.30. Small queue of about 6 people.
Anyway - got in, took a number...waited for about 1hr to get up to the counter. The lady looked at my visa letter and said "What are you here for?" Apparently I was in the passport office. The visa office is on the OTHER SIDE OF THE BUILDING!!! :scared: And it did open at 9am, and was open for about another 30min. So - running like a mad thing again I burst into the visa office - no queue. Went straight to a desk (after talking to reception). The lady took one look at my letter, then stuck it and my passport in a brown envelope and told me I'd get it back in the post in about 5 days. I was stunned!!! I thought I was going to get my stamp there and then. Apparently on Nov 3rd, 2003, the rules all changed. Now all visas are sent by post!!!
So - in brief, here are some tips...
1) If you do take the time to take your passport in, dont expect it back the same day. Save youself a day's leave and just send it in by post.
2) If you do decide to go in, as you approach the front of Oz house, go to the LEFT side of the building for the visa office. Not the right. GO LEFT!
I have to say though - even though it was a wasted day of leave, and I didnt have my visa in my hand at the end of it, I still wandered around London for the day with a big cheesy grin stuck on my face.
W.
Great piece of advice, but probably by the time ours come through, they'll have changed the rules once again!
Tazzy
Nov 24th 2003, 1:21 pm
#5
Lost in BE Cyberspace
Joined: Nov 2003
Location: Scotland
Posts: 7,949
And of course as per recent advice on the forum when posting your passport don't just put a stamp on an envelope and send it. Get it registered, ask for proof of posting, sent by courier or whatever.
OzTennis
OzTennis
Nov 24th 2003, 1:31 pm
#6
BE Forum Addict
Joined: Mar 2003
Location: melbourne,australia
Posts: 1,028
Good or you Wanderlust - for the big cheezy grin that is-
hope it doesnt take too long
booboo
hope it doesnt take too long
booboo
Nov 27th 2003, 12:09 pm
#7
Happy mum of 2 Aussies
Thread Starter
Joined: Oct 2002
Location: Springwood, QLD
Posts: 518
For all of you who are interested - I got my visa back in the post on Tuesday - after dropping it off on Friday. Not bad eh??
Spent a good half hour just sitting down staring at it with disbelief. Seems to good to be true - that the only thing keeping me here now is me choosing which date to fly....
Aaaaah.....bliss. The pressure is off and it feels great!
W.
Spent a good half hour just sitting down staring at it with disbelief. Seems to good to be true - that the only thing keeping me here now is me choosing which date to fly....
Aaaaah.....bliss. The pressure is off and it feels great!
W.
Nov 27th 2003, 12:37 pm
#8
Joined: Jun 2003
Location: Adelaide
Posts: 597
Congrats Wanderlust,
It's a great feeling isn't it?
I was one of the lucky ones, managed to sweet-talk the very nice lady (well she was when she agreed to do it) into doing ours on the spot; she wanted me to come back in 5 days to collect the passports and I explained in a (genuinely) panicky voice that I couldn't as I live a couple of hundred miles north of London...
Unfortunately I have to wait until next August to finally head off but at least we have the validation trip in February to look forward to...10 weeks and 5 days but who's counting?
Do you have a house to sell or are you literally ready for the off?
Where are you headed?
Elaine
:PARTY: :PARTY:
It's a great feeling isn't it?
I was one of the lucky ones, managed to sweet-talk the very nice lady (well she was when she agreed to do it) into doing ours on the spot; she wanted me to come back in 5 days to collect the passports and I explained in a (genuinely) panicky voice that I couldn't as I live a couple of hundred miles north of London...
Unfortunately I have to wait until next August to finally head off but at least we have the validation trip in February to look forward to...10 weeks and 5 days but who's counting?
Do you have a house to sell or are you literally ready for the off?
Where are you headed?
Elaine
:PARTY: :PARTY:
Nov 27th 2003, 1:14 pm
#9
Forum Regular
Joined: Oct 2003
Location: London
Posts: 126
wrong door
LOL about the wrong door - I did the same thing but in reverse when I went to get my first Australian passport (dual nationality). Queued for an hour only to be told to go round to the other side. Which had no queue. Doh!!
At least I'll know which door Mr K_M has to go to if we ever manage to get our application together....
They do seem incredibly quick in sending things out though. I renewed my Oz passport recently and I got it in the post two days after dropping in my paperwork.
Word of caution about the post - it's still stuffed around London. I received a letter yesterday that was postmarked 12th November. So it's well worth giving them a special delivery envelope....
At least I'll know which door Mr K_M has to go to if we ever manage to get our application together....
They do seem incredibly quick in sending things out though. I renewed my Oz passport recently and I got it in the post two days after dropping in my paperwork.
Word of caution about the post - it's still stuffed around London. I received a letter yesterday that was postmarked 12th November. So it's well worth giving them a special delivery envelope....
