spouse of scouse

I applied for my UK spouse visa last week, from Australia. I'm an Oz citizen with no other nationality.

I received an email today saying that a decision had been made, that my documents were being sent to the VAC (Visa Application Centre), and that I'd then receive the documents via courier.

All pretty standard stuff, but I was surprised to see the signature line:

UK Visas and Immigration
British Embassy Manila

Is that standard practice, to filter Australian applications through the British Embassy in Manila?

BritInParis

Manila is the UK's visa processing superhub in that part of the world. Covers all of East Asia, SE Asia and Oceania. It's perfectly normal for your application to be processed there if you're resident in Australia.

spouse of scouse

Thanks Brit, I like 'normal' Amazing the number of little things that set off (entirely unnecessary) alarm bells while going through the visa application process!

scot47

It is cheaper ? To have it all done in Manila ?

spouse of scouse

Sorry Scot, not sure if your question is to me, regarding the application cost, or to Brits, about the Manila 'superhub'?

scot47

My question was to all and sundry. Why is the UK Government employing people in Manila to do this ? To save a few shillings ? Disgraceful.

michali

It might not be to make it cheaper, Scot. Rather than having all applications coming to the UK would it not surely lessen the burden on the Sheffield office. Ours was done in Jamaica but recently they have changed it so Caribbean applications come to Sheffield.

scot47

I still have the pre-Thatcherite idea that full employment is a policy that a responsible government should pursue. Outsourcing the production of passports is lunacy. Why don't they get the Chines to build our power stations too ? They could get the Dutch to run our railways and the Germans to run our bus companies.
Alas, in the real world all these things have been done.

not2old

"The US, Germany and the Netherlands were the three countries with the most UK businesses in 2012. But in terms of continents, the majority (54%) of foreign-owned businesses were owned from within Europe, with around a third (33%) owned from within North and South America" source The Guardian newspaper

" Huge rise in UK aerospace companies sold to overseas businesses is damaging Britain's industrial expertise and economy, says think-tank Civitas.
The claims come a day after ADS Group, the trade association which represents Britain’s aerospace sector, produced data showing that the sector is worth £29.2bn to the UK economy a year, and is a vital source of exports with 91pc of final demand coming from abroad." source: The Telegraph June 2015

Why is it that there are so many foreign corporations with subsidary companies based in the UK that pay little to zero tax?

What about all those foreign owned supermarkets & retail that Brits cannot do without?

Or the fact that holidaying abroad spending wages from working for a foreigned owned company which so many seem to do?

Anyone old enough to remember all that was British - from the motor industry, steel, shipbuilding, retail etc ... what is left in the UK that is not directly or indirectly foreign owned?

The outsourcing of passports or visa processing is a small drop in the bucket

.

BritInParis

As opposed to doing it where? In Australia?

Neither passport nor visa processing has been outsourced. Not sure where either of you is getting that idea from.