mutang

Hi all , its been suggested to me that to speed up the visa process i should front-end load my police checks and medicals . I'm not entirely sure how this process works , I guess its getting the meds + checks ready for when they are requested ? If this is the case , how do you request a police check ? Is there particular form i need to ask for at my police station ?
Also the meds , is it a case of contacting the most local doctor on the approved panel doctor list and booking us all in ?
Sorry to barrage you all with questions but i have one more...how much do the meds and police checks cost ?

Thanks in advance for any help or advice you can offer ,

Jim

paulf

For police checks, phone your local police and get the phone number of your branch of Data protection team, they will send you the forms and it costs £10 per person,
Meds, you can use any of the doctors on the list you will need to get quotes as prices vary.
You can then send the forms off once you have been assigned a reference number from DIMIA who issue that when your application is acknowledged.

mutang

Thanks for the quick reply ! Do the meds and checks have a ' use by ' date ie. how long do they last before expiring ? I have my DIMIA reference number and have been told its roughly a 5 month wait for the visa process .

Jim

paulf

If you have your ref number you can front load them as soon as you can get it organised, the doctor will need the ref to put on the meds, and you can send the police checks to the DIMIA address with that ref on it.
Meds and police checks both have a shelve life and do expire.

wargod

The form for the police clearances is called 'Subject access' i downloaded ours from the Avon and Somerset police website

mutang

Thanks for the help , for anyone in the MET police area i found this website where the form can be downloaded.
http://www.met.police.uk/dataprotection/forms.htm

Anyone know how long these checks are valid for ?

Jim

Nicky & Dave

Both 12 months I think. Front load with police clearance as this can be submitted with your application. Advise would be to wait until you have a case number allocated before you get meds done.

Nicky

paulf

Not if you get a cat B medical, six months then.

Zan

Remember as well as them only lasting 12 months (or six in some cases) you also will have to enter the country within that 12 month period.
In London medicals cost from £110-£200. Have heard some other areas of the country can be more pricey.
Police checks take around 3-4 weeks to come through. (we downloaded the form and then just took it into the local police station).
Zan

Shaun&Dee

2 of us to have a medical was £210 each in London.

mutang

Jeez...£210 each ! I've got a family of 5 to do !
I'm hoping kids are cheaper...?

Shaun&Dee

If you do a search on BE you should find that it is cheaper for families, ie the more you buy, the cheaper it is. The costs do vary so phone around, also some can do it straight away, while others have a few month waiting list. Also not all are open weekends, so you may need to book a day off.

wargod

Depends on how old the kids are as to what tests they have to do - fro instance my two are 3 and 1, the one year old all the quack did was look into her eyes and ears. The 3 year old all he did was an eyesight test and reflexes. I thnk the childrens medical was £60(ish) that is for Bristol/Bath area.

possoms

Have you got a house to sell?? Just a word of warning if you front load then are stuck with selling your house. Fortunately for us we didnt front load if we had we would be having to validate by Feb 2006 which would be a nightmare.

Good luck

mutang

Hi , we do have a house to sell however we intended to have a holiday and validate at the same time. Do you know if all members of the family have to validate at the same time ?