Sometimes you get surprised that a country like UK should have practices that you get to see in 3
rd world countries. In fact it is worse, because in 3
rd world countries jumping queues, paying bribes and other tactics works whereas in UK, under the pretext of being a 1
st world nation these things are not possible. As a result you end up in a situation that neither works in 1
st world nor the 3
rd world.
The Home OfficeIf you are trying to get your Indefinite Leave to Remain visa or Permanent Residency then the only way you could get this is by calling the home office at sharp 9AM. One should consider themselves lucky if they get through in the 10
th call. They take calls for appointments for 6 weeks in advance and it is inevitable that they will tell you that it is booked out. Which means you keep calling everyday until one day they tell you an appointment is available. Now here are the 3
rd world practices in the Home Office of 1
st country:
There is no call waiting facility, you will get a message that everyone is busy so we have to call back
If they cannot take booking for 6 weeks from the day you call the only other option is to call them back
There is no way to make a booking over the internet
There is no way you can go straight to the office and get the work done
There is no way you can pay someone a bribe and get the work done
The only other alternative to making numerous calls everyday with the hope you will get an appointment is to send them the application with the passport and expect to get it back anywhere between 4 to 14 weeks!!!
Labels: government, home office, UK