Online UK visa process for Saudis
by Michelle S - August 13, 2010
United Kingdom, 12th August: UK visa process will go online from August 21 for Saudis, stated the UK Embassy.
So, all applications from the UK Embassy in Riyadh for UK visas will be made online resulting in increased processing speed of the applications.
Speaking about this new facility at the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, charge d’affaires at the British Embassy in Riyadh, Roderick Drummond said that all applicants, however, will still be required to make a visit to the UK visa application centre in order to fulfill other mandatory requirements including photographs. However, the applicant for UK visas will be required to spend just around 15 minutes at the concerned visa center.
The new facility of online UK visa applications will enable Saudi people receive their UK visas within a record time of 48 hours.
Meanwhile, all applicants hailing from Saudi Arabia for UK student visas will get their visas between five to ten days, Mr. Drummond added.
UK visas enjoy a huge demand in the kingdom of Saudi Arabia. In the year 2009, a total of 100,000 UK visas were issued for Saudi nationals out of which nearly 20,000 were UK student visas.
Till now, the UK Embassy in the Kingdom has already issued a total of 65,000 UK visas and is likely to exceed the number of UK visas issued last year, hoped Drummond.
The UK Embassy in Riyadh receives the maximum number of applications for UK visas in the entire Gulf region and hence, is regarded as the busiest UK visa post.
Each year, around 200,000 UK visas are issued to people hailing from other states of the Gulf out of which a large number of UK visas issued include long-term visas for a period of five to ten years. Long-term UK visas are issued for those Saudis who either are doing business in Britain or are owners of property there.
More and more Saudi nationals are invited to seek UK visas for long-time since they are required to make multiple visits to and from the UK for their business concerns.
There is a vast potential for investments by the Saudis in the UK while UK already has made huge investments across Saudi Arabia.
The bilateral trade between the two nations each year is around $10 billion(6 billion pounds).
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