Online Payment Now Mandatory in Many Countries

IMPACT – Medium

What are the changes? The U.K. visa processing centers are moving to a mandatory online payment system.

What does the change mean? Employers accustomed to obtaining drafts to allow employees to pay visa fees must now pay online by credit card.

• Implementation timeframe: Ongoing. The countries listed below moved to online payment on Dec. 16.
• Visas/permits affected: All visa applications.
• Who is affected: Sponsoring employers and assignees paying visa applications fees at a U.K. visa application center.
• Impact on processing times: As BAL is able to make the online payment on your behalf, this change may improve overall processing times and simplify procedures, because employers no longer need to transmit a draft demand to the employee.
• Next steps: Employers and assignees should be aware that U.K. visa service centers will not accept in-person payment.

Background: The U.K. is moving towards e-payment of visa applications in an effort to streamline service and improve security.

As of Dec. 16, the following countries must pay for their U.K. visas online:

The U.K. plans for all overseas visa applicants to pay online by the end of 2014.

BAL Analysis: Sponsoring companies should be mindful that in-person payment is being phased out. By next year, online payment will apply to all countries.

This alert has been provided by the BAL Global Practice group in the United Kingdom. For additional information, please contact uk@bal.com.

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