2014 and 2017

lets start with this! i applied twice in 2014 and late 2017! and guess what, got refusal both because the high level of ignorance of the british diplomatic decision makers! 

Imagine I attached so many documents including my finance status but the ignorant diplomat wrote in the refusal paper that my financial status is not clear!

hello Mr. diplomat why acting like this? why destroying people dream of travels, and not study my case with open neutral eyes.

oh beside that they said that because of isis war they worry that i will asylum seeking in uk! 

oh come in!! My passport was full of travel stamps but the ignorant diplomat didnt bother to study my application well.

anyways, my heart got broken and i was in really bad mood because this shouldnt happen, no real reason for this to happen! i even didnt ask for objection! because I didnt trust them anymore. 

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holder of iraqi passport can apply through the visa section of the british embassy in baghdad and their consulate in erbil, previously or during when i applied, after the visa interview, they would send your documents to their embassy in amman jordan.

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requirments include, original passport, work support letter, bank statement, personal photos, travel insurance, flights and accommodation hold on bookings, also national ID of yourself and your family members, oh and if you have car ownership or any property, also good travel history. if you have an invitation letter then its an extra! everything should be in english, or translated and notarized! also i had to bring a DHL return envelope! and all started with filling the visa application online on their website! beside that the visa fee and expenses were alot! i mean it, alot! this embassy/consulate charge a lot!

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after filling the application, you will choose a date for your interview! and after around 3 weeks you will get the answer!

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in my opinion, leave the UK for your last travel destination, because of those expensive charge by the british embassy! and their high refusal rate! 

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the british embassy in Baghdad:

www.gov.uk/world/organisations/british-embassy-baghdad

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the british consulate in Erbil:

www.gov.uk/world/organisations/british-consulate-general-erbil

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Visa information section on their official website:

www.gov.uk/browse/visas-immigration

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DECEMBER 2023 UPDATE

hello again after 10 years hahha so previously I decided that i will never apply again for UK visa, because of their high refusal rate! on top of that it cost too much!

imagine British tourists can visit iraq with visa on arrival cost around only around $72 while for us its a headache we have to prepare lots of documents and cost alot.

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Requirements:

1. fill the application online, guys the application is really long hahha I spent too much time on it. the good side you can fill part and save it then resume later whenever u have time. 

they asked for 10 years travel history!! i could only write down 30 countries it was the maximum, but it said that write it later on a separate paper and attach it to your documents.

https://www.gov.uk/check-uk-visa

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2. prepare your documents translated and notrized certified in english​

a) National ID,

b) karti zanyari/information card (kurdistan region) or Bitaqat alsakan (Iraq)

c) birth certificate (but personally I didn’t provide it, neither attached it to my application documents, but I saw some people do and it might be a plus)

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3. work support letter, including position, salary, vacation permit, since when you are working there.

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4. bank statement for last 6 months

guys this is the most annoying part, since our banking system in iraq is realy not good, so saving in the bank is risky hahaha imagine bankrupt! bye bye to your money. 

since we are a cash nation, so most people save their money at home hahhaa not in the bank.

lets get back on the track, so you have to trust one of the banks and start make a long term saving

put part of your salary in the bank each month around the same time (you can ask the bank to save this one under salary saving)

then make sure to withdraw money and spend some so latter on it will show that its circulating 

Nowadays beside online shopping, some shops and commercial places started to use POS, so I am trying to pay with my card instead of cash, pay with card at the restaurant, cinema, mall or petrol station, whenever u have the chance ask to pay with card. this is really helpful in money circulating and later on when you get a bank statment for 6 months, the embassy visa officer will see that you put salary on your bank each month, and also spending part of it. this make trust that its not a fake bank statement.

Unfortunately many of my people are misusing and do fake accounts this act affect all of us so hopefully those ignorant people stop playing around.

slowly slowly you will see that you make a proper bank statment, just be truthful everything will be fine.

oh just make sure to not deposit large amounts of money on ur account, this automatically will make ur account not trusted and ur visa get refused. 

oh by the way,according to the british law, u have to have around 100-150 pound per day while in uk.

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5. Ownership of land property or house/apartment, car, anything that show you have something back at your home country, translated and notarised in english.

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6. make sure that you have good travel history before trying to apply for british visa. 

travel to some other countries and later when you get some good stamps and visa stickers then try to apply for uk visa. 

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7. resident of kurdistan region can apply in erbil, while resident of rest of iraq can apply in Baghdad or Basra.

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8. the good thing about uk visa, if you get it even from first time, they will give you multi entry 6 months visa.

visa fee for 6 months is $150 while for 2 years its $550, kindly for first timer apply for 6 months then for next time apply for longer. 

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9. UK embassy in iraq, has contract with TLS center to collect passports and documents, so apply through TLS centers across iraq in Baghdad/Erbil/Basrah.

once you finish the visa application online and pay the visa fee online, then automatically they redirect you to TLS website, there you have to pay more hahahha around 76 british pounds for the service plus 26 british pounds for scanning your documents at the center (you can still do it by yourself they will provide you with a guideline) then it will show you the apppointment time, you can pay extra 89 british pounds to get a flexi appointment time on the specific day you choose.

comparing to the schengen VFS appointments, TLS online service is much better. since everyone can access.

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10. no need travel insurance.

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I will update this part after visiting the visa center to get more information for myself and all holders of iraqi passport. Hopefully i will get a nice employee to answer my questions.

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oh btw, nowadays the visa center in baghdad/erbil/basra send our passport to their embassy in turkey instead of jordan.

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after 10 years uk visa challenge 2014 to 2024 hahahha will UK be my country number 78? I will update you as soon as I get back my passport till then keep me in your prayers (:

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UPDATE 19 DECEMBER 2023

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so I visited the TLC center in Erbil, located inside cristal hotel, just enter from the main door of the hotel walk straight then you will see the office at the end on the left hand.

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working hours 8:30am-3pm, Sunday to Thursday.

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the TLC center is responsible for both UK and Belgium visa

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lets review my documents,

my filled application,

print of visa payment proof,

print of TLC service payment,

print of TLC appointment payment,

work support letter, print of my work ID,

my brother invitation letter (from his work in uk along with a written paper from him that he will cover my trip and he will accommodate me, his passport bio page and his uk visa) (invitation letter is not mandatory for tourist visa, u can just put ur hotel booking)

Certified Property document (english plus the original arabic version too)

Bank account confirmation and transactions

biodata page print of my old passports

old schengen visas print with their entry exit

Certified National Id translation

Certified Karti zanyari (residence address information card)

hold on return flight booking 

list of countries i visited during the last 10 years (i could only register 30 countries online, so according to the rule i have to write it down on a seperate papers, it asked for dates and months and years, but i remembered only the months hahha hopefully the diplomats wont give me headache for this)

passport biodata page of my mom (since we are suppose to travel together)

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I just simply walked in, showed my TLC appointment and payment printed paper to the TLC receptionist, he welcomed us and said you can apply your papers now (since i paid online for the flexi appointment which was 89 british pounds, you still can skip this payment and choose a specific time but since i drove from slemani city so i didnt wont to drive early in the morning neither be in rush).

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first an employee took all my papers in his hands (I wanted to explain the papers for him but simply he said its fine no need he will review by himself) he went through the papers along with my passport, and divided them according to the criteria, removed the clips, then he gave me back the payments papers. then asked me about my residence city, so i told him slemani then he wrote it on the delivery envelope along with my number (TLC has contract with aramex to deliver back the passports).

and then asked me to leave my phone and any extra papers or stuff i have in my pockets at the free lockers located right behind us, then move to next room, there were 3 cabins.

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a new employee welcomed us at cabin number 3, then he started to double check the separative papers and documents, then put it in the scanner in one go scanned everything. then on another device he scanned all pages of my passport including all the visas and stamps. (only my current passport, while the old one i printed the biodata page along with the schengen visas and attached it to the main documents got scanned at first part)

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later on gave me a paper to sign it, it was about the documents that i applied.

 

then gave me back all my papers except my passport (this is good so i can use those translated documents to apply for other visas but remember each document last for only 3 months) 

in general i prepared over 77 papers hahha imagine this number! 

on the paper my application track number was written, so i can track my application process online on TLC website

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then asked me to chill for couple minutes at the nearby chairs.

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then another employee called my name, i went, it was behind a curtain, he took my finger prints, electronic signature (sign on a device) and took a personal photo of me for the application. 

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the whole process took around 15-20 minutes.

TLC employees were very professional and nice. 

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Usually it take up to 3 weeks to get back the result, hopefully this 10 years uk visa challenge will have a positive result (:

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beside that, I got really sick from preparing the documents and required papers! ended up in bed from cold and abdominal pain hahhaha oh God 

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last but no least what i learned from this 10 years uk visa challenge, if you believe in your mission then the whole universe will help you. keep going guys 

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UPDATE January 7, 2024

I got a phone call from Aramex (the delivery company that have contract with TLC center) to go collect my passport at their slemani office.​

20 minutes later I was at the office hahhaha

I showed them the paper which I got from TLC center showing my Aramex tracking number, then they asked me to sign a paper and handed me an envelop.

I grabbed the envelop, and Boom, yessssssss I got the visa! Finally, My 10 YEARS UK VISA CHALLENGE turned into Green Light YESSSS

I got 6 months multi entries visa

Looking forward to explore and share with the world my journey in the UK with my blue cover iraqi passport!

last but not least,

Thanks to TLC staff,

thanks to the british diplomat who reviewed my application and healed my 10 years visa challenge.

on top of that, thanks God for giving me the enlightenment and energy to keep shattering stereotypes and following my dreams and make them happen. 

if you believe in yourself and really work to achieve your dream, the whole universe will help you.

Keep Going

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UPDATE January 2024

TLC erbil center moved to a new place, their new address is:

Global Business Centre, Gulan Street, Opposite to Ster tower and the Turkish Consulate, Erbil, Iraq

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UK embassy in Iraq has contract with TLC centers in Baghdad, Erbil and Basrah for Visa Services.

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British Embassy Baghdad
inside the international Zone

Telephone:

0044 20 7008 5000

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British Consulate General Erbil

BFPO 5425

Telephone:

0044 20 7008 5000

email:

enquiries.erbil@fcdo.gov.uk