₦airaland Forum

mcstar:
I also applied on the 4th and got the same mail. Don't be worried. Just wait for the 15 working days. I guess it's because this is a peak period and they have so many applications to process

Hi mcstar. did you get your decision mail today?

mzsI:
14 working days oh still nothing on decision, though the rep i spoke with said decision has been made but im yet to receive notification from both parties

My advice is that you keep praying, wait for 15 working days to elapse, then wait patiently for another 3 days, after the 3 days, call UKVI again to let them know and just do whatever they tell you to do.

your final option will be to just take your collection slip to the VAC and say you are here for collection. they will check their system and let you know if your documents are with them or not.

BarryJones:
Please House

I went to Diamond Bank today to inquire about using Form A to pay my tuition.
I was told I will incur the following expenses:

1. 1% + 5% VAT of Naira equivalent.

2. $25 CBN charge

3. 5000 Naira Telex charge

Please did anyone experienced this?
Is this how its done? These charges are high. I might have to look for an alternative.

My honest opinion to you is the charges are negligible compared to your school fees, and your major headache right now should be whether they will pay your fees in time. FORM A is no more as quick and easy as it sounds. Diamond bank seems to be your best option at this point. but I must also let you know they have not been able to deal any FORM A since 4th of August. so if you have any alternative that is NOT form A, use it.
If form A is your only option, then I advice you go with Diamond bank. but ask the house if anybody has had any success with form A recently, if yes, thne use the bank they used.

I also heared Firstbank can do a swift transfer to your school, and they will charge you at a rate slightly higher than CBN, but when I went to Abuja branches, they said you need to have a Domiciliary account.

If you are in Lagos, just find out (I guess you can do it in Lagos. you know connection helps a lot).

mzsI:
Hi everyone,

today is the 14th day since i had my interview and i haven't even received a decision mail. i was worried so i decided to call the ukvi help line to track it and i was told decision has been made. how will i even know when to collect if TLS doesn't even update their website to reflect that decision has been made or email from sheffield.

has anyone experienced this?

when did you have your interview? I am not sure if you mean 14 days or 14 working days that is why. usually you should recieve collection mail in 2or 3 working days after decision has been made (FOR ABUJA VAC).

soulhighman:
That's serious o. So I will have to receive me passport first before I know anything. My passport has been in Sheffield today and. Submitted on Thursday. How long could it take for me to get my passport then?

hey, how are you doing? have you gotten decision mail yet? you applied six days before me, so you are my reference lol...

worrisome:
I had my visa appointment on monday an by Wednesday I got a mail that it has been received by UKVI to be processed... I just wanna ask how long it can take for a decision to be made on it. meanwhile are my gonna receive a mail to confirm approval of the visa?

wow... it can take up to 15 working days. had mine on 10th August and got mail that it was received at UKVI on 13th. still waiting for decison mail. The timeline of someone that applied recently goes thus:

19th July: Submitted online application
21st july:Interview
27th july: received at ukvi (sheffield)
8th August: decision mail
10th August: collection mail
11th August: picked up approved visa.

justwise:
@yomiselmer

I really don't want to keep editing your posts but please can you stop directing people to any agent/uni-rep?

Thank you.

Oh my... I am so sorry @justwise. I didn't know I was breaking any rules. Northumbria actuall sent us a mail. I have even attached the mail here so you believe me.

Once again I am sorry.

cuteemperor:
Good luck bro, your application would be successful by God's grace. I stay in Akure, Ondo state.

AMEN. guess we'll meet at Newcastle then .

Krusha:
Thank you once more, Yomiselmer.

I made my form A request at one of their branches @ Lagos Island. I will try and go there today, as you rightly advised.

When did you apply for form A? How long did it take before they contacted you? And, is your visa ready?

Sorry for the many questions. I've responded to your PM request.

I applied at stanbic on 18th of July(till date no response) I applied at Diamond on 1st of August (Diamond was ready to deal as at 4th of August before 9:30am to be precise)

so it took 3 days to be contacted.

no my visa isn't ready. applied 10th of August counting 15 working days, by the grace of God it will be ready before 31st of August.


I didn't know I sent you a Pm btw.
have a nice day.

elope:
hoe long did it take for u to get ur visa?

elope, i think you applied 4th of August right? any news yet? I applied on the 10th of August.

i know someome applied on 19thof july, had interview on the 21st of july, got news that its in sheffield 27th of july, got decision mail 8th of august, and I think he picked it up 10th or 11th of August.

I think it might even be cuteemperor.

safe.

cuteemperor:
Hello yomiselmer, I'm also for Northumbria MSc. Computing and information technology, please let us connect. I hope you have your visa already..
.all the best

no, not yet. still waiting for visa. i stay in Abuja, you?

Krusha:
Many thanks for the info.

Initially, I applied at Zenith bank, but after three weeks there was no sign of progress, I had to ask them to discontinue the process.

When I learnt that it could be faster with Diamond Bank, I contacted my account officer there. He encouraged me to apply. This is the second week, but no show yet.

However, I will call them tomorrow cos I learnt they usually bid on thursdays. Which Diamond Bank branch was that?

I will be studying Nursing Science (BSc) @ Northumbria

I applied at the Abuja headquarters at garki (I think its area 10. not too sure, but I always tell a cab to take me to the diamond bank headquaters)

wow (2 weeks? that's sad) call them tomorrow, if possible I suggest you visit the branch. If it isn't forthcoming, then I will suggest you find an alternative e.g: black market, or card (they are pretty much more or less the same thing now) as soon as possible.

I refused to use card when it N406 to £1 waiting for Form A, then it became N417 , I said it will come down , then it became N466 and N494. now its N502.

It is easy to be caught in the illusion that the rates may come down, but it is a very risky thing to do. You can give your form A till friday (since it will be more than 2 weeks then) and set a goal to for your self to find the remaining money and make the payment through alternatives on Monday if the form A isn't ready.

Krusha:
Hello house,

I'm quite new here.

I need ur suggestion on any other cost effective means of paying my outstanding tuition deposit, I've been trying to pay through form A, for a while now, but to no avail.

I'm getting frustrated because my maintenance fund will mature tomorrow, I've done the TB test and Northumbria University enrollment date is 9th September.

Moreover, the rate for online transfer via Stanbic Ibtc Mastercard, which I was hoping on has jumped to 501.

Ur inputs plzzzz.

Okay Krusha, what I am about to tell you, I wish somebody told me on time. Just stay away from stanbic for form A and use Diamond Bank. I applied for form A at stanbic when the exchange rate was N372 to 1GBP, but they delayed me for over 2 weeks, then I learnt Diamond bank was fast, so I opened account with Diamond bank on a monday (they told me the form A would take a maximum of 2 weeks), I was very scared and afraid to wait 2weeks (This was when CBN rate was going BANANNAS and I was running out of time for my SOA), So the same day, I started using the Gt bank card of everybody I knew (including strangers) and I paid £6,500 at the rate of N463 - N467 to £1 ( lol I noticed the xchange rate was going up everyday) and another £1,250 at the rate of N494 to £1. Diamond bank called me on thursday (3 days after) that CBN has approved the form A at a rate N417 to £1 but my account is not funded for the transaction, and if they do not see funds in the account by 9:30am that same day. I would need to wait till the next week when they will be dealing again. SO sad, I almost cried because I had already paid using card (the annoying thing is that I still called stanbic recently (last week), and they said, they are still waiting for foreign exchange to be available. meanwhile I applied for my visa on the 10th of August.

Also we would see at Northumbria by the grace of GOD.



I will be studying Microelectronics and Communications Engineering with advanced practice, what about you?

MrsF:
Which priority is this one abeg my priority cost £150 oooooooo

MrsF, has your visa been issued?

fizzile:
A big congratulations to you. Good things to come. More will testify. No rejection here ooooo..

AMEN!!!

soulhighman:
Congratulations brother.
Fingers crossed for mine too. Praying fervently.

You'll get your too AMEN. still praying for mine

cuteemperor:
So, I got my VISA today..... So happy
Newcastle here I come

Congratulations!!!

Hopefully, I will be joining you at Newcastle by God's grace. had my interview today. please let me know where you had your interview, and how many days it took to get the VISA. also, please what uni are you going in Newcastle? and what course?

MrsF:
Morning guys I struggled with the ihs payment all night do u knw what bank card i can use? I saw that the rate dropped today im tempted to wait till tomorw to see if it wd drop further. I used an American credit card but it didnt go thru called d bank to inform them they said they are not the ones blocking the payment what cards did u guys that hv submitted use

from my personal experience I will advice not too. stanbic card was £1 = N406 when I wanted to pay my fees. I delayed and went for form A to save chicken change, then the atm rate went up further to N417 (because cbn rate went up) . I wanted to pay at N417, but because cbn rate came down on that day, i said let me wait, the atm rate would probably drop. then the next day, cbn rate sky rocketed, and also stanbics rate jumped to N466.

now I am paying my full school fees at N469.67 when if I wasn,t greedy, i could have paid it at N406. so MRSF. if todays rate favours you, then just do it, because nobody knows what tomorrow holds.

Whatamidoinghere:
That's weird and devastating
What's causing all these?

Good news MrsF, Oanda rate dropped this morning, it is now N415. hope it favours you?

cool

elope:
DBN for form A at ajose in VI. transfer as i was told by an FBN staff at Allen

The problem is that I am in Abuja

elope:
lol.. patner as in spouse.legal patner. who will wanna go with expensive flight this injury time... diamond took a week... from monday last week to this monday.. i think fbn does transfer as i was told by a staff there so u might wanna check

I just called Diamond bank, and they told me it should not take more than 24 to 72 hours. tuesday will make it 2 weeks since I started with stanbic. at this point, I am confused, because stanbic also told me the same thing that it would be ready in 24 to 48 hours when I started with them.

should I stick with stanbic and be patient or go to diamond bank is the question here?

elope:
lol.. patner as in spouse.legal patner. who will wanna go with expensive flight this injury time... diamond took a week... from monday last week to this monday.. i think fbn does transfer as i was told by a staff there so u might wanna check

sorry elope, please, can you tell me the exact branch you initiated thre transaction, so i go there started mine with stanbic last week monday, and nothing tangible yet

are you advicing dbn or fbn?

elope:
hope to see u at northumbria. a cool city.. friendly people in the north east generally.... ull get to learn the jeordie accent.... hopefully planning to be there also with patner... on the 28day wait... we could prolly all go together God willing

i plan on going before september 9th, by God's grace. when did you initiate your form A with diamond bank, and how long did it take?

i am being tempted to start using debit cards that why?

is patner on nairaland or you mean your partner as in girlfriend, fiancee or wife?

and we can go together why not?

but me I will most likely go with the cheapest flight i can find o (no money)

you know it could mean that the people my agent said used keystone and diamond bank to do their form A in 3 days are just connected, and it could take far longer if those banks are actually used. so my advice is do your research before dropping your money.
the sad thing is before dropping my money with stanbic, they were like

"It may not even take up to that 2 weeks you are saying, it can be paid in 24 to 48 hours, everything is subject to availability of FX, and stanbic is one of the best with respect to FX, i think the last time, we got about $60million usd from CBN, don't be worried, you have nothing to be afraid of"

After applying for the form A I have been asking when payment would be made, but every staff say:

"I am sorry, I can't advice you on that. your Form A is subject to avalability of FX, and once it is available, I am sure your payment would be made"

before dropping my money, they were all my friends trying to convince me not to take my money to another bank, but now that I stuck with them, they give me the "YOU ARE DISTURBING US" Attitude whenever I go to the bank. SO SAD

guys, so this morning, that I called the head office, they took my details and said they will get back to me hopefully with positive news on the form A. Now I just called customer care to rake about what CBN said. I hope I am not making things difficult for myself.

It's a pity. I just called CBN, and they said since the new policy in june, they give the banks what they request for without delay, as long as their account is funded, and how the banks use it is left to them. they said I should just liase and plead with my bank, because CBN does not deal directly with individuals. It will be so annoying if these banks are using us to make money for themselves.

let me call my bank back and inform them.

Yababoy:
Hello everyone, this is an SOS!
I have been trying to make my visa application using my Ecobank mastercard all day and it has been failing. Funny thing is that I have used the same card to make the IHS surcharge earlier today and it was successful.

Is anyone else having the same issues or has someone else had it. I am frantic as my appointment has been cancelled twice already.

The thing is most banks have a daily limit, and you are adviced to contact your bank to let them know before paying. but to avoid the stress, most people just use a gt card which has a monthly limit of $2,000 and no daily limit.

elope:
whqt course at northumbria uni

The green face is scaring me o. is northumbria not a good school?

Microelectronic and communication Engineering with advanced practice.

MrsF:
Loll that is what they have been telling me too pls if yu gr yurs done lemme knw its Access bank all the top officials in the bank are sorting themselves out so no forex and i have been debited

Okay, I will let you know. I heard keystone and Diamond bank are the banks to use for those in Abuja, as some students were able to get theirs in 3 days, my University (Northumbria University) agent also said they might have used their connections though, but it took them 3 days. Today, I decided to call stanbic ibtc head office it Lagos, and someone in the form a department took my details saying he would get back to me today (lol... I told him I would stop banking with them), but also said there is shortage of FX. I hope he calls back with good news. the maitama office in Abuja were I initiated the form a have been telling me it is at the last stage since last week wednesday. I heard form a from all branches have to pass through the head office. so i am just thinking it might make more sense to apply through the head office (although the bankers will tell you, they only need to e-mail head office, so there is no difference.)

MrsF:
I wouldnt advise anyone to rely on the form A right now cos this is my 2nd month and no telex copy.

sorry, please which bank did you use? stanbic has been assuring me that that they will do mine, but there is a queue and it is strictly on first com first serve basis. pls let me know, cos if i have 2 months worth of people before me, then i cant wait. I have waited 1 week atm.