Job Discussion Forums

ernie12 · Joined: 12 May 2014 Posts: 10

Hi All

I've been put in touch with this company via my university to get the ball rolling with the visa process in the UK. Does anyone have any experience dealing with them directly? Good/bad experiences?

Also, has anyone had any luck getting the visa process done in the UK independently of any visa company. Worth it to cut down the costs or just a big hassle getting it all done?

Thanks for any help with this

cultofpersonality · Joined: 12 Jan 2012 Posts: 94

I dealt with those people yesterday. They are very keen to sell their very expensive services. Friendly enough people. Then again, all visa services are expensive to be honest.

What you can do as an alternative...

Go to your GP and ask him/her to fill out the medical form. He/she may send you for a few tests or he may fill out your form based on previous medical history, especially the lazy ones. The first time I applied for a visa, my GP just sent me for a blood test and filled in everything else. I was meant to pay £30 but I never did in the end. The advantage of NHS is that it's cheap. The disavantage is that the process can take an extremely long time and it's a very frustrating process. It takes the NHS two weeks to supply blood test results, while it takes 24hrs for Harley Medicals to supply the blood test results.

I sent my medical document to the government legalisation office for £36.

Degree authentication can be done online. You don't need the visa services for that.
http://www.uksacb.org/
Follow the instructions!
These people like to take their time as well. The visa process is one that requires a lot of patience. To be honest, it prepares you for Saudi life in a way.

Once you have those two certificates attested you should be able to hand your documents to the embassy.

Visa agents quicken the process and they know what they are doing. They give you a piece of mind and know how to deal with the relevant authorities. However, they are very expensive. I did half of the process on my own but I did use the visa agents to expedite the process. You have time on your side but ramadan and eid is around the corner and so is an excuse for them to be lazy. I chose the visa agents service because I preferred a piece of mind rather than money.

sicklyman · Joined: 02 Feb 2013 Posts: 930

One of the things that you can now enjoy having landed a decently-paid job in Saudi is paying people to do things for you so that you can spend your precious time doing things you enjoy instead.

I've used Harley three times. They've been excellent every time. Worth every penny for a trouble-free process.

ernie12 · Joined: 12 May 2014 Posts: 10

Cult of Personality- thanks for your reply. Which half of the process did you do on your own?

Also- Where did you get the medical form from if not from the visa services?

Thanks

cultofpersonality · Joined: 12 Jan 2012 Posts: 94

This time around I sent my qualifications directly to the cultural bureau.

The last time around, I went to my GP for the medical.

The medical form can be downloaded from the Saudi embassy website or follow this link

http://www.visaworld.co.uk/zipforms/Saudi-work%20visa%20pack-medical%20report.pdf

ernie12 · Joined: 12 May 2014 Posts: 10

Thanks again cult. Wow that form looks like something out of the stone ages! Considering giving it a go doing it alone if I can save some money that way. Any idea on total time it took to get the medical side of things done?? By all accounts the attestation can be done yourself?

cultofpersonality · Joined: 12 Jan 2012 Posts: 94

The medical took 6-7 weeks.

This included waiting for an appointment with the GP, who then booked me for a blood test which was a two week wait. After my blood test, they said they would have the results back in two weeks. They forgot to send the results and there was another two week delay. Once the GP had the results he filled in my form and I had to send it to the legalisation office in Milton Keynes. This took about a week because of the Christmas week and they had to phone my GP to authorise his signature.

The Harley Medical Visa Services clinic takes about a day to get the medical report filled in. If you don't want any hassle I would recommend using this service. The GPs usually look at the form with bemusement and confusion.

The attestation could take a while, but that apparently relies on the willingness of the university to co operate in a manner that pleases the cultural bureau. The guy is known to take his time with things.

sicklyman · Joined: 02 Feb 2013 Posts: 930

Harley can also attest the medical that same day using their express service. Otherwise, they'll use Milton Keynes which takes a few working days but doesn't cost as much.

ernie12 · Joined: 12 May 2014 Posts: 10

Thanks again to all. Looks like the medical is a lengthy process which might be hard to get done as I am not actually in the UK until summer. But by all accounts will try to press on with doing the attestation myself. Do you have any idea, cult, how much this costs if you don't use the agent's services?

fledex · Joined: 05 Jun 2011 Posts: 342

I used Harley through my previous employer a few years ago (not Edex). I was having trouble getting my visa processed through the agent I usually use in the US because my employer had completely messed up my job description on their visa. It wasn't for an ESL teacher, but for some kind of technology instructor.

They had me send my documents and passport to Harley from the US. Within two days of receiving the documents, Harley had the employment visa for me issued in the UK. It didn't even matter that I am a US citizen, not British. My passport and documents were back with me to travel within about a week. Whatever that company has going, it works.

I don't know their price, my employer handled that.