World news story

Changes to the UK visa application process in Romania

From 11 April 2014 our new commercial partner Teleperformance Ltd will take over the running of our Visa Application Centre in Bucharest

This was published under the 2010 to 2015 Conservative and Liberal Democrat coalition government
What you need to know signpost

The Visa Application Centre will move to Teleperformance Ltd, Regus Business Centre, Bucharest City Centre, C.A. Rosetti 17, 2nd district, Bucharest.

In addition we are making the following changes to the visa service that we offer:

  1. opening hours will be from 09am to 01pm, commencing Friday 11 April 2014, fortnightly until 25 April and weekly thereafter
  2. user pays charges. There will be a charge of £59 to use the Visa Application Centre in Bucharest. This will be in addition to the visa fee and will be charged in Euros using the consular rate of exchange prevalent at the time. This charge covers the cost of providing the application submission facilities. Applicants must register on the Teleperformance Website, after they have booked their appointment, to pay for their appointment slot, and any further additional services required. Prior registration with Teleperformance will also ensure your application is processed quickly
  3. the following additional services will be available from Bucharest. All charges will be payable in Euros using our consular rate of exchange: * priority Visa Service – £100 – allows you to have your visa application placed at the front of the queue by UK Visas & Immigration normally enabling a decision within 3-5 working days * return courier – you will receive your decision by courier to your chosen address rather than returning to the Visa Application Centre to collect it. This is included in the user pay fee

  4. applicants have the alternative option of applying instead at the Visa Application Centre in Belgrade, open every day. There is no additional charge for applications lodged in Belgrade

Further details on all of the services, including eligibility criteria, will be available on the Teleperformance Website once you have registered. We will work closely with our Commercial Partners to ensure continuity of service during the transition period. There may however be a short transition period when no appointments are available.

Further information regarding UK Visa Services

From 1 April 2014 UK visa customers will be able to use our new international enquiry service to find information about the visa application process. The following services are available:

  • email contact service: a web form enables customers to make email enquiries
  • webchat: customers can access a real time webchat with an agent for a charge of £4 a session
  • telephone contact service: speaking to an advisor will cost £1.37 plus the cost of the call. Call costs will vary depending on the call type, the customer’s tariff and local charges

The service is provided by Hinduja Global Solutions (HGS) working in partnership with UK Visas and Immigration to provide enquiry services to people applying for a visa.

Published 2 April 2014