The British High Commission in Guyana must be more respectful

Sep 20, 2022 Features / Columnists, Freddie Kissoon

Kaieteur News – What you are about to read in this column was based on journalistic investigation. I did not use reliable sources. I did the journeys and made the enquiries myself. In another column I will look at the Canadian High Commission’s visa insult.

There is already pressure from the government about the EU visa imbroglio so I will not touch that subject since the EU visa could only be issued by a EU government’s embassy here and there is none in Guyana.

If one thinks that it is a hassle for a Guyanese to get an EU visa (known as Schengen visa) then it is the same with the British High Commission (BHC), the oldest western embassy in Guyana and a country that shares an enduring closeness with Guyana.

After making your online application, a Guyanese that wants to study in the UK must pass a tuberculosis (TB) test. This is an esoteric imposition. No other country demands a Guyanese student visa applicant to do a TB test. Now here is where the nightmare to get a UK visa begins.

The BHC for some inscrutable reason has awarded only four doctors in the entirety of Guyana to do the test. They are Drs. Roach, Chinsee, Devi and Surendra Persaud. I repeat only these four doctors the applicant has to go to. Unlike the US Embassy, the BHC excludes the private hospitals and public hospitals.

I journeyed to each one of these offices in August. It is obvious if you are leaving for studies in September, your application will be sent in July or August. I went to Dr. Roach in Kingston. He was murdered and his office was closed. I don’t know if another doctor has replaced him but when I was there, the office was closed.

Drs. Persaud and Chinsee were not in Guyana in July and August; they were on leave. That left in the month of July and August one doctor to do a TB test as required by the BHC. This was Dr. Devi.

I went to the office of Dr. Devi. I was told that Dr. Devi had suspended the TB test for student applicants to the UK because of ongoing discussion and was also overwhelmed by the Cuban applicants for a US immigrant visa. So a Guyanese student wanting to study in the UK for the new academic session in September could not meet the requirement of TB clearance.

Read on. The nightmare continues. Despite being the oldest diplomatic mission in Guyana and despite the fact that the volume of Guyanese travelling to the UK is far, far below those for the US and Canada, the BHC does not offer visa services in Guyana.

You have to deposit your documents at a place named VFS Global, UK office. It is situated on Cummings Street, one block from Bourda Market. Last year a Venezuela youth got robbed and killed right around that place.

It is a tiny office that you can easily miss it. The sign is so small that you can drive past it. I did that. There is absolutely no parking. You have to find space about two blocks away. I squeezed in nearby and a Pakistani woman came out of her store and asked me to move.

VFS Global is an intimidating place. It has no email address or phone number. It opens only two days a week and though there is a specific opening time, it is not normally observed. When I was there, a lady waiting to get in told me they open at any hour.

You cannot see anyone at VFS Global. The security says no one is allowed in unless you have a visa appointment to deposit your documents. If in your package, you miss an important document, there is no way to communicate with VFS Global. You have to wait until the next week when they return. There are only two staff members.

Two terrifying things to note. When you park two blocks away, you have to walk carrying your envelope which contains your passport. If you get robbed in that dubious vicinity, the resulting stress will overwhelm you.

Secondly, VFS sends your passport to a foreign country for the visa to be stamped. Why if you have a BHC in Guyana, your passport should leave Guyana? It is the same with the Canadian High Commission. The passport for a visa applicant should not be sent outside. Think of the nightmare you have to go through if that passport is lost. It takes three months for a lost passport to be replaced. By the way you can get a Chinese visa right here in Guyana.

(The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of this newspaper.)

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The British High Commission in Guyana must be more respectful

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