The Visa Project

It was at the moment when I submitted the application when I knew the power of control has now shifted onto another pair of hands. There is nothing more I could do from this point onwards.

It took me months to carefully maintain the crucial £800 maintenance fund. Not that the amount of money poses any challenge to me since I inherited a handsome savings from my scholarship. But the constant paranoia worrying that I might accidentally over-charge on my bank account and thus breaking the minimum benchmark for maintenance fund was almost unbearable.

My worry was further exacerbated by story told during an open house gathering in London. A girl was rejected visa because the period when she maintained her fund was only 2-month and 29-day instead of the pre-requisite 3-month.

Yes, the Malaysians, the Americans, the Middle Easterners, the Chinese, etc., have all warned me about the same thing – they will dig deep into the ground and use whatever reason they can to reject you.

Maintaining minimum fund was only one of the stringent requirements. The troubles to gather the certificate of award, the university letter, the sponsor letter, the bank statements, and renewed passport, which altogether had taken me almost a month, was tedious. But these were mandatory before the final stage – 49-page paper application.

It was as thick as a book so as my Italian colleague would describe the form. But I knew it was my job to file an impeccable and immaculate application. I had doubt of course as it was another generic form and not individually tailored. But thanks to the consultation service offered by university, my confusion was cleared months ago. So, I was confident.

However, I still found myself couldn’t stop checking. Checked, and checked, and checked. My heart beat rate increased by 10-fold right as I sealed the envelope. Nervous but it seemed inevitable and completely acceptable. I was at the precipice of suffering a fatal heart attack for no exaggeration.

But now I know, for the coming 6 weeks, it will be nothing more than a miserable hell of anxious waiting. I need luck, lots of it!

P.S.: The author is applying for the post-study work visa for the United Kingdom.