The Ministry of Foreign Affairs will temporarily be accepting visa applications for Maldivians wishing to travel to United Kingdom.
According to a press statement delivered by the UK Foreign & Commonwealth Office, the Temporary Enrolment Location (TEL) will operate on 7th and 8th August 2018 from 09.00 am to 05.30 pm on the 1st floor of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The service is an optional one and Maldivians may to travel to the nearest visa application centres in Sri Lanka or India if preferred.
Prior to the offer, Maldivians were required to travel to the British Council in Sri Lanka.
The UK has also agreed to waive routine interviews for potential students applying for a Tier 4 student visa via the TEL to make the application process more convenient.
Maldivians will also have access to a streamlined application process, announced by the UK Home Office in early July.
The Maldives was added to a list of countries known as Appendix H, which means that Maldivians who are applying for Tier 4 visas will not be required to provide evidence of finances, qualifications or evidence of their English language ability with their application, although they must still meet these requirements and the UK still reserves the right to request the documents in certain cases.
Stating that the country recognizes the " intellectual and cultural' contribution of students from Maldives, UK's foreign and Commonwelath Office stated that the streamlined visa processes hopes to provide greater access to Maldivian students wishing to access the UK’s higher education system.
Currently even Maldivians seeking to travel to UK for tourism purposes are granted visas of up to six months on arrival.
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