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Hi, I hope someone can assist with two questions. I have given up trying to apply for a D7 visa from Hong Kong as the Consulate in Macau is struggling to process anything and it cannot be visited due to current Covid travel restrictions. I have an appointment with VSF Global in London later this month, but I will not be able to provide a certificate of no criminal record from Hong Kong, as the request for this must come from VSF Global in writing. (The one sent to Macau will have expired!) Is there a way to contact VSF to seek the letter in advance of the appointment? Should I book a second appointment or just assume they will issue the letter and complete the review by post, including posting the passport back for visa? Regarding insurance (sorry this has probably been asked) but is annual travel insurance with either 90 days or 180 days away from home country accepted?
Hi Martin,
The advice for your fist question would be best handled by a professional.
We used Ei! Assessoria Migratória | Expats Portugal and received the 10% discount as a premium member.
They helped us identify our FBI background check would be expired prior to our VFS appointment.
Regarding the insurance question we needed a D7 insurance policy that covers repatriation for the 4 months under the D7. We actually added private health as soon as we got here even though we had the D7 policy. We used Winsurance | Expats Portugal for our private health and they now offer the D7 policy as well.
That was for US citizens so the UK may be a little different.
Hi Everyone who has read my questions. An update with some insight into the process. I successfully submitted my visa application last Thursday with VFS in London. VFS are not considered an immigration agency and where the consulate are required by a national police force to issue a letter for a criminal record check, this needs to be requested by the consulate. In my case, I included the UK certificate and the requirements needed if a Hong Kong check is required. VFS will let the consulate decide if they wish to request the check. As a result, I needed insurance that day to complete the application. There are booths in the centre for AXA policies. I did not qualify for these so it was suggested I went to the nearest Post Office and I purchased insurance there. The minimum requirement is 6 months, not 4 months for D7 from London. Note, any documents less than A4 size needs to be photocopied onto A4 paper.
I hope this helps others in the future.
Thank you for that update. Interesting that the requirement is for 6 months of travel insurance, and it clearly states that.
The US version gives no length of time requirement and neither does the VFS checklist.
We will see if this circulates throughout VFS and consulates. Maybe, we will see the same with VFS in the US requiring payment for services at the time of booking an appointment.
I just downloaded this one.
