Since February 1, the British Embassy Manila has been offering a new way of scheduling appointments for various consular services: the Clickbook online appointment system. The embassy’s Clickbook Consular Appointment site is a new avenue for people to book appointments for:
- Legalization,
- Notarial Services,
- Births/Marriages/Civil Partnerships/Deaths,
- Passports and Nationality, and
- Emergency Assistance.
Those using the service for the first time need to
register their names, email addresses and telephone numbers. For future appointments, the email address registered will be the one used to access the service. People may then select the service they require, select a date from the calendar in the site (available days are shaded in green) or click on “next available,” and then select the time suitable for them. A confirmation email will be sent once an appointment has been booked. For those who need to cancel their appointments, they need to sign in and click the link “cancel appointment.”
Complete applications The UK Embassy reminds in the site that people should ensure the requirements for their applications are complete as incomplete ones may be refused, leaving no choice but to set another appointment online. Applicants may access the requirements at
http://ukinthephilippines.fco.gov.uk/en/. Last year, the UK Embassy also implemented new services and innovations because, as an executive said, it is “keen” on giving customers choices and good experiences in the application process.
Other new services Meanwhile, in an interview last Tuesday, January 29, with GMA News Online, UK Border Agency (UKBA) Regional Manager Ed Mackie gave a rundown of the UK Embassy’s developments. The UKBA is part of the UK Embassy and handles issues related to migration into the country, including visa applications. He mentioned the
Priority Visa Service, launched in May 2012, which cuts down the processing time of visa applications for qualified business travelers and seafarers headed to the United Kingdom to three days instead of two weeks. The PVS fee costs P4,200 on top of the visa application fee. General and family visitors are also eligible for the service as long as they meet a separate set of criteria.
Prime time appointment service A prime time appointment service for applicants who can’t go to the Pasong Tamo, Manila visa application center on weekdays because of work has also been made available since last year. Another visa application center, in Cebu, was opened in October last year, and despite an additional P3,900 fee on top of the visa application fee, Mackie said this is “probably more competitive” than people from Visayas and Mindanao flying to Manila. All of the developments in the UK Embassy are apparently for greater efficiency and flexibility on the part of the agency’s customers. “So we’re very keen to all our customers to give them a good experience at the front-end of the application process when they’re applying for a visa and to introduce them to elements of customer choice into that,” Mackie said.
- VVP, GMA News 
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