Thanks, this is an excellent and thoughtful service you are doing your peers.
I sympathize with the frustration of these additional difficulties.
A.
That pretty much covers everything and all I'd add to this is simply:
...don't be overconfident and don't look too nervous, rather sound confident and listen carefully to questions too. You're better off dressed well. Very obvious right? Well, but sometimes these hints are taken for granted.
Good luck to all scholarship winners and hopefully you all get to see each other in London!
On May 1, 2014 6:50 PM, "Nkansah Rexford" <nkansahrexford@gmail.com> wrote:..... So check your inbox. If you were accepted to attend, I'll say, don't be excited fully yet. A few parameters and methods need to be set and called respectively. Enough of code jargons. Let's face it.
Getting scholarship to attend Wikimania in London this year by the Wikimedia Foundation DOES NOT literally mean you're there. To realize your body in London, you need to first make the local United Kingdom embassy satisfied that your literal body is worth entering London, and that body is bound to come back. Enough of lengthy English.
What do you need?
0) Submit or present a good-looking application. I don't have to say this but it doesn't hurt to remind ourselves. If its an online form, be sure what you're entering and where and how. And, Follow instructions as per the application process. ( its like chemistry or physics high school exams in Ghana; the instructions are more than the questions sometimes, so of you don't follow the instructions, are likely to fail, by answering a question meant for Gambians )
1) Bank statement - Good one
2) Passport - Ghana says something is called biometric, so get it koraa ansa.
3) Birth certificate - if your birth certificate was issued earlier than 2009 or so, please go for a biometric one. Trust me, Ghana with their biometric, if you don't have it, you'll be frustrated.
4) Medical report - either from 1) a regional hospital or 2) recommended hospital by the UK embassy. If you Go to mere clinics for the medical report, please, I promise you you'll be disappointed.
5) Police report. Get it, you can get it fast, in less than 7 days. However, it comes at an express price. In Ghana, you know what express means. Contact me if you'll need help with the police report, I've got a police 'client' at the headquarters.
6) Proof of sufficient financial means. Isn't that the same as bank statement? No, I don't think so. The bank statement is a piece of paper with perforated holes at the edges with some fade signatures and credentials pertaining to the bank. The Sufficient Financial Means refers to the DIGITS or Numbers on that paper. Those digits are what actually proofs whether you've got enough sustainable funds to support yourself. Plus you've got good track record of substantial money passing through your account. It shouldn't be a billion dollar money moving in your account, but once again, I say, it should be substantial.
If you've travelled to UK before, your case might be different as you know the process plus your passport will tell you've been there before.
However, if your passport is as brand new as mine was ( mine was less than 72 hours old when I presented to that old woman at the US embassy) you'll need to adhere to the aforementioned requirements even tighter.
Remember, the Wikimania team have only given you scholarship to attend, NOT visa to attend. You MUST work your way out through the embassy.
We look forward to some part of assistance from the inviting organization in London, however, if YOU DO NOT satisfy all the requirements above and or any other the embassy might and will likely require, don't worry much, as there is little help the inviting organization can bring on board to assist you.
Wear your sleeve first, and Wikimania London team will put on the remaining tie for you.
If any questions on how to go about things, or facing challenges in visa acquisition anytime, drop a message, and we can offer any tip we've got.
Did I miss any point? Please complement with your thoughts.
Useful resources -
* https://wikimania2014.wikimedia.org/wiki/Visas
* https://www.gov.uk/government/world/organisations/British-high-commission-accra
* https://www.gov.uk/visas-immigrationrexford | google.com/+nkansahrexford | sent from tab
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