Overseas Visitors Records Office

The Website not very good. Really should write Close every Thu and Weekends and bank holidays as big letter on the web. I went there this morning with my big heavy luggage, up and down change Tube in rush hour, took me more than one hour to get there. Then it says close on door Window. OMG. What a joke. I am so so tired, it has destroyed my whole day :( . Please please please make a big change on your web site to avoid people visit you on the wrong day.

The attendant is not friendly and makes fun of the foreigners. I came twice and it was closed, both were not holidays. A third time they were giving appointments for further months. Today is Apr 18th and the sign says it will be closed on Friday, but today is Thursday and it is also closed. It is not easy at all to work with their request of 7 days.

I have been to ovro 4 times in the past 5 years to register my visa. I really don't know and don't understand why they treat everyone like a criminal. They command you like you are a child. "sit there" "don't stand there" I felt like I was going to get arrested every time I was there. The staff working at the counters treat you like you already made a mistake, done everything wrong. I asked one question and they responded like I have a hearing and understanding disability, one word in every 5 seconds. I understand they struggle when too many people can't speak English but you can tell if someone can communicate for sure! I can clearly speak English and answered everything already! They asked me my address which is very simple, just number, building name, post code. When I told they insisted something was missing and questioned me back to back "but where is that address" I said that was the address, I have been using it for 3 years and it didn't have any Borough, location etc in it. After asking 5 times they were convinced. The attitude definitely must be improved.

Also you can book an appointment for 8-9 months later. If the demand is too much, they should look for solutions, cause not every visa type accepts that kind of long delays. I am happy that now I don't need to go there anymore. And good luck for future visitors.

A handful of people were here the time I visited, only 2 counters were operated. The aervice wasn't as horrible as I expected. The process was quick --- the lady at the counter was chatting to her colleague the whole time but she got the job done. So no complaints.

Booked an appointment for Sunday morning 3 month in advance. Received email confirmation of the appointment and told us to attend. Arrived at the office and turns out the office is not open on Sundays. Well, if the office doesn't open on Sunday, then why are you releasing appointments on Sunday?? Unbelievable!

Before the appointment, not enough information online, no phone we can ring to ask question. Just horrible service

I am writing this after the experience that a close friend described to me. It’s already bad enough that this country now insists visitors and guests are required to register with the police…effectively who wouldn’t feel a little offended by this already, especially the vast majority are contributing valuable income, taxes and expertise to the UK. We really should be more welcoming in the first place, this process gives the impression we are a despotic quasi-police state and not the democratic and diplomatic country I grew up in. Ok…rant over…to the details….My friend turned up to her appointment with the correct documentation, the officer serving her proceeded to incorrectly determine that she did not have the right paperwork, upon calling the manager, he decided that the solution was to shout at my friend, this is totally unacceptable and simply rude. Again we talk about legitimate tax paying visitors to our country, what kind of image does this project, we really will risk a reversion back to the 1950s level of GDP and living standards if we discourage good foreign visitors and the investment they bring. Politeness costs nothing and I will consider taking this up with the relevant government minister. Shame on you!

You see, I read the reviews prior to my visit. Hoping that most of the negativities were due to bad luck or something else. Unfortunately, the people here, especially the guards talks you in such a condescending way, you are immediately given a bad first impression of this institute. The people behind the counters seem to hate their job.

I have attended OVRO in person today, as I had issues with booking an appointment through the online portal. Even though I turned up without booking an appointment, the reception staff listened to my concerns very carefully and invited the manager to deal with my query.

I was attended by the manager within a few minutes, he was very apologetic about the online portal issues. He ensured my appointment was on the system, and manually entered a comment in there to confirm that I could update both my visa and address details with OVRO on the same day. He also forwarded me a written confirmation, which was very kind!

Overall a great experience, understanding staff and a really great attitude! You can always count on getting help from OVRO when you need it.