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Commercial Partnerships (Outsourcing) play a central role in the delivery of core UKvisas business by providing a range of administrative services supporting entry clearance sections. The use of commercial partners, which perform routine functions such as collection of fees, data entry and the checking of documentation has enabled entry clearance staff to concentrate on front-line work to meet targets and handle increased numbers of applications.
The actions of the Setup Travel Agency representative based in Gaziantep have been reviewed. The review confirmed that the representative did advise Mr. Sivka that he should only apply for a one year stay, which was consistent with the documentation that he had produced with his application. The review also concluded that the Setup Travel Agency representative was trying to be helpful and he gave this advice with the best interests of Mr. Sivka in mind. Notwithstanding this, however, further training has been provided to the representative to ensure that inappropriate advice is not given in future and the Visa Section will continue to monitor performance regularly.