VisaDIY versus doing it yourself

When you should do it yourself

• Your profile is straightforward: stable job, salary banked for years, previous visas used properly
• Your travel dates are flexible, so a queue or a document request costs you nothing
• You have time to read the mission's list carefully and check your own file twice
• You are applying somewhere with an online process and no appointment queue, like Malaysia or Azerbaijan

In those circumstances the service fee buys you convenience rather than outcome, and convenience is a fair thing to decline.

When it is worth paying

• You have never applied before and do not know what a complete file looks like
• Your dates are fixed, so an avoidable document request costs you the trip
• Your profile has something in it that needs handling: a gap in employment, a business rather than a salary, a previous refusal
• The appointment queue is the binding constraint and you cannot watch it yourself all day
• You are applying as a family and the paperwork multiplies

What the fee actually buys

The forms completed, the documents checked against the current list for that mission, the cover letter and itinerary drafted, the appointment tracked, and a case officer reading the whole file before you submit.

It does not buy an approval, faster consulate processing, or access to slots other people cannot see.

The honest comparison