Why are different embassies required docs so drastically different?

[thisisnotnormal 12]

Now I understand why some embassies may be stricter on certain things but I’ve had a look at a few P3s and notice the required documents can be quite different. 
 

Not only that, the formatting of the P3 is so drastically different it’s unbelievable. Isn’t the process suppose to be more uniform? 
 

Even take the UK and Aus for example, while the requirements are similar the two embassies put different emphasis on what is most important and their websites are different as if the IT department is local and different embassies don’t consult each other. 
 

Is it really still so local that standard procedures were developed in house 20 years ago and not updated? 

Edited December 26, 2020 by thisisnotnormal

[payxibka 10,047]

4 hours ago, thisisnotnormal said:

Now I understand why some embassies may be stricter on certain things but I’ve had a look at a few P3s and notice the required documents can be quite different. 
 

Not only that, the formatting of the P3 is so drastically different it’s unbelievable. Isn’t the process suppose to be more uniform? 
 

Even take the UK and Aus for example, while the requirements are similar the two embassies put different emphasis on what is most important and their websites are different as if the IT department is local and different embassies don’t consult each other. 
 

Is it really still so local that standard procedures were developed in house 20 years ago and not updated? 

It is very locally driven.   The DOS gives a lot of local autonomy to design the process that works for them 

[Greenbaum 12,259]

15 hours ago, thisisnotnormal said:

Now I understand why some embassies may be stricter on certain things, but I’ve had a look at a few P3s and notice the required documents can be quite different. 
 

Not only that, the formatting of the P3 is so drastically different it’s unbelievable. Isn’t the process supposed to be more uniform? 
 

Even take the UK and Aus for example, while the requirements are similar the two embassies put different emphasis on what is most important, and their websites are different as if the IT department is local and different embassies don’t consult each other. 
 

Is it really still so local that standard procedures were developed in house 20 years ago and not updated? 

It's different for each embassy because the embassy base their process on "local customs" or available information such as do most who appear come with fraudulent documents? What the embassy does is design their requirements to make the process as transparent as possible. UK and Australia are not as difficult as say Morocco or Nigeria.

[DaveAndAnastasia 2,096]

Because, to pick some examples out of a hat, almost everyone going through Moscow is Russian, while almost everyone going through Montreal is Canadian, and so they're dealing with different local laws and regulations and places to get local documents?

 

Though for the most part, I think the differences between embassies and consulates are more over standards of evidence where there's little that's formally required, but a level of documentation that's fine in western Europe often isn't going to be anywhere near sufficient in Africa.