Gold Settlement Priority for Spousal Visa - Worth it?

Hello everyone!

I am in the final stages of collecting all the paperwork to submit for my Spouse Visa to join my husband in the UK. I know I want to apply priority but I keep seeing a lot about the Gold Settlement Priority option. The only good reason I can see to pay extra for it is they scan your documents to Sheffield (so they would get them sooner) and they say they put those ahead of the regular priority visa applications.

I know a few people have used it from what I've already read here but I want to know time wise...is it worth the extra money?  I currently live in the US and I will be losing my job here in the states the end of March so we are almost done getting everything together so I can submit my online app along with the priority appointment.  I need/want to be in the UK with him as soon as I can.

Any opinions on the gold? Yay, nay or ehhh?

TIA,
KristieP

Two of our forum members used the Gold service and watched as many other priority applicants received their decisions before the Gold applicants.  And the whole process seemed to us to be fraught with confusion and disorganization.  If I was at the start of the process again, I would not use Gold.

The accounts of the Gold service on this forum and elsewhere on the Internet lead me to think it's a significantly higher cost for a similar timeframe.

It seems like it might be a better idea to stash the money you would spend on Gold service in a savings account instead, since you're nearing the end of your employment.

Two of our forum members used the Gold service and watched as many other priority applicants received their decisions before the Gold applicants.  And the whole process seemed to us to be fraught with confusion and disorganization.  If I was at the start of the process again, I would not use Gold.

Hello everyone!

I am in the final stages of collecting all the paperwork to submit for my Spouse Visa to join my husband in the UK. I know I want to apply priority but I keep seeing a lot about the Gold Settlement Priority option. The only good reason I can see to pay extra for it is they scan your documents to Sheffield (so they would get them sooner) and they say they put those ahead of the regular priority visa applications.

I know a few people have used it from what I've already read here but I want to know time wise...is it worth the extra money?  I currently live in the US and I will be losing my job here in the states the end of March so we are almost done getting everything together so I can submit my online app along with the priority appointment.  I need/want to be in the UK with him as soon as I can.

Any opinions on the gold? Yay, nay or ehhh?

TIA,
KristieP

Hi Kristie, welcome!

I'd avoid it like the plague! As jfkimberly mentioned, the forum members who tried it had bad experiences resulting in a miserable wait which was far longer than those who had used regular priority.

Thanks everyone for your response! Looks like Gold is no go! 

We did it, and got the visa back in just over a month, which seems quicker than others who have used it. That said, to call it a 'gold service', particularly for the money you are paying, is a bit of a joke, and if we could have avoided it then we would have done.

Glad you got yours back so soon!

Knowing my luck it would take twice as long lol. We don’t have a ton of extra money for it anyway so just doing the regular priority once I get paperwork ready.