UK Visa Settlement Processing Time

WebyJ! You're trying to get out of Dodge? I actually do know about this process. The "petition to apply" step is unreal. My husband and I became very educated in the US process... and you're absolutely right. The UK waiting process is cake in comparison. A small part of the reason why we're going this route instead. It's faster and we can wait out some of the US process in the UK together should we decide to move down the road.

And not only is the US process a million times longer... it costs thousands more! I feel for you! Good luck!!

Yep, I'm a glutton for punishment. I just received my ILR in April, we filed our petition on 1 June so it's been 3 months waiting for that and we JUST received a request for additional information last week, I've just met the residence requirement for Naturalisation as a British Citizen on 31 August so I'll be filing that soon and then my British Passport after that, and then the rest of my husbands US Visa application. Very busy & expensive year for us.

I found the British Expat site to be very useful for the "ins and outs" of the US process. Though I bet you already know that

Our ultimate goal is to both have dual citizenship. So easy to just say it like that, isn't it? Years and mountains of paperwork to get there! And lots of moving around.

I found the British Expat site to be very useful for the "ins and outs" of the US process. Though I bet you already know that

Our ultimate goal is to both have dual citizenship. So easy to just say it like that, isn't it? Years and mountains of paperwork to get there! And lots of moving around.

Yeah  , it was BE that brought me to UKY back 2008.

Don't get me wrong - I've seen great advice on here, and it seems like most people, myself included, are able to get reassurance through others' responses. I came across this place too late to help me, but moving on....
My issue is that one shouldn't have to get most of their clarification though a website. A website that one may or may not be lucky enough to come across.

The thing about UK visas is that they are a very simple animal as long as you follow the instructions on the application & the related official websites (UKBA, Visa4UK, UKVisas & WorldBridge). I was able to do my application in March 2008 before I found UKY (Sep 2008), so for 99.99% of people tailored help isn't necessary.

I do agree that UKY is a good place for information, but it can also lead someone with a very simple application undue stress & worry...sometimes too much information can be a bad thing. Which is why, in a way, I didn't know about UKY when I was doing my application or else I would have really been a ball of stress and lord knows, I was 6 months pregnant when I did my application, would have been institutionalised if I knew then what I know now.

But I also know now that all of that stress & worry would have been for nothing. I had this acceptance that it would take as long as it took...ignorance was bliss...

Anyway...good thoughts to all those waiting...my advice, get out of the house, away from the computer, take long walks in the places that you love that you'll probably not see again for a very long time, talk to your family that you probably won't be able to talk to face to face for a very long time, eat your favorite food every night, enough to never want to eat it again because you won't be able to for a very long time...enjoy what you do have, because the things that you don't have now because you're waiting on your visa are the things you'll have for the rest of your life, you don't realise how much you'll miss the things you'll leave behind.

Hope y'all hear something soon.

But, hang in there, you'll get there in the end...but it just may take time.

well, it does help to know that there are lots of people in the same boat but I know if I had seen the option to expedite offered during the online application process then I would have used it, so that's a big fail there and why do they ask you - first question - when do you plan to travel if they have no intention of helping you to travel on that date? I also think that if they know they are getting ton of student visas at this time of the year they should be ready for it...if you have an ice cream shop you have more staff on in the hot months, after all...and seriously, once you have paid over a thousand dollars, its bit much to ask you for another 300...if they can gear up to process some in a few days then why not all...apart from the fact they wouldn't generate so much income that way...I just went back to work this week as a school teacher in an immigrant community and was greeted by a number of people with  statements like 'oh, you should have just brought him over and then sorted it out'...this by people who have done just that - not from US but sub continent....didn't make me feel good about being so law abiding!  
Anyway, there won;t be any news for the long weekend and then some...

The thing about UK visas is that they are a very simple animal as long as you follow the instructions on the application & the related official websites (UKBA, Visa4UK, UKVisas & WorldBridge). I was able to do my application in March 2008 before I found UKY (Sep 2008), so for 99.99% of people tailored help isn't necessary.

I do agree that UKY is a good place for information, but it can also lead someone with a very simple application undue stress & worry...sometimes too much information can be a bad thing. Which is why, in a way, I didn't know about UKY when I was doing my application or else I would have really been a ball of stress and lord knows, I was 6 months pregnant when I did my application, would have been institutionalised if I knew then what I know now.
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Hope y'all hear something soon.

But, hang in there, you'll get there in the end...but it just may take time.

But that's the thing: I did follow the instructions and the checklist. And I come here and read things about other things to get notarized, and notarized color copies of sponsor's passport, and self-printed bank statements that have just the bank's stamp on them being okay (instead of being issued by the bank as the instructions hint is required - we could have applied 3-4 weeks earlier instead of waiting for those to come through), and a specific amount of money each week per couple that needs to be met after rent and council tax (£103ish?) which would have been very helpful to know about as FI is unemployed at the moment - his savings are more than sufficient but we had no clue what kind of money they are looking for from sponsors, and not being sure if we were still okay to apply was stressful. Stuff like that. How are we supposed to know this from the application and related websites?

Sorry, I know I'm being whiny, and I don't expect responses really, but I just needed to get this off my chest.

The well-wishes are appreciated :^)

well, it does help to know that there are lots of people in the same boat but I know if I had seen the option to expedite offered during the online application process then I would have used it, so that's a big fail there and why do they ask you - first question - when do you plan to travel if they have no intention of helping you to travel on that date? I also think that if they know they are getting ton of student visas at this time of the year they should be ready for it...if you have an ice cream shop you have more staff on in the hot months, after all...and seriously, once you have paid over a thousand dollars, its bit much to ask you for another 300...if they can gear up to process some in a few days then why not all...apart from the fact they wouldn't generate so much income that way...

I've wondered the same thing. How is it okay that they're apparently so unprepared? I know it's okay in that it won't affect them, they're the only ones who can do this, they won't go under for what would elsewhere be considered poor customer service, but... how is this okay?

I'm not trying to be rude, or disrespectful or stir up anything because I know you are in the middle of an incredibly stressfull waiting period, but this....

I also think that if they know they are getting ton of student visas at this time of the year they should be ready for it...if you have an ice cream shop you have more staff on in the hot months, after all...

Being able to evaluate an immigration application requires quite a bit of skill, training and good understanding of the immigration rules (which is no small feat).  Do you seriously think they'd be able to hire in people with the right skill-set who would be able to accurately process and evaluate an immigration application for just a few weeks out of the year?  It's not the same as hiring temporary staff to cover sales at Christmas, or to cover at reception whilst someone is on holiday...

Good luck to all of you.  Sending peaceful, calm thoughts your way!

It all is really in the guidance...just not in one specific spot.

OK, color copies are not necessary & now here in the guidance does it say that they are...it just says 'copy'.

What supporting documents should I include with my application?
You should include all the documents you can to show that you qualify for entry as a husband, wife, civil partner, fiancé, fiancée, proposed civil partner, or unmarried or same-sex partner. If you do not, we may refuse your application.

As a guide, you should include the following:

Your original birth certificate.

Your original marriage certificate (if you are married) or your original civil partnership certificate (if you have registered a civil partnership).

Recent bank statements or savings books for your sponsor and evidence of your sponsor's employment in the UK, which could include payslips to show what financial support you have.

Evidence of your accommodation, such as a mortgage agreement or rental agreement, and evidence that you and your dependants can stay in this accommodation if it is rented or provided by your local authority.

Letters from you and your sponsor that are relevant to your application.

If you have been married or in a civil partnership before, one of the following original documents:
a divorce certificate
a final dissolution order, or
your or your sponsor's previous husband's, wife's or civil partner's death certificate

Evidence that your sponsor is settled in the UK. (This can be a copy of their passport or registration certificate that has been confirmed as a true copy, in other words 'certified').

As far as the maintenance amount per week it is there just not with specifically stated with the amount you have to cross reference that with the benefit amounts:

MAA4 Maintenance: General requirements

There is no explicit minimum figure for what represents sufficient maintenance. If dependants of the main applicant are going to accompany him / her to the United Kingdom, resources must be available for the whole family unit to be maintained.

The ECO should bear in mind the position taken by the UK Asylum and Immigration Tribunal (UKAIT):

In 2006, the UKAIT  in UKAIT 00065 KA and Others (Pakistan), strongly suggested that it would not be appropriate to have immigrant families existing on resources that were less than the Income Support level for a British family of that size.
More information is available on the British & Irish Legal Information Institute website (BAILII)

If it is more likely than not that the total amount that the applicant and sponsor will have to live on will be below what the income support level would be for a British family of that size, then it may be appropriate to refuse the application on maintenance and accommodation grounds.

Maintenance may be provided by either:


The applicant with their own funds or with funds available to them; or
The sponsor; or
A combination of applicant and sponsor funds.

Anyway, I know you didn't expect answers but I just wanted to show you the information is out there without UKY (just takes A LOT of digging to find it).

Best of luck to you...but you really don't need it 

Hi nickiboo, is that a fact or just your opinion? Because I think a lot of people (myself included) would be very stressed, perhaps unnecessarily if it's not a fact, after reading that.

No this isnt a fact but more of an educated guess.  The current processing time at the New York Consulate for settlement visas are about 8 weeks or approx 40 business days and can be up to 12 weeks. I am not insisting you will not hear from the consulate before then; I am just passing on the information I have received from the New York Consulate through an email. 

P.S. Weby I did not write this because I am stressed out In fact I am not very stressed at all!

WebyJ, I was hoping you wouldn't mind shedding a bit more light on something...

I've repeatedly read the phrase "straightfoward application". It has also been followed up with "criminal convictions". Assuming the applicant provided the necessary documentation to explain this conviction, why would that set an application back several weeks? I assume they run the same background check on every applicant due to the weight of the "Settlement Visa" so why would it take so much longer?

Specifically... The reason I ask is because of the traffic convictions being included. I received a speeding ticket in 2008. I included a simple certified copy of my driving record to document this. Could something like that really delay an application significantly? I'm curious to know the process on the ECOs side.

WebyJ, I was hoping you wouldn't mind shedding a bit more light on something...

I've repeatedly read the phrase "straightfoward application". It has also been followed up with "criminal convictions". Assuming the applicant provided the necessary documentation to explain this conviction, why would that set an application back several weeks? I assume they run the same background check on every applicant due to the weight of the "Settlement Visa" so why would it take so much longer?

Specifically... The reason I ask is because of the traffic convictions being included. I received a speeding ticket in 2008. I included a simple certified copy of my driving record to document this. Could something like that really delay an application significantly? I'm curious to know the process on the ECOs side.

A 'straightforward' application is when there are no outside issues to deal with, like previous visa refusals (where the prior documents & application have to be reviewed to assure that no deception is taking place and the previous refusal issues have been addressed), refused entry (bounces - where the physical documentation must be sent by mail (not email) to the processing consulate from the Point of Entry), criminal convictions (where the specific US conviction must be cross referenced with the appropriate UK conviction & sentencing guides to determine if the actions are 'spent' under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act of 1974 - including traffic offenses)...basically anything that makes a one sitting work through of an application impossible will cause an application to be considered not 'straightforward'...extra checks take extra time.

'Background checks' akin to what the US has for their Visa process aren't usually done for UK Visas unless there is something that makes the ECO think that there is more going on than what is being stated on the application or to verify what has been stated. There is Guidance on General Reasons for Refusing Entry Clearance that says:

Where to check for evidence

You must always do all the following standard checks:
• UK Border Agency security checks
• Other security checks
• Police national computer (PNC)
• Internal UK Border Agency systems
• Information on the application form.

Other information may help you consider an application. You should also complete, if appropriate:
• Interviews
• Check local sources of information, and/or
• Medical examinations.

It possibly could be because the ECO would have to do extra checks to make sure that the convictions/offenses are 'spent' or that there is compelling reason to believe that an applicant that has had a chequered criminal history has had a significant life change and are not a threat to the UK population. A simple speeding ticket shouldn't impact a settlement visa.

It really is just the slow time of year with Student visas & PBS visas with dependents trying to get things done in time for school year -- which is why they offer students the in person applications & all others the (except settlement visas) the 48 hour priority processing. Given that any applications submitted without priority processing (settlement or otherwise) will be viewed in turn and you shouldn't think that because it's taking so long to process that there will be a refusal at the end of it. Only 3% of Settlement visas are refused when the applicant is in the US -- and that drops to 1% with the Los Angeles Consulate.

EmmJayye, I assume I must have had the most straightforward of all applications as mine went through very quickly, and I did have a documented speeding ticket, so that alone is not a factor.

Once again, thank you for the information, WebyJ!

MagikRat - very good to hear

Biometrics taken Thursday, Aug. 26
Documents sent to NY via UPS Friday, Aug. 27
Email notification that my application was received Tuesday Aug. 31 at 1:15 pm
Email notification that my visa was issued Tues, Aug. 31 at 3:50 pm!!!

(I guess the priority processing fee was worth it to find out in less than 3 hours!)

Biometrics taken Thursday, Aug. 26
Documents sent to NY via UPS Friday, Aug. 27
Email notification that my application was received Tuesday Aug. 31 at 1:15 pm
Email notification that my visa was issued Tues, Aug. 31 at 3:50 pm!!!

(I guess the priority processing fee was worth it to find out in less than 3 hours!)

Congratulations!!!

Congratulations, hopefully that is good news for our non-priority applications that the workload is lower now!