The one catch is that I was refused for a visa in 2010. The refusal was for not providing enough supporting documents, and was for a Tourist Visa that I *did not need*. I mistakenly applied for one after getting the wrong information and then did that (nearly) six month trip without one, as I was legally allowed to do.
The 6 months as a visitor is not really a "legally allowed" thing, it's just the maximum amount of time that a visitor
may be permitted to spend in the UK at one time.
By no means is it a given that you will be allowed into the UK for 6 months... it is completely at the discretion of the immigration officer at the airport. They are not legally obliged to let you into the UK at all and they are the ones who determine how long you will be allowed to stay for (most people do get stamped in for 6 months, but not everyone - some people may only be allowed in until their return ticket date, or only for X number of days or weeks).
Obviously this caused a lot of confusion at the airports, but any time I would come in during that time frame I was always allowed in after getting asked a load of questions. I did not break any immigration rules or have any other issues while I was in the UK. I think this was a very minor visa refusal, because all it says on the paper was that I didn't provide enough supporting documents and to apply again. And obviously it didn't affect my ability to get into the UK for the same trip that I mistakenly applied for it for.
Technically, if you have been refused a visa in the past, you should not attempt to travel to the UK again without first applying for a visitor visa. You were actually quite lucky to be allowed into the UK with a previous refusal and not bounced at the airport.
So the question here is about getting this back as quickly as possible. Is it true that expeditor services are no longer allowed? I have called a few and they say that I can pay them and they will take it to the embassy, but on here it seems like people say that the official priority scheme has replaced them and they are no longer valid.
Technically, you could still use them to submit your application, but it will no longer get your visa processed any faster than just mailing it in yourself, so it would basically just be a waste of money... you would essentially be paying them a ton of money just to deliver your application - which you can just do yourself by FedEx or UPS anyway.
If you wanted your visa processed quickly, you would still need to pay the $300 for priority service on top of the 'visa expediter' fee... so you might as well just mail it in yourself, pay the $300 for priority if you want to and not pay a visa company to help.
It's like there are two different realities here. I am more than willing to pay the $300 if that is the quickest way to get it back. It looks like I can pay that fee even with a prior refusal, but although it will be priority it may be slower than usual priority.
Even without priority, straightforward visa applications have been taking only a few days recently, so hopefully it wouldn't take too long for your application to be processed. If you were to pay the $300 for priority, it may speed your application up a bit though compared to not using it.
What would you guys suggest? Are the expediting companies' claims bogus? Has anyone else been in a similar situation using the UKBA priority service with a refusal? If so, how long was the processing time? Thanks everyone!
Expediters have not been allowed for visa applications since June 2010 (which is when they introduced the priority service)... while there's nothing stopping those companies from submitting your application for you, they no longer have any effect on processing times.
A few people have used priority service with previous refusals recently and I believe their visas have been processed within about 15-17 working days.
