I called the phone service to see if there was anything else I needed to do to make sure they know I submitted a retroactive payment for Priority upgrade. He was less than helpful.
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That was a wasted 10 minute conversation.
Yeah, don't bother trying to call UKVI on the number they give on the UKVI website - they are pretty much useless and don't know what they are talking about (as evidenced by people's experiences with them today/this week). They are basically just a call centre located somewhere in the UK and have no access to application information or your application details. They often have little or no knowledge of how the application process works or even what the different visa types are.
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You'll notice that the email address given on the VFS Global website only actually refers to people purchasing the regular Priority Service ($187), so I have a feeling the email address they give actually goes to the NYC consulate, not Sheffield.
It might be best to send the email directly to Sheffield instead: visasheffield@homeoffice.gsi.gov.uk
There isn't actually any mention on the VFS site about being able to purchase Settlement Priority service for Sheffield after the fact. However, people here on the forum have done it before successfully, so it is possible (although at one time, Sheffield would only allow it in special circumstances).
Anyone on here - is there anything else I can do to make sure the change of status will actually be received? I don't care if they start my 15 days from tomorrow, that's fine I get it. But I just don't want them to forget about it for 15 working days and then move it to the Priority pile. Just emailed it to visasheffield@homeoffice.gsi.gov.uk too.
Just the fact that you have emailed it to them should be enough.
Where are you getting 15 days from though? There is no time limit on priority service anymore and they do not guarantee a turnaround in any particular timeframe.
All the service can do is put your application to the front of the line so it will be opened before the other applications. That's it.
How long it takes to process from there will depend on how many priority applications are in front of you (which arrived first) and how straightforward your application is to process... it could take a couple of days, it could take a few weeks - just depends. A couple of summers ago UKVI were really shortstaffed and overloaded with applications and priority processing was taking 6-8 weeks, with non-priority 2-3 months.
