Any updates from recent applicants?

It's a settlement visa I'm applying for. i've been married to my british citizen husband since last October. Saying you have to apply for a visitor visa is still not helpful. Because you can enter the country as a tourist as you like.

It's a settlement visa I'm applying for. i've been married to my british citizen husband since last October. Saying you have to apply for a visitor visa is still not helpful. Because you can enter the country as a tourist as you like.

A tourist and visitor are the same thing.  The stamp you receive on entry as a tourist is technically called a visitor visa.

The good news is you will be fine.  You weren't even refused entry and were allowed in (even if only for 4 days).  As long as you meet the requirements to apply, this won't even slow down your visa application processing time.

All they need on their website are simple straight foward words. WARNING - You can't come to the UK and use our same day processing service. You MUST apply online and STAY in your home country. Don' quit your job. Don't sell your things until you have our visa approved and sent back to you. My british husband read all the things I did and was in agreement with what I was doing.

I have student loans and car payments to make and this really was a curve ball that could have been avoided if it just simply and clearly communicated these things. If nothing else, I pray that my experience could help someone else from experiencing what I did. because it really is unnecessary and didn't add any value to my life. 

It is super confusing, and for a while I thought I could join my husband, who is a UK citizen, on a tourist visa and apply "to remain" in person. It sounds so logical, right?

Sorry you learned  the hard way, but sharing  your story will hopefully  help the next person! Hope your visa arrives quickly!

All they need on their website are simple straight foward words. WARNING - You can't come to the UK and use our same day processing service. You MUST apply online and STAY in your home country. Don' quit your job. Don't sell your things until you have our visa approved and sent back to you. My british husband read all the things I did and was in agreement with what I was doing.


I have student loans and car payments to make and this really was a curve ball that could have been avoided if it just simply and clearly communicated these things. If nothing else, I pray that my experience could help someone else from experiencing what I did. because it really is unnecessary and didn't add any value to my life.

But what people are saying here is that the website clearly does state that you can't do it - in the eligibility section for the visa. Yes, okay, perhaps they could make it clearer, but it's definitely there.

If you go to the page for applying for a spousal visa to join your family member in the UK, you will see the following:

Apply to join family living permanently in the UK
.
.
.
If you’re already in the UK

You can’t apply for a ‘family of a settled person’ visa - you must apply to remain in the UK with family instead.

So, then you go to the link for applying to remain in the UK with your family, and under 'eligibility', it says:

3. Eligibility
.
.
.
You can apply to extend or switch in any of these routes if you’re eligible, except if you have permission to be in the UK:

-    as a visitor
-    for less than 6 months – unless you got your visa to get married or become civil partners or you got your visa to wait for the outcome of a family court or divorce
-    on temporary admission or release (you don’t have a visa) – unless you apply in a 10-year route

If you had still been living in the UK on a valid student visa, then of course you could have used the one-day service and applied to switch to the spousal visa (FLR(M)); but as a visitor, it is not possible to switch because you don't have permission to live in the UK - your visitor visa only gives you permission to visit temporarily as a tourist, not live in the UK.

I guess perhaps UKVI assume that no one would think to try to apply for an in-country spousal visa as a visitor, because in order to be allowed into the UK as a visitor to start with, you have to show you have no intention of living in the UK and that you have a life, a home and a job to go back to in your home country.

Which is the whole reason you were held up at immigration in the first place, because in order to qualify to enter the UK as a visitor, you have to show the following:

- a return ticket
- enough money to support yourself without working for the entirety of your trip
- that you will leave the UK within 6 months and won't try to live in the UK, which you show by:
1) having a job to return to (letter from your employer stating you have been given time off and the date you will return to work)
2) having a home to return to (evidence of a current tenancy agreement or evidence of homeownership)
3) having other ties you must return to the US for, such as family members to care for, appointments or engagements to attend etc.

_________________________________________________ __________

For the record, US immigration is just as bad. The US immigration officers are notorious for being rude and and very abrupt. One time, my dad hadn't filled out his landing card correctly (he forgot to sign the bottom), and the US immigration officer practically threw it in his face and shouted at him to get to the back of the line (which was 2 hours long) and fill it out correctly - he wasn't even allowed to sign it at the desk.

In 2003, I moved to the US on a student visa, but I accidentally packed my visa documentation in my suitcase instead of in my hand luggage. When I told the immigration officer this, I was immediately escorted to a detention room and held there for 2 hours.

I was in a room full of other detainees and when one young kid (maybe 13 or 14 years old) asked to use the bathroom, he was directed down the corridor. He came back a moment later to say he couldn't find the bathroom and the immigration officer shouted at him and told him to sit down and hold it. She flat out refused to show him where it was.

Eventually, I was collected from the detention room and escorted down to baggage claim to retrieve the documents, then I had to join the immigration line again to actually be allowed into the country. In all, it took me about 4 hours to get through immigration and I missed my connecting flight. Not a good start to my year living in the US and I refused to fly through that airport again for the next 10 years!

Ksand24, I have almost the exact same story from when I flew into the UK in 2009 to study in Edinburgh for my master's! I got the student visa and had all my paperwork (acceptance letter, etc.). Before leaving the US, I had obsessively read Edinburgh Uni's guidance about arriving in the UK and dealing with the border agents -- what you needed to say, have on hand, etc. Unfortunately, one huge oversight in that guidance was the fact that I needed to have my acceptance letter accompanying my student visa affixed in my passport. So, I got up to the front of the line and handed my passport to the agent. She sees the visa and jerks her head up and demands, "where is your letter?" I was genuinely perplexed. What letter? No one mentioned a letter. "What letter?" I asked her. Politely, I might add. She stared at me like I'd grown two more heads and shouted -- I kid you not, she shouted -- "YOUR UNIVERSITY ACCEPTANCE LETTER!" And she was young, too, probably around my age or younger. I was shocked at how quickly she escalated the encounter.

It was EXTREMELY fortunate for me that I had absentmindedly packed my acceptance letter into the pocket of my carry-on. But I had forgotten it was there. I spent a panicked couple of minutes as I ransacked my carry-on for the letter. This was at Heathrow, so not much chance of me avoiding that horrible place in the future. I wish that woman bad vibes forever.

Well, it's not almost the exact same story -- I feel so bad for people who get detained now and can only hope it doesn't happen to me -- but same beginning of story. Ish. 

All they need on their website are simple straight foward words. WARNING - You can't come to the UK and use our same day processing service. You MUST apply online and STAY in your home country. Don' quit your job. Don't sell your things until you have our visa approved and sent back to you. My british husband read all the things I did and was in agreement with what I was doing.

I have student loans and car payments to make and this really was a curve ball that could have been avoided if it just simply and clearly communicated these things. If nothing else, I pray that my experience could help someone else from experiencing what I did. because it really is unnecessary and didn't add any value to my life. 

I really don't have anything to add to what Ksand said. I was trying to show you that they did tell you that you couldn't apply within the country using the .gov website text and in a concise manner. I forget that that's not really an easy thing to do and I should have just answered as Ksand did.

So, thank you Ksand for another of your awesome and thorough responses.

And I do hope that you find out your answer soon.

Success! Visas just arrived!

Although  the email from Sheffield said we'd  have to sign for them, the UPS guy didn't  have me do it. Glad I was here and our passports  aren't  unattended  on my front step!

The stamp has the 30 day entry window, and they used the date I wrote for planned travel,  so we're  good to go (yes, we pre-purchased travel  even though  we were told not to).

Gah, it seems much more real now that I'm  packing  up and moving across  that ocean! Time to get serious about packing and getting  our stuff shipped.

Just because things are doesn't mean its the way it needs to be, has to be or should be. It CAN be improved it can be better and more effectively communicated. There is no reason to keep things dysfunctional IF ONE person is confused. We should always be open to improvement and better serving and helping others.

To say america is just as bad isn't a soothing answer. It can be better and why not be the change.

I couldn't agree more. UKVI is a pretty textbook example of borderline abusive bureaucracy. And I think in some cases, the lack of clarity and swirl are deliberate and designed to create confusion and put people off.
And in the past few years, it has all gotten a lot more stringent. Theresa May is not our friend.

I am actually Australian, but having been living in the US as a permanent resident for the last 7 years. Never applied for US citizenship.
I have just applied for the fiancé settlement visa (non priority) got the email that Sheffield received my docs on July 7th.

Has anyone else done this having been a resident of multiple countries? Not sure whether that is likely to affect the decision or timeline.

I had originally hoped to travel in September, but then last week the basement in the house I rent collapsed, so now I'm having to pay extra for a long stay hotel... not much point getting a new rental if its only a couple of months. Sort of hoping my app might be a little slower now, so I have a little extra time to save some extra pocket money for the trip. I dont mind the wait so much, my man is well worth waiting for, its the uncertainty thats hard, feels like you have to put life on hold till you know one way or the other.

I will be interested to hear when other non-priority applicants are getting a decision, seems like there's a couple of you that have been waiting about six weeks. Best wishes to those that are waiting, hope you can "unpause" life soon.

Success! Visas just arrived!

Congratulations!!!  It's always such a relief when things you plan for actually happen according to plan.     

Good luck with the packing!   

Success! Visas just arrived!

Although  the email from Sheffield said we'd  have to sign for them, the UPS guy didn't  have me do it. Glad I was here and our passports  aren't  unattended  on my front step!

The stamp has the 30 day entry window, and they used the date I wrote for planned travel,  so we're  good to go (yes, we pre-purchased travel  even though  we were told not to).

Gah, it seems much more real now that I'm  packing  up and moving across  that ocean! Time to get serious about packing and getting  our stuff shipped.

Congrats, rainydayrun! That's good news that they paid attention to your intended travel date, too. I'm hoping they'll do the same thing for me; even though hubby is not as happy about it (he works rotation, so we'll have to wait another 10 days or so before he can get back on home turf).

Success! Visas just arrived!

Although  the email from Sheffield said we'd  have to sign for them, the UPS guy didn't  have me do it. Glad I was here and our passports  aren't  unattended  on my front step!

The stamp has the 30 day entry window, and they used the date I wrote for planned travel,  so we're  good to go (yes, we pre-purchased travel  even though  we were told not to).

Gah, it seems much more real now that I'm  packing  up and moving across  that ocean! Time to get serious about packing and getting  our stuff shipped.

i wasn't told by ups vfs global advises a signature will be required but it actually doesn't. In order to required signature insurance must be purchased and it's an additional cost. I recently moved out of my return address I provided so I called ups to keep at the main office when it arrives for me to pick up. Just going ahead since I know they will not re-route it to another address a new label would need to be purchased.
Congratulations by the way!!!! Can't wait to at least get an email from ukvi saying it was processed.



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Heeeeey Matilda76!

I got my visa today.  It did NOT have the BRP stuff, it was listed as entry from 9 July 2015 to 9 April 2018, which was the day that they processed my visa, NOT my estimated travel date of August 1st.

So, who knows what they will do for yours.

Can I get one of those shiney BRP cards anyway once I'm over there?  Or do I need to lug that passport everywhere?  I'm not 100% sure on what I'll need to do, and don't trust them to give me correct advice at this point