Any updates from recent applicants?

I sent an email to them explaing I needed a clear and concise answer as to whether my case has been escalated or not and received the following:

Thank you for contacting UK Visas and Immigration international enquiry
service.

With the information you have provided, we have now escalated this case to
the relevant department who will investigate your case and will be back in
contact as soon as possible.

Thank you for your patience.

For any further details, or should you need to contact us again please
refer to our website at https://ukvi-international.faq-help.com/, select
appropriate country, click next and then select “E-Mail form” and
complete as instructed. We will aim to come back to you within 1 day.

Kind regards,
Dean

Best thing they've done this whole effort!

I sent an email to them explaing I needed a clear and concise answer as to whether my case has been escalated or not and received the following:

Best thing they've done this whole effort!

What email address are you actually sending your enquiries to?

If it's the one on the website (where the email form is), then they are unlikely to have any information about your application. They are just a random call centre (located somewhere in India, I believe) and I don't think they actually have access to the application details in Sheffield (see: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/new-international-enquiry-service-for-visa-applications).

The only way to contact Sheffield directly is via the following email address (though you're not really supposed to contact them unless they contact you first or you are upgrading to priority):
VisaSheffield@homeoffice.gsi.gov.uk

If you have already emailed the Sheffield address, then there's nothing more you can do now but wait.

I am going to email again...it's been 5 business days since the ICO requested my documentation and I sent it in. This is so ridiculous I feel like I'm losing my mind...I miss my husband so much


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I am going to email again...it's been 5 business days since the ICO requested my documentation and I sent it in. This is so ridiculous I feel like I'm losing my mind...I miss my husband so much


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Honestly, my advice would be to stop thinking about it and find something else to do - enjoy the weather, catch up with friends before you leave, do some packing, enjoy your favourite foods etc.

It's only been 5 business days and Sheffield are under no obligation to process your application quickly, so continuing to email is just going to mean more work for the employees there. They are probably dealing with hundreds of applications right now and are trying to get through them as quickly as they can. UKVI process about 5,000 settlement applications per month and a good number of those are processed in Sheffield - that's not far off 160 decisions per day (I can't find stats for exactly how many are made in Sheffield but I know there are a number of countries who send their applications to Sheffield for processing).

It was your responsibility to send all the required documents in the first place and Sheffield have very kindly contacted you to request the documents you didn't send. They could have just refused the visa outright and asked you to re-apply all over again, losing all the money from the first application and meaning several more weeks of waiting, but they didn't. They took extra time to work out what you were missing, to email you to request it and to give you several days to send it to them. All you can do is be patient, don't panic and let them do their job.

I love how you are so "well you cocked it up, stop whining" as far as I understood we sent in the required documentation, their request was for additional documents. I've complied very quickly. I've paid for the priority upgrade, the least they could do was acknowledge the documents had been received. Horrible system. At least with my husbands green card they let you know what was going on!


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I love how you are so "well you cocked it up, stop whining" as far as I understood we sent in the required documentation, their request was for additional documents.

I understand that you want answers from UKVI and it's frustrating not to get any news. I've seen a lot of people stressing out about their visa applications over the last 8.5 years and from seeing their experiences, the best advice I can give is to try to put the visa out of your mind and not panic about how long it's taking  because all that's going to do is stress you out unnecessarily.

In terms of the documents, there are 3 definite requirements you must meet for the visa and a very specific set of documents you must send for each one. These are all listed clearly in the documentation on the UKVI website.

The most important requirements are the accommodation and finances and without these documents, Sheffield cannot process the visa. UKVI didn't ask for extra documents that were additional to the requirements, they  emailed you to request the REQUIRED documents that you hadn't included.

If your original application package had included all the required documents, they wouldn't have had to email you at all and your visa probably would have been processed by now.

They don't email for additional, non-required documents because there's no need to - the visa is 'tick-box'... if they can go through your documents and tick them all off the list, the visa will be granted...there's no need to see extra documents on top of the requirements.

Having said that, even with the delays in your application, you're still only at 24 business days since your application was acknowledged. The average processing time for settlement visas in June ws 30 business days (July stats haven't been published yet), which means you're still within normal processing times.

I've complied very quickly. I've paid for the priority upgrade, the least they could do was acknowledge the documents had been received. Horrible system.

Yes, it's frustrating, but unfortunately that's how it is and it's unlikely to change any time soon. Some people get email acknowledgements and others don't.

The priority upgrade will ONLY get your application moved to the front of the processing line so you can skip the queue. That's it. Once it is in the hands of the entry clearance officer, all bets are off and they can't guarantee any kind of processing time... it takes as long as it takes to process, whether that's a couple of days or a couple of months.

Since your application was missing several mandatory documents and they had to request them before they could start processing the visa, it's going to take longer to process than an application that contained all the documents when it first arrived.

Hi everyone, I just joined. I am an American citizen married to a British citizen. We've been married for 11 years and living in the US but we own a house in the UK and we are planning to move to the UK permanently in September. We don't have any children.

I applied for the spouse settlement visa in July. I paid all the necessary fees on 7/21, completed the Biometrics on 7/27, mailed the application by UPS courier on 7/28 and received confirmation from Sheffield on 7/30 that it is "being prepared for consideration by an Entry Clearance Officer". We are meeting the financial requirement with a joint savings account (with 6 months of bank statements and an official bank letter verifying the account has been held for more than 6 months).

I did not use priority service based upon the June stats that indicated almost all US applications were completed within 30 days but now I'm wondering if that was a mistake. We are shipping our household goods on 9/8 and my husband is flying to the UK on 9/9. I put 9/8 as my move date on the application but I'm not sure it that even matters.

Can anyone share some insight about non-priority timelines? Do you think I am likely to receive it in time? Is there any way to upgrade to priority processing now that it's already in process?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated. I'm just feeling nervous which I'm sure everyone can relate to. My biggest concern is that my mother-in-law is very ill and on hospice in the UK so I would be heartbroken if I couldn't get there in a reasonable amount of time to spend more time with her.

You can do a retroactive priority upgrade...I highly recommend it. Instructions are on the VFS website. I've been waiting since July 12....upgraded to priority July 29th and still nothing.


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I can't find any info on the VFS website about upgrading to priority. Everything I'm reading talks about submitting the receipt for priority at the time of application. Can you point me to a link about upgrading after the application is already submitted/received? Thanks

Hi everyone, I just joined. I am an American citizen married to a British citizen. We've been married for 11 years and living in the US but we own a house in the UK and we are planning to move to the UK permanently in September. We don't have any children.

Welcome to the forum .

I did not use priority service based upon the June stats that indicated almost all US applications were completed within 30 days but now I'm wondering if that was a mistake. We are shipping our household goods on 9/8 and my husband is flying to the UK on 9/9. I put 9/8 as my move date on the application but I'm not sure it that even matters.

Just to note that the processing times on the website are quoted in business days, rather than calendar days, so 30 days will be 6 weeks.

To be honest, the processing times at the moment are the longest they've been all year - traditionally the summer months are the busiest and are when the processing times increase. Several people who applied in May and June who didn't pay for priority processing have since upgraded to priority because their application was taking a while to be processed.

In terms of your move date, they should issue the visa starting on that date, though of course if the date has passed before the visa has been approved, it will just be valid from the date they issue it instead.

Can anyone share some insight about non-priority timelines? Do you think I am likely to receive it in time? Is there any way to upgrade to priority processing now that it's already in process?

One person whose application was received by Sheffield in late May and who didn't pay for priority just got their visa yesterday.

It is possible to upgrade to priority after you have submitted, however UKVI don't recommend doing it because it means they have to dig through all the applications to find yours and move it to the priority queue. If you decide to upgrade it, just follow the instructions on the VFS Global website and email the priority service receipt details to Sheffield: VisaSheffield@homeoffice.gsi.gov.uk

I can't find any info on the VFS website about upgrading to priority. Everything I'm reading talks about submitting the receipt for priority at the time of application. Can you point me to a link about upgrading after the application is already submitted/received? Thanks

The instructions (http://www.vfsglobal.co.uk/USA/user_pay_services.html):

We do not encourage you to purchase the UPS Courier service after you have submitted your application as it could take a minimum of 24 hours to locate your application and link your Airway bill/ UPS label. Once your application is located, it will be prioritized.

    If you purchase the UPS Courier service after submitting your application you must:
-        Email your UPS airway bill to: UKVInewyork.Correspondence@fco.gov.uk.
-        Include the relevant tracking number(s) for the package containing your application and supporting documents and the GWF Reference Number
-        Please put the following in the subject line:

Request for Return UPS Courier service – GWFxxxxxxxxx

The email address they give is for the NYC processing office (they don't actually specifically say you can upgrade a settlement application, but people have been able to do it), so you shouldn't use that email address, but send it to the Sheffield one instead.

Thanks so much-I'll look into it!

The day's days is also the average of priority and non-priority applications.  So if 10 people used priority and averaged 5 working days each, but 10 people used non-priority and each averaged 10 weeks, the overall average would be about 30 days.

Just a quick update... Today at around 4:30 PM (UK time) I received and email from the UKVI stating that they received a response on my enquiry of my visa.  They quoted the decision making centre: "a decision have been made on your visa application and will be dispatched shortly." Yes, they used have.

Quick timeline...
25 May - Fiance settlement visa online application submitted (non-priority)
28 May - Biometrics taken and application with documents mailed
4 June - documents delivered
9 June - email from Sheffield stating my visa was received
5 August - emailed UKVI for information/status on visa
7 August - Email from UKVI saying they'd escalate app
13 August - Email from UKVI saying the decision making centre has made a decision and will be dispatched

Now the wait is on... Nervous and excited all in one!! Hope this helps others and the non-priorities waiting for a while.

Can anyone tell me how long I have to get to the UK on the fiance settlement visa (hopefully!) if approved

Yay!!! Great news! Your timeline was really close to mine, did you start out with priority?


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Yay!!! Great news! Your timeline was really close to mine, did you start out with priority?


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Thanks! Nope... We have been non-priority all along. We had moments where we were going to upgrade, but we just didn't feel comfortable doing it with the uncertainty of it all.