Non-priority Spousal Visa Timeline

Hi guys,

Next mini panic time...

I've been reading on other (older) threads that people haven't received their passport back because Sheffield haven't been given the right tracking information and I've also seen people mentioning they're checking the shipping progress to see if their visa has been shipped.

Now, my panic is, my wife said when she shipped our application she didn't receive (or keep) the shipping information. I'm not entirely sure if she did it with VFS (I'll ask when she wakes up) but it was certainly a return label.

I know that VFS uses UPS, so do you think it would be as simple as contacting UPS and giving her details and they may be able to find her account? I know this sounds really stupid and if we've messed up this part, I'll be quite disappointed but any help or guidance would be great. We're about 30 business days (supposedly) from having a decision so in theory have enough time to solve the situation if we've botched it up!

Thanks again!

Hi guys,

Next mini panic time...

I've been reading on other (older) threads that people haven't received their passport back because Sheffield haven't been given the right tracking information and I've also seen people mentioning they're checking the shipping progress to see if their visa has been shipped.

Now, my panic is, my wife said when she shipped our application she didn't receive (or keep) the shipping information. I'm not entirely sure if she did it with VFS (I'll ask when she wakes up) but it was certainly a return label.

I know that VFS uses UPS, so do you think it would be as simple as contacting UPS and giving her details and they may be able to find her account? I know this sounds really stupid and if we've messed up this part, I'll be quite disappointed but any help or guidance would be great. We're about 30 business days (supposedly) from having a decision so in theory have enough time to solve the situation if we've botched it up!

Thanks again!

If she had a return label it would have come through VFS global because UPS can't provide one directly for an out of country shipment.
Have her check her email or her VFS account she should be able to find the information there.

Oh, well that's a massive relief! Thanks for clearing that up. I've had so many mini heart attacks during this entire process.

So, assuming 60 business days is the average, we should hope to have a visa by the 18th Sep! Fingers crossed.

Prepare yourself that over the summer, the 60 day processing time usually goes out the window.  Hopefully it won't this year, but non-priority has stretched to about 5 months the past two summers.  Last year they cleared the backlog in October.

If you get a not-straight-forward-email around 60 business days, it does NOT mean your application is not-straight-forward.  It is just an automatic email sent by the system as they won't meet the service standard.

If she had a return label it would have come through VFS global because UPS can't provide one directly for an out of country shipment.
Have her check her email or her VFS account she should be able to find the information there.

Thank you! I'll ask her to check when she wakes up. She's starting to get used to my panicked messages first thing in the morning these days.

Awesome! Good luck! 

Thanks Larrabee - much appreciated! 

Prepare yourself that over the summer, the 60 day processing time usually goes out the window.  Hopefully it won't this year, but non-priority has stretched to about 5 months the past two summers.  Last year they cleared the backlog in October.

If you get a not-straight-forward-email around 60 business days, it does NOT mean your application is not-straight-forward.  It is just an automatic email sent by the system as they won't meet the service standard.

Yeah, that's my next worry to be honest. We have naively booked a celebration of our wedding in Spain which is on October 19th so really need her passport back by then... We've talked about her applying for a second passport and just travelling to Spain if we don't have it back or hear anything by our 60 business days, but it's such a faff and so much money so we're just holding out hope at this point. I'm a little conscious of becoming the woman who went to the media but we're fairly confident we followed all of the right steps so aren't expecting a refusal.

The annoying thing is, we're sure it said you shouldn't apply more than 3 months in advance of your intended travel date so that's exactly what we did. We waited to apply but now I can see from numerous threads that the summer is a constant nightmare due to the volume of applicants.

In hindsight we should have gone for the priority service but £500 to just jump the queue seemed like a rip off at the time – I wish they could be more honest about their processing times. (It says on their website, 98% of applications are done by 60 days based on May’s figures)

Damn Theresa May and her awful government.

Yeah, that's my next worry to be honest. We have naively booked a celebration of our wedding in Spain which is on October 19th so really need her passport back by then... We've talked about her applying for a second passport and just travelling to Spain if we don't have it back or hear anything by our 60 business days, but it's such a faff and so much money so we're just holding out hope at this point. I'm a little conscious of becoming the woman who went to the media but we're fairly confident we followed all of the right steps so aren't expecting a refusal.

You would be allowed in Spain on a second passport with no issue! You just can't travel to the UK while the visa application is processing, and if you have a refusal it's recommended to apply for a visitor visa before traveling to the UK.

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Yeah, that's my next worry to be honest. We have naively booked a celebration of our wedding in Spain which is on October 19th so really need her passport back by then... We've talked about her applying for a second passport and just travelling to Spain if we don't have it back or hear anything by our 60 business days, but it's such a faff and so much money so we're just holding out hope at this point. I'm a little conscious of becoming the woman who went to the media but we're fairly confident we followed all of the right steps so aren't expecting a refusal.

The annoying thing is, we're sure it said you shouldn't apply more than 3 months in advance of your intended travel date so that's exactly what we did. We waited to apply but now I can see from numerous threads that the summer is a constant nightmare due to the volume of applicants.

In hindsight we should have gone for the priority service but £500 to just jump the queue seemed like a rip off at the time – I wish they could be more honest about their processing times. (It says on their website, 98% of applications are done by 60 days based on May’s figures)

Damn Theresa May and her awful government.

But keep in mind that those 98% of May applicants processed in 60 business days would be:
1.  A blend of priority and non-priority
2.  Applicants submitted in February

I just wish they wouldn't post stats.  Or take a page from the US Embassy and have on the website, "now processing applications received on xx/xx/xxxx.

But keep in mind that those 98% of May applicants processed in 60 business days would be:
1.  A blend of priority and non-priority
2.  Applicants submitted in February

I just wish they wouldn't post stats.  Or take a page from the US Embassy and have on the website, "now processing applications received on xx/xx/xxxx.

True, "Most applications are processed in 60 days" seems extremely misleading if people were waiting up to 5 months last year. We have provided all the required documentation (and more) plus meet all the requirements so it should in theory be an easy job! Probably being naive again...

Here's hoping.

Hello everyone...
i will hopefully be sending in my non-priority spousal visa in October...wow, i was amazed to see the fast turnaround from April to getting a notice in May...
on the horror story's of the refusals, when sending in the Spouse Visa, i have a question... On the financial parts, ill be the one moving to England, he lives there but coming over in Oct to get married here... do I, since I will be quitting my job have to send in pay stubs and such? Any help would be helpful... Best of luck and may all your dreams come true

Hello everyone...
i will hopefully be sending in my non-priority spousal visa in October...wow, i was amazed to see the fast turnaround from April to getting a notice in May...
on the horror story's of the refusals, when sending in the Spouse Visa, i have a question... On the financial parts, ill be the one moving to England, he lives there but coming over in Oct to get married here... do I, since I will be quitting my job have to send in pay stubs and such? Any help would be helpful... Best of luck and may all your dreams come true

No, your employment income doesn't count towards the requirements so your pay slips won't be necessary. How are you planning on meeting the requirement?
Here's the guidance
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/636618/Appendix_FM_1_7_Financial_Requirement_Final.pdf
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/immigration-rules/immigration-rules-appendix-fm-se-family-members-specified-evidence

True, "Most applications are processed in 60 days" seems extremely misleading if people were waiting up to 5 months last year. We have provided all the required documentation (and more) plus meet all the requirements so it should in theory be an easy job! Probably being naive again...

Here's hoping.

Remember it only takes 1-2 hours to process an application.  The rest of the time it's just sitting there, waiting desperately for someone to pick it up. 

So until the case worker gets to your application, they won't know how neat, tidy, and straight forward it is. 

And to be fair, 95% of USA applications are straight forward and clean. 

Remember it only takes 1-2 hours to process an application.  The rest of the time it's just sitting there, waiting desperately for someone to pick it up. 

So until the case worker gets to your application, they won't know how neat, tidy, and straight forward it is. 

And to be fair, 95% of USA applications are straight forward and clean. 

It's incredibly neat and tidy. I'm sure they'll be impressed with how much time we spent on preparing it for them...

I have another possibly stupid question... As we're now realising the implications of not hearing back in time for our Spanish party, is there any way you can retroactively apply for the priority stamp and somehow add it to your application? I feel like I read that someone has done that on here but have no idea if it was a dream or where to find it.

We've also just realised that my wife won't be living in the house the documents are being returned to after September. This is turning into a bit of a mess.

It's incredibly neat and tidy. I'm sure they'll be impressed with how much time we spent on preparing it for them...

I have another possibly stupid question... As we're now realising the implications of not hearing back in time for our Spanish party, is there any way you can retroactively apply for the priority stamp and somehow add it to your application? I feel like I read that someone has done that on here but have no idea if it was a dream or where to find it.

We've also just realised that my wife won't be living in the house the documents are being returned to after September. This is turning into a bit of a mess.

I can answer the last bit — I believe you can have your package held at a nearby UPS store. Once it’s on its way to you, you can either change the delivery method online or by phone. 

I can answer the last bit — I believe you can have your package held at a nearby UPS store. Once it’s on its way to you, you can either change the delivery method online or by phone. 

Well that's something! Thanks.