Priority Spouse Visa FALL Timeline (Oct-Dec)

Question about printing the IHS Receipt/ Payment Confirmation.... 

I do not see an official document to print on the Visa4UK site where I printed my application and biometrics appointment confirmation.  Would printing the email confirmation of the IHS payment made/ received be enough to fill this requirement?

That should be fine - it's the IHS number itself that is important, not the receipt. As long as you include the number, it'll be fine.

Congrats to everyone that’s gotten decision emails! That’s great news! For those still waiting, keep holding on! I’m sending all the good thoughts and vibes for those waiting!

I don’t know if this will help anyone or not, but I was always so curious what people’s situations were like and if that had anything to do with the waiting time. If this is pointless to you, just ignore! If I get a denial, I’ll let you know how I bungled it! So here is mine at time of submission:

- married for 19 months, been together for 4 years
- prior permanent residency granted in Australia (same spouse visa category)
- previously married and divorced (a quickie!) - provided divorce decree
- 2 misdemeanors (2006, 2009, no jail time) - I provided court transcripts and an FBI clearance that I had previously had to get for AU immigration
- no children
- financial requirement fulfilled by employment 
- Moved to the U.K. with spouse for 5 months to settle him before returning to the states to apply
- spouse had been working for 5 months at University of Bristol
- worked previous 16 years at a Uni in Australia

I was wondering this as well. Theoretically, it seems less information needed in the package would mean less time processing and thus faster decision.
I’ll just state my situation even though we won’t be applying for a couple months - my fiancé has a job that lets us qualify for category A so we’ll have 6 months of payslips and bank statements ready to show he hits the 18,600 minimum, he has had a flat since last October so we’ll have a tenancy agreement and landlord letter, we will have relationship evidence due to a few photos, marriage certificate, boarding passes for visits and logs showing we communicate through FaceTime everyday for hours at a time, I don’t have any sort of criminal history, there are no kids involved, I’ve only lived in the US and he’s only lived in the UK. I think the only complex part of our application will be his previous marriage, but we have the original divorce decree ready to go to show that it is done and dusted.
 
But, with all that said, I dare say it also depends on the quality of the package you submit and how quickly they get to it. Of course, paying for priority as well. Even so, it seems if you are prepared as possible then it doesn’t guarantee they won’t send the dreaded “application not straightforward” email. It almost seems it is up to discretion of the person processing the application.

And there are people here far more experienced than me, so if any of my presumptions are wrong please feel free to correct me. 

Thank you, @Kay
Much needed!

Congrats to everyone that’s gotten decision emails! That’s great news! For those still waiting, keep holding on! I’m sending all the good thoughts and vibes for those waiting!

I was wondering this as well. Theoretically, it seems less information needed in the package would mean less time processing and thus faster decision.
I’ll just state my situation even though we won’t be applying for a couple months - my fiancé has a job that lets us qualify for category A so we’ll have 6 months of payslips and bank statements ready to show he hits the 18,600 minimum, he has had a flat since last October so we’ll have a tenancy agreement and landlord letter, we will have relationship evidence due to a few photos, marriage certificate, boarding passes for visits and logs showing we communicate through FaceTime everyday for hours at a time, I don’t have any sort of criminal history, there are no kids involved, I’ve only lived in the US and he’s only lived in the UK. I think the only complex part of our application will be his previous marriage, but we have the original divorce decree ready to go to show that it is done and dusted.
 
But, with all that said, I dare say it also depends on the quality of the package you submit and how quickly they get to it. Of course, paying for priority as well. Even so, it seems if you are prepared as possible then it doesn’t guarantee they won’t send the dreaded “application not straightforward” email. It almost seems it is up to discretion of the person processing the application.

And there are people here far more experienced than me, so if any of my presumptions are wrong please feel free to correct me. 

I think the only complex part of our application will be his previous marriage, but we have the original divorce decree ready to go to show that it is done and dusted.

This doesn't make it complicated. It's completely routine and as long as you have included the divorce decree, they will just tick that box and move on to the next requirement! 

Personal circumstances such as relationship length, kids, financial category, living in other countries, previous marriages etc. won’t affect the processing time.

The things that can affect the wait time are:
- criminal convictions
- previous refused visas/entry to the UK
- previous illegal overstaying or working in the UK
- missing documents/not meeting the requirements


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That should be fine - it's the IHS number itself that is important, not the receipt. As long as you include the number, it'll be fine.

I forgot to include my IHS number (( I thought it should be added automatically

I forgot to include my IHS number (( I thought it should be added automatically

Ah, unfortunately it isn't . However, if they can't find it, they should contact you either to ask you for the number, or to pay the surcharge if you haven't actually done it (this happens with applications for children because there's a glitch in the system and it won't let you pay the IHS for children even though they are required to pay it!).

Ah, unfortunately it isn't . However, if they can't find it, they should contact you either to ask you for the number, or to pay the surcharge if you haven't actually done it (this happens with applications for children because there's a glitch in the system and it won't let you pay the IHS for children even though they are required to pay it!).

I had a look at the emails we received because I was sure I had read somewhere that the IHS number was included. Sure enough, on the web page after you pay the fee, it says     https://imgur.com/a/t9dGX

What you need to do next
Finish your visa application. We'll make sure your IHS reference number is included.

If you're applying in person at a premium service centre, you'll need your IHS reference number when you attend your appointment.

But then on the confirmation email it says      https://imgur.com/a/8z76g

What you need to do next
Finish your visa application and include your IHS reference number.

This process is just great     I included it anyway, but some consistency in information would be nice...

This process is just great     I included it anyway, but some consistency in information would be nice...

I hate to tell you this, but you should probably try to get used to this sort of thing. You are going to encounter it a lot over the next 5 years! 

I didn’t include it
Exactly because it was written like that  . I wasn’t able to start paying for the application without paying IHS.

Well, anyway it’s a long time to wait for their decision on me anyway. Maybe it’ll be a rejection again and no need for the Ihs number.

I had a look at the emails we received because I was sure I had read somewhere that the IHS number was included. Sure enough, on the web page after you pay the fee, it says     https://imgur.com/a/t9dGX

But then on the confirmation email it says      https://imgur.com/a/8z76g

This process is just great     I included it anyway, but some consistency in information would be nice...

What is it with UKVI and contradicting themselves all the time? 

Some examples:

Sending documents to Sheffield
1) the online application tells you you have 2 weeks to send documents after biometrics
2) the Apply in the USA page tells you you have 5 days to send the documents after biometrics

Which is correct?
- the Apply in the USA page. It changed from 2 weeks to 5 days in September 2015

Relationship documents
1) the 'Family visas: apply, extend or switch' pages tell you not to send things like WhatsApp messages, Skype history or photos of you together.
2) the List of Supporting Documents file tells you to send: photographs of your wedding, civil partnership ceremony or other time spent together,  phone records, emails, letters or cards

Which is Correct?
- the List of Supporting Documents. People have recently been refused for not sending those documents and/or have been asked to send those documents because they were missing

IHS Reference Number
1) IHS webpage tells you the IHS will be included automatically
2) IHS confirmation email tells you to include it yourself

Which is correct?
Who knows? This is the first I've heard that it will be included... then again, if you can't see it anywhere on your application form, then how will you know that?

They just want to create more confusion so more people will fail

Also when it talks about criminal convictions the paper application says to include speeding tickets and the like, whereas the online one doesn’t hint to that at all.

I obviously erred on the side of caution,  with you all giving me answers the UKVI  don’t provide, went with the paper application’s notes, ticked the box and included my driving history.


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What is it with UKVI and contradicting themselves all the time? 

Some examples:

Sending documents to Sheffield
1) the online application tells you you have 2 weeks to send documents after biometrics
2) the Apply in the USA page tells you you have 5 days to send the documents after biometrics

Which is correct?
- the Apply in the USA page. It changed from 2 weeks to 5 days in September 2015

Relationship documents
1) the 'Family visas: apply, extend or switch' pages tell you not to send things like WhatsApp messages, Skype history or photos of you together.
2) the List of Supporting Documents file tells you to send: photographs of your wedding, civil partnership ceremony or other time spent together,  phone records, emails, letters or cards

Which is Correct?
- the List of Supporting Documents. People have recently been refused for not sending those documents and/or have been asked to send those documents because they were missing

IHS Reference Number
1) IHS webpage tells you the IHS will be included automatically
2) IHS confirmation email tells you to include it yourself

Which is correct?
Who knows? This is the first I've heard that it will be included... then again, if you can't see it anywhere on your application form, then how will you know that?

Yup, there's tons of contradicting information all over their website and PDFs. It's insane to me, but I think it was you, larrabee, or KFdancer who showed us how it used to be on the waybackmachine and it was so much more clear. Now it's a labyrinth of information that doesn't match up.

Yikes! Speeding tickets?! I didn’t include those. Since I had to get an FBI clearance before, I only included what showed up on that. Way to be thoughough, hats off to you! 

Also when it talks about criminal convictions the paper application says to include speeding tickets and the like, whereas the online one doesn’t hint to that at all.

I obviously erred on the side of caution,  with you all giving me answers the UKVI  don’t provide, went with the paper application’s notes, ticked the box and included my driving history.


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