Priority Spouse Visa FALL Timeline (Oct-Dec)

I take it this is the standard response?:

"Dear ,

Thank you for contacting UK Visas and Immigration International Contact Centre.
 
With regards to your enquiry about the status of your application, I can confirm that your application is being considered and is currently awaiting a decision.
 
If it has been over 15 working days for non- settlement applications or 60 working days for settlement applications, please provide the following details:

Full Name   
Date of Birth
GWF number
IHS number
Passport number
Place of submission
Type of Visa applied for
Date of biometrics
Nationality
E-mail address used on application:

We strongly recommend that you do not buy a non-refundable, non-flexible ticket to the UK, until your visa application has been approved and you have received your documents.

Regards,

Diana
UK Visas and Immigration
 

 

UKVI Contact Centre

Website: www.gov.uk/home-office"

Not worth the £5 really.  I can't say I wasn't warned though...

Standard. Sorry.

I note this line from my ECO email:

"If you have paid for Priority Service we aim to complete your application within 6 weeks of your submission date. If it is not possible to complete your application within this timeframe a member of our team will contact you to explain why."

Has any priority applicant actually been contacted by a member of the team to explain a delay beyond 6 weeks?

I note this line from my ECO email:

"If you have paid for Priority Service we aim to complete your application within 6 weeks of your submission date. If it is not possible to complete your application within this timeframe a member of our team will contact you to explain why."

Has any priority applicant actually been contacted by a member of the team to explain a delay beyond 6 weeks?

They will sometimes send out the "not straightforward" email if they are close to missing a target. In 99% of cases the application is not, not straightforward, they are just buying time.  They do not get in touch to explain a delay.

My passport finally arrived! My visa was approved!!!! I have from today to the 8th of January to move there. Most of the flights before Christmas are crazy expensive, and I need to give my jobs notice. So I will probably fly out on the 30th of December. 

By the way, we were never able to get a letter from the housing council giving me permission to live there. My husband wrote a letter (giving his housing officer's name and phone number and stating that I am allowed to live there) and got a housing inspection report. We also included a copy of the tenancy agreement and a council tax bill. So if anyone else has a problem getting a letter from their housing council, it is still possible to be approved without one.

JBinAberdeen and MiseryofLongDistance, fingers crossed that you will both hear something soon.

Congratulations!  Sounds like everything is lined up, that's exciting!

Refused.

WTF...

Refused on the grounds that we didn't submit bank statements (we did).  The letter also states that we didn't submit payslips (I didn't receive payslips in my role as a realtor).

I would have thought that we would receive a request for additional documents if this is the case, instead of a refusal?

Does anyone have experience of the online appeals process?  How long will it take if I re-submit bank statements today? 

About to hop on a plane back to Texas and give up on this whole thing but my daughters live here and I can't be away from them either...

Refused.

WTF...

Refused on the grounds that we didn't submit bank statements (we did).  The letter also states that we didn't submit payslips (I didn't receive payslips in my role as a realtor).

I would have thought that we would receive a request for additional documents if this is the case, instead of a refusal?

Does anyone have experience of the online appeals process?  How long will it take if I re-submit bank statements today? 

About to hop on a plane back to Texas and give up on this whole thing but my daughters live here and I can't be away from them either...

Sorry to hear that. Start a new thread. Copy the decision letter with personal information removed.

Refused.

WTF...

Refused on the grounds that we didn't submit bank statements (we did).  The letter also states that we didn't submit payslips (I didn't receive payslips in my role as a realtor).

I would have thought that we would receive a request for additional documents if this is the case, instead of a refusal?

Does anyone have experience of the online appeals process?  How long will it take if I re-submit bank statements today? 

About to hop on a plane back to Texas and give up on this whole thing but my daughters live here and I can't be away from them either...

So sorry to hear that honestly. Definitely should have requested the information instead of straight out denial?



How did you receive the decision response ?

No reply yet on the visa.

 Nothing.

26th working day at moment. 

Agonizing.

No reply yet on the visa.

 Nothing.

26th working day at moment. 

Agonizing.

I'm sorry.. this has been the longest road for you.  Wishing you the best of luck.

Hi everyone...we are ready to submit my MIL’s application, but I just want to double check at what stage you upload the documents. Do you submit the application first and then upload to the VFS site before you pay for priority?? I want to be sure I’ve got it all correct before submitting. It’s changed since I applied :/


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

So I think I'm all set to make a fresh application in January.

Historically, does anyone know how January timescales tend to look vs Nov-Dec?

So I think I'm all set to make a fresh application in January.

Historically, does anyone know how January timescales tend to look vs Nov-Dec?

Pretty much the best time of year to apply is January/February.

I have received an email update from Sheffield, they state that “Unfortunately, the processing of your application has not been straightforward and we will be unable to decide your application within our customer service targets. We are continuing to work on your application and aim to make a decision as soon as possible.”

This was received today, on the 29th WD

How much longer before a decision, this is painful.

I expected this, as my previous two times I’ve applied were refused and also went through this process where they delayed it before giving a decision. But this time the problem that existed in the previous two applications (July 2015 and 2016) was the income requirement was not satisfied.

This time it is above the requirement and a legitimate job. So I am confident about that. I believe because of the previous two refusals and more than 20+ entries to the UK for various duration since 2011 they are doing which I guess would be due diligence. Otherwise everything else ticks the mark, family, marriage, children, never used public funds and so on.

Misery.

I have received an email update from Sheffield, they state that “Unfortunately, the processing of your application has not been straightforward and we will be unable to decide your application within our customer service targets. We are continuing to work on your application and aim to make a decision as soon as possible.”

This was received today, on the 29th WD

How much longer before a decision, this is painful.

I expected this, as my previous two times I’ve applied were refused and also went through this process where they delayed it before giving a decision. But this time the problem that existed in the previous two applications (July 2015 and 2016) was the income requirement was not satisfied.

This time it is above the requirement and a legitimate job. So I am confident about that. I believe because of the previous two refusals and more than 20+ entries to the UK for various duration since 2011 they are doing which I guess would be due diligence. Otherwise everything else ticks the mark, family, marriage, children, never used public funds and so on.

Misery.

So sorry to hear this... may be a good sign that they didn't ask you for any further documentation/clarification.  As you said more than likely just following due diligence -
Sending you best wishes!

This is separate to the email from Sheffield that I received yesterday.


I had emailed UKVI a few days ago, payed the fee, and they requested information pertaining to my case, yesterday they indicated they are escalating the case and then today they emailed me:

“As advised by my colleague in an email sent yesterday, 17 December 2019, prior to making a decision on an Entry Clearance application, a number of mandatory checks need to be completed in both the applicant’s home country and the UK.  Although we aim to decide all applications within our published service standards, this is not always possible as the length of time taken to complete these checks is dependent on the individual circumstances of each case.

Once these mandatory checks have been completed the results of these checks may mean that further extended checks need to be carried out, this was the case with this application.

Whilst I appreciate the delays are frustrating for the applicant UKVI policy and procedures must remain intact.”

It was from UKVI Contact Centre Service - UK Decision Making Centre


How will the Christmas into New Year holidays affect the processing timeline. Do all the holiday days count as non-working days and nothing won’t be processed in this time?