Premium Service - Spouse visa renewal

Hello,

Can someone share your experience in getting the premium service for the spouse visa renewal? Because of my work travels, premium service is the only option for me... I know it's a same-day-decision and costs £610 additional but would love to better understand:

* How much in advance do I need to book the premium service / same-day decision? For example, if I were to have all my documents ready to go today and wanted to book an appointment, can I get it in a few days or is it still some time away when I can get an appointment?

* Once I book, should I budget on spending a whole day for the appointment and the decision to be made? Do I wait wherever I need to go after the appointment to hear back on the decision?

* Anything else I should know about the premium service?

Thank you so much!

Hello,

Can someone share your experience in getting the premium service for the spouse visa renewal? Because of my work travels, premium service is the only option for me... I know it's a same-day-decision and costs £610 additional but would love to better understand:

* How much in advance do I need to book the premium service / same-day decision? For example, if I were to have all my documents ready to go today and wanted to book an appointment, can I get it in a few days or is it still some time away when I can get an appointment?

* Once I book, should I budget on spending a whole day for the appointment and the decision to be made? Do I wait wherever I need to go after the appointment to hear back on the decision?

* Anything else I should know about the premium service?

Thank you so much!

The booking system is weird and frustrating, it often shows no appointments available anywhere for 45 days so you will need some patience and persistence.
Work out the earliest date you want to apply and count back 42 calendar days (might be 45 now but when I was booking it was 42) That is when you can start looking to book. Try at off times, midnight, 3am, 6am etc and you might have more luck.
It might seem like you will never get an appointment but you will, it just takes perseverance!

You should allow the whole day, but often people are out in less than 3-4 hours. You can wait there or go for a coffee but you won't have to go home and come back again.

You should use the paper form for your FLR(M) Your 28 days for the financial documents is counted back from the date of your in-person appointment.

Your partner must attend with you (in case you weren’t aware).

At which centre are you applying? We applyed in Croydon and waited several hours for a decision. There was a small cafe in the waiting room but not much else so bring a book or something to entertain yourself during the wait (said as though you won't be checking the screen every 2 minutes).

Thank you so much for all the information. I'm slightly worried now... My visa expires in mid-September - so I'm just now able to book the premium service but it looks like I might not find an available spot for some time....! I'm planning to apply at the Croydon Center. I'm waiting for the final correspondence documents to come through but maybe I should just start the process to look for a day given how difficult it looks to be.

Thank you for the information!

Thank you so much for all the information. I'm slightly worried now... My visa expires in mid-September - so I'm just now able to book the premium service but it looks like I might not find an available spot for some time....! I'm planning to apply at the Croydon Center. I'm waiting for the final correspondence documents to come through but maybe I should just start the process to look for a day given how difficult it looks to be.

Thank you for the information!

That's usually the way it is when you have an in-person appointment. I had to get my bank statements after the appointment had been booked so that they would be within the 28 days. That's one disadvantage over just applying by post where you can gather all your documents  then just mail it off when you are ready!

I would go ahead and start trying to book. If you needed to, you could always change your appointment, although that might not be easy!

Your partner must attend with you (in case you weren’t aware).

When did this become the case? February 2016 I went to Liverpool for my first FLR(m) and only brought my spouse's passport as he had to work and couln't get out of it.

When did this become the case? February 2016 I went to Liverpool for my first FLR(m) and only brought my spouse's passport as he had to work and couln't get out of it.

Since at least 2007 (which is when I joined the forum).

The old UKBA website used to explicitly state that your spouse needed to be there and if they couldn’t make it, they had to include a letter of support... but then when they changed the department to UKVI and revamped the website, they deleted a ton of important information about applying, including that part, and made a once comprehensive website extremely vague and confusing.


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and made a once comprehensive website extremely vague and confusing.

I still miss the old website....<sigh>. 

Since at least 2007 (which is when I joined the forum).

The old UKBA website used to explicitly state that your spouse needed to be there and if they couldn’t make it, they had to include a letter of support... but then when they changed the department to UKVI and revamped the website, they deleted a ton of important information about applying, including that part, and made a once comprehensive website extremely vague and confusing.


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Anywhere you can point me to that will tell me what to put in the sponsorship letter? I guess I vaguely recall putting something like that together last time, but I've reviewed the latest paper FLR(m) and there's nothing in there about such a thing, nor was there on the online application.

As a sidenote, the paper form still refers exclusively to married couples as "husband and wife"

Anywhere you can point me to that will tell me what to put in the sponsorship letter? I guess I vaguely recall putting something like that together last time, but I've reviewed the latest paper FLR(m) and there's nothing in there about such a thing, nor was there on the online application.

As a sidenote, the paper form still refers exclusively to married couples as "husband and wife"

If you are applying by post, there is no requirement to include a sponsor letter, which is why there is nothing about it.

The only time one has to be supplied is if the sponsor cannot attend the in-person appointment... because they are expected to attend with you. Usually though it’s only acceptable for them not to attend if something serious is physically preventing them from going to the centre - such as they have been admitted to hospital or are currently deployed overseas and cannot come back for it.

The sponsor letter should outline how they meet each requirement for the visa (being eligible to sponsor a visa, financial requirement, accommodation and relationship).


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If you are applying by post, there is no requirement to include a sponsor letter, which is why there is nothing about it.

The only time one has to be supplied is if the sponsor cannot attend the in-person appointment... because they are expected to attend with you. Usually though it’s only acceptable for them not to attend if something serious is physically preventing them from going to the centre - such as they have been admitted to hospital or are currently deployed overseas and cannot come back for it.

The sponsor letter should outline how they meet each requirement for the visa (being eligible to sponsor a visa, financial requirement, accommodation and relationship).


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That's weird- like I said, I went up to Liverpool for my first FLR(m) and the only reason he didn't come is because he had to work. Had a decision in less than 3 hours. 

Any idea how I can contact someone on technical application issues? I paid for the premium service, booked an appointment but as mentioned, I wanted to back in and see if earlier dates are available. It says I can only access my booking to amend from the premium service payment confirmation email but something is wrong with the confirmation emails...!!! For the visa payment and the IHS payment confirmations, I got the emails but the contents are mixed up with something else (i.e., when I open the confirmation emails, content either doesn't download or the contents are related to something totally different - to be specific, they relate to the Yankee forum responses...)....!!!

Help please...!!!

Any idea how I can contact someone on technical application issues? I paid for the premium service, booked an appointment but as mentioned, I wanted to back in and see if earlier dates are available. It says I can only access my booking to amend from the premium service payment confirmation email but something is wrong with the confirmation emails...!!! For the visa payment and the IHS payment confirmations, I got the emails but the contents are mixed up with something else (i.e., when I open the confirmation emails, content either doesn't download or the contents are related to something totally different - to be specific, they relate to the Yankee forum responses...)....!!!

Help please...!!!

Try this.

Technical problems when applying online
Contact the online help team to report technical problems with your online application, for example problems with passwords, payments and booking appointments.

You must include:

your name
what you’re applying for (for example Tier 2 visa)
a description of the problem
Email
ApplyOnlineE-Support@homeoffice.gsi.gov.uk

https://www.gov.uk/contact-ukvi-inside-outside-uk/y/inside-the-uk/technical-problems-when-applying-online

Thank you - I got it sorted...!

By the way, I've been keeping an eye on possibly finding an earlier date than beginning September. I see more dates have come up for later but nothing for earlier. Have others had any luck finding something earlier than originally booked or is that rare?... Any tips - I would love to hear.

Thank you!