UK biometrics appointments

These were the official guidelines on the government application site:

1. Document type: On completing your on line application you will be advised of the mandatory supporting evidence UKVI will need to access your application. You must upload all the mandatory supporting evidence, we will not be able to submit your application if mandatory information is missing. Further supporting documents guidance is on gov.uk for the documents required for your application route.

2. Category: Your supporting evidence needs to be submitted under the categories advised, our upload facility allows for this and having the right documents in the right category will make your evidence easier to find and review, so we suggest that you organise and upload your supporting documents in the correct categories.

3. File Format: Please upload documents in PDF (preferred), JPG and PNG format.

4. File Name: needs to be as simple as possible e.g. bank-statement-Apr-2018.pdf Do not upload files with file names having special characters, #,ë, or bank.statement.apr.2018.pdf

5. File Size: each uploaded document has a file size limit of 6MB, uploading larger files will result in your documents being rejected, so please ensure the file is as small as possible and not more than 6 MB. If you document is likely to be over 6MB please split into parts and create separate files. There is no limit on the number of documents/files you can upload.

6. Scan in Greyscale or Black and white: To help contain the files size to 6MB please scan in ‘Greyscale’ or ‘Black and white’ and not in ‘Colour’. It is also helpful to keep the resolution between 150 dpi (dots per inch) to 300 dpi. This can be achieved by configuring your device by the available ‘Settings’ option, that allows you to choose the file format, colour and the dpi resolution. With this approach, you will be able to scan up to 50 pages per document within the allowed 6 MB limit.

7. Password: Please do not upload password protected files as the caseworker will not be able to open them for assessment and therefore your application may be delayed."

Hi Tazzymundo,

No apologies neccessary at all, I had the same questions too

Does the option to self scan come after you pay for the fees and IHS surcharge?
After you have paid for your IHS fee you will then be prompted to complete and pay for your application which will give you 2 choices, either the normal non-priority fee or the super priority fee which is £800 more. After the visa is has been paid for and everything is complete the screen will display a list of mandatory items that you need to ensure you have completed, one of those is to go to the Sopra Steria website. I believe when you first access the site they send you an access code, once you have that code you can get in and book your appointment and upload your documents prior to your appointment. There is no additional fee to self scan, but there is if you want them to scan and check your documents. It will depend on the type of appointment you book, here is the link: https://www.ukvcas.co.uk/additional-services


I hope this helps 

Thank you so much. So if I'm not mistaken I do have some time between applying and uploading? So let's say we needed a couple of days just to think it over in terms of whether we want to do the uploading or use Sopra Steria, are we ok to do that before we go through to the Sopra Steria site? We will be going down the priority route (£800).

Thank you so much. So if I'm not mistaken I do have some time between applying and uploading? So let's say we needed a couple of days just to think it over in terms of whether we want to do the uploading or use Sopra Steria, are we ok to do that before we go through to the Sopra Steria site? We will be going down the priority route (£800).

Absolutely - As long as all docs are uploaded a few days prior to the appointment you should be fine but we didn't wait as it would've been on our minds and you don't have to book your appointment straight away, you can take a few days to mull it over or see if there are free appointments available. We were impatient so just paid the extra for whatever appointments were there.

I prepared all the documents and uploaded them, using our naming conventions, onto my external hard drive prior to submitting his application. It was just 1 less thing to think about and it meant we were ready to go as soon as we booked the appointment.

I did wonder if perhaps UKVI checked the documents prior to the appointment, especially given the speed of the approval but that is purely speculation, so please take my suspicion with a pinch of salt 

I’m assuming with the latest news from the PM, all of these appointments will be cancelled/postponed.

I’m assuming with the latest news from the PM, all of these appointments will be cancelled/postponed.

That's what I'm assuming. I just sent an email asking about my ILR appointment for this Friday. I would tend to think it won't happen for a good while now. I'm just wondering how much "leniency" they allow to get things done once things get going again.

Posted this in two threads for clarity for people.... a little sliver of hope for people currently in the system maybe... I am taking a break from working from home (dont tell my boss!) to confirm that my wife just called and she is out of her Biometrics appointment that was schedules for 11am this morning!!

She was at the Enhanced Centre in Cardiff Bay, and obviously there may be differences depending on the status of the building etc. as to whether each centre would be open, but I can confirm that it certainly is not the Policy that all centres are shut!

I sent an email off to Sopra last night asking if things were still going ahead.....looks like I'm still good to go on Friday. See below for their response this morning. They didn't actually say " yes....things are fine"......but they didn't tell me to go away either.
============================
Thank you for your enquiry.
I can see you have already registered an account and booked an appointment, and therefore no longer require a new access code. Please make sure to bring your passport and QR code when attending your appointment.


Yours sincerely

UKVCAS Customer Services

This service is managed and provided by Sopra Steria.

Just got an email that my appointment tomorrow in Croydon has been cancelled.

It says to reschedule but the website still shows me as having an appointment so I can’t.

6 months pregnant and emotional anyway and this is just too much. I’m not going to have my visa renewed before the baby comes and it’s seriously stressing me out.


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Absolutely - As long as all docs are uploaded a few days prior to the appointment you should be fine but we didn't wait as it would've been on our minds and you don't have to book your appointment straight away, you can take a few days to mull it over or see if there are free appointments available. We were impatient so just paid the extra for whatever appointments were there.

I prepared all the documents and uploaded them, using our naming conventions, onto my external hard drive prior to submitting his application. It was just 1 less thing to think about and it meant we were ready to go as soon as we booked the appointment.

I did wonder if perhaps UKVI checked the documents prior to the appointment, especially given the speed of the approval but that is purely speculation, so please take my suspicion with a pinch of salt 

Thanks so much. I read that you're supposed to provide 2 passport size photos? Did you physically hand that in at the appointment?

One last question - assume we have to scan in every single page of our passports (both sponsor and applicant) including blank ones/

Thanks so much. I read that you're supposed to provide 2 passport size photos? Did you physically hand that in at the appointment?

Passport photos are no longer required, so you do not provide any at all.

One last question - assume we have to scan in every single page of our passports (both sponsor and applicant) including blank ones/

Yes, I believe so.

Just got an email that my appointment tomorrow in Croydon has been cancelled.

It says to reschedule but the website still shows me as having an appointment so I can’t.

6 months pregnant and emotional anyway and this is just too much. I’m not going to have my visa renewed before the baby comes and it’s seriously stressing me out.

Try not to worry, they will make provision for this.
Stay safe.

Try not to worry, they will make provision for this.
Stay safe.

Thanks Larrabee


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Copy of site closures from the UKVCAS site. So far mine isn't on there.
https://www.ukvcas.co.uk/flash-message-detail?flashmessageId=56249

Yeah I kept checking that too

Email they sent:



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I'm just waiting for the shoe to drop....I'll probably try to reconfirm in another day if they haven't contacted me about a cancellation.