Any updates re: Sopra Steria appointments?

Glad to hear that they give a chance to send more documents they need. Does this mean they can proceed with the application before the bio appointment or photo uploaded?

Thanks

Applied for FLR(M) on July 13. Got a follow up email on July 30 requesting I send more documents which I did on July 31. (I am going with savings and sent 6 months up to May but they needed June also.) I received the email stating I could use the app yesterday. (Aug 6.)

Gonna go with the app and not have to rent a car and ask for time off work etc.

Just a general question. Do people feel like this is a good thing if we are offered to use the app in terms of our application?

Thanks,

NWKH

I’m really struggling to get the file size down on the passports.

Does anyone know if you have to submit every page of both the sponsor passport and the applicant passport or is it just the applicant where every page is required?


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There are applications that can reduce the size of PDF files considertably.   I reduced a passport file from 20.8MB to 4.8MB with all the pages, including the blank ones.

I’m really struggling to get the file size down on the passports.

Does anyone know if you have to submit every page of both the sponsor passport and the applicant passport or is it just the applicant where every page is required?


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Hi,
We scanned every page of the both passports, my husband also has extra pages in his US passport 52 pages to be exact, to get the files down in size We ended up scanning about 8 pages at a time and then uploading them and saying which pages were in that upload.

I'm going to use the app. I submitted my application on June 4th and all my documents are already uploaded, so it's just the app I'm waiting on now.

for those asking about scanning it yourself, I used Adobe Scan on my phone (free app from the app store, I'm on Android) and it worked a treat. If you need to shrink PDFs, you can do it through the Adobe Scan website (handy for passports and larger documents).

Thanks ericaco! I got the app for my iPad. 

One more question for you guys that have already uploaded. Warning: a stupid question: How did you name your files? The example they give has me confused. It says you can name something like "bank-statement-date-pdf" but you can't name it with a special character such as "bank.statement. date. pdf". I mean, isn't a dash a special character the same as a dot? I was going to just name stuff the obvious: Ex: Sundance passport or joint mail Apr 2018. Unless a space is considered a special character. Forgive me, but I am not super technical. This is why I am seriously considering having them scan and check this stuff. Yet, I really don't fancy rocking into London in the midst of Covid. Ugh.

Thanks ericaco! I got the app for my iPad. 

One more question for you guys that have already uploaded. Warning: a stupid question: How did you name your files? The example they give has me confused. It says you can name something like "bank-statement-date-pdf" but you can't name it with a special character such as "bank.statement. date. pdf". I mean, isn't a dash a special character the same as a dot? I was going to just name stuff the obvious: Ex: Sundance passport or joint mail Apr 2018. Unless a space is considered a special character. Forgive me, but I am not super technical. This is why I am seriously considering having them scan and check this stuff. Yet, I really don't fancy rocking into London in the midst of Covid. Ugh.

If they suggest putting a dash, then only use dashes, because that is the format they want... no spaces, no other characters (generally, to read filenames, programming code doesn't like spaces, so dashes are used instead, and also a dot would indicate a change between file name and file format, so too many dots would cause the file to be read incorrectly in the system). It also looks like they don't want capital letters either.

So, just use the same format for every file (put a dash instead of a space in the filename, and there should always be a dot before pdf):
e.g.
applicant-passport.pdf
sponsor-passport.pdf
water-bill-april-2018.pdf
etc.

Thanks ericaco! I got the app for my iPad. 

One more question for you guys that have already uploaded. Warning: a stupid question: How did you name your files? The example they give has me confused. It says you can name something like "bank-statement-date-pdf" but you can't name it with a special character such as "bank.statement. date. pdf". I mean, isn't a dash a special character the same as a dot? I was going to just name stuff the obvious: Ex: Sundance passport or joint mail Apr 2018. Unless a space is considered a special character. Forgive me, but I am not super technical. This is why I am seriously considering having them scan and check this stuff. Yet, I really don't fancy rocking into London in the midst of Covid. Ugh.

That is because computers interpret a dot in a filename as meaning the beginning of the file extension. Dashes and underscores are usually OK, dots in the middle not so much.

Hi All,

I see this is the thread for UKVCAS uploading etc, so I thought I'd try to find out what the latest is with submissions.

Background: My wife is applying for her extension so FLR(M) and her visa expires on 24 August. We got the application submitted on UKVI yesterday and paid the IHS/Visa as well. So now I'm reading the UKVCAS website and working out the best options.

I see that there's plenty of options for money to be sucked out of our bank accounts. At most we'll do the enhanced (£69) or maybe the next day option at £110.  Are people preferring to scan themselves? Once scanned, is there much of a backlog for appointments? We're outside London so have a few options on where to go. Right now, I'm aiming for the most hassle-free option. I dont think my wife has received any IDV email yet.

TIA,
Martin

That is because computers interpret a dot in a filename as meaning the beginning of the file extension. Dashes and underscores are usually OK, dots in the middle not so much.

Would they still get the documents through if a space is put in instead of a dash or underscore? Or what would happen?

Would they still get the documents through if a space is put in instead of a dash or underscore? Or what would happen?

The computer system would probably reject the file because it cannot read it, and they would have to contact you to ask you to upload it again with the correct file-naming format, which could extend your processing time while they waited for you to send it again.

So, you just need make sure that you only put dashes and no spaces... it's not difficult - just double-check each filename before you upload and edit it if necessary.

Hi All,

I see this is the thread for UKVCAS uploading etc, so I thought I'd try to find out what the latest is with submissions.

Background: My wife is applying for her extension so FLR(M) and her visa expires on 24 August. We got the application submitted on UKVI yesterday and paid the IHS/Visa as well. So now I'm reading the UKVCAS website and working out the best options.

I see that there's plenty of options for money to be sucked out of our bank accounts. At most we'll do the enhanced (£69) or maybe the next day option at £110.  Are people preferring to scan themselves? Once scanned, is there much of a backlog for appointments? We're outside London so have a few options on where to go. Right now, I'm aiming for the most hassle-free option. I dont think my wife has received any IDV email yet.

TIA,
Martin

I don't think anyone submitting an application in the last 3 months has been invited to schedule biometrics yet. Because all the centres were closed, I uploaded my documents once I was told they'd be reusing my biometric information. I would have been happy to have them upload my docs after spending hours doing it, but that also gave me another opportunity to double check everything I was including so I liked that aspect of it. 

A separate thread was started today for the people waiting to go to biometrics instead of waiting on the app to upload a photo. Hopefully more info starts trickling in, but I think the assumption right now is there will be lengthy delays and you should pick the services that suits your needs the best.

The computer system would probably reject the file because it cannot read it, and they would have to contact you to ask you to upload it again with the correct file-naming format, which could extend your processing time while they waited for you to send it again.

So, you just need make sure that you only put dashes and no spaces... it's not difficult - just double-check each filename before you upload and edit it if necessary.

The husband uploaded with spaces and submitted, do you suggest we upload everything again with dashes?

I don't think anyone submitting an application in the last 3 months has been invited to schedule biometrics yet. Because all the centres were closed, I uploaded my documents once I was told they'd be reusing my biometric information. I would have been happy to have them upload my docs after spending hours doing it, but that also gave me another opportunity to double check everything I was including so I liked that aspect of it. 

A separate thread was started today for the people waiting to go to biometrics instead of waiting on the app to upload a photo. Hopefully more info starts trickling in, but I think the assumption right now is there will be lengthy delays and you should pick the services that suits your needs the best.

Thanks Margo.

I applied for ILR on July 22nd. On August 4th I got the email stating my biometrics couldn't be reused, but that I could book an appointment. Our appt. is 8/27 in Nottingham.

Mine was an Armed Forces (SET AF) application, since my husband's in the army. Not sure if Armed Forces applications are processed any different to regular ones, as far as speed, etc. We paid for priority last time and got a decision in days.  Of course, priority wasn't even an option this time.

I applied for ILR on July 22nd. On August 4th I got the email stating my biometrics couldn't be reused, but that I could book an appointment. Our appt. is 8/27 in Nottingham.

Mine was an Armed Forces (SET AF) application, since my husband's in the army. Not sure if Armed Forces applications are processed any different to regular ones, as far as speed, etc. We paid for priority last time and got a decision in days.  Of course, priority wasn't even an option this time.

Armed Forces applications shouldn’t be processed any differently... the only reasons I can think of for why you might be required to attend an appointment are:

- your visa was granted for 5 years and so now they need updated biometrics, since it’s been so long since you last gave them

- you haven’t given biometrics inside the UK yet so maybe they need to capture them on their UK system (but I don’t know if this also is the case for other people who are applying for their first in-country visa)


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