IDV App Info - for Applications Reusing Biometrics

For everyone who has received the email about having their biometrics reused and are choosing to use the new app, I figured I would start a new thread for our timelines.

Has anyone received an invite to the IDV app yet and used it? What was your experience?

I applied in May, received the email giving the option to opt out of the app on July 31st, and I'm still waiting to receive the invite to use the new app. Looks like the people who opted out are getting to schedule their biometrics already, so I am hoping people have gotten the app as well!

July 31 email for reference:

We recently wrote to tell you that UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) is changing the way it processes applications in response to COVID-19. For some customers, this involves reusing biometrics (fingerprints and photograph) that have been recorded in a previous application as part of the process to verify your identity, consider your application and/or produce a Biometric Residence Permit (BRP).

To allow biometrics to be reused for some customers, UKVI and UKVCAS (UK Visa and Citizenship Application Services) have worked together to develop a way to submit facial images using a new UKVCAS Identity Verification app (referred to below as IDV app).

The IDV app lets you submit application information to UKVI without having to book or attend an appointment with UKVCAS. This new, free to use, way of submitting information to UKVI will involve you taking a photo of yourself and uploading supporting information onto your mobile device. The IDV app is quick and easy to use and works on most Android and iPhones.

When will the IDV app be available?

Rollout of the IDV app will take place in phases, beginning in August. We will invite eligible customers to use the new IDV app rather than require you to book an appointment at a UKVCAS service point.

UKVI have identified that you are eligible to use the IDV app, as UKVI can use biometrics you have previously provided.

Please be reassured that your immigration status remains unaffected whilst your application is in progress.

What does this mean for me?

For most customers, using the IDV app means you will not have to attend an appointment at a UKVCAS Service Point.

An invitation will be sent for you to use the new IDV app within the next few weeks, with further details about how to the use IDV app and the next steps.

What do I need to do next?

If you are happy to use the IDV app, you don’t need to do anything. We will be in touch within the next few weeks to invite you to use the new IDV app.

What if I want to book an appointment and not use the IDV app?
See Questions and Answers below

What if I need an outcome on my application due to compassionate or emergency reasons?
Please contact UKVI for further information here.

Please note, your immigration status will not be affected in the meantime. If you do not have a passport or a travel document, please contact UKVI for further advice.

Applied mid-late June, nothing yet beyond the email you posted.

I too am still waiting for the actual app.
Applied April 15 and uploaded all documents etc.
Got the email saying they could reuse my biometrics, and on August 1, got the email saying I could use the IDV App.
But, still no sign of the App itself!

Well, it's a bit reassuring we are all in the same boat. But also frustrating!

Thanks for starting the new thread! It's comforting to be able to keep up with people's timelines.

I applied 4 June and got my email 23 July confirming they'd reuse biometrics. I got an email yesterday asking me to sign a form I'd apparently forgotten when I submitted my application. So at least I know they've looked at it!

So I think now it's just about waiting for the invite to use the app, and hopefully things move swiftly after that. A girl can dream.

Applied late June after screwing up and applying for the wrong visa first.
Got the email about reusing biometrics late July.
Got the email about IDV app August 1st (still waiting for an invite to download the actual app)
and today received:

FLRMvalidate FLRMvalidate@homeoffice.gov.uk via ukhomeoffice.onmicrosoft.com
11:26 (11 minutes ago)
to me

Dear      Mrs  Ashford

 

PLEASE QUOTE REF:  XXXXXXXX IN ANY CORRESPONDENCE.

 

Due to the volume of correspondence we may be unable to locate your application without this reference and your correspondence may be returned to you.

 

Thank you for your application for permission to stay in the UK.

 

We apologise for the inconvenience, but, due to the worldwide response to COVID-19, UKVI services are limited and we are not able to meet our usual service standards.

 

Although we would normally decide your application within eight weeks from the date it was submitted, unfortunately this may not be possible in your case.

 

In line with Government advice on essential travel, social distancing and other restrictions related to COVID-19, for the safety of our customers and our staff, the UK Visa and Citizenship Application Service (UKVCAS) locations where you would ordinarily submit your biometric details and provide any documents for scanning that you have not already uploaded yourself,  have been closed.  Some centres are now opening with limited capacity so you may now be able to get an appointment – it is important you attend if an appointment is offered.

 

If your application was submitted prior to your current grant of leave expiring, your current status within the United Kingdom has been extended by section 3C of the Immigration Act 1971. You do not need to do anything else at this stage and do not need to be concerned about your immigration status.

 

If you have applied to switch your status in respect of your employment or studies then please refer to the guidance on Gov.UK as you should be permitted to commence work / study prior to your application being decided, should you meet the conditions set out in the guidance.

 

We apologise for the delay in dealing with your application and for the inconvenience this is causing. Please be assured we will do all we can to make a decision on your case as quickly as possible once your biometric details have been submitted.

 

 

We appreciate your patience at this time.

 

Kind regards.

 

Yours sincerely

 

FLRM VALIDATION

HOME OFFICE

 

 

 

**********************************************************************
This email and any files transmitted with it are private and intended
solely for the use of the individual or entity to whom they are addressed.
If you have received this email in error please return it to the address
it came from telling them it is not for you and then delete it from your system.
This email message has been swept for computer viruses.
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Same here - applied June 16, received email that they can reuse biometrics and I can use the app. Radio silence since that email.

I know they need to work through the massive backlog but I will be a bit put off if they throw the priority date order out the window

I’ve already seen posts that those who applied within the last month or two have a biometrics appointment scheduled, meanwhile people are still waiting from March, April, May. It just sucks all around huh?

It’s why I considered opting out, but there’s no knowing what will happen. I can only hope they have actually decided our applications but are just waiting for photos for BRP’s, etc. Wishful thinking though.

I've just seen this on another forum that I think maybe of some use to us all, we'll give us an insight not sure how it's of use;

Code: [Select]

Just called the UKVCAS. They said 1) the Home Office randomly picked people to join the ‘biometric reuse’ group, and 2) currently there are more than 15000 applicants waiting for the appointment or IDV app 3) there’s no ETA for the appointment booking email for the applicants choose to opt-out.
15,000+ applications. Yikes!!

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I've just seen this on another forum that I think maybe of some use to us all, we'll give us an insight not sure how it's of use;

Code: [Select]

Just called the UKVCAS. They said 1) the Home Office randomly picked people to join the ‘biometric reuse’ group, and 2) currently there are more than 15000 applicants waiting for the appointment or IDV app 3) there’s no ETA for the appointment booking email for the applicants choose to opt-out.
15,000+ applications. Yikes!!

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It's a lot, but I guess not surprising.

UKVI issues around 300,000 visa extensions every year... and they've been unable to process the majority of applications since March, so as an estimate that's probably at least 125,000 applications still waiting to give biometrics (plus you have the fact that they were allowing people to apply from inside the UK as visitors, instead of having to return to their home country to apply).

According to the Quarter 1 2020 stats published by UKVI, they processed 125,231 applications in the first 3 months of 2020 (Jan to Mar), so who knows how many more people have applied since March who haven't been able to give biometrics or had their visas processed yet?

If anyone wants to view the stats tables, they're here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/immigration-statistics-data-tables-year-ending-march-2020

A local MP from Manchester written letter to Priti Patel.

From reading through the forum, I believe these paid appointments cost £110? Are Sopra trying to recoup some money back from us?

Let's hope applicants are flooding Priti Patel's inbox so she can move quicker and try and bring some sort of structure back, it seems like everything is all over the place.

Tough times for us applicants.

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Thanks for that letter! I am thinking I will share it with my MP and let them know I am facing similar issues and that it is interfering with my job hunt in the hostile environment as I no longer have evidence of my right to work.

From reading through the forum, I believe these paid appointments cost £110? Are Sopra trying to recoup some money back from us?

Paid appointments have always been £110... so those prices have not increased.

However, I wonder if maybe they are just not offering any free appointments at the moment, and are only offering the £110 and up ones.

Paid appointments have always been £110... so those prices have not increased.

However, I wonder if maybe they are just not offering any free appointments at the moment, and are only offering the £110 and up ones.

Finger's crossed the backlog somehow is dealt with quickly but in all honesty, I don't see much of improvement happening for the rest of the year. It's going to take some time for this backlog to be cleared.

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Finger's crossed the backlog somehow is dealt with quickly but in all honesty, I don't see much of improvement happening for the rest of the year. It's going to take some time for this backlog to be cleared.

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Fingers crossed .

The last massive backlog was in 2012, when FLR(M) applications were taking 10-13 months to be processed... and all applicants were without their passports/BRPs for all of that time (at least with the new system you don’t have to be without your passport and visa).

Those backlogs were due to large staff cuts at UKVI coupled with the July 2012 immigration rules changes, which meant everyone was applying at the same time in order to get in before the rules changed.


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Fingers crossed .

The last massive backlog was in 2012, when FLR(M) applications were taking 10-13 months to be processed... and all applicants were without their passports/BRPs for all of that time (at least with the new system you don’t have to be without your passport and visa).

Those backlogs were due to large staff cuts at UKVI coupled with the July 2012 immigration rules changes, which meant everyone was applying at the same time in order to get in before the rules changed.


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But we are without visas, our BRP's are no longer valid and we are on 3C leave. How did people find jobs during that previous backlog? They usually ask for proof of right to work at the interview.