Sopra Steria Appointments

Hi all,

Just after some advice really regarding booking an appointment on Sopra Steria. I've submitted an application for citizenship so this is just about submitting documents and having biometrics taken.

I've been checking for the last few weeks but the only appointments available are in the 'Premium Lounge' for £200 (+£50 for document checking). I'd really prefer not to have to pay this....but I'm beginning to wonder if I might not have another choice.

Would love to know people's experience with this and whether it's worth me holding out for longer to get something cheaper/free. Or do I need to bite the bullet and pay out?

Greatful for people's persectives/opinions...

Nutmeg

Are you checking for appointments at different UKVCAS centres, or just the one centre?

As far as I know, from what I've seen posted here, most people have been able to book either free or £110 appointments - I haven't heard anyone mention booking a Premium Lounge appointment, or that that they were only able to get a Premium Lounge appointment.

Bear in mind that only certain types of appointments are available at each centre - it may be that you're looking for appointments at a centre that only offers the Premium Lounge appointments and not the Core or Enhanced appointments.

From the UKVCAS website:

We have a number of different types of Service Points:
- Core sites: These offer a range of free and chargeable appointments and some out of hours appointments.
- Enhanced Service Points: These offer chargeable appointments only and the fee includes additional services (e.g. document checking and scanning)
- Other sites: (libraries, offices, HMPO etc): These offer a range of chargeable appointments during normal hours
- Premium Lounge sites: These offer chargeable appointments with extended hours for people that want a more executive and flexible service

)https://s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/soprasteria-ukvi-prd-ukvcas/OpeningHours.pdf)

Also, have you tried searching for appointments as soon as they are released each day? Not sure exactly what time this is done, but in the past (before UKVCAS took over), they would release new appointments at midnight.

The UKVCAS site says they have opened 10 new locations and are releasing more appointments, so I would think you should be able to find something that isn't £200+.

Thanks Ksand! I really appreciate this....you inspire to me to maybe keep trying.

I am trying multiple places (Core, Enhanced, and Premium)....all options within a 50 mile radius of me (there are 5). But alas, the only place that ever has appointments is the Premium centre - sigh.

I believe they are backed up because of being closed for a long period during the first lock-down...but I just keep thinking that surely there should be some other option.

I will though try and see if I can check late night/early morning - maybe that's the trick.

Thanks Ksand! I really appreciate this....you inspire to me to maybe keep trying.

I am trying multiple places (Core, Enhanced, and Premium)....all options within a 50 mile radius of me (there are 5). But alas, the only place that ever has appointments is the Premium centre - sigh.

I believe they are backed up because of being closed for a long period during the first lock-down...but I just keep thinking that surely there should be some other option.

I will though try and see if I can check late night/early morning - maybe that's the trick.

We were able to book a free appointment at 6am for our closest center (150 miles away)  The night before there were no appointment at all.. Hope you get an appointment soon..

I just finished the application for my spouse and struggling to find a free appointment also.

What happens if we do not find one by the given deadline? (22nd Jan deadline for me)

I just finished the application for my spouse and struggling to find a free appointment also.

What happens if we do not find one by the given deadline? (22nd Jan deadline for me)

If you can't find a free appointment then you will need to pay for an appointment. I wouldn't want to be missing any deadlines just in case they completely refuse the application and ask you to resubmit everything again.

Sent from my ONEPLUS A5010 using Tapatalk

Just jumping in with some (hopefully helpful!) advice:  when I first applied on a Sunday in late October, I immediately went to look for open Sopra Steria appointments, and found there were none. However, because I read on their website that new appointments are available every day, and it was already later in the evening, I decided to stay up until midnight, log in at 12am on the dot, and see if new appointments had been added.  They had been, but it was really frustrating-- let's say that, on Sunday, 1 November, you could view Sopria Steria appointments up to Saturday, December 11.  At 12:01am, when the date had rolled over to Monday, 2 November, you could suddenly see appointments for Sunday, December 12...but they were all already full--- this is because none of the centres I was hoping to book at were even open on Sundays! The systems just immediately shows all appointments as "full" for that day, even though the centre is actually closed (I know this because I actually live by one of these centres, and know it isn't open over the weekend). These weren't the exact dates, but I just wanted to let you know about this Sundays issue in case this happens to you! It's such a waste! Why they don't just skip over to Monday for those centres who aren't open is beyond me.

Anyways,  I then decided to stay up until midnight again the next night and this next time, when the clock struck midnight and it was 3 November, I could see plenty of available dates for a Monday at several local centres. I had my pick of times. So my advice to you is to, if you can, maybe stay up late and try this if you haven't already?

Booking at midnight worked for me. I had about 30 seconds to book before the free slots filled up for my centre (HM Passport Office, Pimlico, London).

The first attempt, I hesitated and lost the free slots. So I came back the next midnight and pounced. My wife logged into another computer and was reviewing a different centre (Croydon) and noted that the free slots took longer to fill up, like a couple of minutes.

I booked in late October for November 24, and was able to get a free appointment.

When I attended my appointment, there were a total of four of us scheduled for that time slot.

Booking at midnight worked for me. I had about 30 seconds to book before the free slots filled up for my centre (HM Passport Office, Pimlico, London).

The first attempt, I hesitated and lost the free slots. So I came back the next midnight and pounced. My wife logged into another computer and was reviewing a different centre (Croydon) and noted that the free slots took longer to fill up, like a couple of minutes.

I booked in late October for November 24, and was able to get a free appointment.

When I attended my appointment, there were a total of four of us scheduled for that time slot.

How did the appointment go? All okay?