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The Home Office is planning a streamlined digital system for all immigration applications as part of its New Plan for Immigration. ILPA is asking the Home Office to reconsider its ambitious plans until it fixes the current problems. The UK Home Office redeployed caseworkers from other departments to deal with people fleeing Ukraine and coming to the UK. You’ll be asked for a Home Office reference number (sometimes called a 'case ID'). This number will start with the first letter of your last name, and be followed by 7 numbers. If you already have the right to work, access education and receive benefits, you'll still have these rights while you wait for a new visa.
Those in the UK as visitors are not permitted to work or study and can be charged for using the NHS. Out-of-UK visa applications from Russian and Belarussian nationals are being accepted, but our recent experience is that they are being held indefinitely. However, according to the Immigration Law Practitioners Association , some delays are due to ‘IT glitches’. To make matters worse, when applicants or their legal representatives try to chase up these delayed applications with the Home Office, they are met with a closed door. It might be worth contacting your local MP if you've been waiting a long time to hear back from the Home Office. They can find out more about the delay and might be able to help speed up your visa application.
Why UK Visa Getting Delayed: Reasons for Delay in Processing
A general study visa is suitable for a longer course of study in the UK as long as the student has a confirmed place on a course and is sponsored by a licensed university or college. The Skilled Worker visa, for instance, is open to non-UK residents with a job offer from a licensed sponsor for skilled employment in the UK. The best way to avoid this is to check your application thoroughly and ensure that you have all the necessary documentation to hand before you apply. You should usually receive it within 7 to 10 days of getting your decision letter from the Home Office saying that you can remain in the UK. If you are applying under the Windrush Scheme read the Windrush Scheme guidance and the latest correspondence on the work of the Home Office in relation to Windrush. We are based in the legal epicentre of London, just across the road from the Royal Courts of Justice in order to ensure we get the best results for our clients.
This should be the date you expect the person to start working for you if their visa is granted. There has always been some flexibility around start dates with workers required to start their job on the date listed or within 28 days of this date. Priority processing remains available to A-rated sponsors for fast-tracked CoS allocations and other Change of Circumstances requests for a fee of £200 per application. There is some uncertainty when it comes to who will be issued a Biometric Residence Permit in the UK. The Home Office intends to phase out physical BRPs by 2024 and plans to go fully digital when issuing visas.
Step 2: Complain About UK Visas and Immigration
In November 2022, the Home Office issued an update on delayed processing to in-country applications for Skilled Worker Visa and Health and Care Visa extensions and switching; these applications are now taking an average of 16 weeks to process. The processing date is typically counted from when the applicant has attended their biometric appointment, or when using the UKVI’s visa processing app, once ID checks have been completed and the application is submitted. You may be able to get your visa faster or access other services depending on what country you’re in - check with your visa application centre.
The processing times will start from when the application is received, although correspondence suggests it is from when an application is accepted as valid. UKVCAS was introduced in November 2018 to handle certain UK visa, settlement and citizenship applications made from persons already in the UK. Since its introduction, there have been continued reports of delays in application processing and difficulties for applicants to schedule an appointment at a UKVCAS centre. UKVI is currently experiencing significant delays in processing CoS applications under the standard service. Sponsors should note that CoS allocation requests are currently taking several weeks, and in some cases months. You should usually get a decision on your visa within 8 weeks once you’ve applied online to extend as a relative who’ll provide long-term care.
Collection within 5 working days (priority service)
For instance, the officer may ask for latest bank statements, tax returns of the preceding years etc. Similarly, the officer may arrange an interview to second guess an applicant’s credentials. Moreover, in case of a fresh application, it is quite possible that if an application satisfies the immigration officer, then an interview may be arranged.
We have been very impressed with the service we have received over the years of dealing with Angela. She went above and beyond to solve our specialised problem with very pleasing results. Since the pandemic and the Ukraine crisis, the Home office has become increasingly slow and unaccountable to those who depend on it to make decisions, which has a profound effect on the lives of so many families and businesses. Those of us who have worked out how to speak to a human being on the helpline find that we cannot ‘escalate’ an application unless there is an emergency situation.
When you might wait longer
You should get a decision on your visa within 3 weeks once you either attend your appointment at the visa application centre or use the ID Check app, if you are applying for a visa to work or invest in the UK. Family or marriage visas – Home Office guidance advises applicants for family or marriage visas to expect to wait up to 6 months for a decision, up from the service standard of 3 months. In calls and correspondence with the Home Office, you should refer to your Home Office reference number and/or visa application number. These numbers can be found in correspondence with the Home Office and your downloaded application form.
Our immigration barristers will be able to advise you on whether there are merits in following the PAP process. You would need to show that the Home Office has unreasonably failed to act in relation to the exercise of its public function resulting in disadvantage such as losing a job or harm to your health. This is only likely to be appropriate where there have been delays resulting in significant harm to you, for example, loss of a job offer or being unable to spend time with sick family members. It would be important to have evidence of the steps you have already taken to obtain a decision, including evidence of prior communications with the Home Office. Before submitting an immigration application, you should factor in additional time for the Home Office to issue and send you a BRP if this applies to your application. Latest figures show that just one in five of those issued visas under the Homes for Ukraine scheme had arrived in the UK.
The common reasons of delay in processing of complex (not-straightforward) UK visa application pertain to an applicant’s adverse immigration history and doubtful intentions. Accordingly, in some instances, a delay in UK visa processing may be due to documents verification and interview. Quite a few complex (not-straightforward) UK visa applications require further assessment, which can take longer than the published customer service standards of UKVI .
You must do this before the vignette sticker in your travel document expires or within 10 days of arriving in the UK, whichever is later.
Most visa application centres have resumed service where local restrictions do not prevent it, but you will need to check this when you submit your application. It is always advised to check with the UK embassy or consulate in your country for any such issues that could lead to visa processing delays. 1 February 2022 Added information about processing times for the British National Overseas visa. It is important to note that the above processing times are an estimate, and in some cases it may take longer to process your application, for example if the Home Office needs to contact you to request further information or documentation. If your application is incomplete at the time you complete your appointment the caseworker will consider whether the case should be excluded from the service standard.
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