The Home Office has informed applicants that standard applications for family visas submitted from outside the United Kingdom may take up to 24 weeks to process while Ukrainian Visa Scheme applications are prioritised. This has resulted in many families being separated for extended periods in different countries while awaiting a decision on their UK visa applications.
The Home Office has recently announced that the priority visa service will resume on February 20, 2023, for new entry clearance family settlement applications.
This change means that new applications filed from outside the UK using the priority service after this date will be processed within 30 working days. In addition, standard applications will be processed within 60 days from 3 April 2023.
What is the Priority Visa Service?
The priority service allows visa applicants to receive a faster decision on their application from the Home Office.
Applicants will be informed of their eligibility to use the service when they submit their visa application. To use the priority service, an applicant will need to pay an additional fee on top of the standard visa application fee.
Applicants who require a visa quickly or who do not want to wait for their application to be decided under standard processing times are advised to use the priority service where possible.
Who can receive a faster decision?
Foreign nationals who wish to live and join their family member in the UK for more than 6 months for the following settlement vias:
New marriage and family visa applications submitted from outside the UK using UKVI’s Priority Service will be processed within 30 working days or 6 weeks from the date of the appointment at the visa application centre and they need to pay an additional fee of £573.
Can existing applicants use priority services?
The existing Marriage or Family entry clearance visa application can be offered by the Home office to "upgrade" to Priority service to receive a faster decision.
Applicants will have the choice of upgrading their application for an extra cost or continuing with the standard service. The Home Office contact applicants who are eligible to use the Priority service upgrade to expedite their pending visa application.
There will be an additional fee of £573 to use this service, which will expedite the processing of the existing visa application to be considered within 15 days.
Applicants with a pending application will shortly receive an email from the Home Office offering them the opportunity to use the service and more details on how to apply.
If you choose to continue, you must confirm using the detail in the email, after which you will receive a link to make the payment. As soon as the Home Office acknowledges receipt of your payment, your application will be assessed within 15 full working days.
For applicants who choose not to use the Priority service, the Home Office will continue to process standard applications in date order.
Applicants should note that paying the additional fee does not guarantee that the visa will be granted; it just expedites the processing of the application. If an application is not straightforward or if extra information is required, it is possible that your application may not be processed within 30- working days and no refund will be issued.
If you need help with your family visa application including using the priority service option, please contact us at 0203 865 6219 or leave a message.