Passport and visa received today, June 9th, 22 weeks since application. Visa was dated 21st May. Application was straightforward and was submitted via the Checking Service. Passport was posted second class, not even using "signed for" delivery. Absolutely scandalous and totally unprofessio...

You should certainly have had an acknowledgement at least. When we asked our MP (who is also a senior government minister) to take up the case he got a reply from the UKBA saying that it would be unfair to jump the queue. However, if you look at the list maintained by ShortWait you will see that the...

Hello ShortWait,

Could you add me to the Waiting List please?

Thanks

serengetiuk wrote:Applied for ILR SET(M) through Checking Service 13/1/2012
Acknowledgment 17/1/2012
Still waiting (18 weeks so far)

Applied for ILR SET(M) through Checking Service 13/1/2012
Acknowledgment 17/1/2012
Still waiting (18 weeks so far)

So how and where can he apply for a free Schengen visa?

So if I understand correctly, although theoretically he has the legal right to travel provided he is with his wife, in practice to be safe he would need to have a Schengen visa, which I believe costs 65 euros and lasts 6 months. Otherwise, would a residence card be sufficient? If so, does anybody kn...

My daughter is a UK citizen, and is married to a South African who has applied for ILR. When he has his ILR visa, does he also need a residence card to visit Europe, or is it sufficient to carry his wedding certificate, provided he is travelling with his wife?

My son-in-law applied through the settlement checking service on January 13th and hasn't got his passport/visa back yet. He has written to both the UKBA and Home Office and had no reply other than an acknowledgment. He has also written to his MP, who is also a senior cabinet minister, who got a repl...

Hello 1971, Thanks for your reply. There isn't really an issue with proving identity to the bank, that has already been done. The problem is that he cannot prove that he has a permanent right to stay. My daughter's income alone is not sufficient to support the mortgage, and the bank would not want t...

Thanks for your replay again Greenie. Yes, his application is completely straightforward. All of the requested documents (and more) were supplied to the Register Office for the checking service. The Register Office representative confirmed that everything was in order, and that my son-in-law should ...

Thanks for your reply Bob. If that's the case, it's somewhat different to the impression that the UKBA sets on its website, which says: "We have found that applications received through the settlement checking service are generally faster to process, as fewer cases are rejected or delayed due t...

Any opinions or experiences? Both the UKBA and Register Office websites suggest that the service does reduce wait times because the validity of the applications has already been checked, but in practice I suspect that the checked applications are put in a pile with all the rest.

Yes, he has tried contacting his MP (who incidentally is a senior cabinet minister). The UKBA wrote back pointing out that they aim to process 95% of applications within 6 months, which doesn't exactly tell anyone something they didn't already know. His original leave to stay expired at the end of J...

My son-in-law submitted his postal application through the checking service in January, having been told by the Register Office that he should expect to get his visa back by Easter, and that it should speed matters up by going through the checking service. He and my daughter are now trying to buy a ...