Sheffield Visa Section - EEA FAMILY PERMIT

[KID1413]

Some updates from my side:

August 28th was my last day for the first escalation so I called again and I was allowed to escalate it for a second time. They told me since it was my second time escalating it, the manager will refer it to the UK decision team with utmost priority.

I am hopeful that we can get a decision by this week...

[KID1413]

Hello . Yes, 7 days ago i did it . Not sure if it is going to help me much Nothing seems to help

Thank you for contacting UK Visas and Immigration International enquiry service.

We have received your escalation information and will pass on to the concerned department.

Once our officer have received your escalation, they will contact applicant direly, please keep checking your e-mail including your junk/ spam box.

Unfortunately, the customer service center just can't provide more than that. I actually even doubt what their managers can do... like, put it in another pile of applications that are labeled a "priority"?

It is a shame for UKVI to process visas THIS SLOW. It's completely irresponsible and denigrating, especially for people who have been waiting for 90 working days! I am just over the 30 working days and can't stand this anymore. I find comfort knowing that after we get the EEA FP, we won't have to relinquish our passport thanks tot he European Passport Return service for EEA1 and EEA2.

[Enka2018]

Hi,

It's true not just call centre people actually even manager can't help all they can say is we doing further checks and it could take longer then normal time. I don't even know why they have complain process if they cant even solve the problem or give proper reply. They say mp can fast the process but mp Also replied to me same what UKIV replied. So basically they can do anything with application they can take as long as they want. In my husband's case already more then 100 working days. I don't know which immigration system allows them to take 6 months to process the visa application that is only entry visa and only valid fr 6 months. Processing time in may was even 120 days they didn't update after that no wonder if they increase it more now to even 180 days.

[sidkapure]

Hello Everyone,

I applied on 3rd April 2017, so I don't even know how many exactly working days have passed. I assume more than 100 probably.

MP didn't help to so my partner did Solvit Claim.

Out of nowhere I received two email yesterday that my case has been escalated. One yesterday and the other on 27th. I don't know why. Probably they are randomly sending to just keep it going.

I see one of our friend on the forum got visa who applied on 31st March so hopefully I am next I think.

Good Luck to all.

Kind Regards

Sid

[Esperan24]

Dear Sid

Where did u applied from.

Hello Everyone,

I applied on 3rd April 2017, so I don't even know how many exactly working days have passed. I assume more than 100 probably.

MP didn't help to so my partner did Solvit Claim.

Out of nowhere I received two email yesterday that my case has been escalated. One yesterday and the other on 27th. I don't know why. Probably they are randomly sending to just keep it going.

I see one of our friend on the forum got visa who applied on 31st March so hopefully I am next I think.

Good Luck to all.

Kind Regards

Sid

[sidkapure]

Mumbai

[Bollox]

Hello Sid

I applied on the same day, 03/04/2017 from Mumbai. On 14/08/2017 I have escalated the case after completing 90 working days. 15 working days for escalation will be finishing on 05/09/2017 then I am going to call them again. I dont think any of these calls or emails going to make UKVI work faster on our application unless there is substantial reason to speed up (sickness, expiring visa- those who are applying from third country).

warm regards

[Bollox]

HI Irfan,

Yeh I think your right about the Media. Going on just a hunger strike wouldn't work it takes too long to get attention. But not having water brings it down in a huge way where after only 4 or 5 days the press would be all over it as it is of course dangerous.
My sister works for the government and will contact the national papers and TV channels on day 2 if I have to go ahead with this nonsense. As soon as that happens I would bet my house the MP gets a move on.
There are approx. 5000 visas currently on hold most with the same lie saying not straight forward. That's not by the way me guessing it is from an excellent source I know is accurate.
If id known the way I would be treated by my country this way, the first time I have ever asked for anything I would not have served one second in the forces.
The concern is that people will come here and be a drain on resources claiming housing, benefits etc. If they used common sense and said that you couldn't claim until you had paid in for 10 years for example that would solve that issue. if you have an issue with that rule simple... don't apply to come. it would allow those poor people that don't earn enough to be able to still come as they could drop the requirement.
But that's common sense lol sadly lacking in Government.

Hello Rick

Any update on your case?
do keep us posted.

regards

Irfan

[Willyboy]

Some updates from my side:

August 28th was my last day for the first escalation so I called again and I was allowed to escalate it for a second time. They told me since it was my second time escalating it, the manager will refer it to the UK decision team with utmost priority.

I am hopeful that we can get a decision by this week...

Hi KID1413,
Any news on your application and where did you apply from? We did it from Madrid and escalated after 15 days. That was 10 working days ago and have heard absolutely nothing since....

[Enka2018]

Hi everyone. My husband also applied on 11th April tried almost everything even escalated and contacted mp,solvit. But I think nothing can help they will take whatever maximum time they can take. Simply no immigration can be that busy that they take 6 months to process an entry visa that is only valid for 6 months. I think they have instructions to slow down The application for some reason.

[TalitaZ]

Hi all,

I wanted to share my good news, my husband received his EEA FP last Thursday!
It took around 7 weeks, so I can't even imagine what it must feel like at 60-90 days!
I am Dutch, he is Indian and we applied from Dusseldorf, this is our timeline:

June 27 - applied in Dusseldorf
July 14 - 'not straightforward' email
July 18 - case escalated
August 14 - received email from Decision Making office in reply to escalation
August 15 - decision made email
August 17 - passport returned with EEA FP

We contacted UKVI every few days and escalated our case several times as my husband's Schengen Visa expired on August 1st so he was stuck in Netherlands illegally. My MP and Solvit also contacted them and on August 14 I finally received an email with regards to the escalation, basically saying they could not give us a timeframe but they would forward the info to the clearance officer team. Apparently that did help as the decision was made the same day. I think we were 'lucky' that his current Visa had expired to speed things up.
He now has a 17 day overstay on his Schengen Visa but the immigration officer at Amsterdam airport was very nice and did not put it in the computer system and he was not fined.

I hope you all get good news soon. You are in my thoughts!
Talita

hi Talita,
congratulations for the good news!
what documents did u submit ?how was the experience of submitting the application from Dusseldorf?could u share this with us for future or people those are thinking to apply EEA FPs.
Regards
Tufail

Hi Tufail,

Apologies for the delayed reply.
These are the documents we submitted in addition to the Visa application form:

- cover letter with a timeline of our relationship, background on both of us and how/where we met, how much time we have spent together, when we got engaged and married etc.
- Husband's original passport, copy of his previous passport, copy of my passport (all pages)
- Marriage certificate, documents confirming wedding date, wedding photos. Wedding party invites.
- My UK employer’s letter, employment contracts, payslips, P60 forms, 6 months bank statements
- My tenancy agreement, council tax bill, landlord letter he has no objection to my husband moving in
- Husband's 6 month bank statements and 3 years ITR documents
- Photos of us together taken throughout our relationship
- Skype call log, Skype screenshots, Transferwise money transfers, Whatsapp chat and call log, Facebook messages, emails
- Flight itineraries from my travels to India and our holidays together

As we have only been recently married and have not lived together before, we submitted a lot of proof that our relationship is real and not one of convenience. We made sure to include lots of photos from us together in different places, photos at the wedding with family and friends, lots of communication between us.
Some of these documents are not officially required by law but we wanted to make sure they could not find any reason to reject. (as my husband's UK visitor Visa was refused last year prior to us being married)

The process in Dusseldorf was quite quick, took about 45 mins in total. They scanned all the documents right there and took his biometrics, so we could take everything back with us except for his passport.

The waiting time was hard, especially since we didn't know how long it could take, given some people here had been waiting for over 4 months.
We got a decision after 35 working days but I contacted UKVI every couple of days. had Solvit and MP involved.
With regards to the escalation, they should respond within 15 working days. Do not ask to escalate again if the 15 working days have not passed yet, as it will just put you back in the queue and the 15 days will start again. (I made this mistake as nobody had told me about the escalation timeframe)

Good luck to everyone, let me know if you have any other questions.
Talita

[Alexkowalski87]

Guys, please do share your progress with your application?

I applied on 3 July 2017 but did not escalate my case yet! (Thinking about it)

[dokie]

Hey guys,
This forum has been helpful in so many ways. I really appreciate everyone on here.
I submitted my application (standard) in Lagos, Nigeria.
Here's my timeline so far;
July 18 : Biometrics
July 29 : app acknowledged by Sheffield
Aug 4 : not-straightforward email from Sheffield
Aug 24 : Escalated
I'm impatiently waiting and praying for a good outcome, today makes it 34 working days.
Please, is the processing time different from one country to another cuz I've seen different processing times from 15-120 working days?
I pray we all have our FP granted at the end of it all. Bless!

[Alexkowalski87]

Hey guys,
This forum has been helpful in so many ways. I really appreciate everyone on here.
I submitted my application (standard) in Lagos, Nigeria.
Here's my timeline so far;
July 18 : Biometrics
July 29 : app acknowledged by Sheffield
Aug 4 : not-straightforward email from Sheffield
Aug 24 : Escalated
I'm impatiently waiting and praying for a good outcome, today makes it 34 working days.
Please, is the processing time different from one country to another cuz I've seen different processing times from 15-120 working days?
I pray we all have our FP granted at the end of it all. Bless!

Hi Dokie,

Yes, processing time vary depending on the country.

When you escalated, did you get a reply from the DMC within 2 working days?

[Frag3]

Hello,

I would really appreciate if someone could tell me how I can escalate our EEA FP case.

I am currently working in the UK and my partner is in Hong Kong - Briefly:

June 22 - applied in VFS visa application centre in Hong Kong
July 6 - received in Sheffield
July 12 - 'not straightforward' email

Since then we haven't heard anything. Tried the paid email but they didn't provide any info, and after a couple of emails they stopped replying.

So now I would like to know how I could escalate?

Cheers

[KID1413]

Some updates from my side:

August 28th was my last day for the first escalation so I called again and I was allowed to escalate it for a second time. They told me since it was my second time escalating it, the manager will refer it to the UK decision team with utmost priority.

I am hopeful that we can get a decision by this week...

Hi KID1413,
Any news on your application and where did you apply from? We did it from Madrid and escalated after 15 days. That was 10 working days ago and have heard absolutely nothing since....

Hi Willy,

I applied from Tokyo... Madrid has processing times up to 60 working days!

After a long struggle waiting for my spouse's visa, we have finally decided to withdraw it after 40 WORKING DAYS from the day Sheffield received it. We decided to withdraw it as my spouse will get a TIER 2 Work Visa (ICT) sponsored by her employer. Our immigration advisors have told us that it will likely be faster than EEA Family Permit, and we can also apply for the priority service (even though it's not guaranteed they can give a resolution within 3-5 days)

[KID1413]

Hello,

I would really appreciate if someone could tell me how I can escalate our EEA FP case.

I am currently working in the UK and my partner is in Hong Kong - Briefly:

June 22 - applied in VFS visa application centre in Hong Kong
July 6 - received in Sheffield
July 12 - 'not straightforward' email

Since then we haven't heard anything. Tried the paid email but they didn't provide any info, and after a couple of emails they stopped replying.

So now I would like to know how I could escalate?

Cheers

You give them a call using this link: https://www.gov.uk/contact-ukvi-inside-outside-uk

BTW, ESCALATING does't really matter whatsoever, it only shows that you still care about your application but it won't prioritize your case. This has been confirmed by many of the UK Customer Center people.

[Alexkowalski87]

Hello,

I would really appreciate if someone could tell me how I can escalate our EEA FP case.

I am currently working in the UK and my partner is in Hong Kong - Briefly:

June 22 - applied in VFS visa application centre in Hong Kong
July 6 - received in Sheffield
July 12 - 'not straightforward' email

Since then we haven't heard anything. Tried the paid email but they didn't provide any info, and after a couple of emails they stopped replying.

So now I would like to know how I could escalate?

Cheers

https://www.gov.uk/contact-ukvi-inside-outside-uk

[dan1988uk]

Hello,

I would really appreciate if someone could tell me how I can escalate our EEA FP case.

I am currently working in the UK and my partner is in Hong Kong - Briefly:

June 22 - applied in VFS visa application centre in Hong Kong
July 6 - received in Sheffield
July 12 - 'not straightforward' email

Since then we haven't heard anything. Tried the paid email but they didn't provide any info, and after a couple of emails they stopped replying.

So now I would like to know how I could escalate?

Cheers

This is something I don't understand: when we applied for my wife's EEA FP last February in Rome we received the Permit 10/12 days after the application. Here it took 14 days only to be received in Sheffield. Has something changed?

[Mihai]

I made my application on 24th of April.Still waiting.....90 working days past and nothing....

[Nyimatouray]

Hey guys,
This forum has been helpful in so many ways. I really appreciate everyone on here.
I submitted my application (standard) in Lagos, Nigeria.
Here's my timeline so far;
July 18 : Biometrics
July 29 : app acknowledged by Sheffield
Aug 4 : not-straightforward email from Sheffield
Aug 24 : Escalated
I'm impatiently waiting and praying for a good outcome, today makes it 34 working days.
Please, is the processing time different from one country to another cuz I've seen different processing times from 15-120 working days?
I pray we all have our FP granted at the end of it all. Bless!

My husband apply from nigeria lagos
Appointment 19 July
Sheffield receive the documents
They send me not Straightforward
Today I call them to escalate am waiting for the email
I don't why is taking time

[Willyboy]

Some updates from my side:

August 28th was my last day for the first escalation so I called again and I was allowed to escalate it for a second time. They told me since it was my second time escalating it, the manager will refer it to the UK decision team with utmost priority.

I am hopeful that we can get a decision by this week...

Hi KID1413,
Any news on your application and where did you apply from? We did it from Madrid and escalated after 15 days. That was 10 working days ago and have heard absolutely nothing since....

Hi Willy,

I applied from Tokyo... Madrid has processing times up to 60 working days!

After a long struggle waiting for my spouse's visa, we have finally decided to withdraw it after 40 WORKING DAYS from the day Sheffield received it. We decided to withdraw it as my spouse will get a TIER 2 Work Visa (ICT) sponsored by her employer. Our immigration advisors have told us that it will likely be faster than EEA Family Permit, and we can also apply for the priority service (even though it's not guaranteed they can give a resolution within 3-5 days)

Well I'm happy you're getting there one way or the other! Processing times for Madrid are apparently 85% more or less in 15 days and around 98% in think in 30 days, though those figures are for May. They're probably deliberately not updating or just lying through their teeth. Perhaps we should just cough up the disgraceful 2000-odd pounds it costs to apply for a spousal visa under UK Immigration Rules rather than going the EEA route. Should probably give it a bit longer, tho...

All the best

[Richard W]

[I don't why is taking time

It's conceivable that staff have been diverted to Tier 4 visas. They have been running late enough that many students will miss the start of term, and these are profitable customers.

[Alexkowalski87]

[I don't why is taking time

It's conceivable that staff have been diverted to Tier 4 visas. They have been running late enough that many students will miss the start of term, and these are profitable customers.

No, I don't think so. This has been happening since Jan 2017 as per the applicants.
Mainly it's because there is only one DMC for UK from entire world.

[dokie]

Well, my refusal back in June was processed within 3weeks. I can relate with the bogus volume of applications during summer but that's not enough excuse to change a 15 working days process to 150days. It's just a deliberate attempt to frustrate applicants because application is free and ofcos the brexit issue at hand.
They have successfully frustrated so many people into withdrawing their applications and many more are still contemplating vis-a-vis confused on what next to do.