**** COVID19 and UKVCAS Appointments **** (ONLY discuss here)

[CULLINAN]

@desiro

This time its even more random. Its a confirmed news now that members are receiving emails to book an appointment who applied in July (who are chosen to attend biometrics) without even a NEW UKVCAS flash message update!!

And the reuse applicants are left in the limbo! Indeed a flawed approach!

[Desiro]

I applied for ILR on July 1st Set(M) and I have received and email tonight at 10:40pm stating that I did not fall into the biometrics reuse even though my last renewal was in Jan 2018. I do have a 9 year old child so maybe that's why. The email stated that the system was now open for me to book an appointment.

There were no free appointment. I could have gotten an appointment in Sheffield tomorrow for £270 but I opted for Friday at £140.

I have not received the confirmation email with the QR code as yet though.

Are there any slots in london area? What are the costs and dates?

[Desiro]

@desiro

This time its even more random. Its a confirmed news now that members are receiving emails who applied in July (who are chosen to attend biometrics) without even a NEW UKVCAS flash message!!

I understand your frustration, I agree it is unfair, especially in the current situation when many applicants are under risk of losing job and their whole lives depend on this document.

[zzzindagi]

I applied SET(M) on 2nd July and all I have received is a Payment confirmation. I am even thinking whether
I have submitted the application properly or not.

People before and after me have received some kind of email but I have not received even a single update from either UKVI or UKVCAS.

[AnILRApplicant]

Do people think July applicants who have been selected for re use will be able to opt out too?

[marmalade2]

I applied for ILR on July 1st Set(M) and I have received and email tonight at 10:40pm stating that I did not fall into the biometrics reuse even though my last renewal was in Jan 2018. I do have a 9 year old child so maybe that's why. The email stated that the system was now open for me to book an appointment.

There were no free appointment. I could have gotten an appointment in Sheffield tomorrow for £270 but I opted for Friday at £140.

I have not received the confirmation email with the QR code as yet though.

Are there any slots in london area? What are the costs and dates?

There are many slots in London. Prices depend on dates, times and location. I didn’t take screenshot because I was rushing to book before slots are all taken. This is what I remember...

The earliest slot was Thursday 6 Aug at Marks Lane only early morning appointment was available for £135. I assume all other time slots which are during normal business hours were already taken because they are cheaper.

Victoria didn’t have any slots until late August/Sept. HM passport office (also in Victoria) didn’t have slots until September. There were many slots ranging from £110-135 depending on time of day.

No free appointments at all.
I didn’t check Croydon because I don’t live near there.

[Desiro]

I applied for ILR on July 1st Set(M) and I have received and email tonight at 10:40pm stating that I did not fall into the biometrics reuse even though my last renewal was in Jan 2018. I do have a 9 year old child so maybe that's why. The email stated that the system was now open for me to book an appointment.

There were no free appointment. I could have gotten an appointment in Sheffield tomorrow for £270 but I opted for Friday at £140.

I have not received the confirmation email with the QR code as yet though.

Are there any slots in london area? What are the costs and dates?

There are many slots in London. Prices depend on dates, times and location. I didn’t take screenshot because I was rushing to book before slots are all taken. This is what I remember...

The earliest slot was Thursday 6 Aug at Marks Lane only early morning appointment was available for £135. I assume all other time slots which are during normal business hours were already taken because they are cheaper.

Victoria didn’t have any slots until late August/Sept. HM passport office (also in Victoria) didn’t have slots until September. There were many slots ranging from £110-135 depending on time of day.

No free appointments at all.
I didn’t check Croydon because I don’t live near there.

Thank you

[dantorrez]

Hi All,
I can confirm I've received an email asking me to book an appointment as my Biometrics Reuse was not possible. I applied on 22nd July and Payment confirmed on 23rd July.

I was able to book an appointment online about 10 minutes ago for next Thursday 06 August. But I'm yet to receive the email with the QR Code and final booking details and confirmation. Has anyone had delays in getting the confirmation email with QR Code? Or any case that you didn't receive and ended up going to the appointment anyway?

I just booked my appointment as well and did NOT get any email confirmation about the appointment. I am planning to print the appointment details from the ukvcas website and just show up anyway. I paid £135 for that. They cannot turn me away.

After 4 hours I got the email with QR CODE. it takes a long time.

[ILRGB]

Am I correct in assuming that those who receive the biometrics email are at a disadvantage now because they have to wait for many more weeks, and those who are sent an email to attend biometrics are at an advantage as they are able to book appointments via portal?

[gc362952246]

I applied for ILR on July 1st Set(M) and I have received and email tonight at 10:40pm stating that I did not fall into the biometrics reuse even though my last renewal was in Jan 2018. I do have a 9 year old child so maybe that's why. The email stated that the system was now open for me to book an appointment.

There were no free appointment. I could have gotten an appointment in Sheffield tomorrow for £270 but I opted for Friday at £140.

I have not received the confirmation email with the QR code as yet though.

Are there any slots in london area? What are the costs and dates?

There are many slots in London. Prices depend on dates, times and location. I didn’t take screenshot because I was rushing to book before slots are all taken. This is what I remember...

The earliest slot was Thursday 6 Aug at Marks Lane only early morning appointment was available for £135. I assume all other time slots which are during normal business hours were already taken because they are cheaper.

Victoria didn’t have any slots until late August/Sept. HM passport office (also in Victoria) didn’t have slots until September. There were many slots ranging from £110-135 depending on time of day.

No free appointments at all.
I didn’t check Croydon because I don’t live near there.

Thanks for your info. This is really helpful- on UKvcas they published that hm passport office is opening on week 3/8 but no opening hours are shown. Probably this is why. They just want to make it look good- loads of places are ‘open’ and hook people to opt out!!!

[marmalade2]

Am I correct in assuming that those who receive the biometrics email are at a disadvantage now because they have to wait for many more weeks, and those who are sent an email to attend biometrics are at an advantage as they are able to book appointments via portal?

Yes that is most likely true. In the re-use email, it implies that you should opt out and book an appointment for a faster decision.

You can get an appointment as early as within 2 days (premium price). If you are willing to pay the price, it is probably better to opt out of re-use.

However, if you want a free appointment, or you want an appointment at a specific location which is currently not being offered, you could be waiting at least 3 weeks or more. So in this case it's probably better to just wait for the re-use IDV app.

[youyuanannie]

Hi friends,

Just wanted to share my timeline if it helps. I applied on 16th July (Set O) and uploaded all my docs on the 17th July to the UKVCAS website. I then got an email from UKVI asking for my document on the 22nd July. Today at 4am I got an email from FES to book my appointment as I am not eligible for biometric reuse. I booked one in Croydon costing ca. £70, for next Tuesday 11th Aug. Hopefully finger crossed and all the best to everyone on this forum.

Cheers.

[Desiro]

Am I correct in assuming that those who receive the biometrics email are at a disadvantage now because they have to wait for many more weeks, and those who are sent an email to attend biometrics are at an advantage as they are able to book appointments via portal?

I guess this will depend on the total number of applicants in the re-use pool. Realistically, how many of us are there? 1000? 5000? If they split it on phases 100 applications per week we can end up waiting until end of the year.

[ILRGB]

Will the biometric reuse opt-out option be all offered to all applicants over email? I applied in July

[AnILRapplicant1]

I applied SET(M) on 2nd July and all I have received is a Payment confirmation. I am even thinking whether
I have submitted the application properly or not.

People before and after me have received some kind of email but I have not received even a single update from either UKVI or UKVCAS.

I applied SET(M) as well on 1st July and received no email other than payment confirmation. Looks like we are on the same boat.

[katyana]

Hi Everyone,
I applied with SET(O) on 10th July and have not received any correspondence since then.

My UKVI application was submitted by my immigration lawyer (using his email address) whilst in UKVCAS I used my personal email address. I am unable to get any responses from my lawyer so wondering if you could advise:
> Are the emails you receive sent to you by UKVI or UKVCAS? i.e. are they sent to your UKVI email address or one you registered with UKVCAS?

The main communication I'm interested in is the Biometric re-use email.
Since I've been unable to reach my lawyer, I'm wondering if there is a way to get UKVI to send any emails directly to me.

[gc362952246]

Will the biometric reuse opt-out option be all offered to all applicants over email? I applied in July

I personally don’t think so. Once the app is released, the reuse will be faster. Not to mention about a potential lock down and impact the service centres.

[ROHITSHAH4]

Update from my side:
3 applicants: All gave the last biometrics in June 2019.
My own (SET LR): applied on 9th May, selected for biometric reuse. The only email received on 1st Aug is my further eligibility for IDV App.

My Wife's application (SET LR): applied on 9th July, no news so far for either Biometric reuse or to book the appointment.

My Child's application (SET F): applied on 9th July, received email on 4th Aug to book the appointment as not eligible for biometric reuse. Appointment booked for 12th Aug @ £71.98 (no free appointments available).

My understanding:
1. SET LR is in the last of the priority of UKVCAS/ UKVI.
2. Applicants under 18 years are not eligible for biometric reuse regardless of the application category and when the biometrics are submitted.
3. There is no co-relation applied for a family if the Child's application has both the parent's application reference that is pending any progress by UKVI.
4. UKVI is unable to commit anything and there is no pattern or any consistency demonstrated to the applicants for biometric reuse/IDV app release/ biometric appointment and finally the decision.

[dantorrez]

Hi Everyone,
I applied with SET(O) on 10th July and have not received any correspondence since then.

My UKVI application was submitted by my immigration lawyer (using his email address) whilst in UKVCAS I used my personal email address. I am unable to get any responses from my lawyer so wondering if you could advise:
> Are the emails you receive sent to you by UKVI or UKVCAS? i.e. are they sent to your UKVI email address or one you registered with UKVCAS?

The main communication I'm interested in is the Biometric re-use email.
Since I've been unable to reach my lawyer, I'm wondering if there is a way to get UKVI to send any emails directly to me.

Hi. All emails I got related to Biometric appointments were from "FES Appointments <no-reply@mail.ukvcas.co.uk>". It seems to be an UKVCAS email. I'm registered in the UKVI and UKVCAS with the same email.

[katyana]

Hi. All emails I got related to Biometric appointments were from "FES Appointments <no-reply@mail.ukvcas.co.uk>". It seems to be an UKVCAS email. I'm registered in the UKVI and UKVCAS with the same email.

Thank you!

[ILRGB]

I have applied via a solicitor who received the payment confirmation email on the day of application.

Then after 2 weeks I received the delay related email on the email address which I had used to register on the UKVCAS portal (MY email address).

I am hoping that the document submission and biometric resuse emails are also sent to MY address and not tp the solicitor email as I think my solicitor might go on a vacation leave anytime or respond to me as slow as a tortoise.

[nash4elovek]

Hi friends,

Just wanted to share my timeline if it helps. I applied on 16th July (Set O) and uploaded all my docs on the 17th July to the UKVCAS website. I then got an email from UKVI asking for my document on the 22nd July. Today at 4am I got an email from FES to book my appointment as I am not eligible for biometric reuse. I booked one in Croydon costing ca. £70, for next Tuesday 11th Aug. Hopefully finger crossed and all the best to everyone on this forum.

Cheers.

Hi!

Could you please confirm:
1) if you applied with any dependants
2) when did you last submit your fingerprints

Just trying to see any pattern in this. Looks like people with dependants and those with biometrics older than 2-3 years get the opportunity to book an appointment.

[youyuanannie]

Hi friends,

Just wanted to share my timeline if it helps. I applied on 16th July (Set O) and uploaded all my docs on the 17th July to the UKVCAS website. I then got an email from UKVI asking for my document on the 22nd July. Today at 4am I got an email from FES to book my appointment as I am not eligible for biometric reuse. I booked one in Croydon costing ca. £70, for next Tuesday 11th Aug. Hopefully finger crossed and all the best to everyone on this forum.

Cheers.

Hi!

Could you please confirm:
1) if you applied with any dependants
2) when did you last submit your fingerprints

Just trying to see any pattern in this. Looks like people with dependants and those with biometrics older than 2-3 years get the opportunity to book an appointment.

Sure. I applied with no dependents and last gave my fingerprints 5 years ago.

[jerrysk8]

I applied end of April set(O). Is the general consensus for a quicker result, is those who applied early to opt out?

[Nilang]

Those who get biometric Reuse option is it because they include their previous visa case reference numbers to application???