UKVCAS Appointment cancelled due to COVID19 Outbreak

[SIG]

Hi,
My UKVCAS appointment has been cancelled due to COVID 19 outbreak at the centre. They have told me just one day before the appointment. Now I am unable to book appointment anywhere as all places are showing fully booked up till 3rd Jan.
I have two issues which I want some guidance on:

1. I had submitted my online application and the documents to UKVI at the end of October. So I had till the end of December to submit my biometrics. But due to this last minute cancellation by Sopra, I would miss that deadline. What are the implications of this and how should I inform UKVI of this situation or else would my application be withdrawn/cancelled automatically?

2. I submitted my documents through UKVCAS on the same day as my Naturalisation application submission. Do we know if the UKVI start processing the application prior to biometric information, or do they wait till after they have received the biometrics to consider the case (which would in turn delay the processing further)?

Many thanks for your help.

[srsw]

1. You won't be penalised for centre closure. Check their FAQ page on what happens next.



2. Not 100% sure but I've seen both assumptions here on this forum, i.e they may start working on the application after document submission & they start processing only after Biometrics, so there's no clear guidelines.

[SIG]

Thank you for your reply.
Do I need to inform UKVI of this, any particular email address to contact them for this?
Are there instances where they allow to enrol biometrics at a post office instead to avoid missing the deadline?

Many Thanks!

[CULLINAN]

Thank you for your reply.
Do I need to inform UKVI of this, any particular email address to contact them for this?
Are there instances where they allow to enrol biometrics at a post office instead to avoid missing the deadline?

Many Thanks!

No to both.

[SIG]

Thank you very much for your response.
Another thing, since we are a family application (3 applicants) so maybe that is why we are unable to get UKVCAS appointments sooner as I have seen people on this group getting appointments within a week of online submission.
I was wondering, is there a possibility that they give us separate appointments for biometrics as we all have different UAN? Can UKVCAS do that? Anyone has had a similar experience?

Many Thanks!

[srsw]

Keep trying and you may find slots open if anyone cancels their appointment. Try at midnight (12 am) when slots are made available, but you will get slots that are after 28 days. Avoid booking slots during Christmas closure days.

You could also try to book appointment via phone option I believe but not sure if it's any better.

FYI,
https://www.ukvcas.co.uk/flash-message- ... geId=56249

You are booking through the same ukvi/ukvcas account so all applicants will get a single slot.

[katanayi]

Even mine also got cancelled yesterday's appointment. contacted UKVCAS , said my biometry deadline should not be a problem.
But luckily, got a slot on 5th January this morning.