Tier 1 (PSW) processing times

[AK1441]

Hi Guys, I gave my biometrics on 10 Feb, and still no response from the UKBA. I have been going through immigration boards and UKBA website and came up with the following theory. Hope this helps.

PSW process is divided in 3 stages.

STAGE 1
This stage begins when you submit your application, and ends when you receive the biometric letter. The timespan for this stage should be no more than 5 weeks. If you don't receive your letter by than, you can call home office and request for a new letter.

STAGE 2
This stage begins on the date you submit your biometric and ends in 4-5 weeks. By the end of this stage either your application gets processed and your documents are returned, or in a worse case you hear no response from home office and you reach the third stage.

STAGE 3
If you are in this stage, this means that some of your documents are being reviewed or verified. The link for details of this process is (read page 4 of the document) below. This means that in a worst case scenario, the review process can take 4 weeks according to home office, and you will receive your documents in fifth week.

UKBA's Contact Number: https://contact-ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/ ... migration/
Read Page 4 for more information about verification and reviews: http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/sitec ... dance1.pdf
Processing time posted by UKBA, they update the date (currently 5 March) every two weeks: http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/visas ... tingtimes/

That is a great piece of info .. however, I have one question
I have submitted my biometric on 27th feb .. so next week will be the 5th week...
now if i dont get it in the next week ... do u mean that I will have to wait another five weeks for the documents ... or u r calculating 5 weeks from the biometric submission date ..

kindly explain ..

Thanks and Regards

On 19th March UKBA updated their website claiming that they are considering applications till 05 March (applications for which biometric has been submitted). They update the date information after two weeks. Considering your timeline, I would say you were at the lower end of the queue on 5th March. Plus the information that I gave above does not includes delays due to huge volume of applications. So I would say wait for 2 more weeks before considering that you are in the verification stage. Plus even if you are in the verification stage the worst case scenario takes four weeks. If you are lucky verification can be done even in one week. Hopefully you will not have to be in the 3rd stage and will get your visa soon.

PS: I calculated the timeline of each stage separately, and you move to the next stage after one stage is completed.

Regards

well .. i am running out of patience ..
i am contemplating call back of documents

[eee001]

i sent my application on the 21st and was delivered the next day. However no money has been deducted from my account and no acknowledgement letter has been received until now.

Going by the timelines mentioned in this thread this does not seem to be normal since now i don't expect anything to happen before Monday!

Very bad scenarios are coming to mind.. payment method problem.. or documents missing etc..
somebody tell me its ok.

[aftabkhan812]

Relax, the time frame is stretching what with so many applications making their way to the UKBA office. My funds were deducted after 10 days and I still havent received any acknowledgement.. So it is going to take time, we just need to be patient

[syed_mustafa]

Posted : 16th March [used postal orders]
Received : 19th March
Acknowledgement letter : 2nd April dated 29th March

when should I expect to be contacted next ?

[alinawaz]

PSW applied: 21 Feb 2012
Acknowledgment letter: dated 23 Feb 2012
Payment taken out: 24 Feb 2012
Biometrics: 24 March 2012

Waiting for further update...

Does any one know the UKBA Help line to call for the update?

[barodianbuddy]

Application sent: 31st Jan
Acknowledgement letter: 6th Feb
Biometric letter: 12th March
Biometrics given: 12th March
Passport and documents received: waiting
BRP: waiting

[barodianbuddy]

As shown on UKBA website:- We are currently considering applications where the applicant attended a biometric appointment on or before 10 March

[mousamhere]

Hi,
My PSW visa application process is as follows, could anyone please kindly suggest me in my circumstance.
Application sent (postal) 19 Feb 2012
Payment taken 23 Feb
Acknowledgement letter received 2 March (dated 24 Feb)
Biometric enrolment letter received 24 March (dated 21 March)
Biometric given in post office with one dependent on 26th March

Because of an emergency need I have to go back to my country by the 19th of April, that is the reason I booked my flight ticket for the latest 17th April though I was pretty aware about the travel arrangement before receiving travel documents, at the moment I am hoping to get my documents back on or after 17th.

Has anyone got some ideas or processes to get the documents back applying different method?

Many thanks in advance!

[AK1441]

Applied on 17th JAn 2012
Acknowledgement letter recd 22nd JAn
Biometric Letter Recd 27th JAn
Documents Awaited ...

Frustrated by the service of ukba

Application sent (Royal Mail Special Delivery) : 17-01-2012

Application delivered:18-01-2012

Fee Charged from account: 18-01-2012 (bankers draft)

Acknowledgement Letter received:22-01-2012 (Dated 20-01-2012)

Biometric Letter received: 27-02-2012 (Dated 13-03-2012)

Biometric Enrolment @Finchley Road (Golders Green) Post Office: 27-02-2012

Passport & Documents: 31-03-2012 dated 29-03-2012

BRP card - missed DX courier on 03-04-2012
Rebooked delivery on 04-04-2012

Fingers crossed

76 hapless days

[placebo]

Applied on 17th JAn 2012
Acknowledgement letter recd 22nd JAn
Biometric Letter Recd 27th JAn
Documents Awaited ...

Frustrated by the service of ukba

Application sent (Royal Mail Special Delivery) : 17-01-2012

Application delivered:18-01-2012

Fee Charged from account: 18-01-2012 (bankers draft)

Acknowledgement Letter received:22-01-2012 (Dated 20-01-2012)

Biometric Letter received: 27-02-2012 (Dated 13-03-2012)

Biometric Enrolment @Finchley Road (Golders Green) Post Office: 27-02-2012

Passport & Documents: 31-03-2012 dated 29-03-2012

BRP card - missed DX courier on 03-04-2012
Rebooked delivery on 04-04-2012

Fingers crossed

76 hapless days

That's great news... Congrats I'm still waiting tough. Hope I'll get my BRP and documents soon...

[eternities]

Hi Guys, I gave my biometrics on 10 Feb, and still no response from the UKBA. I have been going through immigration boards and UKBA website and came up with the following theory. Hope this helps.

PSW process is divided in 3 stages.

STAGE 1
This stage begins when you submit your application, and ends when you receive the biometric letter. The timespan for this stage should be no more than 5 weeks. If you don't receive your letter by than, you can call home office and request for a new letter.

STAGE 2
This stage begins on the date you submit your biometric and ends in 4-5 weeks. By the end of this stage either your application gets processed and your documents are returned, or in a worse case you hear no response from home office and you reach the third stage.

STAGE 3
If you are in this stage, this means that some of your documents are being reviewed or verified. The link for details of this process is (read page 4 of the document) below. This means that in a worst case scenario, the review process can take 4 weeks according to home office, and you will receive your documents in fifth week.

UKBA's Contact Number: https://contact-ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/ ... migration/
Read Page 4 for more information about verification and reviews: http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/sitec ... dance1.pdf
Processing time posted by UKBA, they update the date (currently 5 March) every two weeks: http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/visas ... tingtimes/

One thing I don t understand. What number exactly do I call?

[jjavaid]

Application Sent: 18th Jan'12
Ack Received: 25th Jan'12 (Dated 23rd Jan'12)

The HO sent my Biometrics letter out on the 29th of Feb'12 to the wrong address, thankfully I called them to inquire on the 5th of Mar'12 and they confirmed my correct address and said they will have a new letter sent out to the correct address.

Biometric Letter Received: 17th March'12 (Dated 15th March'12)
Biometrics Given: 19th March'12

Waiting for them to return my Passport and send a BRP.
Any idea how long does it normally take? Considering that they must have a bulk of applications thesedays ... Should I receive something back by the end of April?

Can anyone let me know? Plus I also sent in a return envelope .. is it worth tracking it on the Royal Mail Website?

[gryphon]

i sent my application on the 21st and was delivered the next day. However no money has been deducted from my account and no acknowledgement letter has been received until now.

Going by the timelines mentioned in this thread this does not seem to be normal since now i don't expect anything to happen before Monday!

Very bad scenarios are coming to mind.. payment method problem.. or documents missing etc..
somebody tell me its ok.

Hi eee001

Have they taken the money out. I've applied on 22nd, paid through postal order and they haven't taken the money out yet. I hope everything is ok, I know they have substantially large volume of application to deal with now.

Regards
Gryphon

[eee001]

@gryphon

I had mailed my application out on 21st and they received it on 22nd.

The fee has finally been deducted from my account in the last hour after 13 days of waiting (phew).

If you mailed it on 22nd and the money has not been deducted yet, dont worry. Should happen tomorrow or in the next few days.

[AK1441]

Application Sent: 18th Jan'12
Ack Received: 25th Jan'12 (Dated 23rd Jan'12)

The HO sent my Biometrics letter out on the 29th of Feb'12 to the wrong address, thankfully I called them to inquire on the 5th of Mar'12 and they confirmed my correct address and said they will have a new letter sent out to the correct address.

Biometric Letter Received: 17th March'12 (Dated 15th March'12)
Biometrics Given: 19th March'12

Waiting for them to return my Passport and send a BRP.
Any idea how long does it normally take? Considering that they must have a bulk of applications thesedays ... Should I receive something back by the end of April?

Can anyone let me know? Plus I also sent in a return envelope .. is it worth tracking it on the Royal Mail Website?

I had applied on 17th Jan.. got my BRP today
I had given my biometric on 27th feb.. it too a month to complete the process after biometric. But mine was a special case.. ppl are getting their visa within 3 weeks after biometric.

You can track return delivery if u have noted the barcode of the envelop. I had forgotten to note it and hence cud not track it ...

[moirareggie]

Which barcode do you use for tracking? Are you referring to enclosed envelope when applying?

Application Sent: 18th Jan'12
Ack Received: 25th Jan'12 (Dated 23rd Jan'12)

The HO sent my Biometrics letter out on the 29th of Feb'12 to the wrong address, thankfully I called them to inquire on the 5th of Mar'12 and they confirmed my correct address and said they will have a new letter sent out to the correct address.

Biometric Letter Received: 17th March'12 (Dated 15th March'12)
Biometrics Given: 19th March'12

Waiting for them to return my Passport and send a BRP.
Any idea how long does it normally take? Considering that they must have a bulk of applications thesedays ... Should I receive something back by the end of April?

Can anyone let me know? Plus I also sent in a return envelope .. is it worth tracking it on the Royal Mail Website?

I had applied on 17th Jan.. got my BRP today
I had given my biometric on 27th feb.. it too a month to complete the process after biometric. But mine was a special case.. ppl are getting their visa within 3 weeks after biometric.

You can track return delivery if u have noted the barcode of the envelop. I had forgotten to note it and hence cud not track it ...

[AK1441]

Which barcode do you use for tracking? Are you referring to enclosed envelope when applying?

Application Sent: 18th Jan'12
Ack Received: 25th Jan'12 (Dated 23rd Jan'12)

The HO sent my Biometrics letter out on the 29th of Feb'12 to the wrong address, thankfully I called them to inquire on the 5th of Mar'12 and they confirmed my correct address and said they will have a new letter sent out to the correct address.

Biometric Letter Received: 17th March'12 (Dated 15th March'12)
Biometrics Given: 19th March'12


Waiting for them to return my Passport and send a BRP.
Any idea how long does it normally take? Considering that they must have a bulk of applications thesedays ... Should I receive something back by the end of April?

Can anyone let me know? Plus I also sent in a return envelope .. is it worth tracking it on the Royal Mail Website?

I had applied on 17th Jan.. got my BRP today
I had given my biometric on 27th feb.. it too a month to complete the process after biometric. But mine was a special case.. ppl are getting their visa within 3 weeks after biometric.

You can track return delivery if u have noted the barcode of the envelop. I had forgotten to note it and hence cud not track it ...

Barcode is the tracking number that u get when u buy a 1st class delivery parcel of royal mail

[samindaksm]

Application sent - 02/03/2012
Acknowledgement received - 14/03/2012
Biometric invitation received - 29/03/2012
Went to the post of at Golders Green - 30/03/2012 - but bar code was not readable
Got appointment in Cardiff PEO on 04/04/2012 - biometric given there
Documents and BRP waiting ...

[moirareggie]

application sent: 31st Jan 2012 (next day delivery)
fee deducted: 6th Feb 2012 (payment by card)
ack letter received: never
Biometrics invitation received: 16th March 2012 (dated 10th March)
biometrics submitted: 23rd March 2012

When I first went to submit my Biometrics there was a problem with the network so I had to wait for the system to be fixed.

And now I wait again...

[golekipro]

Application sent on:26t Jan
Money Deducted from the account: 30th Jan
Acknowledgement letter recieved: 16 Feb
Biometrics: 9March
Biometrics given: 11th march
And now waiting its almost a month that i submitted my biometircs, wait is really killing me

[vrashta]

[quote="vrashta"]file posted= 18th of jan
acknowledgement letter received= 27th of jan dated 24th of jan
postal orders cashed by ukba 29th of jan
biometrics received= 8th ofmarch dated 6th of march
biometrics given= 10th of march at post office with dependent[/quote]



doc recieved= 7th april 2012
brp= waiting

[ali7777]

file posted= 18th of jan
acknowledgement letter received= 27th of jan dated 24th of jan
postal orders cashed by ukba 29th of jan
biometrics received= 8th ofmarch dated 6th of march
biometrics given= 10th of march at post office with dependent

doc recieved= 7th april 2012
brp= waiting

hello vrashta i need a little help from you i chose postal order as a method of payment would you please let me know how to check if your postal order has been cashed by HO or not? i sent my application nearly 3 weeks ago i still have not recieved ack letters thanks

[syed_mustafa]

file posted= 18th of jan
acknowledgement letter received= 27th of jan dated 24th of jan
postal orders cashed by ukba 29th of jan
biometrics received= 8th ofmarch dated 6th of march
biometrics given= 10th of march at post office with dependent

doc recieved= 7th april 2012
brp= waiting

hello vrashta i need a little help from you i chose postal order as a method of payment would you please let me know how to check if your postal order has been cashed by HO or not? i sent my application nearly 3 weeks ago i still have not recieved ack letters thanks

Hope this helps:

"You can find out if a postal order has been cashed by filling in a P58 form from a branch near you and sending it off to Royal Mail (address on the form). This is the same form that is filled in case of lost or damaged mail or your postal order is lost or stolen. You can also seek further assistance by contacting the post office through their official website or, calling the number 0845 722 33 44 between 8.15am to 6pm from Monday to Friday."

[moirareggie]

Update of Processing Times:
http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/visas ... tingtimes/

We are currently considering applications where the applicant attended a biometric appointment on or before 12 March.

[vrashta]

[quote="ali7777"][quote="vrashta"][quote="vrashta"]file posted= 18th of jan
acknowledgement letter received= 27th of jan dated 24th of jan
postal orders cashed by ukba 29th of jan
biometrics received= 8th ofmarch dated 6th of march
biometrics given= 10th of march at post office with dependent[/quote]



doc recieved= 7th april 2012
brp= waiting[/quote]

hello vrashta i need a little help from you i chose postal order as a method of payment would you please let me know how to check if your postal order has been cashed by HO or not? i sent my application nearly 3 weeks ago i still have not recieved ack letters thanks[/quote]




Yes. I called the post office and gave them the serial numbers on my postal order receipts. I was told what day they were cashed and that it was cashed by the UKBA. Try these numbers: 01246 542091 or 01246 542500 at about 9:30 am when they open.