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Hello Nholler,nholler wrote:ken2mj wrote:One of the things I often wonder is if the UKBA scrutinise certain applications more closely than others, based solely on the applicant's nationality. It might explain why some applications are processed in just a couple of months, while others are dragged out for six or more.
Hi Ken2mj, I've often wondered the same thing. My wife (applicant) is Canadian so I thought it would be a seamless process. A friend of mine applied for the FLR (M) in November 2011 and his wife is Chinese and their application took 5 weeks. However, this was before the Olympics excuse which has been floating around since the new year.
I requested my passport back last Monday 20th August in the hope it would kickstart my application. Still haven't received passport as of yet.
So just to clarify, did they say the "turnover time" of 58 days is the time between the day they receive the application and the day they send the biometrics letter? Or is that turnover time for allegedly how long the application takes?TnT-FreaK wrote:All,
Here is an update for July applicants. I called the UKBA today and there was some good news in the form that they confirmed that my application is now in the system and they have printed the biometrics letter. The letter has not been posted yet but will be done so over the course of next week.
The turnover time is basically 58 days from the day of application. This should give others a rough time frame of how long it takes to get the biometrics letter. Needless to say the application will only be reviewed from there on.
I would actually recommend UKBA to put on their website, "please note due to the number of applications we will not even open your application for 2 months at least" . The 'processing time' starts from there on.
Apologies for the confusion. The turnover time for the biometrics letter is more of an estimate I have stated for my own application. It was not something the UKBA staff gave. It roughly matches the 8 weeks time it is taking for other applicants who have applied for FLR M to get their biometrics letter.mrsclc78 wrote:So just to clarify, did they say the "turnover time" of 58 days is the time between the day they receive the application and the day they send the biometrics letter? Or is that turnover time for allegedly how long the application takes?TnT-FreaK wrote:All,
Here is an update for July applicants. I called the UKBA today and there was some good news in the form that they confirmed that my application is now in the system and they have printed the biometrics letter. The letter has not been posted yet but will be done so over the course of next week.
The turnover time is basically 58 days from the day of application. This should give others a rough time frame of how long it takes to get the biometrics letter. Needless to say the application will only be reviewed from there on.
I would actually recommend UKBA to put on their website, "please note due to the number of applications we will not even open your application for 2 months at least" . The 'processing time' starts from there on.
It's interesting how different staff tell us different stories. I was told the biometrics letter should only take 2-3 weeks after the application is received. Mine didn't come until I requested my husband's passport, and when we called to request it, the woman that time inferred that we were quite early in expecting to be in the system already (at 6 weeks). Others have posted that it only took a week. So how often do the UKBA need to update what they're telling people who phone in?
Something's got to give! The UKBA can't operate like this forever. I hope!
Biometric letter.......1/9/2012........Skonky wrote:Just gonna share our waiting times....
Application sent 2/7/2012
Money taken 5/7/2012
Acknowledgement letter 9/7/2012
Awaiting biometrics letter....
Wow! Congratulations, that's fantastic news! I applied a few days before you did, and thought perhaps requesting my husband's (sponsor's) passport back, after 6 weeks with no biometrics letter, might trigger something. We got the bio letter right away as well as his passport, but unfortunately it hasn't yet triggered getting my visa processed quickly (it was a shot in the dark, as, after all, so many have been waiting MUCH longer than us).essexb wrote:Hi all,
Thought I would share my experience with you all, as may be of benefit:
My wife is Colombian and we applied just before the rules changed in July (dates below). As I know lots of people probably applied at this time (and knowing about the time it took PSW apps to be processed) we prepared ourselves to wait the long wait. We got the acknowledgement letter a week or so after, but then nothing for a few weeks.
However my wife was then offered a new job and so required her documents. I was under the impression that the only way to do this was to withdraw your application (unless you were the sponsor requesting your passport). However it turns out that unless it's for travel purposes, you can request your passport and visa back (after spending half hour on the phone waiting to speak to someone). So we did this, then the very next day received a letter requesting biometrics! We were told to wait 20 days to have the documents with us, but then last week we received all the documents back PLUS a letter stating the visa would be with us within 10 working days!
It seems that requesting the docs had somehow triggered some action on behalf of the UKBA. I understand this may not work for every case (and our case was very straight forward - married, bank statements for both of us for past 2 years, all documents required), but I know how difficult and stressful the whole situation is, so thought it was worth sharing with people.
Good luck to those who are still waiting and keep having hope. If all else fails, I would try to request docs back (but be explicit not to withdraw the app).
My time line is :
docs sent : 28th June
ack letter : dated 7th july
Bio letter : 24th Aug
Docs returned : 31st Aug
BRP sent: Waiting
Hi there,calculette wrote:Just thought I'd share my timeline here, seems like I'm in the same boat as a lot of you guys!
Application sent: 6 July
Acknowledgement letter received: 19 July
Biometrics: Not received yet as of 3 September
One problem I have is that I'm moving house in about two weeks - I sent a letter to the UKBA address listed on my acknowledgement letter telling them to redirect all my correspondence to my new address. Would that be the correct address to send a letter to? What number should I ring to check that they've received my letter?
Also, it seems like people have gotten a much faster response if a request for the sponsor passport is made. Is this something I should do? My husband doesn't need his passport urgently, but I'd be up for doing anything that speeds up a response from the otherwise sluggish UKBA...
Thank you all, and good luck! This forum has been such a lifesaver since I found it.
mrsclc78 wrote:essexb wrote:
Wow! Congratulations, that's fantastic news! I applied a few days before you did, and thought perhaps requesting my husband's (sponsor's) passport back, after 6 weeks with no biometrics letter, might trigger something. We got the bio letter right away as well as his passport, but unfortunately it hasn't yet triggered getting my visa processed quickly (it was a shot in the dark, as, after all, so many have been waiting MUCH longer than us).
So just to clarify, did you request your WIFE'S passport and visa back? I'm not sure how this worked out because I was under the impression if you requested the passport of the applicant back (for any reason), your application was forfeit.
I've been job hunting for 2 years after graduating and been worried that if I'm FINALLY offered something I won't be able to accept it without my passport. Can I really request to get my passport back for this reason?
Thanks for sharing your experience. So lucky!!
Right on. Again, thanks for sharing that. It's good to know, and (fingers crossed) it might come to that for me soon as I've got some interviews coming up. I heard from a friend in HR about this employer checking service, but she indicated that it hasn't worked for her (on the other end of things) at all, so I guess at least some folks at UKBA are sympathetic to this. It's always nice to hear about someone acting with decency and speed!essexb wrote:
I know! To be honest I'm amazed, but it seems that someone has been sensible somewhere and thought rather than sending the documents to us, then waiting for them to be returned, they decided to just make a decision!
To clarify, I'm a British national and we specifically requested my wife's documents back. Apparently if you request them back for the purposes of travel, your application is considered withdrawn. However if you request them back just for the purposes of ID, then you can send them back in with your application without withdrawing it. It takes 20 working days - but if you are worried about jobs etc, it's definitely an option for you. As is the Employer Checking Service (which didn't work for us, but apparently can be used by some employers).
2222 wrote:Still no changes to my waiting time!! 6 months and 8 days since I applied.
Visa from - Tier 4 (Valid till 30th Sep 2012)
FLR M applied on 27th February
Payment out of the bank: 29th February
Acknowledgement letter: I didn't get one!!
Biometric letter received on 16th March
Biometric completed on 28th March
Document return: still waiting!!!
Biometric card: still waiting!!!
Any one applied after me and got Visa??
I for one hope you are generalising! I am approaching 6 months. From reading this forum I have guessed that applications are allocated to one of a number of teams, and the size/performance of that team is a major factor in how quickly the application gets processed. I hope we are not a suspicious case!TnT-FreaK wrote: So if I was to play the estimation game, would it be fair to say that once UKBA receives the biometrics information, your application could end up in one of two buckets.
Bucket 1) UKBA thinks your application is straight forward and your visa is granted in roughly 45 days (from biometrics)
Bucket 2) UKBA due to some random reason thinks that there is something suspicious with your application and your application goes into this 6 month+ category
Am I generalising too much or is there any truth to do this?
Really glad for you TnT-FreaK. My timeline is similar to yours but I am still waiting for my biometrics letterTnT-FreaK wrote:So peeps, as expected, we got the biometrics letter today. Not much of an update otherwise, we just now join the long queue of people waiting for their visas.
So if I was to play the estimation game, would it be fair to say that once UKBA receives the biometrics information, your application could end up in one of two buckets.
Bucket 1) UKBA thinks your application is straight forward and your visa is granted in roughly 45 days (from biometrics)
Bucket 2) UKBA due to some random reason thinks that there is something suspicious with your application and your application goes into this 6 month+ category
Am I generalising too much or is there any truth to do this?
Timeline fore reference:
Date applied/docs sent: 04/07/2012
Date application received by UKBA: 05/07/2012
Date received ack. letter: 11/07/2012 Dated 09/07/2012
Date biometrics booking letter arrived: 03/09/2012
Date biometrics appointment: 04/09/2012
Date Passport/Docs received from HO: pending...
Biometric Card Received: pending...
Visa Type : FLR(M) Spouse
Visa From: PSW
I'm in the same boat as you guys, groundhog day does exist!stephanielqy wrote:Hi everyone, I'm one of those January/February black hole applications. It's been more than 6 months since my documents were sent in and 5 months post-biometrics appointment.
2222 - Don't worry you're not alone! Maybe we're assigned to the same donkey caseworker, who knows.
My timeline :
Date applied/docs sent: 16/02/2012
Date application received by UKBA: 20/02/2012
Date received ack. letter: 23/02/2012
Date biometrics booking letter arrived: 22/03/2012
Date biometrics appointment: 03/04/2012
Date passport/docs received from HO: Waiting
Biometrics card received: Waiting
Visa Type : FLR(M) Spouse
Visa From: Fiancee