OLD FLR(M) waiting times Thread

[annieak]

hi,

i have just got my passport back from ukba yesterday.
i am wondering for those of you who have applied in feb and ukba requested more docs.

what did they ask for?

many thanks any help would be appreciated as ukba are not helpful i do not see the point of calling them to hear no decision has been made.

Thanks

[rockstar1]

wow we are on the same deck. I submitted my application on 12 June 2012 and enrolled my bio-metrics on 08 August as same as you did. Have you got any response afterwards ?

So our biometrics letter arrived today and we have already enrolled our biometrics! Our new timeline is:

Application submitted: 26 June 2012
Acknowledgement received: 3 July 2012 (dated 29 June 2012)
Biometrics letter received: 8 August 2012 (dated 3 August 2012)
Biometrics enrolled: 8 August 2012
Documents: waiting
Biometric permit: waiting

Planning to send out another letter requesting urgent treatment for my (sponsor) passport and for the whole application just in case.

To be continued...

Just an update, I got letter from HO saying I have been approved and my Bio card is on my way. My time line.

Applied : 12/06/2012
Docs Received: 13/06/2012
Acknowledgment Letter received: 28/06/2012
Bio metric letter: 04/08/2012
Bio enrolled: 08/08/2012
Letter confirmation: 02/11/2012
Docs Returned: waiting



I am so happy and I wish everybody will get their decisions soon. Fingers Crossed for every one.

[LE80]

hi,

i have just got my passport back from ukba yesterday.
i am wondering for those of you who have applied in feb and ukba requested more docs.

what did they ask for?

many thanks any help would be appreciated as ukba are not helpful i do not see the point of calling them to hear no decision has been made.

Thanks

What do you hope to gain from knowing this? If the UKBA requests more documents it means that the applicants haven't quite submitted enough evidence to convince them that the application meets the criteria. If they don't request docs, then they have enough.

Since you have been waiting for such a long time, if you are looking for answers I would suggest contacting your MP. The MP cannot speed up your application, but what they can do is actually talk to the casework teams and find out if there is any more information available for you.

I contacted my MP and her staff contacted UKBA. They told him that my application was 'in its final stages'. If it would help you to know that sort of thing (hasn't helped me really) then I would suggest going to your MP.

[hredderson]

Hi everyone. I just wanted to give my timeline as I finally received my documents last week after a VERY long wait.

To summarize, my FLR(M) application was received by the UKBA on March 13th. My letter stating that my visa had been granted was dated October 22nd. So, a 7.5 month wait in all. VERY stressful times, but it is all over now. Well, for the next two years at least!

A few things that may help everyone based on my experiences:

- The day after I hit the 6 month waiting mark, I called the UKBA to check on the status of my application. They said that at the time they were only able to process 67% of applications within the 6 month time frame (as compared to 95% within 6 months in 2011). I was told that this was simply due to the volume of applications.

- It is my understanding that the UKBA had a major system offline failure at the beginning of May which caused a huge backlog in application processing. Added to this was the layoff of hundreds of UKBA employees around the same time. So, applications that were sent in in March/April got caught up in this royal mess which is why I think applications sent in after May are being processed faster than some that were sent in earlier. Total cluster f*#k for those of us who applied earlier in 2012.

- While my application was strong and valid at the time it was submitted, mine and my husband's circumstances changed quite significantly during the time we were waiting for approval. The changes were mostly financial and job related (my husband's job) and meant that we were not in as good of financial shape as we were when we sent in the application. When we originally applied, we just barely met the financial requirements and even though we still did after our circumstances changed, it was by the skin of our teeth. Added to this the fact that we moved, had higher outgoing expenses etc, I was a nervous wreck trying to decide if we should send in the updated information to the UKBA. Something in my gut told me not to and to just ride it out, and it was all fine in the end (we used my father-in-laws address - where we were living at the time the application was submitted - as our consistent correspondence address and did not update it).

- We had thought about requesting my husband's passport back after it had been 6 months to see if that would hurry the process along, but based on what I mentioned above, I was afraid to attract any negative attention to our application. I am glad now that we just waited.

I am not sure if this information will help anyone but just stay confident and positive that if you have a solid application that meets all of the requirements (even if only JUST) and you have been waiting a long time, hang in there - you should hear something soon!

Best to all of you!!

[jessica11jessica]

[quote=
I do think wirte to the HOME OFFICE helped, I actually called HOME OFFICE before sent a letter to them..

does anyone know how soon I will get my document back after receiving my card?[/quote]

hi,

what do you mean by write to the home office. Do you mean just email them and enquire the status? because mine application was sent out in June and i am still waiting.

[jessica11jessica]

I have been following this fourm, I also sent out my document for FLR in middle of June and I was waiting and waiting. last week, we wrote to our local MP and last monday, I sent a letter to both home office as well as UKBA, today I received my CARD with a letter saying that my docuement will reach me soon .. yeah my waiting time is over now I guess. Not sure if write to the home office helped, but worthy a try..

hi,
did you send it by email or post? will you be kind to provide the address as i would like to contact them as well to enquire my application

[humtum]

Hi all
I am just in process of filling the FLR M form for my wife.just got one question if some one could help me about section 7a Financial requirements.

Her Orginal and first application was made in 2010 from abroad & was granted 2 years spouse visa and she came here straight away.Now because she could not passed the life in uk test.we have to apply for extension.

I have question about section 7a where its say if you were granted or application was made before 09th July you don't need to fill this section.

I am just wondering because our first application was made in 2010 that's mean we don't need to fill this section or we still must fill this section

Any one please advise

[Skonky]

If u fit the criteria then it wouldn't hurt to fill the section in.

But really ,I think if its an extension ,your wife is here under old rules, so I don't think it should be 100% necessary

[jbm]

Hi,
me and my wife is bit worried now as we applied on 15 August 2012 and still no biometric invitation letter. anybody in same situation plz share what should we do or its normal? as i now ur actual timeline for application start from date you enroll ur biometric (i think)

thanks

Hi jbm,

We applied back in June and it took 9 weeks for our biometrics letter to arrive. Others that applied around the same time waited about 9 weeks too I think. Check back through the last few pages on here - I think someone said you could call up and request a biometrics letter if you have waited a couple of months....

Hi All, Just bit of update. its 2 nov 2012 and we havnt received bio metric enrollment letter. it is now 2 and half months (over 11 weeks) wait

is anybody in the same boat please share or its just us who applied in august 2012 and not recived anything after aclnowledment letter?

[ID29]

Our long wait is finally over. When I reached home yesterday there was Royal mail letter to collect a delivery.

Congratulations

Our application proceeded yours by a couple of days so its greatly encouraging to know they are at least looking at the July applications.

I see that some folks are questioning why these later applications are being dealt with when there are still February, March and April applications pending? I cannot know for sure but I suspect that with the rule changes in July the numbers of applications increased significantly through June/July - even though people already on the 'path to settlement' wouldn't have been affected by the new rules. It probably does make sense to start with this spike while continuing to work on the earlier ones too.

John

[TODMATT]

Our long wait is finally over. When I reached home yesterday there was Royal mail letter to collect a delivery.

This morning when I went to the post office we had the letter with all our documents confirming the visa has been granted and will receive BRP in 7 days.

Here is our timeline

Application sent: 4 July 2012
Acknowledgement letter date: 9 July 2012
Biometrics letter received: 3 Sep 2012 (letter dated 31 Aug 2012)
Biometrics enrolled: 4 Sep 2012
Documents returned: 31 Oct 2012 (letter dated 30 Oct 2012)
BRP: waiting... hopefully arrives in 7 days

Congratulation TnT-FreaK


I would love to ask you if it state packet or letter on your royal delivery missed card??

Thank you

[findshakil]

Hi All, Just bit of update. its 2 nov 2012 and we havnt received bio metric enrollment letter. it is now 2 and half months (over 11 weeks) wait

is anybody in the same boat please share or its just us who applied in august 2012 and not recived anything after aclnowledment letter?[/quote]


I applied on 23rd of August but haven't received any biomatric letter.

[Zanetti]

Hi findshakil, hopefully you will receive your biometric letter soon. My timeline is below.

Application submitted: 28 August 2012
Application fee taken: 4 September 2012
Acknowledgement received: 8 September 2012 (dated 5 September 2012)
Biometrics letter received: 27 October 2012
Biometrics enrolled: 2 November 2012
Documents: waiting
Biometric permit: waiting

From reading other timelines, i've noticed it most cases in total 17 weeks for the application to come through (You receive your biometric letter on the 8th week then it take another 9 weeks to hear anything else).

After sending in my application, i made a note to expect my biometric w/c 29/10/12 but i received it on 27/10/12.

[PaulandTamuna]

Hi All, this is our timeline:

Application submitted: 8 May 2012
Application fee taken: 12 May 2012
Acknowledgement received: 21 May 2012
Biometrics letter received: 26 May 2012
Biometrics enrolled: 26 May 2012
Documents: Waiting
Biometric permit: Waiting

We would like to gauge the interest in starting a protest group/website for those of us who have been in this agonising wait for months and months and months. If you might be interested in the creation of such a group and might be prepared to get involved in some collective action, please send us a personal message by clicking on the PM button for this post. Recent Freedom of Information requests suggest that the wait may be as long as 21 months, as the UKBA are only processing 300 applications per month with a 6,000 application backlog from February 2012!

[Nisha79]

Hi All, this is our timeline:

Application submitted: 7 JULY 2012
Application fee taken: JULY 2012
Acknowledgement received: 18 JULY 2012
Biometrics letter received: WAITING
Biometrics enrolled: WAITING
Documents: WAITING
Biometric permit: WAITING

Its really frustrating, when I call HO they say its not in their system
Would appreciate any advise on how to deal with this.

[theoneandonly]

Hiya,

I did send a leeter to the home office by post, not email. I cant remember the address but you can find home office address online on the contact page, thats what I did.

Good luck!

I have been following this fourm, I also sent out my document for FLR in middle of June and I was waiting and waiting. last week, we wrote to our local MP and last monday, I sent a letter to both home office as well as UKBA, today I received my CARD with a letter saying that my docuement will reach me soon .. yeah my waiting time is over now I guess. Not sure if write to the home office helped, but worthy a try..

hi,
did you send it by email or post? will you be kind to provide the address as i would like to contact them as well to enquire my application

[emyfraser]

Hi All, this is our timeline:

Application submitted: 7 JULY 2012
Application fee taken: JULY 2012
Acknowledgement received: 18 JULY 2012
Biometrics letter received: WAITING
Biometrics enrolled: WAITING
Documents: WAITING
Biometric permit: WAITING

Its really frustrating, when I call HO they say its not in their system
Would appreciate any advise on how to deal with this.

Hi Nisha79 - it makes sense that you're not in their system yet because it's when they enter you into the system that you finally get your biometrics letter. I called 7 weeks after submitting my application asking about my letter and they sent it right out. The woman was surprised that I'd waited longer than 4 weeks!

My timeline:

Application submitted: 18 August 2012
Application fee taken: August 2012
Acknowledgement dated: 21 August 2012
Biometrics letter dated: 28 September 2012
Biometrics enrolled: 5 October 2012 (the day after I received the letter)
Documents: WAITING
Biometric permit: WAITING

[t4flrm]

Hey folks,

I have been following this post since the day I made my application for FLR M from Tier 4 General category...below is my timeline

Application submitted: 5 July 2012
Application fee taken: 16 July 2012
Acknowledgement received: 21 July 2012
Biometrics letter received: Waiting
Biometrics enrolled: Waiting
Documents: Waiting
Biometric permit: Waiting

My student visa expired on 30 Sep 2012 and now I wonder..just wonder..speechless at the performance of UKBA.

[Still.Waiting]

I have a question i dont know if anyone can answer?!

when i applied 6 months ago in April my sponsor had a job but unfortunately the job got redundant last month so i am wondering if anyone know what will happen if UKBA requests recent pay slips and bank statements ?

[daiyan.suraya]

is there anyone with visa today?

[kiru4u]

Hi,
I have applied for my spouse visa FLR(M) in March and still waiting.

I tried calling the number on the acknowledgement letter but did not get a response and the call gets disconnected abruptly. Is there a number which I can contact to enquire the status and request the supporting documents.

Applied on March 3rd 2012
Acknowledgement : March 10th 2012
Biometric : Mar 22nd 2012

[Nisha79]

Hi,
Thanks for the reply, I will call them once more. Can u tell me what exactly should I ask them?
Thanks

Hi All, this is our timeline:

Application submitted: 7 JULY 2012
Application fee taken: JULY 2012
Acknowledgement received: 18 JULY 2012
Biometrics letter received: WAITING
Biometrics enrolled: WAITING
Documents: WAITING
Biometric permit: WAITING

Its really frustrating, when I call HO they say its not in their system
Would appreciate any advise on how to deal with this.

Hi Nisha79 - it makes sense that you're not in their system yet because it's when they enter you into the system that you finally get your biometrics letter. I called 7 weeks after submitting my application asking about my letter and they sent it right out. The woman was surprised that I'd waited longer than 4 weeks!

My timeline:

Application submitted: 18 August 2012
Application fee taken: August 2012
Acknowledgement dated: 21 August 2012
Biometrics letter dated: 28 September 2012
Biometrics enrolled: 5 October 2012 (the day after I received the letter)
Documents: WAITING
Biometric permit: WAITING

[boredwithwaiting]

Hi just stumbled across this board after waiting a frustrating 8 months for my wife's visa to be decided by people playing god. looks like we aren't the only ones. My wife came over from Turkey on a student visa several years ago and we have been married one year yesterday, we contacted our local MP last month who looked into the case but was given no information from the UKBA apart from the usual 'it's being processed'. My wife's mother has been very ill and has spent some time in hospital in Turkey and when we asked if there was any compassionate grounds to speed up the visa we were told this

Thank you for your email of 9 October requesting expedition of your constituent’s application of 2 March for travel purposes.

All applications awaiting consideration are currently being handled in date received order and therefore it is currently not possible to specify the exact date of outcome.

While we have every sympathy with Ms Twyman’s situation, unfortunately we cannot grant her request for expedition unless she is willing to withdraw the application if consideration is not immediately possible from the information already held with your clients case. This does not mean that Ms Twyman’s application will be automatically withdrawn, it will wherever possible be considered and outcomed but if the caseworker cannot consider her application before her travel date or in a timely manner then it may be withdrawn in order to meet her travel requirements.

If Ms Twyman is willing to withdraw the application if consideration is not immediately possible from the information already held with her case, she should fill in the enclosed form and fax it to 0114 207 2536. Alternatively, your office can email me a scanned copy of the attached proforma once it has been signed and completed by your constituent and I will then refer it to the relevant team.

As we cannot afford to take the chance on withdrawing from the waiting list, starting again and paying them more money for a job they couldn't do in the first place, looks like we will just have to wait even longer

[LE80]

Hi boredwithwaiting

Thanks for posting this. Was the enlcosed form that they referred to this one? http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/sitec ... return.doc

[bobobo]

Send UKBa a fax with a doctors certificate and request to process application on compassionate grounds, try getting the fax number by calling the number on your CoA or go through these posts, I had posted the fax number on one of the threads a couple a months ago.

Make sure you write you do NOT want to withdraw the application but speed up the process.

Hi just stumbled across this board after waiting a frustrating 8 months for my wife's visa to be decided by people playing god. looks like we aren't the only ones. My wife came over from Turkey on a student visa several years ago and we have been married one year yesterday, we contacted our local MP last month who looked into the case but was given no information from the UKBA apart from the usual 'it's being processed'. My wife's mother has been very ill and has spent some time in hospital in Turkey and when we asked if there was any compassionate grounds to speed up the visa we were told this

Thank you for your email of 9 October requesting expedition of your constituent’s application of 2 March for travel purposes.

All applications awaiting consideration are currently being handled in date received order and therefore it is currently not possible to specify the exact date of outcome.

While we have every sympathy with Ms Twyman’s situation, unfortunately we cannot grant her request for expedition unless she is willing to withdraw the application if consideration is not immediately possible from the information already held with your clients case. This does not mean that Ms Twyman’s application will be automatically withdrawn, it will wherever possible be considered and outcomed but if the caseworker cannot consider her application before her travel date or in a timely manner then it may be withdrawn in order to meet her travel requirements.

If Ms Twyman is willing to withdraw the application if consideration is not immediately possible from the information already held with her case, she should fill in the enclosed form and fax it to 0114 207 2536. Alternatively, your office can email me a scanned copy of the attached proforma once it has been signed and completed by your constituent and I will then refer it to the relevant team.

As we cannot afford to take the chance on withdrawing from the waiting list, starting again and paying them more money for a job they couldn't do in the first place, looks like we will just have to wait even longer