Settlement Visa from Nigeria

[maurichick]

Hi Everyone - some input would be much appreciated:

My situation is my husband is Nigerian and currently in Nigeria. He studied in UK and had a PSW visa. He worked for a company who promised to sponsor him but unfortunately they messed up the sponsor process and he ended up having to leave voluntarily.
I went over to Nigeria in July 2014 and we had our registry wedding. On my return to UK, we submitted application on 30/8/14 with all the required documentation and he was invited for his biometric on 12/9/14. The wait has been agonising and it's been difficult trying to plan our religious wedding ceremony without knowing when he'll be here.
We used an agent to complete our application and he did not enclose the correct envelope size. We were notified of this on 10/10/14. We sent an envelope which was received by them on 14/10/14 and continued to use the email contact form on ukvi website which proved useless at first and then finally on 20/11/14, they notified me by email that they had tried to contact me by telephone on 21/10/14 and 24/10/14. From my phone, I can see a missed call from a private number on 21/10/14 but that's it. They left no message, no email, no follow up. I sent an email explaining this and stressed that I am available for a telephone or face-to-face interview and that I would even travel to Sheffield (I am in Glasgow) and finally on 26/11/14 I received a reply to my email saying that an interview would not be necessary, "a decision has been made" and that VAC in Nigeria would contact my husband as he is the applicant. Is this a good or a bad indication?
Does anyone have any idea how long it would take for my husband to receive the decision?
Is there any place my husband can call in Nigeria?
And finally does anyone have idea how long it takes for UKVI to return documents to me?
Appreciate any help on this. Thanks

[Rayking]

You should receive another email very soon that your application is ready for collection. The email doesn't mean anything, everyone receives the email and you can't know the outcome until you open the envelope.
Did you apply with Teleperformance or which visa application center?

[maurichick]

Hi Thanks for your reply.

My husband is in Port Harcourt and he went through the VAC in Abuja. He has tried to contact them but hasn't been able to source a telephone number. We have a friend in Abuja who said he will go there to see if he can get a telephone number.
My husband said he had his biometric with VFS as they were the organisation that UKVI used and they said that Teleperformance would be the ones to complete the process. I'm not sure if this means that there will be a delay.

[Rayking]

Have you got your documents back in UK or how did you send your documents? I'm asking bcos my girlfriend's visa was laying idle for over a month before we got to know vfs isn't operating any longer and they didn't tell anyone, if you had got your documents back then,I can tell you 100% your passport is somewhere with teleperformance.

[maurichick]

I haven't received my documents yet and my husband hasn't had any notification either.

I'm not sure what would come first. I read on the UKVI website that I should wait for my husband's documents to reach him then I should allow 10 days before contacting them to chase up my documents. Is this right??

Our application in UK was sent by our agent and we sent SAE recorded delivery. My husband was told by VFS that he would receive documents with a courier (postal service in Nigeria is abysmal).

My husband has registered with Teleperformance and put in a request re his documents. Is there any point in my contacting UKVI for my documents?

[maurichick]

Rayking - were you able to contact Teleperformance? How did you find out that your girlfriend's passport had been lying idle?

[Rayking]

Rayking - were you able to contact Teleperformance? How did you find out that your girlfriend's passport had been lying idle?

Don't think you have to worry yet if that email has just been sent to you. We had to go there and we were told they couldn't get contact of applicants but that was in Lagos.
If you had got your doc back then I'll say may be it's the same problem.

[maurichick]

Thanks for your responses.

We just praying he'll be home for Christmas. Can I ask how long your process took?

[20mph]

Thanks for your responses.

We just praying he'll be home for Christmas. Can I ask how long your process took?

Have you been in contact with Teleperformance yet ? If not...PM me and I will give you valid contact numbers for Teleperformance in Abuja and Lagos. They will certainly track and tell you if your spouses passport has arrived their facility. He doesn't need to make unnecessary long trips from PH to Abj.
They also deal with applications lodged with vfs before their closure. You will need your spouse's VFS ref number handed out to your spouse on his biometric day. Wishing you the best, having your 2nd half around for Xmas is priceless.

[maurichick]

20mph.
Thanks so much for your post.
I am unable to pm as I am new to this website.
Please if you don't mind, email me sj4realxl@yahoo.com

I look forward to your email. We are struggling to find contact numbers!! Thanks

[maurichick]

Thanks 20mph for the contact numbers.

My husband phoned Teleperformance and they said that had not received his documents yet. However, I received all our evidence in the post this morning. Fingers crossed a positive decision ends up on my husband's doorstep.

[20mph]

@ maurichick

Any news yet ? Have you been in contact lately again with Teleperformance ? I left you a PM

[maurichick]

My husband has been in contact with Teleperformance ever since you sent him the numbers to call. They have been very cooperative and have suggested he call in the afternoons once they have received and sorted the mail.
His documents arrived yesterday (8/12/14) and they have advised the courier to pick up. We are unsure when this will be but fingers crossed this will be today and tomorrow we'll receive the most important decision of our lives.

I will keep you posted

[prince.07]

Any update yet?

[Omoduduwa]

My wife got her visa today, just when i was about to ask a question on this page. What a funny world LOL

[maurichick]

My husband contacted Teleperformance in Abuja and the guy there took a note of his number and promised to call as soon as they received my husband's documents. He very kindly called us on 8/12/14 to tell us it had arrived and was waiting collection by UPS (the courier service attached to VFS Global). Unfortunately, UPS are incredibly slow as they say their contract has been terminated with VFS - despite the fact my husband paid them months ago. Teleperformance use FedEx who collect every day. After several irate telephone calls to UPS they finally picked up and delivered to Port Harcourt on 12/12/14 but would not allow my husband to collect from their depot until the following day.

He picked his documents up and I am ecstatic to say that he will be coming home this weekend for us to spend our Christmas together.
Unfortunately these delays have led to us forking out more money for a flight home... but let's face it, it's not as if UKVI really care about applicants' finances!

Good luck to all!

[AJ2015]

Thanks for your responses.

We just praying he'll be home for Christmas. Can I ask how long your process took?

Have you been in contact with Teleperformance yet ? If not...PM me and I will give you valid contact numbers for Teleperformance in Abuja and Lagos. They will certainly track and tell you if your spouses passport has arrived their facility. He doesn't need to make unnecessary long trips from PH to Abj.
They also deal with applications lodged with vfs before their closure. You will need your spouse's VFS ref number handed out to your spouse on his biometric day. Wishing you the best, having your 2nd half around for Xmas is priceless.

Hi 20mph;
Could you send the same number you sent maurichick please? sylvesterivy@hotmail.com. I am in similar situation as her. But I did not asked for my documents to be sent back to me. We just paid for the SMS service.
We submitted at Vfs ikeja on 18th September 2014 after our wedding and sent the other documents to them at Sheffield. I have gone for an interview with them in London as my wife is the applicant and I am the sponsor and have since sent them several emails regarding the application status. On 2 occasions they claim the application is in progress and the last email they said it has been processed.
I waited and got no update so I asked my wife to visit TP in Lagos. She was told her documents were not there. I waited one more week and emailed UKVI only for them to get back to me saying: (there are no current updates. This could be because the details that you have provided above are incorrect. If it is the former you may contact us at a later stage once our records
have been updated. We will be happy to give you the current status of your application. If the information provided is incorrect then please provide the 9-digit GWF number and the date of birth of the applicant. Alternatively, once the process has been completed and a decision has been made the visa application centre will be in contact as per process.) I have now called UKVI to enquire about this and they claimed to have an investigation open for it. But this is taking forever.

[Tca23]

Hi 20mph,

Your response has been refreshing .

i am in the same boat as Maurichick .
i need to contact teleperfomance lagos as well.

Its very urgent as i have a job interview and i need to confirm when i can come in for it.

please could you help in furnishing me their details
my email addy is Cynthiaatte@yahoo.com

hope to hear from you soon
God bless

[maurichick]

Tca23
Hi Cynthia
Phone number for Teleperformance in Lagos is 234 (0)14535190  
They are said to have moved office on 2nd Feb so I'm not sure if that number will still work.

Good luck!!
                                           

[zumac]

hi everyone, thanks for your contribution in making this site informative. please does anybody know the phone and email contact for ECO shefield. my wife won her appeal for settlement in february 27 2015. my lawyer received the determination on 16th march 2015. it has been 4 weeks now i have not heard from them. i want to contact them.
my questions are; will they use same email we put in our application form form to contact her or via phone?; do i need to wait further before contacting them?; when will they refund the money to us as mentioned in the determination. Thanks

[Success_2015]

Just to thank everyone one on here, your posts ultimately helped me to make a successful application for my wife. I thought I should give my timeline in case that helps anyone too. I am more than happy to help with any questions if I can especially regarding documentation and arrangement of the documents. Once again, thank you everyone.
Timeline is as follows:
2nd May, 2015 - Online Application Submitted & appointment made.
15th May, 2015 - Wife attended appointment (interview) and had her biometrics taken.
15th May, 2015 - Wife received email from Teleperformance stating the receipt and forwarding application to UKVI
19th May, 2015 - All documents sent to Sheffield
20th May, 2015 - Sheffield received all the documents
20th May, 2015 - Wife received email from Sheffield stating that online application has been received and being prepared for consideration.
25th May, 2015 - Wife received email requesting her TB certificate. This was sent out the same day.
27th May, 2015 - Sheffield received TB certificate.
11th June, 2015 - I received a call to attend an interview in London on the 18th of June.
18th June - I attended interview.
18th June - Wife received an email from Sheffield stating that a decision has been made and documents dispatched.
19th June - I received all the supporting documents from Sheffield (everything was returned including all the photocopies and the letters addressed to them.
24th June - Wife received email from Teleperformance that passport was ready collection (we chose return by courier though)
24th June - Wife received a second email from Teleperformance that passport has been dispatched to her address.
26th June - Wife received passport from Courier - SHE GOT HER VISA!!!! Thank God for that. What a huge relief!

DURATION: Given that all documentation was made on the 20th of May and decision made on the 18th of June, the processing time was only 19 working days (given that there were 2 bank holidays within this period). How lucky are we? Good luck to everyone whose application is in there or who is planning to apply. Do get in touch if you require further details and clarifications.

[GeetL]

Hi Success_2015,

That's great news - thanks for sharing. Are you able to shed some light on the type of questions you were asked in the interview please?

Thanks

Just to thank everyone one on here, your posts ultimately helped me to make a successful application for my wife. I thought I should give my timeline in case that helps anyone too. I am more than happy to help with any questions if I can especially regarding documentation and arrangement of the documents. Once again, thank you everyone.
Timeline is as follows:
2nd May, 2015 - Online Application Submitted & appointment made.
15th May, 2015 - Wife attended appointment (interview) and had her biometrics taken.
15th May, 2015 - Wife received email from Teleperformance stating the receipt and forwarding application to UKVI
19th May, 2015 - All documents sent to Sheffield
20th May, 2015 - Sheffield received all the documents
20th May, 2015 - Wife received email from Sheffield stating that online application has been received and being prepared for consideration.
25th May, 2015 - Wife received email requesting her TB certificate. This was sent out the same day.
27th May, 2015 - Sheffield received TB certificate.
11th June, 2015 - I received a call to attend an interview in London on the 18th of June.
18th June - I attended interview.
18th June - Wife received an email from Sheffield stating that a decision has been made and documents dispatched.
19th June - I received all the supporting documents from Sheffield (everything was returned including all the photocopies and the letters addressed to them.
24th June - Wife received email from Teleperformance that passport was ready collection (we chose return by courier though)
24th June - Wife received a second email from Teleperformance that passport has been dispatched to her address.
26th June - Wife received passport from Courier - SHE GOT HER VISA!!!! Thank God for that. What a huge relief!

DURATION: Given that all documentation was made on the 20th of May and decision made on the 18th of June, the processing time was only 19 working days (given that there were 2 bank holidays within this period). How lucky are we? Good luck to everyone whose application is in there or who is planning to apply. Do get in touch if you require further details and clarifications.

[ugochinyere1]

Am so happy for you..pls need more information from you,did you receive email from them when they received your supporting document and what they asked you when you went for the interview..did you go to Sheffield for the interview?

[dunca]

Thanks for stating your timeline.

Can I please ask if you submitted the supporting documents from UK .

If you can please state what documents your wife submitted in Nigeria and the supporting documents you submitted. That will be so great.
Thanks

[dunca]

Just to thank everyone one on here, your posts ultimately helped me to make a successful application for my wife. I thought I should give my timeline in case that helps anyone too. I am more than happy to help with any questions if I can especially regarding documentation and arrangement of the documents. Once again, thank you everyone.
Timeline is as follows:
2nd May, 2015 - Online Application Submitted & appointment made.
15th May, 2015 - Wife attended appointment (interview) and had her biometrics taken.
15th May, 2015 - Wife received email from Teleperformance stating the receipt and forwarding application to UKVI
19th May, 2015 - All documents sent to Sheffield
20th May, 2015 - Sheffield received all the documents
20th May, 2015 - Wife received email from Sheffield stating that online application has been received and being prepared for consideration.
25th May, 2015 - Wife received email requesting her TB certificate. This was sent out the same day.
27th May, 2015 - Sheffield received TB certificate.
11th June, 2015 - I received a call to attend an interview in London on the 18th of June.
18th June - I attended interview.
18th June - Wife received an email from Sheffield stating that a decision has been made and documents dispatched.
19th June - I received all the supporting documents from Sheffield (everything was returned including all the photocopies and the letters addressed to them.
24th June - Wife received email from Teleperformance that passport was ready collection (we chose return by courier though)
24th June - Wife received a second email from Teleperformance that passport has been dispatched to her address.
26th June - Wife received passport from Courier - SHE GOT HER VISA!!!! Thank God for that. What a huge relief!

DURATION: Given that all documentation was made on the 20th of May and decision made on the 18th of June, the processing time was only 19 working days (given that there were 2 bank holidays within this period). How lucky are we? Good luck to everyone whose application is in there or who is planning to apply. Do get in touch if you require further details and clarifications.

@sucess_2015 can you please help me with my question posted above . Many thanks