Help Required - Dependent Visa Weird Situation

[blitzkrieg333]

Dear Mods,

I need urgent help with a weird situation I am in. I applied for the dependent visa extension of my daughter last week. Her current leave is valid until Oct 2024. However, to beat the IHS price hike, I thought it made sense to apply for her extension now and use the priority service to get a faster decision.

I filled the application and paid the IHS fee. But when I got to the payment page, I wasn't given the option to select the priority service. I am aware such slots appear at random between 12-1 am but I have tried my luck for past few days without any success. I am equally aware that priority service is not guaranteed and the experience can vary from applicant to applicant .

My daughter has to travel out of UK in March for a sports competition. My questions are:

1. Have I made a mistake by completing the application declaration and paying the IHS fee? I read somewhere that for the priority slots to show up, the declaration and subsequent IHS payment has to be done around midnight. I completed declaration and paid IHS fee sometime during the day but deliberately didn't pay the application fee thinking the slots would magically appear around midnight, because I wasn't aware of the declaration and IHS fee payment bit. If that's the case, I can cancel the current application and submit a fresh application at midnight and get the priority slot I need. I am sure the IHS fee I paid previously would be refunded if I make a new application.

2. I am conscious that once the application is submitted and if the applicant travels outside the CTA, their application is considered withdrawn. Therefore, I would like to know whether her application is considered submitted at this stage where I have only paid the IHS fee and not the application fee?

3. If all goes well and she progresses to the semi-finals/finals of the sporting completion she is participating in, she will only be back in the UK mid-April. Therefore, I would like to know how much time I have between the IHS payment and the application fee payment before the application is cancelled.

4. Worst case if I pay for her application fee in mid-April (if that's allowed) and carry on with the application once she is back, can the Home Office ask me to cough up the IHS fee according to the new rate i.e. £1035? I have already paid the IHS fee at the current rate i.e. £624 and obtained an IHS Reference No.

Looking forward to your guidance and help.
Thanks.