How long will it take to receive a decision on my visa application? Can I upgrade to the priority service?

Visa application processing times vary depending on a number of factors, such as the type of visa applied for, the country of submission and whether there are any priority services available to purchase.

Standard processing times

Generally speaking, if you are applying for a visa from within the UK, the standard processing time is up to 8 weeks.

If applying from outside the UK, many visas have a standard processing time of up to 3 weeks, such as work and visit visa applications. However, some visa types have a standard processing time of up to 24 weeks, for example, applications under the family route.

Priority service

Depending on the type of visa you are applying for and the country of submission, you may be able to purchase one of the Home Office’s priority services to speed up the processing of your application.

However, it is important to note that the Home Office can suspend the availability of priority services, often with little or no warning.

Subject to availability, the options are: the super priority service, which aims to deliver a decision in 1-2 working days or the priority service, which aims to deliver a decision in 5 working days.

The Home Office does not guarantee that your application will be processed within the published processing times, and therefore you should assume all processing times are subject to delays. Additionally, if your application is particularly complex, even if you purchase one of the priority services, your application may not be processed within the priority timeframes.

Availability of priority services

The Home Office previously suspended priority services for all applications submitted from outside of the UK to divert their resources to assist with the crisis in Ukraine. Slowly, the Home Office re-introduced priority servicing for specific visa categories; however, the availability of these services for entry clearance applications remains varied, and at times the availability of such services can only be confirmed at the time of submission of the application.

If you are able to purchase the priority service, you will usually be given this option at the time of submission of your application or when you are booking your biometrics. Usually, once your application has already started being processed by the Home Office, you are unable to purchase any priority service and “upgrade” the processing of your application. Having said that, the Home Office recently diverted from this position as they allowed applicants to purchase the priority service at a later date, if their applications were submitted at the time of the abovementioned suspensions.

Indefinite Leave to Remain

Applications for Indefinite Leave to Remain (“ILR”) have a standard processing time of up to 6 months. Many applications for ILR benefit from the priority service options; however, this is dependent upon the immigration route that the application is being submitted under. For example Skilled Workers applying for ILR are able to use the priority services, while it is not currently available for those applying for ILR under the Tier 1 (Entrepreneur) route.

British citizenship

Applications for British citizenship also have a standard processing time of up to 6 months; however, such applications do not benefit from any priority service options.

Applications under the EU Settlement Scheme

The Home Office has not published a standard timeframe for applications made under the EU Settlement Scheme. The Home Office aim to process applications as soon as possible; however, some applications are currently taking a considerable length of time to be processed, and therefore there are no priority services available for such applications. 

Travel with a pending application

It is therefore very important to consider the processing time of your visa application before making any concrete travel plans, as processing times can vary. This is particularly important for applications submitted from within the UK.

For some in-country applications, if you leave the UK whilst your application is pending, the Home Office will treat your application as having been withdrawn. This does not apply to all applications submitted from within the UK, for example, applications submitted for British citizenship and also some applications submitted under the EU Settlement Scheme. However, with applications submitted under the EU Settlement Scheme, whether you can travel whilst your application is being processed will depend on a number of factors, including the type of application made, the nationality of the applicant, etc. 

How Gherson can assist

Gherson’s Immigration Team are highly experienced in advising on UK visa matters. If you have any questions arising from this blog, please do not hesitate to contact us for advice, send us an e-mail, or, alternatively, follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, or LinkedIn to stay-up-to-date.

The information in this blog is for general information purposes only and does not purport to be comprehensive or to provide legal advice. Whilst every effort is made to ensure the information and law is current as of the date of publication it should be stressed that, due to the passage of time, this does not necessarily reflect the present legal position. Gherson accepts no responsibility for loss which may arise from accessing or reliance on information contained in this blog. For formal advice on the current law please do not hesitate to contact Gherson. Legal advice is only provided pursuant to a written agreement, identified as such, and signed by the client and by or on behalf of Gherson.

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