I am about to do my wife and step daughter's FLR application in mid February and we were hoping to go back to Thailand at the end of July on holiday.  Does anyone have any recent experience of the processing times at Sheffield for FLR?  Also do they keep all the original documents like passports, birth certificates until the final decision or do they send those back earlier?

My wife submitted her application on the 5th Oct, Approval received on the 23rd Dec. along with her passport.

Be aware that the time frame can change throughout the year, depending on the number of applications received.

 

 

 

From my wife's experience it was about seven weeks and reading on here and elsewhere it seems to be about the same.

You can pay extra and have it the same day, though you will have to go to one of the premium service centres that are dotted about the country.

Just a follow on to my original post.  I decided in the end to pay for the same day service at the Premium Centre in Solihull.  The price is quite extortionate but it does get the job done on the day and they organise the biometrics while you are there.  You do have to book your appointment well ahead, however.  I left it a bit late and got an appointment only 8 days before the visas ran out.  The staff at Solihull were quite friendly which helps given the whole process is quite stressful.  After you hand in your application and do the biometrics you are free to go out and they call you when it is sorted. You go back in and your documents are brought out almost immediately.  It is really just a question of is it worth the money to have less worry and for me it was but not for everyone.