Speed of obtaining a visa during covid

[Simon555]

My wife is pregnant and we need to move to the UK for my work. I'm British, she is Thai. In the past 6 years we've used tourist visas but now we now need to get a 'real visa'. We're thinking of a family visa and she has had the TB sputum test negative result. The gov.uk website says it will take 12 weeks to arrange. Does this timescale still apply, or is the workload currently very low and it might be quicker than this? Does the priority service at VFS really reduce this timescale? We're keen to get back to the UK asap.

 

Many thanks for your replies.

 

[Simon555]

Update: After more investigation it appears this type of visa is processed in India, which is likely to negatively affect the timescale. Would a settlement visa be a better proposition? 

 

I feel like there are two minefields to navigate at the minute. Visa + Covid. 

[theoldgit]

19 hours ago, Simon555 said:

Update: After more investigation it appears this type of visa is processed in India, which is likely to negatively affect the timescale. Would a settlement visa be a better proposition? 

 

I'm pretty sure these are processed in the UK, where did you hear otherwise?

[Simon555]

VFS Bangkok have told us this in the past. We also spoke with an independent visa agent yesterday who reiterated that a family visa would be processed in India and therefore didn't want to take the job on.

 

Am I correct in thinking you need a family visa before any settlement visa?

 

[Tony M]

A couple of things :

 

What do you mean by a "family" visa ?   To simplify, there are basically two kinds of visa.  Visit visas and settlement visas.  A "family" visa could be either.   I think you are talking about moving permanently to the UK ? So that would be called a settlement visa application. 

 

Settlement visas have been issued in the UK for some time now.  Visit visas (for Thai nationals) have been issued in Delhi, India. But, because of Covid, the reduction in visit visa applications and the spare capacity at many visa issuing posts (including Delhi), some settlement visa processing has been "farmed out" to visa issuing posts around the world.  So, your wife's settlement visa could, at the moment, be issued anywhere.

 

Where the visa is processed (in the UK or elsewhere) should not affect the time it will take to process the application, although I guess that it might depend on "local" situations (staffing levels, etc).

 

When you say that you spoke to an independent  visa agent, what does "independent" mean ?  Surely all visa agents are "independent" ? In this case, I would say that the information they gave you is wrong, and I wonder where they get their "information" from ?

[Simon555]

Here is the result on the gov.uk website, saying I need a family visa for my wife to live with me in the UK. For a settlement visa you need to have been living in the UK for "5 years if you're on the 5 year route"

Edited May 31, 2021 by Simon555

[Tony M]

55 minutes ago, Simon555 said:

Here is the result on the gov.uk website, saying I need a family visa for my wife to live with me in the UK. For a settlement visa you need to have been living in the UK for "5 years if you're on the 5 year route"

 

Okay.  You are right. The  UKVI refer to "settlement" as applications made within the UK for either Further Leave to Remain as a family member or Indefinite Leave to Remain. The majority of normal people refer to the initial visa as a settlement visa as, until a few years ago, you could apply for a family visit visa (which attracted rights of appeal if refused, etc, etc). If you want to call it a family visa, then that is fine, but the rest of us will likely continue to call it a settlement visa.   You do say " For a settlement visa you need to have been living in the UK for "5 years if you're on the 5 year route", but strictly speaking, you cannot apply for a visa while in the UK.   All of that said, my earlier comments still apply.

[Simon555]

Thanks for your courteous reply.

 

All I want to do is move with my wife from Bangkok to the UK.

 

As far as I know, I fill in the large form on gov.uk whilst in Thailand for this 'family' visa, pay my 1500 pounds (plus all the extras) and we get 30 months in the uk. During which time we can extend this visa up to a total of 5 years. After that she can apply for settlement/residency.

 

If any of this information is incorrect, please let me know. Obviously any errors I make now will mean my wife gives birth in Thailand and then I will have 2 dependents to arrange all this for. Frustrating, she has already spent a lot of time in the UK already and has a NI number, NHS number and Masters from a UK university.

[Tony M]

39 minutes ago, Simon555 said:

Thanks for your courteous reply.

 

All I want to do is move with my wife from Bangkok to the UK.

 

As far as I know, I fill in the large form on gov.uk whilst in Thailand for this 'family' visa, pay my 1500 pounds (plus all the extras) and we get 30 months in the uk. During which time we can extend this visa up to a total of 5 years. After that she can apply for settlement/residency.

 

If any of this information is incorrect, please let me know. Obviously any errors I make now will mean my wife gives birth in Thailand and then I will have 2 dependents to arrange all this for. Frustrating, she has already spent a lot of time in the UK already and has a NI number, NHS number and Masters from a UK university.

 

Basically, you are correct. But, you have to meet certain financial and accommodation requirements, and your wife needs to pass a TB test and (possibly) an English test, depending on whether her Masters was taught in English (which it probably was, negating the test requirement).

 

Your wife will indeed need to complete the online application form. You can, of course, help her. She will then need to book an appointment to give biometrics, normally in Bangkok.  In addition to the 1,500 visa fee you will need to pay the Immigration Health Surcharge fee when you submit the application online. That's around 1,800 GBP.

 

Don't forget that the child, if born in Thailand, will possibly/probably be entitled to a British passport, so the visa fees, etc would not apply to that child. 

Edited May 31, 2021 by Tony M

[Simon555]

Again, thank you. This process feels a little easier now. 

 

TB (sputum) test results obtained. Financial requirements met. I have an apartment in the UK. Degree was in English. I will check out the biometrics.

 

Although there is a "possibly/probably" entitlement the last few years have taught me to never assume anything when it comes to this kind of paperwork. People are salaried to find the tiniest fault and things that applied the last time just don't work this time, or are open to interpretation. e.g. "but this bank statement is from.... yesterday!"