UK Visit visa

[gwyd1982]

2 questions:

 

1. can someone tell me waiting times to get a decision on UK visit visa at the moment? (im aware the website says "Standard visitor visa applications are currently taking on average 6 weeks to process. We are working hard to process applications to get back to the 3-week service standard.") i would like to know first hand rather than a generic answer from the website please! 

 

2. i am not getting a preview of documents when uploading to VFS global. did anyone have a problem with their files not being uploaded properly? we are going to try and fly in and out of bangkok in the same day, so if we have to pay for the document upload service, i can book a later flight! (2 years ago i think we were in and out of trendy in 30 minutes or so, is this still the case?) 

 

Thanks for any advice

Edited March 30, 2022 by gwyd1982
spelling

[mnomad]

Preview is broken.

 

Told six weeks in person yesterday. - well technically not in person as they dont let the falang in on the 28th floor at the moment, although there are adult day care center near the ground floor to wait for 30-60min it all takes

Edited April 1, 2022 by mnomad

[sandyf]

19 minutes ago, mnomad said:

Preview is broken.

 

Told six weeks in person yesterday. - well technically not in person as they dont let the falang in on the 28th floor at the moment, although there are adult day care center near the ground floor to wait for 30-60min it all takes

We went on 11th March, took about 2 pints of Tiger.

My wife was told 6 - 8 weeks but got the email yesterday and passport back today.

[Pmbkk]

7 hours ago, sandyf said:

We went on 11th March, took about 2 pints of Tiger.

My wife was told 6 - 8 weeks but got the email yesterday and passport back today.

 

That sports bar a few shops away is handy and has English papers !

Pool in the back, but didn't use it. Just sat and had a couple of beers and read the papers ( you're not allowed to go in with your other half )

[mnomad]

Yep 90baht a pint of Tiger if I remember right, can't beat it ????, that's great news about the three week turnaround..

[gwyd1982]

thats great news! So around 3 weeks... how fast do you drink? i hope fast... appointment at 14:45 and domestic flight from Suvarnabhumi at 17:05... i know its pushing it, but not end of the world if dont make it. Did you upload documents beforehand? cheers

[sandyf]

5 minutes ago, gwyd1982 said:

thats great news! So around 3 weeks... how fast do you drink? i hope fast... appointment at 14:45 and domestic flight from Suvarnabhumi at 17:05... i know its pushing it, but not end of the world if dont make it. Did you upload documents beforehand? cheers

Think she was about 45 minutes, quicker than normal as it is not very busy at the moment. There is no desk in reception any more, just go straight up.  They will not let you in more than 10 minutes early and my wife said she was called through at the exact appointment time.

Yes I had uploaded the documents before making the appointment.

To be quite honest, you haven't a hope in hell of catching that flight unless you pay to get an earlier appointment. 

[sandyf]

9 hours ago, Pmbkk said:

 

That sports bar a few shops away is handy and has English papers !

Pool in the back, but didn't use it. Just sat and had a couple of beers and read the papers ( you're not allowed to go in with your other half )

It has changed a bit, the one in the corner of reception called Breakers has closed. The other one a few doors away which I think was also Breakers, but not sure on that, has been converted and now called the Red Lion, obviously an English theme pub. The Tiger was 89 baht and that was list price, surprised me a bit.

I have done quite a few visas through VFS, 10 x UK, 4 x Shengen and 1 Canadian. It is only UK that do not allow the partner to go in.

[Captain Jack]

Our application just took 52 days to process and 2 days to "courier" back by Thai Post (a service that costs them less than 150B but they charged us 600 for. Hero's!). When submitting I was allowed in with my wife, but not into the actual processing room. We were there at 10am, anyone desperate for a beer at that time needs help.

 

Here's the fun part. They've returned her passport empty with nothing except a literal carbon copy of the submission receipt that we were were already given 54 days ago. Anyone have experience of this? I expect a denied application to at least have some sort of explanation, even if it's just confirmation that the application was denied. Instead we've just got a vague auto-generated SMS saying the "processed application" has been retuned to them and they're giving the passport to the courier. 52 days of silence then this. Talk about <deleted> service!

[Tony M]

On 4/2/2022 at 12:00 PM, Captain Jack said:

Our application just took 52 days to process and 2 days to "courier" back by Thai Post (a service that costs them less than 150B but they charged us 600 for. Hero's!). When submitting I was allowed in with my wife, but not into the actual processing room. We were there at 10am, anyone desperate for a beer at that time needs help.

 

Here's the fun part. They've returned her passport empty with nothing except a literal carbon copy of the submission receipt that we were were already given 54 days ago. Anyone have experience of this? I expect a denied application to at least have some sort of explanation, even if it's just confirmation that the application was denied. Instead we've just got a vague auto-generated SMS saying the "processed application" has been retuned to them and they're giving the passport to the courier. 52 days of silence then this. Talk about <deleted> service!

If there is no visa in the passport, then it's possible that the application was refused.  Refusal of an application is notified by email, to the address given for the applicant in the online visa application form.  Have you checked your/the applicant's emails ? If the applicant has'nt received an email,  let us know, and I'll explain how to make a enquiry/complaint. 

[gwyd1982]

On 4/2/2022 at 9:33 AM, sandyf said:

Think she was about 45 minutes, quicker than normal as it is not very busy at the moment. There is no desk in reception any more, just go straight up.  They will not let you in more than 10 minutes early and my wife said she was called through at the exact appointment time.

Yes I had uploaded the documents before making the appointment.

To be quite honest, you haven't a hope in hell of catching that flight unless you pay to get an earlier appointment. 

So we made the flight! 14:45 appointment, 15:15 out the door and into a Grab taxi. At the airport at 16:10. Now waiting at the gate... I would of had time for a beer! Haha. Just hope the visa is processed in under 7 weeks otherwise I will have to change the expensive flight to the UK! Thanks for the tips. 

[sandyf]

13 minutes ago, gwyd1982 said:

So we made the flight! 14:45 appointment, 15:15 out the door and into a Grab taxi. At the airport at 16:10. Now waiting at the gate... I would of had time for a beer! Haha. Just hope the visa is processed in under 7 weeks otherwise I will have to change the expensive flight to the UK! Thanks for the tips. 

Glad to hear, would have never thought possible. Out in 30 minutes is really good going.

I have done it 10 times, first 2 were at Regents House, a real pain, nowhere to have a drink.

Got through a few beers in Breakers at times waiting for her to come out.

After all that,  just hope your flight is on time.

[Captain Jack]

On 4/4/2022 at 6:57 AM, Tony M said:

If there is no visa in the passport, then it's possible that the application was refused.  Refusal of an application is notified by email, to the address given for the applicant in the online visa application form.  Have you checked your/the applicant's emails ? If the applicant has'nt received an email,  let us know, and I'll explain how to make a enquiry/complaint. 

Thanks. Definitely no e-mail though. That's the main thing I've been checking (the SMS "service" we paid extra for is just CC of the emails anyway). I've submitted inquiries both to VFS and UKVI. I actually received a confirmation from UKVI (who charged me for my inquiry!) saying it will take them up to ANOTHER 15 days to check into it and got the usual silence from VFS.

 

Is their service usually this poor? The 'Trendy' office in in Bangkok is an absolute shambles and to have to wait nearly 2 months for a visitor visa application only for it to vaporize and be told to wait another 15 days is quite possibly the worst customer service experience I've ever had. I mean we literally heard nothing from them for 52 days then they returned a blank passport in an empty envelope.

[MRtommyR]

I've been waiting 7 weeks for my wife's so far with no answer. Some friends who submitted their biometrics on the same day as us heard back in 3. Our flight to a big family reunion (4 years since the last one) leaves in 2 weeks...

 

I emailed UKVI at a cost of £2.74 to ask what was happening and they replied that they can't give an update and I should not have booked travel until the visa was approved.

[smi11ie]

My wife completed her biometrics on March 3rd.  It was her first application for a visit visa.  I still have not heard anything, nothing at all.  We had planned to visit my parents in Scotland but I gave up on that idea several weeks ago, instead my parents arrive in Thailand next week.

 

I didn't pay the £2.** for an update because I heard they are pointless.  My wife is a teacher and she gets another holiday in October so, if she gets the visa, we will visit Scotland at that time.

 

I feel pretty dissapointed with the home office, but at the same time I think the Ukranian people deserve priority.

 

We have waited 8 weeks already and I fully expect to wait another month or so.