Uk Settlement Visa Application Waiting Times, Bangkok

[Jejwinner]

As if it isn't annoying enough having to wait all of this time just for someone to look at an application just to top it off they start giving other people there's even though you submitted before them.

No offence to you johnnyreece congratulations hope everything goes well for you and your family.

Thanks Hardgrafter187

Another guy on a different forum that submitted on the 18th may had the visa granted on Friday. So I'm sure yours and thomp will be tomorrow. I hope so because I'm hoping for the end of the week or next Monday.

Jejwinner

[ralphsilver]

Congratulations Jonny all the best.

[landerson72]

Hi,we applied for a settlement visa on 28th May 2012, still waiting to hear something, anything would be nice. Who designed this system? It is a farce. We were married in 2007 so I thought that getting a new visa would be simple, what a fool, I should have known that dealing with the British Embassy would be a nightmare. It is unbelievable that it can take up to 12 weeks for a visa to be issued. It is completely ridiculous that it should take that long. I shall be writing to my MP to complain about this useless and frustrating system.

[Jejwinner]

Hi,we applied for a settlement visa on 28th May 2012, still waiting to hear something, anything would be nice. Who designed this system? It is a farce. We were married in 2007 so I thought that getting a new visa would be simple, what a fool, I should have known that dealing with the British Embassy would be a nightmare. It is unbelievable that it can take up to 12 weeks for a visa to be issued. It is completely ridiculous that it should take that long. I shall be writing to my MP to complain about this useless and frustrating system.

Hello Landerson72, can you please let the forum know of any news as I'm right behind you on the 29th may. Good luck

J

[ralphsilver]

Hi,we applied for a settlement visa on 28th May 2012, still waiting to hear something, anything would be nice. Who designed this system? It is a farce. We were married in 2007 so I thought that getting a new visa would be simple, what a fool, I should have known that dealing with the British Embassy would be a nightmare. It is unbelievable that it can take up to 12 weeks for a visa to be issued. It is completely ridiculous that it should take that long. I shall be writing to my MP to complain about this useless and frustrating system.

Agree about the long waiting times, when my wife applied for her first visa to the UK back in 2005 she waited outside the British Embassy in Lumpini along with a large line of other people at 06.00 by the close of business the same day she had her visa stamp in her passport. One day not bad. Beats me how it can take up to three months now.

[Amoudi]

Hi every body,

I have applied for ILR on 11th of Jun 2012 in hanoi Vietnam ambassy and they said my docs has been transferred to Bangkok. Im looking forward to hearing from them, they havent contacted me for any extra docs. I really hate waiting, any one here applied he same date as me? Any good news yet? This fri will be 40 working days since the date I applied:-(

Edited July 31, 2012 by Amoudi

[Amoudi]

Hi,we applied for a settlement visa on 28th May 2012, still waiting to hear something, anything would be nice. Who designed this system? It is a farce. We were married in 2007 so I thought that getting a new visa would be simple, what a fool, I should have known that dealing with the British Embassy would be a nightmare. It is unbelievable that it can take up to 12 weeks for a visa to be issued. It is completely ridiculous that it should take that long. I shall be writing to my MP to complain about this useless and frustrating system.

Hello Landerson72, can you please let the forum know of any news as I'm right behind you on the 29th may. Good luck

J

Hi,we applied for a settlement visa on 28th May 2012, still waiting to hear something, anything would be nice. Who designed this system? It is a farce. We were married in 2007 so I thought that getting a new visa would be simple, what a fool, I should have known that dealing with the British Embassy would be a nightmare. It is unbelievable that it can take up to 12 weeks for a visa to be issued. It is completely ridiculous that it should take that long. I shall be writing to my MP to complain about this useless and frustrating system.

Hi there,

Of course when ur wife applied for her first visa it took one day, the same for me here in VN in 2006, and i have been married since 2008 and I have applied for ILR on 11th of Jun and still have no idea when I get my visa. So the only thing we can do now is wait. Good luck to ur wife and update if u have any good news.

Cheers

[thomp256]

Hi guys,

We applied on the 18th May and my wife finally got the email this morning to say that a decision had been made on her application.

She will be collecting the documents & passport in 2 working days.

Thanks,

thomp256

[7by7]

............when my wife applied for her first visa to the UK back in 2005 she waited outside the British Embassy in Lumpini along with a large line of other people at 06.00 by the close of business the same day she had her visa stamp in her passport. One day not bad. Beats me how it can take up to three months now.

I bet it wasn't a settlement visa; although as said early in this topic, one member here at least did get a same day decision on a settlement application. Apply at a quiet time, and that can still happen.

Long waiting times are nothing new. My wife applied for her settlement visa in 2000 and most (all?) settlement applicant's were interviewed in those days. Because of this, even though she applied at a quiet time, September, she had to wait two months for an interview. She got the decision on the day of the interview.

As repeatedly said, the biggest factor in an individual's waiting time is how many applications are in front of yours. Write to your MP by all means, but that wont change this simple fact.

[ralphsilver]

Whatever the reason, or who is right about the waiting times the system is wrong, my view is they have cut down on ECO's you would think that at nearly a grand for a settlement visa they would be looking at changing the existing system. It is a good job they are working for the government otherwise their employers would be bangkrupt.

[7by7]

Your wife has lived in the UK for over 5 years before applying for her children to join her. From what you said here you could easily have afforded to have them apply at the same time as their mother, or shortly after.

Indeed, you first asked about obtaining their visas in December last year, yet waited another 7 months before applying. Had you applied last December or January then, as the table shows, they would have had their decision in 4 weeks at most and, if successful be in the UK with you now.

You were prepared to delay seeking their entry to the UK for over 5 years and even then delay the application for a further 7 months which meant you applied at a busy time.

Now you complain because the workload of the ECOs at this time means you have to wait for a decision!

Your decision to wait nearly 6 years; be patient and wait a bit longer.

[ralphsilver]

7by7. I was giving my opinion, and reply to the member Landerson 72. We had good reasons for not applying previously which I will not go into here. Unfortunatly the children's carer passed away in May, and my wife returned immediately to look after the children.

Hence the recent settlement applications.

I am being patient, making a comment about the disgraceful situation of the processing time is in my opinion not as you say.

My wife has had three telephone calls from one of the underlings at the Embassy asking ludicrous questions such as are the children related, and other stupid questions, at no time has the six year separation being mentioned. It is obvious this person has not read the supporting documents. If they had read the file many of the questions would not need to be asked.

We have prepared ourselves for a wait of at least eight, to twelve weeks, and have done so from the submission.

[7by7]

Really? As it followed on from a post of mine where i gave a reason for long waiting times and began with the phrase "Whatever the reason" I thought you were replying to me.

I am sorry that your wife's aunt has passed away, my condolences to your wife.

As you say, the reasons for you waiting 6 years until she died before applying to have the children join you are your own, and this is not the topic for discussion of them. Other than to say my opinion is probably prejudiced by the fact that I cannot understand a woman who would willingly be separated from her children for that long a period unless there were economic factors which meant it was unavoidable. Neither can I understand a man who would make the woman he supposedly loved do such a thing.

But then my wife made it clear from the moment we became serious that she came as a a package; her and her children and I wouldn't have had it any other way.

As explained to you by ThaiVisaExpress in your topic on this last December, the embassy will contact their carer and will ask questions; some of those questions designed to check the information provided in the paper application.

Your attitude in both that topic and this show that you are a man who is used to underlings bowing to his whim rather than checking up on him. Unfortunately for you, that is not the case with a visa application.

Having said that, I do hope that you have prepared a proper application and that they are successful.

[landerson72]

Thanks for the support guys, we will let you know as soon as we hear anything from the Embassy.

Supply v demand - If they put in more resources during the peak periods it would help to reduce the processing times.

Our story - We didn't have enough time to comply with the new English language requirement before my wife's visa expired so we were sympathically advised by the UK Border agency that my wife would have to return to Thailand and apply for a new visa there. We didn't appreciate that getting through the English exam and obtaining a new visa would be so difficult. If only we had listened to the advice that we received from an immigration lawyer in the UK, he proposed letting the visa expire and re-applying from within the UK. He said, what can they do? you've been married 4 years, they can't separate you. But we decided to do things by the book and now we are paying the cost.

The things I hate the most about this appaulling system is the uncertainty and total lack of information. How do you make plans, book flights etc when faced with a system like this?

I was wondering if 12 weeks is fairly typical for settlement visas? How does the British waiting times compare with the other embassies based in BKK? Surely they must have better systems in place or do they also treat their citizens with utter contempt?

Apologies if I sound bitter to you but this has been a very long road and I am at the end of my tether with all this nonsense.

[7by7]

I don't understand; your wife didn't have time to satisfy the 'new' English language requirement before your wife's visa expired?

The Knowledge of Life and Language in the UK requirement for Indefinite Leave to Remain has been in force for several years!

You married in 2007 so presumably her visa was a 27 month spouse visa? So she would have had 27 months to satisfy KOL.

That would have expired in 2009, so she could have made an application for Further Leave to Remain which would have given her a further 24 months in which to satisfy KOL.

That would have expired in 2011, and if she still hadn't satisfied KOL then yes, she would have needed to satisfy the very basic English speaking and listening requirement for FLR that time; as she has had to do for her new settlement application.

Even if she didn't come to the UK until 27 months ago, she's still had 27 months to satisfy KOL; one has to wonder why she didn't.

All the official guidance says allow 12 weeks for a settlement application; don't people read it? More evidence that we live in an "I want it now and am not prepared to wait!" age.

You can't make firm plans or book flights until you have the visa, agreed; the advice is not to book flights until you have the visa anyway. That is why the visa is valid for 3 months more than is required; to give you the time to do these things

If you do want to attack someone, don't attack the hapless ECOs who are at the sharp end. Attack the people who make the rules the ECOs have to apply, the people who cut budgets and staff, the people who set the extortionate fees we have to pay; the politicians!

You ask about other countries. Have a read of some topics from our Australian and American members; you will see that they would be overjoyed if they got their partner's settement visa after just 12 weeks!

[ralphsilver]

Landerson. It is clear to me that these officials, and underlings at the Embassy have little, or no compassion, for any applicants personnel suffering, or circumstances. Like most public servants in the UK they tick the boxes and are void of any emotion.

Box 1 Is it raining Yes / No

Box 2 Is it Wednesday Yes / No

Box3 Do you care what happens to the applicants family Yes / No

It would be interesting to actually see where our payments go. The system is not working, get more staff.

[hardgrafter187]

Hello I applied for my wife's visa on the 18th of may and Have still not heard any news back yet. Other people who submitted on the same day as me seem to have received there emails confirming collection what I was wondering is if anybody on here would know if the process would be slower because I am a resident of the isle of man and if so would anybody have a rough idea of how much longer it would take.

Thanks

Hardgrafter187

[7by7]

Yes, it will be slower as the ECOs at the Bangkok embassy cannot make the decision but have to refer the application to Douglas. From Immigration, Passports and Nationality[

Entry Clearance

All applications for Visa/Entry Clearance to the Isle of Man should be made at the nearest British post (Embassy, High Commission or Consulate) to the applicant’s place of residence. Most applications can be made online and the relevant UK Visa Application Form should be completed. The British post will then forward the application to the Isle of Man Immigration Office for consideration and decision.

From the list:

manxlad: submitted 5/1, result received 16/2, visa issued. Longer processing time as had to be referred to the Isle of Man

which was about 2 weeks longer than the averrage for applications submitted in January.

[7by7]

It would be interesting to actually see where our payments go. The system is not working, get more staff.

The money goes to fund the whole of the UKBA, immigration officers at ports of entry, enforcement teams chasing illegals etc., as well as entry clearance staff at embassies and staff processing LTR applications in the UK.

Any surplus goes into the exchequer.

Who's to blame for this? Blair and Brown, it was their idea and they introduced the outrageously high fees for in UK applications and regular above inflation increases for all fees. You can also blame Cameron and Clegg for continuing with this policy.

ECOs have to follow the rules laid down by Parliament. They used to have a lot more discretion than they do now; but successive governments have gradually removed that discretion, the latest changes leaving them with virtually none. Is that their fault? No, the fault lies with the elected politicians, of all parties.

But it is not Blair and Brown, Cameron and Clegg or the people you sneeringly refer to as 'underlings' who are to blame for the 6 year separation of your wife and her children; it's you.

[vanbobble]

Settlement visa applied for on 24th May... email received today confirming decision ready to collect in 2 days.

[ralphsilver]

Love this.

UKBA

Waiting times

Settling in the UK

This page contains our service standards covering applications for settlement made inside the UK. The service standards explain how quickly we aim to decide these applications.

The service standards

We will:

• decide 95% of postal applications within six months; and
  
• decide 90% of applications made in person at a public enquiry office within 24 hours.
  
• Looks like they can decide fast if the money is right. Maybe UKBA in Thailand could copy this.
  

Edited August 1, 2012 by ralphsilver

[MaprangHolmes]

Settlement visa applied for on 29th May... email received today confirming decision ready to collect in 2 days

[Kiggs]

Congrats, wish you all the best for the future.

I'm only 2weeks into the 2mth grind,its killing me already. Let's hope I get the result I'm after.

[7by7]

Looks like they can decide fast if the money is right. Maybe UKBA in Thailand could copy this.

The premium same day service was available when FLR and ILR applications were free; so it's not about the money.

My belief is that in person applications are so much more expensive than postal ones in order to dissuaded people from doing it in person unless absolutely necessary.

As to whether embassies, not just in Thailand as the visa application procedure is the same worldwide, could implement a similar system; well it's not their or the UKBA's decision, it's the governments.

[Jejwinner]

Settlement visa applied for on 29th May... email received today confirming decision ready to collect in 2 days

Snap.......... 29th may but I'm still waiting. The wait is killing me. Good luck let us all know soon as you get the result.

J

[landerson72]

We were aware of the Life in the UK test but neither I nor my wife couldn't pass it. I heard some politicians talking about it and even they admitted failing it. So tell me if our Political elite can't pass it how on earth is a foreign person supposed to? I hear the whole test is to be reformed because in the words of the politicians it was badly drafted and has very little relevance to modern day life in the UK. Eg. How does telling someone when women got the vote help them integrate into British society?

Anyway we thought that this test only applied for British citizenship or ILR applications, we wanted a further 2 year visa extension. It was only when applying for the visa that we were informed about the English language requirement. The UKBA had our details so why weren't we informed about it? Why not send out a letter to all visa holders informing them about the test? No that would be too easy.

The trouble with large governments is that they implement policy changes without thinking of the repercussions that it will have on peoples lives. They show more courtesy to foreign criminals than they do to their law abiding, tax paying citizens.

If you needed any proof of that, Hot of the press, Home office admits that 250 foreign criminals were released in the UK without court hearings and allowed to stay when they should have been deported. We were shown no mercy, given no leeway, my wife was effectively deported over this English language requirement, and we've heard of other similar stories. Don't let this happen to you guys.

[haltes]

Applied on 31 May and informed on 1 August that passport is ready to pick up in 2 days time.

[7by7]

Landerson72,

Your wife had 47 months in which to satisfy the KOL requirement for ILR before she would have needed the very basic English test for FLR as this wasn't introduced until last year.

But after her initial 27 months in the UK and a further 2 year extension you still hadn't bothered to enroll her on an ESOL with citizenship course or help her study for the LitUK test!

One has to wonder why.

The A1 requirement for FLR is very basic, as you must know as she had to pass it for her current application. It's introduction was publicised by the UKBA by means of press releases etc; forums such as this were aware of it's introduction through such means.

But if the papers, TV and other media don't think it's worth printing or broadcasting that is hardly the government or UKBA's fault.

[MaprangHolmes]

it seems there is no real set way your settlement visa applications are processed it just seems to be pot luck as to time when you get your email. one thing that does seem a bit strange is why they sex the applications into male and female surely sex does not matter the process should start on deciding the merits not deciding what sex you are but then hey call me old fashioned,

who do you blame for the long processing time the government? then yes you could be right

The staff at the embassy in Bangkok? Umm think you could be onto a winner

But whatever the reason it takes so long one thing is for sure the visa costs too much,,the processing times are too long,,,what do you do about well that is not your job to fix the problems that comes under the UK government for which they are happy to just collect the money.

Edited August 2, 2012 by MaprangHolmes

[7by7]

I understand peoples frustration at having to wait; I have been there. Indeed in those days most applicants, in all categories, were interviewed; which meant waiting times throughout the year were longer. These days the vast majority of applications are processed without an interview, so that has brought waiting times down.

But as I have repeatedly pointed out the only reason for long waiting times is the number of applications they have to deal with. Apply when it's quiet, application processed quickly. Apply when it's busy, it's going to take longer.

I simply cannot understand why people cannot grasp this obvious fact.

Whose fault is this?

The ECOs? They can only process so many applications in a day. How would you feel if your application was refused because the ECO was told to rush, didn't look at it properly and missed something vital?

The governments? They could employ enough ECOs to cope during busy periods, but then they would spend much of the year doing nothing. Imagine the outcry from the average taxpayer who would have to pay for ECOs to do nothing!

The visa system? In a perfect world no one would need a visa for anywhere. But this isn't a perfect world.

All the guidance from the UKBA says to allow 12 weeks for a settlement application to be processed; to be blunt; unless you have waited for more than this you have nothing to whinge about!

Sorry if that upsets a few people; but it needed to be said.