Uk Settlement Visa Application Waiting Times, Bangkok

[Steve77r]

No there standard has always been 95%, however on the monthly stats page last month they quoted 100% processed in 60 days for November.

[barrybee]

I was looking at processing times for various places ( British embassies), and Bangkok seems kind of low in the number of visa processed in Nov. For instance I see Islamabad - 1896, Dhaka - 54, Manila - 77, Jordan - 60, Nairobi - 42, Kuala Lumpur - 12 and Bangkok 38. Why is Bangkok, or Asia so much lower than everywhere else ?

[Steve77r]

Actually it depends on a month by month basis, for example in August there were over 240 settlement applications processed, then last few months its been between 20 odd and 40 odd, which is why I cannot understand why the times are not coming down, if application numbers are so low.

[7by7]

If you look at all types of visas you will see that although Bangkok processed far fewer settlement visas than, for example, Islamabad, the total number for all types of visa is about the same.

For example in November: general visit visas; Islamabad, 391; Bangkok, 2578.

I don't know for sure, but imagine that they give priority to visit visas over settlement as visits tend to be more urgent due to the applicant having to travel within a specific time period.

Frustrating for those awaiting their settlement visa, I know; but you are planning a lifetime together. Nearly 13 years later the 5 month wait between my wife submitting her application and finally arriving in the UK, whilst terrible at the time, now seems like nothing.

Edited December 27, 2012 by 7by7

[Kiggs]

Old news post please delete

Ta

Edited December 27, 2012 by Kiggs

[Steve77r]

Another day of frustration ahead tmrw? surly they have got to be getting round to ours at some point? Wilbs received the notice e-mail well over a week ago and applied a week before us, however his was delayed due to more info being required. 2 more weeks and we’ll be at the 12 week mark! Not sure if I will have any sanity left at the end of this.

[Kiggs]

I was just thinking the same thing about Wilbs. Ours or over due. As for sanity that ship has sailed!!! Like I have said before I have a bottle of JD that's under the tree now. As soon as we get word that's what I'm drinking, so expect some mashed posts

[barrybee]

So the Embassy can only manage to decide 2 settlement applications in one day ?

It would be interesting to know how many applications they have each month, and how many still need to be decided. Is the 12 week decision time genuine or is it just making people wait when they could do this quickly ?

Edited December 28, 2012 by barrybee

[ThaiVisaExpress]

We have outstanding settlement visas however guys we are seeing a 50 % downturn in settlement visa applications due to the new rules .

[7by7]

So the Embassy can only manage to decide 2 settlement applications in one day ?

It would be interesting to know how many applications they have each month, and how many still need to be decided. Is the 12 week decision time genuine or is it just making people wait when they could do this quickly ?

The Entry Clearance Section at the embassy have a set number of Entry Clearance Officers; set not by them but by the UKBA in the UK.

These staff can only deal with a certain number of applications per day. Applications of all types, not just settlement.

In November in addition to issuing 38 settlement visas they also issued 4010 non settlement visas. A bit more than 2 per day! (Source)

The idea that the Eco's sit on any application for no reason other than to make the applicant wait is ludicrous.

[Kiggs]

So the Embassy can only manage to decide 2 settlement applications in one day ?

It would be interesting to know how many applications they have each month, and how many still need to be decided. Is the 12 week decision time genuine or is it just making people wait when they could do this quickly ?

The Entry Clearance Section at the embassy have a set number of Entry Clearance Officers; set not by them but by the UKBA in the UK.

These staff can only deal with a certain number of applications per day. Applications of all types, not just settlement.

In November in addition to issuing 38 settlement visas they also issued 4010 non settlement visas. A bit more than 2 per day! (Source)

The idea that the Eco's sit on any application for no reason other than to make the applicant wait is ludicrous.

I dont have the information but how does last mth compare to the previous mths?

[7by7]

Unfortunately, the processing times page I linked to only gives the figures for the latest month available.

The UKBA used to publish easy to find and clear to understand statistics for every post in the world; but these were only annual figures.

The way they publish the figures has changed, you can find the latest published figures from Immigration Statistics July - September 2012. But to find country specific figures will involve downloading and then searching through a large (3mb) file!

[barrybee]

So the Embassy can only manage to decide 2 settlement applications in one day ?

It would be interesting to know how many applications they have each month, and how many still need to be decided. Is the 12 week decision time genuine or is it just making people wait when they could do this quickly ?

The Entry Clearance Section at the embassy have a set number of Entry Clearance Officers; set not by them but by the UKBA in the UK.

These staff can only deal with a certain number of applications per day. Applications of all types, not just settlement.

In November in addition to issuing 38 settlement visas they also issued 4010 non settlement visas. A bit more than 2 per day! (Source)

The idea that the Eco's sit on any application for no reason other than to make the applicant wait is ludicrous.

I dont have the information but how does last mth compare to the previous mths?

I'm not sure I suggested that ECOs sit on applications for no reason. I asked a question. There is a service standard of 12 weeks for settlement applications, so applications can be put aside until the dealine approaches so that other things can be dealt with. As long as the service standard is not breached, then nobody can complain. But, that doesn't make it right, does it ?

The figures( which I took from another forum) show a drastic decrease in visit decisions in November when compared to October. The first figure is October, and the second is November :

premium visit 348 233

Gen Visit 2923 2578

business 841 578

family 168 204

transit 23 37

others 766 265

However, settlement visa decisions show an almost 100% increase in November when compared to October. In October the ECOs managed 1 decision a day. In November it almost doubled to 2 decisions a day. There must be a reason for that, especially when you see the massive reduction in visit visa decisions too. That is the point I was making.

Edited December 29, 2012 by barrybee

[Kiggs]

Well all I know is they are taking the P1$$!! £900 then do less and take longer! My last failed application was back after 10 weeks 9 if you take out the 5 days they gave easy visa to reply to the email they sent.

I know they have loads to do but there is no denying that over the last few mths there times are going up and there work load has gone down. It might be down to staffing levels or the new rules or just to keep the times up who knows and I don't think we ever will.

I have to think that they are stalling because if they keep the times up all year they keep there funding for the staff etc etc.

Just my Saturday rant!!

[7by7]

Barrybee, I do not get your point.

You are saying that the number of non settlement visas issued in November is less than that issued in October and then ask why the number of settlement visas issued is in November is about double that for October.

I'd have thought the reason was obvious.

If they have fewer non settlement applications to deal with then they can spend more time working on settlement ones.

Kiggs, I agree that the fee, particularly when compared with the level of service, is ridiculously high. But the fee is set by Parliament, not by the UKBA.

I have posted my thoughts on the unfairness of the whole LTE and LTR fee structure introduced by Blair and continued by his successors before, so wont go into it again here.

[barrybee]

Barrybee, I do not get your point.

You are saying that the number of non settlement visas issued in November is less than that issued in October and then ask why the number of settlement visas issued is in November is about double that for October.

I'd have thought the reason was obvious.

If they have fewer non settlement applications to deal with then they can spend more time working on settlement ones.

Kiggs, I agree that the fee, particularly when compared with the level of service, is ridiculously high. But the fee is set by Parliament, not by the UKBA.

I have posted my thoughts on the unfairness of the whole LTE and LTR fee structure introduced by Blair and continued by his successors before, so wont go into it again here.

Well, I guess the irony never shone through. You are quite right, less non-settlemenrt applications should mean that more time can be spent on settlement applications. So, do you think that a reduction of 1800 non-settlement decisions in November ( which is the figure as I understand it ) is effectively offset by DOUBLING the number of settlement decisions from ONE to TWO per day ? If that sounds reasonable to you, then maybe I'm seeing it all wrong.

You have said in the past that ECOs have about 15 minutes or so to make a decison. So, that would be around 30 minutes a day spent on dealing with settlement applications ? Let's give them a break, and say that they spend 30 minutes per settlement application. An hour a day ?????? By your reckoning, if they spent two hours a day, then they could cut the settlement queue in half ! So why don't they ? Because they want a queue, that's why. They want to be able to say that they met their target of 12 weeks. It's an artificial target, and totally unjustifiable, I think.

[Steve77r]

Anyone know how many non settlement visa applications were processed in August? they managed to do 253 settlement visas this month then only 20 the following month. I can't imagine a massive increases in non settlement visas in September so why the over 10 times reduction? it stands to reason that this is due to a massive decrease in applications because of the new rules. So if they have the capacity to do 253 in a month why they are only managing to do 20 - 40 with increasing waiting time? if they are only processing a small amount because this is what is coming in now then why the times are not coming down? if they are only receiving 40 apps a month but can do 253 then they could clear 6 months worth in 1 month. Now tell me they are not inflating the waiting time? Seems they have 12 weeks by there service standards so they are sitting on them and prioritizing anything else. With the amount of money we are paying compared to other applications this really sucks. Maybe there's things we don't know, maybe they have to make background checks that take time to come back before they can make there decision or maybe they lost a load of staff in September. but something does not add up 253 to 20 ?

Edited December 30, 2012 by Steve77r

[Steve77r]

Interesting if you notice in august they only managed to do 97% in 60 days just above there service standard of 95% hence if they did not do 253 applications this month there service standard would not have been met. Now tell me they are not just leaving them until they need to be done. So if they need to they can do more, but now application numbers are low they can meet this easily as they did last month 100% so they can just sit on them, as long as they meet the 95% its all they care about as Barry stated.

[7by7]

Believe what you want, if that makes you feel better.

But if you search through this and previous years topics you will find settlement visas which have been issued within a couple of weeks, sometimes days, of the application submitted.

They don't sit on them until the 12 weeks are up; they want to beat that 'target' not miss it!

[barrybee]

That's a fairly facile and superficial response to a serious question. What about addressing the points made concerning decision times and numbers over the past couple of months, etc, compared to the current decision times and numbers ? Or maybe you don't have any answer, apart from "Believe what you want, if that makes you feel better."

[7by7]

It is you who wants those figures.

I have told you where to look.

Up to you, now.

[barrybee]

It is you who wants those figures.

I have told you where to look.

Up to you, now.

I get the feeling that you don't take criticism very well. I also get the feeling that you don't have any answers to the questions posed.

Thanks for your help

[7by7]

What did I say earlier?

Oh yes, believe what you want if that makes you feel better.

From many years of dealing with the entry clearance office in Bangkok and of advising others on this and similar forums I am confident that your proposition that the ECOs deliberately delay settlement applications for no reason is ludicrous. I gave my reasons for this earlier; thus answering 'the questions posed.'

You seem to think that there are figures which will prove differently.

It is you who wants these figures, so why should I do your work for you?

Edited December 30, 2012 by 7by7

[barrybee]

I also get the feeling that you like to have the last word. So, feel free.

[theoldgit]

That's a fairly facile and superficial response to a serious question. What about addressing the points made concerning decision times and numbers over the past couple of months, etc, compared to the current decision times and numbers ? Or maybe you don't have any answer, apart from "Believe what you want, if that makes you feel better."

There are a number of people on here who offer a great deal of advice to those at various stages of the visa process, spend many hours doing so and have done so for many years, they do so willingly whilst juggling their day jobs, and they get no reward or thanks for their efforts, a lot of people have successfully applied for visas as a result of their efforts.

It's not 7by7's, or anyone else's, job to address points about the service delivery of the UKBA, but he has taken the trouble to point you in the right direction if you wish to research the issue.

Now please be civil.

[barrybee]

This is a forum, for discussing different topics. It is, with respect , not the place for someone to impose their own beliefs. This response from7x7 :

"What did I say earlier?

Oh yes, believe what you want if that makes you feel better."

is not the kind of response that is designed to help. Is it civil ? It is the response that one might receive from someone who wants you to accept what you are told, and not question it. I say again, a forum is a place for discussion.

[Steve77r]

At the end of the day, it makes little difference either way. No amount of complaining on forums will change any of this and we all know that, but sometimes having a good bitch and a moan on the forums helps vent some steam. I think the thing that is frustrating to people waiting and something no one can argue against is that settlement visas cost the most and seem to have little to no priority with the UKBA, There is no value for money with these applications with visit visas costing 10 times less and getting priority treatment. I don't think anyone really believes the UKBA delay them on purpose but it really seems that as long as the service standard is met then its all they care about.

Either way the wait goes on.

[theoldgit]

Off topice flame removed.

[Kiggs]

11 weeks today and still not a dicky bird !!!!

[Steve77r]

Welcome to the club!