The new UK visa process for settlement applications

[ThaiVisaExpress]

As previously notified, settlement visas ( in fact, all visas for longer than 6 months duration) will now only be issued as 30 day visas. The holder must travel to the UK within the 30 day limit, or the visa becomes invalid, and the holder must then apply for a "replacement"..

I was unable to find any information on the procedure, and contacted UKVI with two questions :

How much is a "replacement" vignette ? Answer is 109 GBP.

What is the application procedure for obtaining a replacement vignette ? Answer is they didn't know, and they will "escalate" the query to the "relevant department". They will let us know.

I think it is going to be difficult for many applicants to actually know when they can travel once the visa is issued, as many will have commitments in Thailand, possibly jobs to give notice for, etc. And, of course, UKVI won't give a visa issue date beyond saying that it can take up to 12 weeks. This is not an ideal situation. But, the fact is, if the holder can't travel within the 30 day validity of the visa, then they will need to apply for a replacement.

Tony M

[bigyin]

Do we know if the applicant can ask for the visa to be post dated for 3 months as under the 'old' system with the 30 days starting from then?

[ThaiVisaExpress]

Do we know if the applicant can ask for the visa to be post dated for 3 months as under the 'old' system with the 30 days starting from then?

Current guidance still says ( today) :

How long it will take

You can apply for a visa up to 3 months before your date of travel to the UK.

You should get a decision on your visa within 3 weeks.

Check the guide processing times to find out how long getting a visa might take in the country you’re applying from.

But, the website still refers to "General" visit visas, and I think they no longer exist, having been replaced by "Standard" visit visas. That said, I think you will still be able to defer the start date by up to 3 months.

Tony M

[ThaiPauly]

I have only just applied for a 5 year visa for my wife because I have ageing parents in their mid eighties and I want her to be able to travel at a moments nice should the inevitable occur within the next 5 years.

How will this new ruling affect her?

Will she only be able to stay one month in any one year?

Cheers

TP

[ThaiVisaExpress]

I have only just applied for a 5 year visa for my wife because I have ageing parents in their mid eighties and I want her to be able to travel at a moments nice should the inevitable occur within the next 5 years.

How will this new ruling affect her?

Will she only be able to stay one month in any one year?

Cheers

TP

This applies to settlement visas only.

Tony M

[7by7]

I assume, TP, that by ' five year visa' you mean a five year visit visa?

As TVE says, this new ruling applies to visas which are valid for periods in the UK of more than 6 months.

Visit visa holders, no matter the term of their visa, can only spend a maximum of 6 months per visit in the UK, so this does not apply to them.

But, TVE, any thoughts on how this will apply to student visitors who are studying English and so can spend up to 11 months in the UK?

Will they need to travel to the UK within 30 days and get a BRP, or will their stay in future be limited to 6 months?

I remember when the 5 year route to ILR was first came in and the initial settlement visa was for just 30 months. So many people did not have time to travel to the UK and live there for 30 months before applying for their FLR. Meaning that would expire before they were time qualified for ILR. Which meant them having to obtain, and pay for, an additional FLR to cover the gap.

UKVI and/or the government saw sense on that, and soon lengthened the initial visa to 33 months to give people the time needed to settle their affairs in their home country and move to the UK.

What are the chances on them seeing sense again and making settlement visas valid for 3 months rather than 30 days?

Slim, I fear.

[MaprangHolmes]

What are the chances of them seeing sense again and making settlement visas valid for 3 months rather than 30 days?

I expect none when they can use this as another way of getting more money out of people.

[ThaiVisaExpress]

I assume, TP, that by ' five year visa' you mean a five year visit visa?

As TVE says, this new ruling applies to visas which are valid for periods in the UK of more than 6 months.

Visit visa holders, no matter the term of their visa, can only spend a maximum of 6 months per visit in the UK, so this does not apply to them.

But, TVE, any thoughts on how this will apply to student visitors who are studying English and so can spend up to 11 months in the UK?

Will they need to travel to the UK within 30 days and get a BRP, or will their stay in future be limited to 6 months?

I remember when the 5 year route to ILR was first came in and the initial settlement visa was for just 30 months. So many people did not have time to travel to the UK and live there for 30 months before applying for their FLR. Meaning that would expire before they were time qualified for ILR. Which meant them having to obtain, and pay for, an additional FLR to cover the gap.

UKVI and/or the government saw sense on that, and soon lengthened the initial visa to 33 months to give people the time needed to settle their affairs in their home country and move to the UK.

What are the chances on them seeing sense again and making settlement visas valid for 3 months rather than 30 days?

Slim, I fear.

It's a good question. The guidance on Biometric Residence Permits ( although it doesn't specifically mention student visitors) says :

When will I receive my biometric residence permit? If you are successful in your application for leave to enter the UK for more than six months you will receive a biometric residence permit upon arrival in the UK.

So, logically, they will get a 30 day initial entry visa. But, who knows ?

Incidentally, the changes ( in HC 1025) to the visitor rules come into play on the 24th of this month. I have cobbled together a guide ( which needs improvement) but for the sake of knowing what will happen in just two days, I attach it. the well known paragraphs, 41, etc go, and are all replaced by Appendix V :

APPENDIX V.pdf

Tony M

Edited April 22, 2015 by ThaiVisaExpress

[ThaiVisaExpress]

I assume, TP, that by ' five year visa' you mean a five year visit visa?

As TVE says, this new ruling applies to visas which are valid for periods in the UK of more than 6 months.

Visit visa holders, no matter the term of their visa, can only spend a maximum of 6 months per visit in the UK, so this does not apply to them.

But, TVE, any thoughts on how this will apply to student visitors who are studying English and so can spend up to 11 months in the UK?

Will they need to travel to the UK within 30 days and get a BRP, or will their stay in future be limited to 6 months?

I remember when the 5 year route to ILR was first came in and the initial settlement visa was for just 30 months. So many people did not have time to travel to the UK and live there for 30 months before applying for their FLR. Meaning that would expire before they were time qualified for ILR. Which meant them having to obtain, and pay for, an additional FLR to cover the gap.

UKVI and/or the government saw sense on that, and soon lengthened the initial visa to 33 months to give people the time needed to settle their affairs in their home country and move to the UK.

What are the chances on them seeing sense again and making settlement visas valid for 3 months rather than 30 days?

Slim, I fear.

To confirm my earlier comment on the Health Surcharge for "student visitors", the new rules don't have a student visitor category. The application will be as a short term student, and the health surcharge will be payable for those granted an 11 month visa. See here :

Short-term_student_guidance_1_0.pdf

Tony M

[Seekingasylum]

Might I suggest a change in title to the thread which is very ambiguous and has alarmed one poster already and may mislead others. Perhaps " UK Non - Visit visa validity now curtailed."

I really do despair of the Home Office. The change assists no one, can present real difficulties and is quite illogical when one considers that an applicant can wait several months to learn of their fate but then must galvanise themselves to wind up their affairs and secure a ticket within a mere 30 days. Clearly, it is a money- grubbing device.

Actually, a better title might as well be " New UKVI visa scam "

[Tony M]

I finally have a response to my question about how to replace a settlement vignette if the holder doesn't travel within its 30 - day validity. The response, received yesterday, says :

Thank you for contacting the United Kingdom Visas and Immigrations International Enquiry Service.

We apologise for the delay in responding. In regards to your escalation (HGS reference #600592) which was made on 21/04/2015, concerning the procedure of applying a replacement 30 days vignette sticker. We have now received a confirmation from the authority that applicants must apply for a ‘Vignette Transfer’ if the 30 days has passed and the applicants did not travel to the UK.

Please see a screenshot below for the instruction on selecting the correct visa type and application form on Visa4UK:

Reason for Visit: Other

Visa Type: Others

Visa Sub Type: Vignette Transfer

[bobrussell]

Has anyone discussed this with their MP?

It seems a pretty unworkable change. You cannot plan because you don't know when the visa will be processed. The minute the visa is approved you have 30 days to book tickets, move to the UK and get your residents permit.

30 days from arrival would make sense though.

[Tony M]

Has anyone discussed this with their MP?

It seems a pretty unworkable change. You cannot plan because you don't know when the visa will be processed. The minute the visa is approved you have 30 days to book tickets, move to the UK and get your residents permit.

30 days from arrival would make sense though.

As you say., it's hard to see the logic behind the 30 days. A cynic might say that they know this, and are banking on the extra 109 GBP from each applicant who has to seek a new vignette.

The visa holder must collect their residence permit within 10 days of arrival in the UK ( it is sent to a Post Office near the address given in the application form). The website actually says :

You may get a penalty or your leave can be cancelled if you don’t pick up your BRP within 10 days of your arrival in the UK.

Your leave can be cancelled ? That's going a bit far, I think !

[bobrussell]

It is a load of nonsense created by some bright spark at the Home Office who is clueless about the implications. As a vet we have been bombarded with badly thought out (or hardly thought out) legislation with major implications that have not even been considered.

Perhaps because it is an election year these stupid ideas have slipped through unchallenged!

You pay a fortune, have a major panic to get to the UK in time then heaven help you if in the madness of major life changes, you forget to pick up your permit!

I doubt this is a revenue raising problem. More incompetence and lack of forethought! Sadly changing the rules would indicate they got it wrong and this is not allowed. They will probably adapt it over time rather than admit to getting it wrong.

My MP is just up the road so if I have some time I will check with him whether this was all intended. I suspect he was not expecting to be in power anyway!

Edited May 14, 2015 by bobrussell

[7by7]

Bob, when talking to your MP may I suggest you remind him of the situation when the residential qualifying period for ILR was lengthened from 12 months to 24.

Before the change visas were valid for 12 months, which was not a problem as they didn't start until the holder first used it to enter the UK.

After the change they were valid for 24 months from the date of issue, which left successful applicants no time at all in which to move to the UK as they had to have been in the UK for 24 months in order to be residentially qualified for their ILR!

If they weren't, it meant many having to apply, and pay for, FLR to make up the gap.

The government soon saw sense on this, and the period of the initial visa was lengthened to 27 months.

The sensible thing to do here is lengthen this 30 days likewise.

Edited May 15, 2015 by 7by7

[Kalbo]

A question, has anyone actually extended their ability to enter the UK as per example above?

The reason I'm asking is that I will probably have to delay the departure date due to my required notice of work being 8 weeks.

What I'm really looking for is if it is possible to delay the departure date before the indicated date on the visa expires or does the wife have to

delay her departure first and then go and pay for a new vignette transfer ?

I'll be incredibly grateful for any information.

[BIGJIMMY]

Has anyone applied for a settlement visa since this was introduced and post dated by up to 3 months????

Thanks

[pj123]

I am in the process of helping my Thai niece apply for a 9 month visa to study English in the UK. She has applied for a Short Term Study Visa. The advice from the gov.uk website is:

"When your leave is granted, you’ll be issued a 30 day vignette. The vignette is valid for 30 days from the date you said you’d arrive in the UK (even if you arrive at a later date).

https://www.gov.uk/biometric-residence-permits/collect

So the key date is the date that you say you will arrive in the UK.

[BIGJIMMY]

Thanks, so we can still post date it then and the 30 days should start from that date.

Jimmy

[crazydrummerpauly]

Do we know if the applicant can ask for the visa to be post dated for 3 months as under the 'old' system with the 30 days starting from then?

Current guidance still says ( today) :

How long it will take

You can apply for a visa up to 3 months before your date of travel to the UK.

You should get a decision on your visa within 3 weeks.

Check the guide processing times to find out how long getting a visa might take in the country you’re applying from.

But, the website still refers to "General" visit visas, and I think they no longer exist, having been replaced by "Standard" visit visas. That said, I think you will still be able to defer the start date by up to 3 months.

Tony M

Hi - just reading an old thread - that link to the Processing Times - the drop-down menu doesn't have Thailand in it ?! I just started a new thread about it btw. CORRECTION - it is under BANGKOK - there was me searching in the 'T' s ! Hope this might help some other idiot

Edited May 18, 2016 by crazydrummerpauly