UK Visitor Visa processing times.

[Faz]

Throughout 2022 I received multiple reports that the process was taking up to 8 weeks and the VFS advised some applicants to pay for the Premium service to ensure it was processed before the planned trip.*
*Note, you can submit your application up to 13 weeks before your planned departure date.

We submitted a visitor visa application at the VFS, Trendy House, Bangkok on Friday 27th January 2023.
Today, Friday 10th Feb 2023, my wife received her visa, two weeks exactly from the date of submission.
This was her first visa application.

[Chaimai]

12 hours ago, Faz said:

Throughout 2022 I received multiple reports that the process was taking up to 8 weeks and the VFS advised some applicants to pay for the Premium service to ensure it was processed before the planned trip.*
*Note, you can submit your application up to 13 weeks before your planned departure date.

We submitted a visitor visa application at the VFS, Trendy House, Bangkok on Friday 27th January 2023.
Today, Friday 10th Feb 2023, my wife received her visa, two weeks exactly from the date of submission.
This was her first visa application.

 

That is back to 'normal' processing times.

 

My missus applied 15 November and the visa issued on 6th December.

[Faz]

10 days used to be the norm, if you received a decision within a week, it was usually a refusal.
Not complaining at 2 weeks for a first time visitor visa.

The wife has never been out of Thailand before, not even Lao, or Cambodia.
She'd never flown before either, and although she has now flown to Bangkok a few times, she's still slightly nervous. Wait till she sees that A380-800 

It's the current cost of the flights to the UK you need to worry about, not the visa costs.  £££££

[David297]

On 2/11/2023 at 11:08 AM, Faz said:

It's the current cost of the flights to the UK you need to worry about, not the visa costs.  £££££

Just waiting for news on our application at the moment.  My girlfriend went to VFS on 11th May so it's been 1 week now.  Naturally we're hoping for a positive result; but I can't wait to get the flights booked if (when) the visa comes through!  You're right about the cost of getting to the UK!  I'll post again when we have an answer.

[Marc26]

On 2/11/2023 at 3:08 AM, Faz said:

10 days used to be the norm, if you received a decision within a week, it was usually a refusal.
Not complaining at 2 weeks for a first time visitor visa.

The wife has never been out of Thailand before, not even Lao, or Cambodia.
She'd never flown before either, and although she has now flown to Bangkok a few times, she's still slightly nervous. Wait till she sees that A380-800 

It's the current cost of the flights to the UK you need to worry about, not the visa costs.  £££££

I met my wife in Phuket and invited her to spend my last few days in Bangkok

She never flew before and was going to take a bus and meet me

 

I paid for her and her best friend to fly up and back

 

Both grabbing the seats in fear  :)

 

She now flies all over the world, sometimes flying to US cities the day before me to meet me on biz trips

 

Long way from that HKT-BKK flight    :)
 

 

Oh, my wife lived in Italy for 2 years and one friend said she got locked in the toilet, so she didn't pee for her 1st  4 or 5 flights 5555

[Faz]

1 hour ago, David297 said:

Just waiting for news on our application at the moment.  My girlfriend went to VFS on 11th May so it's been 1 week now.  Naturally we're hoping for a positive result; but I can't wait to get the flights booked if (when) the visa comes through!  You're right about the cost of getting to the UK!  I'll post again when we have an answer.

All UK visitor visa applications are processed in India now.

You won't know if her application has been successful or not until she receives her passport back by EMS.
She'll either have a visa in her passport or a 'refusal' notice stating the reasons.

Do let me know how you get on.

[David297]

21 hours ago, Faz said:

All UK visitor visa applications are processed in India now.

You won't know if her application has been successful or not until she receives her passport back by EMS.
She'll either have a visa in her passport or a 'refusal' notice stating the reasons.

Do let me know how you get on.

I'm not saying you're wrong but I'm surprised.  I wrote the visa application myself on the UK government web-site and I've seen clear statements about being notified by e-mail.  The application asks what e-mail address to use for notification of the decision.

[Faz]

25 minutes ago, David297 said:

I'm not saying you're wrong but I'm surprised.  I wrote the visa application myself on the UK government web-site and I've seen clear statements about being notified by e-mail.  The application asks what e-mail address to use for notification of the decision.

Any email you receive will simply notify you a decision has been made on your application, not what the decision is! We received said email a week after the wife's visa arrived 

[Chaimai]

12 hours ago, David297 said:

I'm not saying you're wrong but I'm surprised.  I wrote the visa application myself on the UK government web-site and I've seen clear statements about being notified by e-mail.  The application asks what e-mail address to use for notification of the decision.

The email simply states that the processed application has been received at VfS.

 

That said, if it is declined you will receive the decision letter by email.......ergo, you can assume a positive outcome if you don't receive such email; it will still be a nervy couple of days until the passport (with visa) is received.

[Chaimai]

On 5/19/2023 at 1:23 AM, David297 said:

Just waiting for news on our application at the moment.  My girlfriend went to VFS on 11th May so it's been 1 week now.  Naturally we're hoping for a positive result; but I can't wait to get the flights booked if (when) the visa comes through!  You're right about the cost of getting to the UK!  I'll post again when we have an answer.

Your girlfriend would have been advised of the expected processing times......currently 15 working days.

 

Expect a decision by 1st June.

 

The last one for my GF was exactly 10 working days.

[David297]

[ Sigh of relief ]  :  She got the passport, with visa, yesterday (25th May)!  So that's 14 calendar days after her appointment at VFS.  Happiness all round!

Now I have another question: we said in the application that she'd visit the UK on 12th June for 4 weeks and "if all goes well" make another similar visit during the 6-month currency of the visa. It's a multiple-entry UK visitor visa.

Now we've got it, we want to modify the first visit to start on the 19th and be for 5 weeks; with an idea that she might also return for 2 months in another visit this autumn (before the visa expires).  Can we change our plans freely like this or might she get challenged at the border or something?

[Marc26]

1 hour ago, David297 said:

[ Sigh of relief ]  :  She got the passport, with visa, yesterday (25th May)!  So that's 14 calendar days after her appointment at VFS.  Happiness all round!

Now I have another question: we said in the application that she'd visit the UK on 12th June for 4 weeks and "if all goes well" make another similar visit during the 6-month currency of the visa. It's a multiple-entry UK visitor visa.

Now we've got it, we want to modify the first visit to start on the 19th and be for 5 weeks; with an idea that she might also return for 2 months in another visit this autumn (before the visa expires).  Can we change our plans freely like this or might she get challenged at the border or something?

I am speaking of Canada and US but I am sure it works the same

 

There is no set dates of when you need to visit as long as in the validity of the visa

 

 

Another thing, which @Faz may be able to confirm

 

We didn't know until last year that my wife could enter up until the visa expires and then is allowed to stay the allowed 6 months after

 

So example, her visa expires 05/31 and she's allowed to stay 6 months, she can come in 05/30 and then stay 6 months

We always thought she could only stay up until the visa expires

 

So maybe @Faz can confirm that is the same in UK

 

 

And congrats, the first visas are always exciting!

[David297]

32 minutes ago, Marc26 said:

We didn't know until last year that my wife could enter up until the visa expires and then is allowed to stay the allowed 6 months after

So example, her visa expires 05/31 and she's allowed to stay 6 months, she can come in 05/30 and then stay 6 months

I'm pretty sure that may be true in Canada or the US but would NOT apply in the UK.  I believe the UK visa expiry date means that anything over would be over-staying.

I've been poring over the internet and, as far as I can see: on the one hand a multiple entry visa means you can do what you like within the allowed 6 months BUT when you come to apply for your next visa they look at your history to see if you've gone "significantly" beyond what you'd said you'd do when applying. So I interpret that as meaning: if you say you intend to come for a fortnight but then end up staying the full 6 months that would count against you.

I was wondering if anyone here had actual experience of this?

[Faz]

1 hour ago, David297 said:

Now we've got it, we want to modify the first visit to start on the 19th and be for 5 weeks; with an idea that she might also return for 2 months in another visit this autumn (before the visa expires).  Can we change our plans freely like this or might she get challenged at the border or something?

The dates you entered are only the proposed dates of travel, so no problem if they are different.
She can enter for any periods of stay for up to 180 days of the validity of the visa.
The rule is 180 days max stay within a 12-month period.

 

35 minutes ago, Marc26 said:

We didn't know until last year that my wife could enter up until the visa expires and then is allowed to stay the allowed 6 months after

Every Country is different. Those are also the same rules for entering Thailand, however the UK is different.
The visa is valid for 6 months from the date of issue, but you cannot enter after the expiry date.
You can enter multiple times for a total of 180 days within the validity of the visa.

[Faz]

3 minutes ago, David297 said:

I've been poring over the internet and, as far as I can see: on the one hand a multiple entry visa means you can do what you like within the allowed 6 months BUT when you come to apply for your next visa they look at your history to see if you've gone "significantly" beyond what you'd said you'd do when applying. So I interpret that as meaning: if you say you intend to come for a fortnight but then end up staying the full 6 months that would count against you.

The rule is 180 days in a 12-month period for visitor visas.
 

[Marc26]

49 minutes ago, Faz said:

The dates you entered are only the proposed dates of travel, so no problem if they are different.
She can enter for any periods of stay for up to 180 days of the validity of the visa.
The rule is 180 days max stay within a 12-month period.

Every Country is different. Those are also the same rules for entering Thailand, however the UK is different.
The visa is valid for 6 months from the date of issue, but you cannot enter after the expiry date.
You can enter multiple times for a total of 180 days within the validity of the visa.

seems we are saying the same thing??

 

My wife entered 2 days before her visa expired but then was allowed to stay her allowable time after( we weren't aware she could do that all these years)

 

@David297 seems to think you can't stay after the date visa expires even if you entered before?

 

Again, different countries, just posing that suggestion in case it might be the same

It definitely providing us with more leeway

 

 

 

[Faz]

35 minutes ago, Marc26 said:

My wife entered 2 days before her visa expired but then was allowed to stay her allowable time after( we weren't aware she could do that all these years)

@David297 seems to think you can't stay after the date visa expires even if you entered before?

@David297 is correct.
The validity of the visa and the validity of stay are the same for the UK.

[Marc26]

53 minutes ago, Faz said:

@David297 is correct.
The validity of the visa and the validity of stay are the same for the UK.

Well he got the visa, that is the important part!!

 

Congrats again