UK Government Announces Measures To Speed Up Immigration Decisions

• Law Firm: Richmond Chambers Immigration Barristers
• Subject Matter: Immigration, General Immigration, Work Visas
• Author: Mr Paul Richmond
• Published date: 17 January 2023

As many UK visa applicants and those with appeals pending before the Immigration Tribunal continue to face delays in the immigration system, the UK Government has announced two measures that it hopes will speed up some immigration decision-making.

• UK Visa Processing & Decision Waiting Times

Priority Service Reinstated For Pending Partner and Family Visa Application

The published Home Office service standard for deciding an application from outside the UK to settle in the UK as the spouse, partner or family member of a British citizen or settled person is currently 12 weeks. However, the Home Office is currently advising that applications for family visas submitted from outside the UK may take up to 24 weeks to process whilst it prioritises Ukraine Visa Scheme applications.

Whilst super priority and priority visa services remain temporarily suspended for new partner and family visa applications submitted outside the UK, there is some good news for those who have already applied. The Home Office has announced that, from 9 January 2023, applicants with a pending family visa entry clearance application will be retrospectively offered the option of upgrading to a priority service in order to receive a faster decision on their application.

Existing applicants with a pending partner or family visa application will be contacted by email and offered the option of upgrading to a 15 full working days/3 weeks priority service. The fee to receive a faster decision on an outstanding partner or family visa application will be '573. Applications will be decided within 15 working days / 3 weeks of receipt of payment.

One may reasonably question why applicants who have been waiting many months for a decision on their partner or family visa application, in circumstances where the 12 week Home Office customer service standard has been significantly exceeded, should now have to pay an additional fee in order to receive a quicker...