UK Settlement(spouse) visa extreme delays and onhold
 

Hi Friends,

Has anyone waiting for settlement visa since Dec 2016 or Jan 2017 onwards ?

I have applied Settlement visa for my Wife on 14-Dec-2016 but still now no response from home office. When I called up UKVI they said my application is not straight forward.

As per the UKVI the SLA is 24 weeks for settlement visas. But the fact is it's already 28 weeks(135 working days) completed. Never seen such lengthy process. It has been more than 6 months and no result.


Type of Visa : Settlement (Spouse Visa)
Applicant Status : Indian Citizen
Sponsor Status : British Citizen
Application Submit Date : 14/DEC/2016
Biometrics enrolled at VFS Chennai, India: 14/Dec/2016
Supporting documents sent to Sheffield on : 03/Jan/2017
Sponsor contacted by UKVI (if applicable): 22/Feb/2017
Received mail from UKVI stating Case not straight forward : 03/Mar/2017
Application Status on 27th July 2017 : Awaiting Decision.


Anybody in similar situation.
Had anyone approached solicitor/lawyer in UK?
Had anyone approached sheffield homeoffice directly.
can you guys please update me your timelines who are waiting more than 5 months?

Best Regards
Tarun

Re: UK Settlement(spouse) visa extreme delays and onhold
 

From reports there is somewhat of a backlog at the moment due to high numbers of people applying and a shortage of staff, this seems to be similar to the passport problems of a few years ago, lack of planning and government cutbacks also spring to mind. All I can say is that yours will be sorted, eventually and you will just have to be patient.

Re: UK Settlement(spouse) visa extreme delays and onhold
 

Thanks mike :thumbup: Shortage of staff not an execuse. We are paying huge amounts. in my case Ive made £2200 just for my wife application.Like me many people paid and also recently they have increase fees of £600 extra. They can hire contract employes and can resolve this.

It has been already 7 months now.
How long they can hold my wife's passport max?

Re: UK Settlement(spouse) visa extreme delays and onhold
 

The thing is that visas for the UK, as for any other country, are a privilege not a right. The country can charge what they like and take as long as they like. We all pay huge amounts, and we all end up in queues of varying lengths. Eventually, if your wife qualifies, they will grant the visa; meantime there are only two choices for you, as for visa applicants everywhere - wait for the grant or give up.

Re: UK Settlement(spouse) visa extreme delays and onhold
 

It's not an excuse, but is the reason, hiring contract employees is not an option as they would have absolutely no idea of what is correct or wrong with any application, their last job might well have been a bit of bookkeeping at McDonalds.

Re: UK Settlement(spouse) visa extreme delays and onhold
 

Hello,
Did your wife finally receive the passport? Keep me informed please x

Re: UK Settlement(spouse) visa extreme delays and onhold
 

welcome to BE.

Please take a few minutes to read the site rules, beige bar at the top, and should you have any site related problems please contact on of the moderators, names in bold at the bottom of each forum page.

I suspect you are unlikely to get any response from the OP of this question as he hasn't been on BE since June, you would be better off starting your own thread, or looking through the many threads on the same question you are asking. The situation doesn't seem to have improved much since June I'm afraid.

Re: UK Settlement(spouse) visa extreme delays and onhold
 

Not yet. I have applied settlement visa for my on 14th Dec 2016. Still now no result. what the hell going i dont know. very very frustated. 9 months over. contacted MP , solicitors and all invain. Its really curse. HO will pay. god will not forgive them.

Re: UK Settlement(spouse) visa extreme delays and onhold
 

That seems rather extreme. It's not their fault they're understaffed and have the delays.

I know it doesn't seem like it when you're amongst it, but the UK is still faster than most countries I know of for spouse visas, even with the delays!

I understand your frustration, but please don't make it personal and say things like that about the poor members of staff who are no doubt trying their best in rather tricky circumstances.

Good luck, I hope you hear soon.

Re: UK Settlement(spouse) visa extreme delays and onhold
 

Did u get visa? Any progress?
I applied on 30.12.16 and I'm still waiting without single update abt application so far.

Re: UK Settlement(spouse) visa extreme delays and onhold
 

Hi,

We applied on 22nd feb 2017 and still awaiting. Similar profile where I am British citizen and wife is Indian citizen.

Approached a solicitor and sent Sheffield a representation with the full case details and documentation again this month and hope to get something back. Been 7 months so it’s dofficult at the moment.

Let me know if you receive a response.

Thank you

Re: UK Settlement(spouse) visa extreme delays and onhold
 

Tarun, you are not alone in this boat. Mine has been since January. Got another not straight forward mail after I escalated it. It is annoying that people in genuine relationships are denied and separated from their spouses while those in sham ate given visa. It breaks my heart.

Re: UK Settlement(spouse) visa extreme delays and onhold
 

How do you know that ones in sham relationships are getting visas? the delay is across the board, and the reason is all the checks they have to go through before deciding the relationship is real and that you fulfil all the other criteria, it's the problems with having to sort out the sham from the real that causes the problems particularly with those applications from what are considered 'high risk' countries, those with a record of forged certificates etc. We get people trying to join BE just to promote their selling of 'genuine' visas and other paperwork, they don't get far, but the fact that they exist is one of the reasons that checks have to be so thorough.

Re: UK Settlement(spouse) visa extreme delays and onhold
 

I don't need to sell my "genuine" visa. Obviously, you will take side with your country. I am a journalist and I know for a fact that, if Britain needs find out anything about anything and anyone,it takes just few mins. All these, check through and keep families apart is totally cruel. I don't say stuff with no evidence, you could go to one particular site and you won't say no more. There are still some people from the seemingly "risk" countries that contribute to development of the "mighty" country. P.s,people, don't join BE,to sell whatever, you feel they sell.

Re: UK Settlement(spouse) visa extreme delays and onhold
 

I think you're misunderstanding what Mikelincs is saying. He is not saying that *you* are trying to sell fake documents, he's simply pointing out that we get many, many spammers join the forum every day who are trying to sell fake IELTS certificate, fake police certificate, fake birth certificates, etc, etc. You won't see many of their posts as we're pretty quick at deleting them, but I can assure you that an awful lot of people do join BE just for that purpose.

Background checks take quite a long time, definitely not 'just a few mins', particularly if applicants are from a high fraud country like Nigeria, Pakistan etc. Sadly the genuine applicants from those countries are affected by others who have tried to scam and fake an application, meaning that extra checks have to be done on everybody that applies. It's such a shame, but at least it ensures that most applicants that get visas are genuine (I'm sure some slip through the cracks).

Being apart is the nature of a long distance relationship, it's horrid I know, but the UK is much quicker than most countries even with the delays. I know it's no consolation when these delays are taking place, but hopefully when you're spending the rest of your lives together, it'll be a blip in the long run.

Best of luck, hope you hear soon. :fingerscrossed: