sera345

Hi everyone,

So I am in the middle of applying for a partner visa to move to the UK, I have all the docs and my appointment is next Wednesday so nearly there. However just today I have come across references to a 30-day entry vignette, and that once the visa is granted we will only have 30 days to get to the UK.

I was basing my plans on the (clearly now old information of the) 33-month initial visa, which they may be able to forward-date up to 3 months. So I assumed I had up to a 6 month window to arrive in the UK, and have booked some travel plans accordingly.

As it's not likely to get approved until late Dec/early Jan, I have put my arrival date as '31 June 2017' but it seems unlikely that they will be able to forward date the visa that much, so I don't know what date they will provide the vignette for.

I also understand that if unable to arrive in the UK in the designated time you can apply for a replacement vignette, but I have been unable to find much information regarding what's involved in this - i.e. do you need to re-do your biometrics, and can you do this from outside your country of residence? (As we are likely to be travelling at that point.)

And finally, what does delaying your entry time mean in terms of the visa length? Does the 2.5 year period now start when you arrive, or is it like the old version where if you took too long to get there it would start to eat into the amount of time on the visa?

Thanks very much for your help and sorry for any silly questions - I've only just found this out and trying to figure out if it's possible to work around or whether we're going to have to completely change our plans.

tl;dr: Can you renew the vignette while abroad? Any issues with pushing back entry aside from having to pay the extra fee?

BritInParis

It will be issued up to a maximum of three months in advance plus the 30 days validity of the vignette giving you four months to make the move. The clock doesn't start ticking on your 2.5 years until you enter the UK and collect your BRP.

sera345

Thank you for your help - 4 months we can probably make work.

Do we know much about requirements for renewing the vignette? As per the above query and also: Does it need to be renewed as soon as it expires, or could you theoretically have it expire, wait a further month or two, then re-apply when we planned to arrive?

BritInParis

See here for the official guidance. I can't tell you if there's a time limit but to be perfectly honest I wouldn't push it. If you really can't make the move in the time given then you should consider entering the UK, collect your BRP and then return home to tidy up your affairs. If it's a matter of just changing your flights then I would do that.

sera345

Hi everyone,

Thought I'd send through an update now that I've asked the questions officially and gotten some clear answers in case anyone has the same questions as I did.

1. The UK visa can only be forward dated 3 months from the online application date, not the visa granted date. This means if it takes 2 months for approval, well you've then only got 1 month + 1 month vignette to get to the UK.

2. For renewing your entry vignette, you need to pay the application fee, then return in-person to the visa centre to provide your biometrics again before it can be re-issued. As such you can't be out of the country/travelling and get it renewed.

Hope that helps some!