Guest michael29 Posted July 21, 2010 Share Posted July 21, 2010 Congrats on hearing today! Iam on week 11 now so I am hoping it's going to be any day now. I will let everyone know as soon as I hear anything. Good luck to everyone Cheers Michael Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest if209 Posted July 21, 2010 Share Posted July 21, 2010 49 working days and counting..... Name/initials: IF Date of email confirming receipt: 13 May 2010 Intended date of travel listed: 1 July 2010 Visa not yet granted Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest necole Posted July 21, 2010 Share Posted July 21, 2010 For those who have been trying to keep track of all the individual posts (or maybe just me!) this shows the working days waiting... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sawoodley Posted July 21, 2010 Share Posted July 21, 2010 Congrats Michelle - great news. I see that the June dates are now up on the border agency website. Only 12% in 6 weeks, so no wonder that we're all tearing our hair out. I guess this means I'll be missing summer but hope to get there in time for my kids to start school. Looking forward to further updates from you all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Midget Posted July 21, 2010 Share Posted July 21, 2010 I've read that they can post date your visa by 3 months. So maybe if you'd put your intended date of travel for say 6 months time, they might date your visa to start 3 months from the date of decision (so right about the time you're planning to leave) so part of your 2 years isn't chewed up while you're in Australia (or wherever) before you get to the UK. As I don't think the time starts from when you enter the UK, but from when your visa is issued. But that's just a guess. If it's not that, then incubus must have it spot on!. Yes that is what my boyfriend did - we knew we wouldn't be leaving to the UK for a number of months so asked them to date it from our intended travel date in April - the visa was issued in January but he couldn't enter the UK on it until April. As it was we didn't get here until June, but from what I understand spouse visas are actually counted as 27 months (ie you have 3 months to enter from the date of your visa without losing part of your 2 years). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest incubus1971 Posted July 21, 2010 Share Posted July 21, 2010 Congrats Michelle - great news. I see that the June dates are now up on the border agency website. Only 12% in 6 weeks, so no wonder that we're all tearing our hair out. I guess this means I'll be missing summer but hope to get there in time for my kids to start school. Looking forward to further updates from you all. Also, the number of settlement visas went up from 49 in May to 77 in June ... so they must be a bit over-run... Still - they got 100% in 60 days ... and I'm at day 60 today ... so I expect that email in minute now .... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest christopherm Posted July 21, 2010 Share Posted July 21, 2010 Processed in 30 days has been as follows: April - 86% ~ May - 51% June - 12% That's quite a drop off. Exponential even. If i was to do a lot of work in analysing workflow, handling times, resourcing and service levels - which I do for a very large company - I'd say that they have not increased their resource levels to handle an increase in applications at this time. I find that unusual given that, from what i've heard, this is consistently the busiest time of the year. Seems like a no brainer. I've also heard that the UKBA has outsourced visa processing, i'd wager that this business arrangement isn't flexible enough to deal with a variable workload throughout the year. Sorry for the professional rant, I get frustrated having to deal with a poor experience as a customer that is quite obviously the result of poor planning. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest necole Posted July 21, 2010 Share Posted July 21, 2010 Christopher I'm so with you...work as a business strategy PM and my husband a DC analyst and find this incredibly frustrating! Worse still I want to be able to plan a holiday en-route back to the UK and getting to the UK in the middle of November is, I would think, going to be fairly ordinary for job hunting... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest christopherm Posted July 22, 2010 Share Posted July 22, 2010 ChristopherI'm so with you...work as a business strategy PM and my husband a DC analyst and find this incredibly frustrating! Worse still I want to be able to plan a holiday en-route back to the UK and getting to the UK in the middle of November is, I would think, going to be fairly ordinary for job hunting... My wife will be looking for PM roles in Glasgow, assuming 60 days for processing she'll be there at the start of September. There seems to have been quite a bit available over the last few months, hopefully it stays that way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest tryingtogettotheUK Posted July 22, 2010 Share Posted July 22, 2010 For those who have been trying to keep track of all the individual posts (or maybe just me!) this shows the working days waiting... CONGRATULATIONS! I am excited this has given me renewed hope in the system... and thank you for the above working out times, fingers crossed I may only have a couple of days to wiat. Will keep you all posted. Goodluck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest MXP78 Posted July 22, 2010 Share Posted July 22, 2010 Processed in 30 days has been as follows: April - 86% ~ May - 51% June - 12% That's quite a drop off. Exponential even. If i was to do a lot of work in analysing workflow, handling times, resourcing and service levels - which I do for a very large company - I'd say that they have not increased their resource levels to handle an increase in applications at this time. I find that unusual given that, from what i've heard, this is consistently the busiest time of the year. Seems like a no brainer. I've also heard that the UKBA has outsourced visa processing, i'd wager that this business arrangement isn't flexible enough to deal with a variable workload throughout the year. Either that, or everyone was off waching the World Cup and Wimbledon! Which I have my suspicions about.. Do you have the number of settlement visas processed in April when it was at 86% for 30 days? I didn't note it down but I'm sure it was something like 150? But looking at the recent processing rates I must have been wrong? Incubus - today is the day you should officially be allowed to get a status update! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sawoodley Posted July 22, 2010 Share Posted July 22, 2010 April was about 159 settlements processed. Gosh we're an obsessive bunch aren't we?! I have to agree that it is pretty poor practice that they don't routinely increase staffing cover across these busy months. I am increasingly miserable about my defunct dream of getting on a plane next Friday with my husband. People keep asking if I'm excited about moving to the UK but at the moment I feel like it's not real! Snowballs at Christmas, snowballs at christmas... This will all be a distant memory, right?! PS Anyone moving to Birmingham (no jokes about the accents please)? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest necole Posted July 22, 2010 Share Posted July 22, 2010 Lived in Birmingham and Sutton Coldfield for 3 year and a couple of years in Staffs. Heading back towards Cheshire initially (to stay with husbands mum) but will depend on what happens with work as to exactly where we end up. Most of our friends are around Brum but Cheshire closer to John's mum and Wales... April was about 159 settlements processed. Gosh we're an obsessive bunch aren't we?! I have to agree that it is pretty poor practice that they don't routinely increase staffing cover across these busy months. I am increasingly miserable about my defunct dream of getting on a plane next Friday with my husband. People keep asking if I'm excited about moving to the UK but at the moment I feel like it's not real! Snowballs at Christmas, snowballs at christmas... This will all be a distant memory, right?! PS Anyone moving to Birmingham (no jokes about the accents please)? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest if209 Posted July 22, 2010 Share Posted July 22, 2010 Can't believe it but I received my approval email today, day 50! I'm so excited. I wish you all the best of luck and hope that it won't be too much longer for you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sawoodley Posted July 22, 2010 Share Posted July 22, 2010 if209: great news! Congrats. No, not jealous at all. Enjoy the flight! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest necole Posted July 22, 2010 Share Posted July 22, 2010 Can't believe it but I received my approval email today, day 50! I'm so excited. I wish you all the best of luck and hope that it won't be too much longer for you. Congrats IF - would be great if you could give us an idea when you actually get your passport. Happy packing! Incubus1971 - keeping my fingers and toes crossed for you! Necole Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MicheleW Posted July 22, 2010 Share Posted July 22, 2010 I have to agree that it is pretty poor practice that they don't routinely increase staffing cover across these busy months. I am increasingly miserable about my defunct dream of getting on a plane next Friday with my husband. People keep asking if I'm excited about moving to the UK but at the moment I feel like it's not real! Unfortunately if your application is being processed in the UK they are unable to increase staffing at present as their is a recruitment freeze across all of the civil service. Where there is a need for staff there are so many hurdles to jump through that the average recruitment of temporary staff now takes up to 3 months. I do hope that your visa is granted soon though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest incubus1971 Posted July 23, 2010 Share Posted July 23, 2010 Hi Michelle and the guys that have their visa... I just got this response from the UKBA (is this the same as your response - and does it mean it was approved? ... let me know ... I don't want to get my pertner's hopes up unnecessarily): "Dear Applicant, Your application has been processed and your passport should be despatched within the next 5 working days. N.B. Applications submitted from New Zealand may take an additional 2-3 days. This is an automated message - do not respond to this email address as incoming mail is not answered. UKBA Visa Services International Group - Canberra " Date app received by UKBA: 29/4/2010 Email received: 23/7/2010 61 weekday (minus maybe one for the Queens Birthday Holiday ... so perhaps 60 Business Days) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest tryingtogettotheUK Posted July 23, 2010 Share Posted July 23, 2010 Can't believe it but I received my approval email today, day 50! I'm so excited. I wish you all the best of luck and hope that it won't be too much longer for you. I am so excited for you. That is fantastic news... looks like things are finally starting to move down there. Maybe they have seen this blog As I am currently sitting on 48 days I am getting very excited. Good luck to everyone and good luck with the move! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest MXP78 Posted July 23, 2010 Share Posted July 23, 2010 Hi Michelle and the guys that have their visa... I just got this response from the UKBA (is this the same as your response - and does it mean it was approved? ... let me know ... I don't want to get my pertner's hopes up unnecessarily): "Dear Applicant, Your application has been processed and your passport should be despatched within the next 5 working days. N.B. Applications submitted from New Zealand may take an additional 2-3 days. This is an automated message - do not respond to this email address as incoming mail is not answered. UKBA Visa Services International Group - Canberra That is slightly different than mine (below). Mine actually said it was approved and it would be despatched in 3 working days. However, the wording on all of mine is slightly different to yours. I wouldn't think that means it's declined though as really, either way, declined or approved, it should say it in the email. Did yours come from the same email address? If you meet all the necessary requirements and have the evidence, I shouldn't think there is any way they would decline it. They also let me know my tracking number which is lucky as I forgot to take a note of it when I included the envelope in my submission. Begin forwarded message: From:CANCGVisaInfo@fco.gov.uk Date: 21 July 2010 12:47:30 PM AEST To: Subject: Your Visa Application @ Canberra (Ref: 683330) Your application has been approved and your documents will be despatched within 3 working days. New Zealand applications may take a futher 3 days to arrive in the postal system. Couriered packages can then be traced using the consignment number. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sawoodley Posted July 23, 2010 Share Posted July 23, 2010 That's great to hear that they told you the tracking number cos I also forgot to tear off mine in the rush to get it all in the post bag and sent! Incubus, could you call them to clarify? It would be classed as a generic question on the $10 line perhaps? ie "When one receives an email will it definitely say "approved" or could it say "processed" and still mean that it is approved"? I hope it's all OK for you. OK, time to go prepare for the goodbye party that is now not needed as I'm not leaving next week!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest incubus1971 Posted July 23, 2010 Share Posted July 23, 2010 That's great to hear that they told you the tracking number cos I also forgot to tear off mine in the rush to get it all in the post bag and sent! Incubus, could you call them to clarify? It would be classed as a generic question on the $10 line perhaps? ie "When one receives an email will it definitely say "approved" or could it say "processed" and still mean that it is approved"? I hope it's all OK for you. OK, time to go prepare for the goodbye party that is now not needed as I'm not leaving next week!!! I did try that phone number - but they say in the recorded preamble that they don't have any information on the status of the application. I have sent an email again of to my trusty friends at ec.enquiries@fco.gov.uk .... they were pretty prompt last time and I did get a response from a real human. At this stage I'm quietly celebrating .... I'm fairly sure that, if it wasn't successful that they would have indicated that... Good luck everybody else waiting.... and this group has been such a great support! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest MXP78 Posted July 23, 2010 Share Posted July 23, 2010 Hi team, Another status update for everyone, I have my passport, with visa, in my hot little hands! So I can confirm that the despatching part of the process works like a charm! We received the confirmation email at 12.47pm on Wednesday and it was delivered 10.51am on Friday (today). I'm very relieved as I put some flights on hold yesterday and was only allowed 24 hours to confirm before they released them, which I was reluctant to do until I actually had my passport! We're now leaving Mon 2 August (sorry, not rubbing it in, just can't believe it's finally happening after 3 months!) Unfortunately I can't shed any light on the whole ILE visa thing as I have no idea if that's what I've got (although I think not otherwise I'm sure it would be obvious). My visa start date is 27 July 2010 and the expiry is 27 Oct 2010. The only other info it really has is that I'm not allowed recourse to public funds. There's no other info or letter with it. I guess it's up to you to find out the rules and make sure you look into how to extend it before the expiry date. Incubus - I really think yours will be fine. I'm sure before declining your app, they would have at least phoned for clarification on some points. Also, someone at work told me that their brother (who is British) recently married an Aussie girl. They'd only been together in total for about 10 months, and applied for her visa the day after they got married, and theirs was accepted. I echo Incubus' sentiments re the forum. It was nice to know that there were others in the same boat and that my application hadn't been lost which was what everyone at work was telling me! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest michael29 Posted July 23, 2010 Share Posted July 23, 2010 Hi MX, That's great that you recieved everything back so quickly:) Good luck with moving back and thanks for all the info updates. Good luck to everyone else still waiting let's hope for some more good news next week. cheers Michael Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest necole Posted July 23, 2010 Share Posted July 23, 2010 Incubus I think you'll be right. There appears to be guidance on wording for visa refusals but not on succecsses... so perhaps just an instance of where communication could have been clearer! Others may find the following interesting (and reassuring) as it shows the limited number of items you will actually get refused on. Chapter 26 Annex 2 Part 9 I did try that phone number - but they say in the recorded preamble that they don't have any information on the status of the application. I have sent an email again of to my trusty friends at ec.enquiries@fco.gov.uk .... they were pretty prompt last time and I did get a response from a real human. At this stage I'm quietly celebrating .... I'm fairly sure that, if it wasn't successful that they would have indicated that... Good luck everybody else waiting.... and this group has been such a great support! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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