Visa application, biometrics (fingerprints) and Biometric Residence Permit. What happens when – the process and why it seems confusing.

We are often asked about when to submit the biometrics (fingerprints) and whether one needs to apply separately for a biometric residence permit. The answer is all this is a part of one visa application, i.e. part of one process.

Applying inside the UK by post:

First you send your visa application via post-office to the Home Office (passport, supporting documents’, application forms including printouts of the online form etc). Then  you receive a acknowledgement from the Home Office and once your payment has been processed, an invitation to submit biometrics. You have to go to a designated post-office, with this invitation, to do this. After that you wait for a decision on your application. Contrary to a popular belief, you submit biometrics before a Home Office caseworker looks at your application (only some admin department looks at it at this point). Therefore, an invitation for biometrics shouldn’t be used as an indication of how well your case is progressing). Once –and if – your application has been approved, the Home Office returns your passport and other documents together with a decision letter confirming your visa has been granted. A visa itself is not a stamp in the passport but a biometric card, similar to a bank card, which arrives up to 2 weeks later. This is what a Biometric Residence Permit is.

It is not possible to submit biometrics without an invitation and there is no need to apply for a biometric card separately from applying for a visa.

Applying inside the UK on same-day service:

On the day of your appointment you submit your passport, application form (or printout of the online form) and  biometrics and receive a decision on the same day at a Home Office facility, such as at the one in Croydon. A Biometric Residence Permit (visa card) arrives up to 2 weeks later but you know on the day that your visa has been granted because you have a decision letter on the day.

Applying outside the UK:

The process differs slightly in each country but in general, you complete an online application form, pay a fee and make an appointment to submit biometrics at a visa centre.  In most cases you then submit your passport, supporting documents and biometrics all together on the day of appointment. In some countries, such as the USA and Australia, you only submit your biometrics o the day and then post all the documents to the Home Office in Sheffield or a processing centre, such as the one in Manila, Philippines, which covers Australia and New Zealand. 

 

Until recently, once your visa has been granted, you’d have a visa stamp in the passport. A recently introduced process changed that. Now you’d have a 30 days stamp in your passport together with a letter advising to pick up your Biometric Residence Permit from a designated post-office within 10 days of arrival in the UK.

We at 1^st 4Immigration assist with all the above types of applications. We can guide you on the process and the documents (and rules), so you would have someone “to hold your hand” throughout the process. If you’re applying using same-day service in Croydon, as we do almost every day, we would also accompany you on the day. With a postal application we would prepare and submit your application by post. With an application outside the UK we would prepare your application and guide you on how to hand over the papers in your country (handing the documents over is not difficult, the challenge is to hand over the correct documents). In case of applicants in America, we can post your documents directly to Sheffield, once you have sent us a confirmation of biometrics.

For an individual advice or to make an application please contact us: info@1st4immigration.com or visit www.1st4immigration.com 
 
If you are an Immigration Adviser or a Solicitor please visit our immigration Training and CPD website: www.1st4immigration.com/training