🇬🇧 UK visa online application process

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We thought we would remind how the current application procedure works, and not just because of Covid. The UK authorities moved the casework online in late 2018, well before Covid. In that sense they didn’t have to adapt very much. 

The actual visa rules haven’t changed in terms of eligibility. For example, spouses and partners of U.K. citizens still need to meet the strict Financial Requirement £18,600. Skilled Workers can still only work for their Sponsor (employer) on an approved salary , with only some supplementary employment allowed. And so on. 

However, the application process , ie how to apply, is now online.  Online application form , electronic versions of documents , which get uploaded on the designated portal and which will be considered electronically by the caseworkers at the Home Office in Sheffield. The good thing is we don’t have to insist on you providing “payslips stamped by employer” or “banks statements stamped by the bank”. Ah, the joy of technology ! Unless you are missing the old days when you could come to Croydon, see a caseworker and get a decision on same day… 

The only ‘in person’ thing now is that you have to come to an official visa centre, show your passport and provide biometrics (fingerprints). Your passport stays with you after that but your documents go for consideration by the caseworker.  There’s a faster service where you can get a decision on the next working day after such an appointment. 

The actual decision also comes electronically by email. A visa card still arrives by courier delivery, although this is also likely to move to an electronic status sooner rather later. 

If you need to talk to a lawyer first about your circumstances, you can book a consultation here.

1st 4Immigration is one of the most experienced UK immigration law companies, OISC - accredited at the highest Level 3. We have been in business for over 10 years, our OISC reference is 200800152, in which 2008 stands for the year accreditation. Office: Tower 42, 25 Old Broad Street, London, EC2N 1HN. 

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