πŸ‘« UK Spouse/Partner visa - 2 years since Covid

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Amazingly, it has now been 2 years of the New Normal! Here we put a summary of what changed in the Immigration rules and procedures for a UK Spouse and Partner visas.


#1 Application inside the UK.

It has been back to normal. You have to submit a new application (online) before your current visa expires. However, you have more 6 weeks to book an appointment for biometrics and provide your documents. 


#2 Absences from the UK due to Covid travel restrictions.

If you happened to stay abroad longer than intended because of Covid travel restrictions, it won’t affect your future U.K. visa applications or continuous residency, as long as it was for a reasonable time (consistent with the Governments’ policies).  


#3 Changes in your income including furlough payments.

The “Covid furlough” leave is considered as a normal period of your employment. If your employer paid you at least 80% of your normal salary, for that purpose of a U.K. visa it will be counted as 100%. There are other concessions for the employed and self-employed, for details please contact us. 


#4 ID app to reuse your biometrics. 

Increasingly, the authorities are using this official app to verify your ID, so you don’t have to provide biometrics (fingerprints) again. This is now being rolled out for spouses and partners applying for settlement after 5 years; and in some cases for those applying for extension. It is certainly good news because you wouldn’t need to travel to a visa centre and can use the app from the comfort of your home. It is not available in all cases yet, but it is being rolled out. 


Priority services to get a faster decision. 

Here the situation differs whether you are applying inside or outside the UK. Outside the UK, the priority services resumed in most locations. Priority consideration for a settlement visas is expected to take 1.5 months, as opposed to the standard 3 months. 

If you are applying inside the UK, the Priority service costs £800 per person and means you could have a decision on the next working day. Although it seems to work only when you have to physically attend an appointment (ie not when you are able to use the app, as above). However, we see fast processing time with the standard service for non-settlement applications. For example, some recent Spouse extensions took only 2-3 weeks after using the app. 




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 13 years, our OISC reference is 200800152, in which 2008 stands for the year accreditation. Office: Tower 42, 25 Old Broad Street, London, EC2N 1HN. 

Website: 1st4immigration.com

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