About our services
UK Visas and Immigration is responsible for decisions about who can come to the UK and who can stay here.
Service standards
If you apply to come to or remain in the UK and we consider your application to be straightforward (for example, we can make a decision on it without asking you for more information) it will be decided within our customer service standards. There is no need to ask us for progress on it.
The service we offer
Our service standard processing times for standard applications (depending on application type) will start when you make an application and prove your identity.
Check if you are eligible to get a faster decision on your application from inside or outside the UK.
When you apply:
- our staff will be thorough and polite, and will treat you with dignity
- our information will be in plain language and accurate
- we will provide you with a detailed response to an enquiry
- we will keep your personal details confidential and handle information about you in line with the Data Protection Act 2018 and the General Data Protection Regulation 2018 (we may need to share it with third parties but only if lawful and necessary)
What we need from you
To consider your application within the service standards, you need to make sure that:
- you make an application before your visa expires if you currently have one
- your application is completed accurately
- you include any required photographs
- you provide the appropriate supporting evidence required in your application for example, that you have enough personal savings to support yourself in the UK
- you provide your fingerprints and a photograph (biometric information) either at a visa application centre (VAC), a UK Visa and Citizenship Application Services service point (UKVCAS), a Service and Support Centre (SSC) or using the UK Immigration: ID Check app. You’ll be told which option to use when you make your application
- you respond to any requests for further information by the dates we ask you
- if you attend your appointment at a VAC, a UKVCAS service point or an SSC, to submit the required documents with your application
If your application is made on a paper form, you should also make sure:
- it is signed and dated and made on the correct form, submitting the required documents
- you have included the payment and any cheque is signed and dated for the full fee
If we can’t make a decision within the service standards
If there is a problem with your application, for example, if it is incomplete or complex, we will write to explain why it will not be decided within the normal standard. The letter will explain what will happen next.
If you have applied for the super priority or priority service, we will contact you within the service standard if there is a problem with your application.