Tier 2 ICT FastTrack Delayed

[Prudent]

Need advice from Manci
My husband appeared for biometrics on 26th May in Chennai vfs for tier2 ict long term visa. Today is 27th working day and there are no updates from the UKVI. He had paid 15600INR for priority visa. He called them and also sent email but there are no relevant responses. He is much worried. Does anyone know what may be the reason for this delay. Your suggestions are much appreciated. Thanks in advance.

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[abdrazak]

Hi Prudent,

Sad to hear that. My case is somewhat similar to your husband's - except that I applied in normal mode.

I appeared for my biometrics on 16th May and now it is past 40 working days without any progress on my visa. However, I called the UKVI and got my case escalated on 22nd June. The thing is, once the case has been escalated the home office has 15 working days to respond on a case, at least with the reason for the delay. I did get a response stating that they are doing some extended checks and hence the delay - timeline for the completion of these checks wasn't mentioned though.

Hope this helps.

[Prudent]

Hi Abdrazak, thanks for your reply. My husband got his visa last week. They say it takes 15 working days, But they will process it soon. My prayers for you to get your visa soon.

[chan1088]

Hi Prudent,

Sad to hear that. My case is somewhat similar to your husband's - except that I applied in normal mode.

I appeared for my biometrics on 16th May and now it is past 40 working days without any progress on my visa. However, I called the UKVI and got my case escalated on 22nd June. The thing is, once the case has been escalated the home office has 15 working days to respond on a case, at least with the reason for the delay. I did get a response stating that they are doing some extended checks and hence the delay - timeline for the completion of these checks wasn't mentioned though.

Hope this helps.

Hi abdrazak, can you update us whether you have got your visa approved? How did you get your case escalated? I applied via the normal mode too and it's been 34 working days and I'm still waiting to hear from the Home Office. Their email reply to me more than a week ago was my application 'is being considered and awaiting approval.'

[abdrazak]

Hi Abdrazak, thanks for your reply. My husband got his visa last week. They say it takes 15 working days, But they will process it soon. My prayers for you to get your visa soon.

Hi Prudent, that's very good.... congrats. Yes, thank you for your wishes.

[abdrazak]

Hi Prudent,

Sad to hear that. My case is somewhat similar to your husband's - except that I applied in normal mode.

I appeared for my biometrics on 16th May and now it is past 40 working days without any progress on my visa. However, I called the UKVI and got my case escalated on 22nd June. The thing is, once the case has been escalated the home office has 15 working days to respond on a case, at least with the reason for the delay. I did get a response stating that they are doing some extended checks and hence the delay - timeline for the completion of these checks wasn't mentioned though.

Hope this helps.

Hi abdrazak, can you update us whether you have got your visa approved? How did you get your case escalated? I applied via the normal mode too and it's been 34 working days and I'm still waiting to hear from the Home Office. Their email reply to me more than a week ago was my application 'is being considered and awaiting approval.'

Hi Chan,

I have not yet got my visa approved - awaiting since 41 days. I opted for an e-mail inquiry by going through the following link - they charge you GBP 5.78 for sending them an e-mail, including any follow ups after that.
https://www.gov.uk/contact-ukvi-inside- ... uk/english

They responded within 3 working days (although their deadline is 2 working days) asking me to reply to their e-mail with the following details:

* Applicant's full name:
* GWF Reference number:
* IHS Reference number (if applicable):
* Place of submission (City&Country):
* Type of visa applied for:
* Date of biometrics:
* Nationality:
* Applicant's Email:
* Brief Reason for escalation:

(Be sure you give a good "brief reason for escalation").

Within further 2 working days they replied stating "Thank you for providing the required details. We will escalate your case now". However, they do not confirm back that your case is already escalated. I did give them a couple of more days time and called the paid service (this service again charges you extra) to confirm if the case was escalated - they asked for my e-mail ID/inquiry reference number and confirmed that the case was escalated.

Please let me know if you need any further details.

[chan1088]

Hi abdrazak,

Thanks so much for replying so quickly. It's ridiculous to hear that they charge you per email query. Once your query is answered, a new charge applies.

Today is the 15th day since the escalation of your case right? Please update us once you hear anything and I'll do the same too! Thank you!

[abdrazak]

Hi abdrazak,

Thanks so much for replying so quickly. It's ridiculous to hear that they charge you per email query. Once your query is answered, a new charge applies.

Today is the 15th day since the escalation of your case right? Please update us once you hear anything and I'll do the same too! Thank you!

I acknowledge that it is a high charge. As mentioned in one of my previous replies, they did get back to me on the 14th day detailing the reason for this delay - extended checks on my application. Later today my application was decided - found out after calling the UKVI again (by paying extra). However, it may probably take a week until I receive my documents.

More and more findings by the day... the link below may show up your application status (although it is meant to be useful for applications made within the UK), only after it is decided (key in your GWF number in full) - and not until a decision is taken. If the decision is not taken, the page will display that the number was not recognised.
https://contact-ukvi.homeoffice.gov.uk/ ... visastatus

Good luck!

[chan1088]

That's great news, abdrazak!! Good on you and congratulations!! Hopefully it will be a breeze after this.

Good luck too!

[abdrazak]

I received my passport on 14/7/2017 - with the visa stamped.

[chan1088]

Omg congratulations abdrazak!!! You must be excited! So happy for you!
Actually, I'm not sure if I should request for my case to be escalated too because the first email exchange was sent out by my legal vendor engaged by my future employer, on my behalf. The vendor's advice is to wait for a few more days before reaching out to the Home Office who seems to be giving generic replies most of the time. Btw, it's week 8 for me now.

Would you mind sharing your timeline in the link below please? Thanks so much!

uk-tier-2-employer-sponsored-visas/out- ... l#p1508594