applied on 20th May. No acknowledgement letter

hussainkothari · Post by **hussainkothari** » Wed May 29, 2013 3:08 pm

Hi All,

I had sent my Tier1 extension app on 20th May that was delivered on 21st May. It was for myself and 2 dependents (spouse and child). I have made the payment of £3863 by Bankers Draft. I had recorded delivered by royal mail to -
UK Border Agency
Tier 1
PO Box 496
Durham
DH99 1WQ

I haven't received the ack letter as yet. Looking at the timelines on the forum I am getting a bit worried now. Others usually get their letters within a week.
Can anyone provide any assurances to me? I am a bit anxious now. How long should I wait?

Thanks,
H

imranhameed2000 · Post by **imranhameed2000** » Wed May 29, 2013 3:37 pm

applied on 13 may..payment taken 15 may......got ack letter on 21 dated 15 may .....got bio letter today dated 16 may. Total amount paid 3863

imranhameed2000 · Post by **imranhameed2000** » Wed May 29, 2013 3:40 pm

I would say dont worry. U should get some response this week. Also bank holiday this week added to dealys.......

hussainkothari · Post by **hussainkothari** » Thu May 30, 2013 1:55 pm

No letter even today!

Hi.. can anyone confirm that the details above (address and amount) are correct. I spend an extra £20 so that I could avoid the payment problems and made a bankers draft. I thought they will send out the letter almost immediately.

Well I think i am safe to presume that these letters are not lost in the post as I should have recv atleast got one (ack/bioM) of the letters. So if the details above are right and the payment almost like cash, what could be the problem

?

-H

zen135 · Post by **zen135** » Thu May 30, 2013 3:14 pm

Hello,

I posted my application along with my dependant on 15 May by special delivery (received by UKBA on 16 May) and also used the Banker Draft option. My solicitor received a 'copy' of the biometric letter on 23 May. Both the acknowledgement letter (dated 17 May) and the original biometric letters (dated 20 May) were then received by my solicitor on 28 May. They should have posted the original ones to the applicant/dependant directly.

To be honest, I was surprised at the swift processing time by UKBA considering the fact that a Banker Draft normally takes the same time to clear as a cheque (3-5 working days). Maybe they are considering them on the same basis as postal orders nowadays.

If you don't receive anything by the end of this week, I would advise you to send an email to the following email address asking them to post you another copy of the biometrics enrolment letter if issued already:
AppointmentExceptions@homeoffice.gsi.gov.uk

hussainkothari · Post by **hussainkothari** » Thu May 30, 2013 3:23 pm

Thanks zen135/others,

Could you confirm if the amount and the address that I have used are correct?

If this information is right, I should have had my ack letter.

Thanks,
H

hussainkothari · Post by **hussainkothari** » Thu May 30, 2013 3:27 pm

BTW, should I have received 3 different ack letters and 3 different bio-metric letters? 6 letters in total?

zen135 · Post by **zen135** » Thu May 30, 2013 3:38 pm

Yes, the address is correct and the same one which I used and the amount is correct too.

The acknowledgement letter is issued only after the payment is cleared. In the case of payment by banker draft/cheque, UKBA gives a timeline of 5 working days to clear and then the letters are sent by 2nd class post which takes another 3-5 working days to arrive.

Based on the above, you are still within their processing guidelines. You should receive the letters by early next week.

PS - I've tweaked the times in my earlier response to provide you with the exact timescale. My solicitor received the representative 'copy' of the biometrics letter on 23 May but the acknowledgement letter and the original biometrics letters were received together on 28 May.

zen135 · Post by **zen135** » Thu May 30, 2013 3:48 pm

I received 1 Acknowledgement letter and 2 separate Biometrics Letters with different barcodes and reference numbers (1 for main applicant and 1 for dependant). Also, surprisingly, the letters mentioned that we can only submit the biometrics at the Post Office. The UKBA centre option was not provided even though I had a dependant.

hussainkothari · Post by **hussainkothari** » Fri May 31, 2013 2:48 pm

Thanks guys for your words of encouragement.

No post even today! I wrote to AppointmentExceptions@homeoffice.gsi.gov.uk and they replied saying -

--------
Good Afternoon.

Thank you for your email

The Appointment Exceptions mailbox is provided only for applicants who have received their biometric enrolment letters but are experiencing difficultly enrolling.

You should address your query to the Immigration Enquiry Bureau on 0870 606 7766.

Regards
Appointment Exceptions
--------

Then I called the number mentioned above and they told me they will entertain my query only after 4 weeks. So I just have to wait.

On www.spammer.com/uk-immigration- ... -extension people have received their ack letter even after applying at a later date.

Such a agonising wait. Why can't we get better value for money?

-H

zen135 · Post by **zen135** » Fri May 31, 2013 3:25 pm

Sorry to hear that.

Did they tell you when the biometric letter was issued and the deadline for enrolling?

When I called earlier this week, they were able to give me the exact dates and asked me wait until a couple of days before the enrolment deadline and let them know if the letter had still not arrived. They would then re-send the letter again.

If they have issued the biometrics letter already, then you can safely assume that your payment has cleared and you application is 'valid'.

hussainkothari · Post by **hussainkothari** » Fri May 31, 2013 4:21 pm

Sorry.. who's they? and what number did you call?
I don't have any reference numbers. So what should I ask for?
Does anyone have a email id?

-H

zen135 · Post by **zen135** » Fri May 31, 2013 6:31 pm

I called the UKBA on 08706067766 and selected option 4. A lady picked up after a couple of minutes and I told her that I've not received the biometrics letter and asked her to check their system to see if it had been issued yet. She asked for my application reference number and as I didn't have it with me, she took my name, date of birth and nationality and then informed me the exact date of issue of the letters, deadline, etc.

l'azure · Post by **l'azure** » Fri May 31, 2013 9:26 pm

I hope you receive your acknowledgement and biometric letters soon, hussainkothari.

zen135, you mentioned that if the biometrics letter are issued, then one can safely assume that one's payment has cleared and application is 'valid'. For my peace of mind, could you please let me know whether this is a regulation or rule of thumb?

karg_g · Post by **karg_g** » Fri May 31, 2013 9:39 pm

Hi,

When I applied for dependent visa I never got any acknowledgment letter. Got bio metrics letter 10 days after payment was debited. All went through fine and never received acknowledgement letter

zen135 · Post by **zen135** » Fri May 31, 2013 10:21 pm

l'azure wrote:I hope you receive your acknowledgement and biometric letters soon, hussainkothari.

zen135, you mentioned that if the biometrics letter are issued, then one can safely assume that one's payment has cleared and application is 'valid'. For my peace of mind, could you please let me know whether this is a regulation or rule of thumb?

This is the standard procedure that they follow according to their guidance. First the payment is processed, then the application is 'validated' and then finally after that the biometric enrolment letter is issued. Open the link below and go to page 5 of the guidance for further details:

http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/sitec ... iew=Binary

l'azure · Post by **l'azure** » Fri May 31, 2013 10:47 pm

Thank you very much, zen135.

hussainkothari · Post by **hussainkothari** » Sat Jun 01, 2013 4:41 pm

No letter even today

hussainkothari · Post by **hussainkothari** » Mon Jun 03, 2013 2:11 pm

Hi. I checked with the bank today and they have confirmed that a draft of the same amount (which could be mine) has been en cashed on 27th May.

achellap · Post by **achellap** » Mon Jun 03, 2013 10:16 pm

When i applied for my initial Tier 1 i did not get my acknowledgement , but all went through without any issues , so not worry , you should be getting your biometric letter soon.

hussainkothari · Post by **hussainkothari** » Tue Jun 04, 2013 1:40 pm

Phew! Got the letter today

I thought paying by bankers draft was like paying cash. But ukba wouldn't start work until they physically get the money into their account!

Thanks guys for your words.

-H

zen135 · Post by **zen135** » Tue Jun 04, 2013 2:10 pm

hussainkothari wrote:Phew! Got the letter today

I thought paying by bankers draft was like paying cash. But ukba wouldn't start work until they physically get the money into their account!

Thanks guys for your words.

-H

Excellent! What is the date on the acknowledgement letter btw? Have they sent you the biometric letters as well?

hussainkothari · Post by **hussainkothari** » Tue Jun 04, 2013 11:17 pm

Hi.. I have received only the ack letter today dated 30th May.

zen135 · Post by **zen135** » Thu Jun 06, 2013 4:30 pm

hussainkothari wrote:Hi.. I have received only the back letter today dated 30th May.

Thanks. Would you mind telling me the bank you used to generate the banker draft for your application?

hussainkothari · Post by **hussainkothari** » Thu Jun 06, 2013 8:35 pm

Would you mind telling me the bank you used to generate the banker draft for your application?

Sure. Lloyds TSB.

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applied on 20th May. No acknowledgement letter

applied on 20th May. No acknowledgement letter