UK visa status: Expect significant delay in processing; turnaround time explained [details]

The travel restrictions between India and UK made the headlines for all the wrong reasons until the stalemate ended after both countries decided to lift the quarantine mandate for fully-vaccinated persons. More recently, the UK added Covaxin to the approved list, easing worries of international travellers from India who got jabbed with Covaxin.

Indians who waited through the pandemic finally had a chance to plan their trip to the UK either to meet their family or friends or finally come through on that long-pending business or personal trip. The first thing on the agenda - apply for a visa. Those who already did, well, are left with never-ending wait times on your visa application.

UK visa turnaround time

The British High Commission in India shared an important update on the visa status of pending applications.

"Due to extremely high global demand following the easing of travel restrictions, standard UK visitor visas continue to experience a significant delay in processing," the UK in India said in a tweet with a link that gives a detailed turnaround time of visas and by when one may get a decision on their application.

1. Travelling through the UK — within 3 weeks after appointment
2. Studying in the UK — within 3 weeks after appointment
3. To work or invest in the UK — within 3 weeks after appointment/ 12 weeks for Turkish Business Person visa
4. Joining family in the UK — within 12 weeks after appointment
5. Family reunion — within 12 weeks after appointment
6. Commonwealth citizens — within 3 weeks after appointment
7. Returning residents — within 3 weeks after appointment
8. Replacing residence cards — within 3 weeks after appointment
9. Certificate of entitlement —within 3 weeks after appointment

Travellers can also avail priority service that costs extra but reduces turnaround time for the processing of visa applications to within 5 days. There's also a super-priority service to avail next day collection. Moreover, if the supportive documents need to be verified, need to attend an interview or have personal circumstances.

"If you applied for a priority or super-priority visa and your application is not straightforward, you may have to wait longer, but your application will still be put at the front of the queue at every stage of the decision-making process. UK Visas and Immigration will try to process your application within our standard timescales," the British High Commission noted.