The time it takes to apply for a Visitor visa or Spouse visa to England changed in April 2009. The changes have had an impact on people visiting and relocating to England. The company that works with the British embassy has put the visa applications online. It seems that there was some form of problem with the IT side of the operation as what took 4 days prior is now taking nearly 4 times longs.
- A Visitor Visa to England is now taking 15 working days
- A Spouse visa to England is now taking 90 working days
While the visitor visa is taking 3 weeks, the spouse visa is taking 3 months. This is the visa that has created the most heartache around the world.
Thai wifes that are applying for a spouse visa to live with their British husband now have to wait three months to find out if the visa application has been successful. When visas are refused and the Thai wife has to reapply, it can take anywhere from 3 months to 9 months to finally obtain a settlement visa to allow her to finally be with her husband.
Certainly over time the IT problems will be resolved and it is hoped that the time scale needed for a decision for a visa application will be reduced from 90 days. Time will tell.
The advice will give is do not wait until you need a visa to apply for one, it if takes 3 months to get a reply from the embassy, it will take you another 1 – 2 months to get your documents together making the complete visa application 5 months in total.