US to UK Tier 2 Intra-company transfer long term staff questions

[lovestravel]

We are US citizens moving there for a 2 year assignment. My husband will be applying for a Tier 2 Intra-company transfer long term staff work Visa. The company is an a-rated sponsor. They are sponsoring my visa as his spouse as well (I will not be working). They want to rush the paperwork through as quickly as possible.

My husband is currently in london and I will be joining him this weekend to house hunt. He is travelling in and out of the country on business while he is there so he needs his passport & I will need my passport this weekend to meet up with him. We are returning on the 22nd of July to start packing up.

Can we apply for our visas in person with our passports & retain possession of them there in London? If so- where do we need to go & how long does it take to get an appointment?

We have been told that the process is taking about 3 weeks now. Is that true? I think the target date for us to move there is around the middle of august as soon as the olympics & paraolympics are done.

[nyclon]

Originally Posted by lovestravel

We are US citizens moving there for a 2 year assignment. My husband will be applying for a Tier 2 Intra-company transfer long term staff work Visa. The company is an a-rated sponsor. They are sponsoring my visa as his spouse as well (I will not be working). They want to rush the paperwork through as quickly as possible.

My husband is currently in london and I will be joining him this weekend to house hunt. He is travelling in and out of the country on business while he is there so he needs his passport & I will need my passport this weekend to meet up with him. We are returning on the 22nd of July to start packing up.

Can we apply for our visas in person with our passports & retain possession of them there in London? If so- where do we need to go & how long does it take to get an appointment?

We have been told that the process is taking about 3 weeks now. Is that true? I think the target date for us to move there is around the middle of august as soon as the olympics & paraolympics are done.

In the US, there are no in-person appointments for visas. You apply on line, do biometrics and then mail in a hard copy of the application along with any supporting documents. There is an option to pay for priority processing. I think it costs $150 extra/person.

UK Border Agency | Applying from outside the UK

[lovestravel]

Originally Posted by nyclon

In the US, there are no in-person appointments for visas. You apply on line, do biometrics and then mail in a hard copy of the application along with any supporting documents. There is an option to pay for priority processing. I think it costs $150 extra/person.

UK Border Agency | Applying from outside the UK

I think we are going to apply for our visas in london. Is everything done right there? Do they take the documentation (passports) or will they return them at the end of the appointment? How far in advance would we need to book an appointment?

[nyclon]

Originally Posted by lovestravel

I think we are going to apply for our visas in london. Is everything done right there? Do they take the documentation (passports) or will they return them at the end of the appointment? How far in advance would we need to book an appointment?

You can't apply while you are in London on a visitor visa. You cannot apply for any other visa while you are in the UK on a visitor visa. Your only option is to apply by mail from the US. You must apply from your usual place of residence. I'm surprised your husband's HR hasn't given you more help with this.

UK Border Agency | Applying from outside the UK

[lovestravel]

Originally Posted by nyclon

You can't apply while you are in London on a visitor visa. You cannot apply for any other visa while you are in the UK on a visitor visa. Your only option is to apply by mail from the US. You must apply from your usual place of residence. I'm surprised your husband's HR hasn't given you more help with this.

UK Border Agency | Applying from outside the UK

My husband's hr department has been more than useless which is why I have had to resort to finding information on our own. I will pass only the info to my husband who is there (well in Amsterdam today) until the 22nd.

[nyclon]

Originally Posted by lovestravel

My husband's hr department has been more than useless which is why I have had to resort to finding information on our own. I will pass only the info to my husband who is there (well in Amsterdam today) until the 22nd.

Wow, that stinks.

[lovestravel]

It has been so frustrating. They keep treating it like we are moving from one state to another.