[carla32]

Hello all, I am hoping for some wisdom and advice from the forum, as I am in a bit of a panic. I did not realise that there was a third outcome when submitting your application at the premium centre - a letter saying your application is valid but further enquiries need to be made... The caseworker said she was happy but security checks had to be made.
It seems pointless to speculate why, or what is being checked. He is a Kiwi, and we were not lacking any correct documents. Any or all of the information submitted could be awaiting checks and I understand this. I believe all checks go to Sheffield and await decision from there?
But the real issue for us is the time. My husband's visa expires in a few weeks, and I know that normally this would not be an issue, as he has the right to remain during the decision process, but he has to travel for work. If he is unable to travel, he would have to leave the UK rather than lose his job.
1) From what I understand, any travel abroad once his visa expires will result in a withdrawal of his application. Is that still correct if he leaves BEFORE the date of visa expiry but then tries to re-enter after? ( without decision made)
( I understand that if his visa was approved, then he could have his BRP sent by me, via courier, abroad, to enable valid re-entry)

2) The only safe option I can see, if the visa does not turn up before expiry, is to exit the UK before visa expires and stay abroad until the visa is approved, is that correct? I am trying to think of another solution that is not so dire!

Also, should I be trying to write emails to UKVI at this stage to try and explain the urgency or contacting an immigration lawyer? I am starting to panic and think we have to put the house up for sale!
Any advice or shared experience would be much appreciated.
Thanks

 

[carla32]

yes that is a sensible option, thank you for your reply. They may be sympathetic, and I hope that they would be, but in the event that they refuse ( his job specifies that he must be able to travel on his contract, in fact they may ask him to relocate abroad in order to do so), is it possible to re-enter, as a non-visa national, after the visa has expired? or would this absence from the country be seen as a withdrawal of application? ( even if he had left before expiry)

Am I over-worrying? Is there any chance of a 2-3 week decision after a premium app? I want to be optimistic but prepared!

 

[carla32]

yep! It was only afterwards we found out that there is no guarantee of same day, and no refund!
But I have read plenty of successful same day stories so don't worry.

 

[carla32]

Ok thank you Joppa, that is definitely a good reason not to leave!

 

[carla32]

Sorry just wanted to clarify one more thing before taking this situation to the employer. If he leaves the country before the cuurent visa expiry date ( on second passport) and whilst the decision is still pending, does he still have his application withdrawn?

 

[carla32]

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploa...967/Applications-for-leave-to-remain-v1.0.pdf

This source tells me the following:

" If a person, with an outstanding application, travels outside the CTA, the application does not give them any right to re-enter the UK to receive a decision on their application. They are liable to be refused entry, unless:

they are allowed to re-enter the UK with a different type of leave"

BUT then this next part says:

"If a person makes an application for further leave but then leaves the UK with extant leave and that leave expires whilst they are outside the UK, they will transition onto section 3C leave."

So my real question should be: Does section 3C leave, when it is aquired by transition only, qualify as valid leave for re-entry?

Is that what the above extract implies?? Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

 

[carla32]

Ok thanks Joppa, and I guess it would only work for one trip only and is not worth the risk. Thanks for your help.

 

[carla32]

Hello all, we finally received a phone call from a caseworker, who told us that the visa had been granted - 3 months after the date of the premium appointment at Croydon. When we asked what the delay had been, we were told there had been an error or something not quite right with the biometrics that had been taken when my husband applied from abroad for the first spouse visa... and so it required further checks.
It would seem that the application then sat on somebodys desk till it passed the 10 week mark - and then it got sent to one of the premium centres with a lesser workload, maybe.
We involved our MP, and wrote to the complaints email address at UKVI, we did a couple of 'escalations' at 8 and 12 weeks.
So in our case it was true that you lose your 'premium' service, and revert to being a postal application, or at least it was in our case.
We are still pursuing our complaint, because there was no explanation why it had to take 3 months, but at least now the awful stress is over!

(Just to clarify an earlier point about travel, our MP confirmed that you can exit with a second passport, but not re-enter.)