Visa Status, Renewals, or Problems
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For eligible EEA and Swiss nationals, this will typically include permission under the EU Settlement Scheme , whilst for non-EEA nationals, or for those without settled or pre-settled status under the EUSS, this will usually be by way of a work visa. Use VEVO to send proof of your visa conditions to others, for example, employers, landlords or the government of a country you would like to visit. When you first submitted your application for a UK visa, you will have been asked to provide your passport. Once your application has been successfully submitted, you should then have been given a case reference number. You will need to have this number to hand when you phone or email UKVI to check your UK visa status and the progress of your application.
If there is insufficient evidence in support of your application, or a question mark over whether you qualify for a particular visa or satisfy the general requirements to come to or remain in the UK, further investigations may be warranted. If, however, your application is more complex, the usual times may not necessarily apply and you may need to wait longer for a decision. If your application is delayed, you will be informed by letter as to what will happen next within the relevant timescales for your visa. For those applying for settlement from outside the UK, it is estimated that 98.5% of settlement applications will be dealt with within 12 weeks of the application date, and 100% within 24 weeks of the application date, where again 1 week is 5 working days. To check your status, you may contact UK Visas and Immigration ( the Home Office body in charge of processing visas in the UK). The process to track your UK visa status is different depending on whether you apply from inside or outside the UK.
How to check UK visa application status when made outside the UK
Employing illegal migrants is punishable by imprisonment of up to five years, an unlimited fine or both. The information from an online check is provided in real-time, directly from Home Office systems, allowing you to instantly check the details of an applicant’s right to work in the UK, including the types of work that they’re allowed to do and if there’s a time limit to doing this work. The type of permission needed will depend on several factors, such as the individual’s nationality and residence status.
If you submit your visa application from outside the UK, you will be required to attend a visa application centre in the country where you are resident. For super priority service appointments attended on a Saturday or Sunday, the appointment will be deemed as attended on the next working day. Where there is a bank holiday the next working day will be classed as a Tuesday, but in most cases this will be a Monday. This means, for example, a Saturday appointment will usually be deemed as attended on the Monday after the weekend, and the decision on your visa application completed and dispatched by the end of the next working day. For those of you applying for a visa from outside the UK, it is estimated that 90% of non-settlement applications will be processed within 3 weeks, 98% within 6 weeks and 100% within 12 weeks of the application date, where 1 week is 5 working days.
Services for people
If the individual’s right to work is not time-limited, for example if they have UK indefinite leave to remain or EU settled status, there’s no requirement for you to repeat the check. However, if that person has time-limited permission, you must conduct a follow-up check shortly before it’s due to expire. The changes will not apply retrospectively to BRC or BRP holders employed up to and including 5 April 2022, rather the previous requirements on document checks will continue to apply for the employer to discharge their duty under the prevention of illegal working regime. Reports from other applicants will vary, from those saying they received confirmation in a matter of weeks to other reports of visa applications taking months and months.
Most applications to extend leave to remain in the UK, including applications to switch to another visa category, as well as applications for settlement and citizenship, are now made through the UK Visa and Citizenship Application Services . You can check if someone is a UK resident by asking to see their British passport, or to provide a UK birth or adoption certificate, plus an official government letter or document showing both their name and National Insurance number. Foreign nationals must hold valid immigration status to be able to live and work legally in the UK. Employers are required by law to verify the immigration status of all workers or face Home Office enforcement action.
Government activity
You cannot currently track your individual visa application online, but you can use an online tool to obtain information on which department to contact for your particular application. Having requested a check using the Employer Checking Service, if the applicant or employee in question is permitted to work in the UK you should receive a Positive Verification Notice. You’ll need to retain this for your records, as with any other form of immigration status check. If you have been asked to provide additional documentation in support of your UK visa application, or have concerns about attending an interview, expert advice should be sought from an immigration specialist to guide you through this process. If your visa application is straightforward, for example, where a decision can be made on it without you being asked for more information, it will usually be decided within the standard processing times or, where you have paid for a faster decision, the premium processing times. However, applicants will not be given a decision at their UKVCAS appointment.
A migrant worker doesn’t have to agree to provide you with a share code to check their immigration status using the online checking service. In these circumstances, or where their immigration status is otherwise unavailable to view online, you can conduct a manual check of their right to work documents, such as their passport or biometric residence permit. The online checking service makes immigration status checks much simpler and more streamlined for employers than manual checks. It also provides greater security, as you’ll not need to rely on physical documentation, reducing the risk of forged documents being given to you by a prospective employee. Under the EU Settlement Scheme, EEA and Swiss nationals living in the UK by 31 December 2020 were eligible to apply for either settled or pre-settled immigration status prior to the 30 June 2021.
What are the standard processing times for UK visa applications?
Equally, a migrant worker may have limited leave to remain in the UK under a work visa and will need to apply for an extension of that leave before it expires. To be able to establish a statutory excuse against a civil penalty, you must check the immigration status of all prospective employees before they start employment and only hire a migrant worker having conducted a prescribed right to work check. All UK employers have a responsibility to prevent illegal working by conducting prescribed right to work checks before hiring someone. In this way you can ensure that a person isn’t disqualified from doing the work in question by reason of their immigration status. If you fail to check the immigration status of an applicant before taking them on, you may be liable to a civil penalty of up to £20,000 if that person is later found to be working illegally for you. However, under the EU Settlement Scheme, EEA and Swiss nationals will not have a physical document confirming their immigration status, instead their status will be held in a digital format.
Applications for indefinite leave to remain made from inside the UK will usually be dealt with within 6 months. UKVCAS was launched by the UK Home Office to speed up the processing of in-country further leave to remain applications. Applicants are required to attend a single appointment to have their identity confirmed, enrol any biometric information that may be required and submit their documentation in support.
The online service allows the migrant worker to provide their employer with a share code which is then used to view their right to work in the UK. The online service operates on the basis of the migrant worker first accessing their own Home Office right to work record, where they can then share this information with someone else, including their employer, using a code generated giving you permission to view their status. This could be due to backlogs in processing applications by UKVI, both generally and, more recently, because of the coronavirus pandemic. This could also be because your supporting documents need to be verified and/or you are required to attend an interview, or because of your personal circumstances, such as any adverse immigration history or criminal convictions. If you applied for a priority or super priority visa and it is not possible to meet the applicable timescale, your application will still be put at the front of the queue at every stage of the decision-making process.
It could also be because an existing employee has an outstanding appeal, review or application with the Home Office. The easiest and quickest way to check someone’s immigration status and right to work is online using the Home Office’s ‘Right to Work Checking Service’. If you have applied overseas for a UK visa and attended an appointment at a visa application centre, you can go to the GOV.UK online tool to track your VFS application status.
We also share general guidance on the standard and premium visa processing times (although the guidance given is not taking into account any delays that may be currently caused as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic). U.S. consular officers have decision-making authority regarding nonimmigrant visa applications. While you are not eligible to reapply for a visa if the officer denies your application, you can apply for a waiver instead. It’s also a criminal offence for you to employ someone who is subject to immigration control if they’re disqualified from working by reason of their immigration status, and you know or reasonably believe that this is the case. This includes where you’re aware or suspect that a worker doesn’t have leave to enter or remain in the UK, any prior permission has expired, or they’re not permitted to do certain types of work.
Our immigration lawyers can also help if you want to track your UK visa status. We work closely with you throughout the entire process, communicating with you regularly and giving you regular updates. For a confidential discussion, contact our friendly client care team to discuss your case. A quick search online for the processing times for your particular visa will bring back very frustrating search results. VEVO can only provide information about people who have their details available in our systems. You may not have a searchable record if you migrated to Australia before 1990 and have not since travelled out of Australia.
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