Manila UKBA Visa timeline?

Hello

New Member here so I thought I would introduce myself and begin a new thread. We recently filed a spouse visa application at VFS Manila for my Filipina wife (biometrics on the 1 July) and we are now waiting to see what will happen. Have to say the waiting is kind of hard after all the effort of making the application. We've been apart for four years now so its hard to imagine that this long distance commute is finally going to be at an end..

As director of a company, I had to apply under Category F. The whole documentation set (including photocopies copies) for my wife and for her 2 children wound up weighing in at 15kg of paper. I was going to write about the documentation pack but I decided to wait until I got a decision first.

Anyways.. I'm curious to hear about the experiences people have had with processing times.. I've seen the official figures (which from memory for June 2015 are something like 55% within 30 and 98% within 60 working days) - and I've seen a couple of accounts of people getting their decisions within about 5-6 weeks. I wondered whether there were any other people out there who might want to chime in with their experiences of processing times? Perhaps it will make the wait easier..

It varies so much. And no rhyme or reason is apparent. One cannot go on elapsed time, in terms of likelihood of success.

Sometimes it is just a couple of weeks. Sometimes it is 3 months. Very much an unknown.

Hello Choi and John and welcome to the forum.

I think with 15kg of paper to read, you may have a long wait! I suspect there is a tendency to process the easier applications first - those with less documentation, those where there is no doubt a visa will be refused, those where a visa is likely to be granted etc etc. The Entry Clearance Officers are only human after all.

My wife filed her documents today in Cebu and, for some reason, Cebu processing times appear much faster than Manila. As my wife is applying under "Adequate Maintenance" rules I am hoping the processing will be faster as there is less work for the ECOs.

Thanks for the reply. I realize the times vary. I'm not interesting in using elapsed time as a measure of 'likelihood of success' though. What I'm trying to do is find out the real-life processing times of people because the official statistics give us x% at 30 days and almost 100% at 60 days which leaves a large void for 30 days where its not possible to make any speculation at all.

Thank you for your reply Howerd. Yeah that possibillity occurred to me. However the weight is largely due to photocopies and because I was applying for three people. The documentation sets needed to be duplicated for each application. I noticed those processing times statistics as well. Good luck with your application.

If you search the forum, you will get an idea of processing times of recent applicants. Just try to filter out the applications made in Cebu.

Like I said. It varies enormously. It makes planning ahead difficult. Best approach is to switch off to it a bit, if you can and assume it will be 3 months. Anything less is a bonus.

I suspect that simultaneous multiple applications also slows down the process. Also the fact that you are a director, and not an employee. There are just too many factors to consider and too few recent applicants on this forum to try and judge the speed of processing of an individual case.

Yeah.. Well, human nature in general and my nature in particular means that I'll still probably spend time guessing. After all, if I had been satisfied to just kick back and accept 3 months or under, then I wouldn't have asked the question.

We are waiting for my wifes Citizenship application to be approved. Easier for us I know, but we know we will have to wait up to 6 months. Easier to just "forget about it" in a manner of speaking, rather than chewing of nails each day.

yes. I once waited for a year for another visa in another country. But that was easier because I wasn't spending my days on Skype with my wife on the other side of the planet. I'm beginning to think that all this bureaucracy is intentionally designed to flood my life with unhappiness.

Its designed to make the applicants sweat.

Yes, I will be guessing too, but it is only that - guessing! The problem with the new one month vignette stamp system is that it would be nice to know, more accurately, when a decision can be expected. My wife entered 15 October as the date she wants to arrive in the UK, but what happens if the Visa is issued in two weeks? The vignette stamp will have run out long before then.

It is only because of the Vignette stamp that my wife is handing in her notice on 25 August. That will giver her time to see out the 4 week notice period and then see her family before coming to the UK.

It will be interesting to try and evaluate whether the Vignette system allows applicants to get priority in the visas processing queue, but it has only been in operation since March, so no-one really knows yet.

I was under the impression that the reason that you were asked your expected arrival date on the form, was so that your visa could be marked as being valid from that date. I agree that it would be nice to have a more accurate tracking system, just like it would have been nice to have had priority processing available in manila for settlement applications (like it is in Tokyo for example - which then get sent to Manila). However..

That was my understanding too. Or just before.

Yes. Wait till you get the decision. It isnt a foregone conclusion, even for MDs.

Sigh.

Heh. All I said was that its okay to present a birth certificate intstead of a certified copy of a passport. You, who have not yet got the decision between you, seem to know better.

yeah yeah and I'm sure that you're praying right now that I won't get it... I think you need help John. Why don't you try and read back what I actually did say.

I have and your posts are quite clearly questioning the wisdom of submitting a birth certificate instead of a certified copy of a passport.

BTW. Someone here has just submitted an application without a certified copy of their passport.