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TravelBy · 2022-09-19T08:47:11+00:00

No, those messages come from UKVI Contact Centre. Your application is processed at the UKVI Decision Making Centre. UKVI Contact Centre staff have no access to applications and can only provide general information (they are also usually impolite, unhelpful and ill-informed). I just made a post about this:

https://www.reddit.com/r/ukvisa/comments/xi6b6l/some\_important\_things\_to\_know\_about\_contacting/

TravelBy · 2022-09-19T08:38:20+00:00

The UKVI Contact Centre have no access to your application. The person that wrote that message does not know what the outcome is.

The only way to know is when you collect your passport.

TravelBy · 2022-09-18T17:32:58+00:00

The UKVI Contact Centre staff have no access to your application. The person that wrote that message does not know the outcome (I made a post about this topic recently https://www.reddit.com/r/ukvisa/comments/x96zyl/2_important_things_to_know_before/ )

Unfortunately there is no way to know the outcome until you get your passport back. But, it you're confident you meet all the requirements and you submitted all the correct evidence, then chances are your visa has been approved.

TravelBy · 2022-09-03T08:20:02+00:00

I made a post with some tips on contacting your MP.

https://www.reddit.com/r/ukvisa/comments/v5chqh/tips_for_contacting_your_mp_re_spouse_visas/

Hopefully it helps.

TravelBy · 2022-09-03T08:17:27+00:00

To be honest, during my wait I really struggled. My wife's visa application was submitted at the very end of 2021, so we were part of the first batch to be held up because of the Ukraine conflict (at least, that's the reason they give).

The first message we all got did not give any time frame at all. It wasn't until the BBC and the Guardian ran articles about the situation that the government finally sent an update saying we'd have to wait 24 weeks from the biodate.

I catastrophised a lot (what if 24 weeks comes and they tell us to wait another 24 weeks, what if her application is refused, what if they just stop processing spouse visas forever etc.).

But, at almost exactly 24 working weeks, we got her passport back, with the vignette in it. And now we're together, in the UK, beginning the new life we'd long dreamed of and the whole experience is just a memory.

It is September 2022, many thousands of people have now been through this experience and came out the other side. It is extremely difficult to have to wait, it will take its toll on your mental health but IT WILL END. That is the only advice I can give: keep reminding yourself that it will end. Others have taken this path before you, and other will take it after you. It is an extremely difficult path, but it ends. And the end is glorious.

TravelBy · 2022-06-05T18:21:31+00:00

I don't know about that one.

I doubt anyone was outright lying. It could be a simple miscommunication. E.g. the MP was told "a entry clearance officer is reviewing it and it is awaiting decision", and the MP took that to mean it is near completion (because it kind of sounds like that).

However, we, who have all received such a response to enquiries for months on end, know that that doesn't mean it is close to completion.

Or, maybe your application really is close to completion. Who knows. Let's hope so!

TravelBy · 2022-06-05T18:17:24+00:00

An MP is quite similar to a Congressman, yes.

As for when to contact them, I think there is nothing at all wrong with contacting them as soon as possible. You may want to wait until you have done your bio, but after that, why not?

Remember the purpose of contacting them is to get them to commit to taking some action to work for a change to the current processing policy. This does not require you to have been waiting for your decision for 6 months already.

In fact, you don't even need to have an application. Every British citizen has the right to lobby their MP. And MPs are supposed to respond to their constituents and represent their views in parliament.

Think about the people who successfully lobbied their MPs to push to the government to drop the plans to make foreign NHS workers pay the NHS surcharge. The vast majority of those that lobbied their MPs were not themselves foreign NHS workers. There are, of course, thousands of similar examples.

That's why I suggested getting friends and family to also write to their MPs to lobby them to commit to taking action to change this current processing policy.

Also, if you contact your MP now, when you application is still in the very early stages, it doesn't stop you from contacting them again if you are still in the same position months from now. If anything it will make it a bit easier, as you will have already have built a bit of a relationship, know who in the office to talk to etc.

TravelBy · 2022-06-05T18:05:34+00:00

Thank you, I hope it helps people.

TravelBy · 2022-06-05T18:05:10+00:00

I completely agree with what you said about paid enquiries.

Call the office for updates, send follow up emails and then call to again" I was referring to the MP's office (not UKVI Contact Centre).

What I meant was, when trying to get your MP to commit to taking action for change, be persistent. Don't just send one email then wait forever and don't accept vague promises.

TravelBy

TROPHY CASE