Hello Everybody,

1st, This Thread is only for UK SETTLEMENT VISA ISSUES. There are more than enough places for general Visa posts, student posts, and the like.

Now, onto my post.

I applied for a settlement visa on 12th April, about 10 weeks ago. The status hasn't changed from the initial one on the online tracking website. "Fwded to the BHC" one.

I am only officially worrying from today because approx 60 working days have just passed.

Settlement Visas 2 days 3 days 5 days 10 days 15 days 30 days 60 days 90 days 120 days Total decisions made
Settlement 0% 1% 1% 1% 1% 9% 100% 100% 100% 55
The above data is for all decisions made in May 2011

Apparently over the last few months, the estimated processing time has been increasing dramatically. Especially for Lagos VFS. Would advise Abuja for settlement applications if you can make it.

Has anybody applied for settlement around this time, and gotten a response ??

Cheers All.

Oh, yeah, in case anybody asks or is interested, my spouse is a British citizen, and I applied for settlement based on that.

i submitted mine 9weeks ago but still waiting for response.i read it takes 12weeks,

At last, somebody else going through the long wait. No worry Broda, god go do am for us ! Let's keep track on this page. You know that there is precious little on settlement visas on this site. Mainly because there are far fewer settlement applications.

@cboi4sure, was it Ikeja u submitted your app ?

cboi4sure:

i submitted mine 9weeks ago but still waiting for response.i read it takes 12weeks,

Yes it does take about 12 weeks these days from statistics above. 60 days = 91% .

Since it's working days 60 days / 5 wking days per week = 12 weeks. Don't forget the extra fw days for public hollidays.

As a consultant I'd advice you be more patient and not focus more attention on your application. It will surely come, but due to log of files to deal with, there is now no specific time to deal with applications. However, In a straight forward application( including applications made in person) 90% of cases are decided within 3 months, but 95% of postal applications are decided within 6 months, some take longer.

You can as well call and enquire about your application. Its your right to do so.

Just got the "Processed Visa Application" sms alert. Will have to wait till Monday to know status. Pity they sent it so late, but, at least major waiting is over. will update u guys on Monday.

@bamangtuk lucky u, it s going to be a gud news, pls update ooooooo nd @nikeron i submitted at ikeja.

yes o the settlement visa takes longer tyme now, i was telling some folks on here d other day that settlement visa now takes more tyme dan be4, she was busy giving me quotes that if all the i's are well dotted and every t's well crossed the application are attended to and ready for collection within 10days.

well i guess my elder sister had same tension some weeks back having waited for 70days before getting an alert from VFS but the good news is dat she got d visa her friend that submitted on d same day wit her got an alert the next day and also was granted visa. funny enouf the fears of interview never occurred cos they hardly call 4 interviews lately.

for those that have issues wit thier UK application u can contact me 4 quality advice,
1luv

Hey guys, I am so happy now that there is a thread dedicated to this topic, as I intend to apply for mine next year April. So I can learn alot from you guys. Three months is a long time to wait!!! . My fiance and and I intend to do our court wedding in April 2012 and apply immediately. But for those that have applied, how much is acceptable for finance? Do we have to show more that GBP5000 Also when I was looking at the form, I noticed a part that said, "what do you intend to do in the UK" and provide details . I am a bsc holder so i intend to look for a job as soon I get to the UK. Do I have to get a job offer before I put that ?

I really hope that by next year April they would have improved. The Abuja VFS performance is way better.

today is monday any luck?

@stone4r,did your sister write the english test or she just used a degree certificate,my cousin applied 8 weeks ago and she is still waiting for a reply,pls can you also help list supporting documents that you think one can use,i will be applying in August,thanks

@But for those that have applied, how much is acceptable for finance? Do we have to show more that GBP5000 Also when I was looking at the form, I noticed a part that said, "what do you intend to do in the UK" and provide details . I am a bsc holder so i intend to look for a job as soon I get to the UK.

Waiting for responses

@ponce yes my sister did d english test. i think it helps your application and d english test cost 30,000. result is out within 1-2weeks.

as for d supporting document.

payslips
offer letter
confirmation of acceptance
introduction letter from employer
I.D
bank statement
landed property/investment document (if u have)
evidence of correspondence
letters/emails sent to each other
telephone bills if you have showing evidence of calls made 2 ur spouse
pictures snapped together
proofs that u have been in a subsisting relationship long ago
marriage certificate
english test certificate
spouse immigration status (british passport photocopy)
tenancy agreement
utility bill from uk host
letter from your spouse addressed to d embassy
your spouse employment document. (confirmation of acceptance)
payslips
bank statement of hosts.

i think wit ds u are an inch far from visa issuance.

@demi and amykelly you dont need to show up to dat amount, if your spouse has between 2500-4000 pounds in is account den u are good to go. if you have a closing balance of 500k-1m in ur own naija account too nothing do u. but make sure dat u spouse as good evidence of source of income such as : payslips or confirmation of acceptance.

and if you intend to work in d UK fine cos u have access to dat. you dont really have to get a job offer prior to ur visa application.

wish u guys all d best, luv u all.
1luv

I received my application today after 11weeks of waiting, thank God waiting time is over and i have the cause to laugh.My family friend called me on Thursday that the embassy called him and asked him some question concerning my application but did not answered well and the consular told him he will have no choice than to refuse my application but to my surprise i received the alert today as well got the visa, indeed it is a miracle.Please do not allow anybody to deceive you.You can do it by yourself.

@cboi4su congratsssss,i'm so happy for you and it is well with you in Jesus name.@stone4r,thanks so much for the reply and the information,we appreiate you,God bless.

@cboi4sure,stone4rock and everyone on this thread,thank uuuuuuuuu,i got my visa today and i am the happiest person,thank u all and God bless.

Hello House,
I & my youger brother intends to re-apply for a settlement visa in the uk,we applied 7yrs old when we were 24 & 22 but we were refused with no right of appeal,we then went on with our life here in nigeria,schooling actually, now we are 31& 29 respectively,but we miss our family so much,so we decided to re-apply now,our parents are EEA nationals. Our mum who has been in the uk since 1990 married our step-father in 2001 and she has the same immigration status and he intends to appeal our application if we are refused again.

The uk immigration gives us the right to apply for settlement visa despite our age,its says & i quote:

"If you are over 18 and have a parent settled in the UK, or if you are a sister, brother, aunt, uncle or any other relative of a person settled in the UK, you may qualify if you meet the conditions listed in the previous paragraph and you are living alone in the most exceptional compassionate circumstances."


It will interest u to know that our much younger brothers applied in 2003 when they were 17 & 14 respectively and they were issued visas,they ve been resident in uk since 2003.

Reason of the visa refusal was that we didnt show evidence that i & my brother were true dependants of our parents which was a mistake on my part due to lack of adequate experience in visa application,but they didnt give us the chance to show evidence.

Am a graduate now and my brother still an under-graduate.

Good people what are our chances??

I’m in the UK and my husband is in Nigeria waiting for a decision form the UKBA. It has been 45 working days since he handed his application in with no word. I am grateful for this thread as I was very worried about the time it has taken as everyone I spoke to said it would take a few weeks. I wonder why the time has increased and if it has something to do with the change of government. Either way they don’t seem to care about the emotional punishment they are putting families through with unnecessarily long waiting times. My Husband and I are both miserable and I have to work so I can’t just go flying out to Nigeria. I urge you all to complain or ask your partners to complain to their MPs about the increase in waiting times to help other families in future to avoid this cruel and unusual punishment that I am going through. There is no way that is takes this long to check the authenticity of documents and as long as our documents are real which they are then European Human right law means they have to let us be a family. I am just praying that it won’t be too long as I think I would have lost my mind by the time it gets to 70 working days. 70 working days seems to be the new time that a British institution can perform a basic task. It’s unacceptable and they should be ashamed of their performance. Just because they are in Nigeria doesn’t mean that standards should slip especially when families are being kept apart.

Hi Bamangatuk - Please give us the update. We are all waiting to celebrate with you.

@stone4rock how do I contact you? you can reach me on chairmanoh@yahoo.com

@Bamangatuk please give us the outcome of your sms alert.

@ Y-V am so sorry about the lengthy waiting period, i think Abuja embassy was not functioning fully during this long processing period, but the system is abit better and effective,  I sincerely hope your hubby's application is out and positive.

@gerorge31 i think you should be more careful while presenting any document @ d embassy, they derive so much pleasure when they denial your visa based on lopeholes,  your chances of getting visa are high if only you can properly address the reason why your previous visa was denied.

secondly it is always easy to claim dependant when you are 18 or below compared to your age as @ when you made your first application 22 & 24 respectively.
your immediate younger ones visa has more preference over yours because they were below 18.

Thirdly, according to the uk immigration rules you quoted:

"If you are over 18 and have a parent settled in the UK, or if you are a sister, brother, aunt, uncle or any other relative of a person settled in the UK, you may qualify if you meet the conditions listed in the previous paragraph and you are[i]living alone in the most exceptional compassionate circumstances."[/i]

are you actually living alone in an exceptional compassionate circumstances? you need to prove this to the embassy. evidence of how you are been maintained (you probably state dat u receive stipend from your parents monthly.) you seriously need to defend all this before coughing out thousands of naira 4 visa fee.

@ponce you are welcome oooo, am so happy for you, D lord is good.

@cboi4sure, congrats man.

@chairmano my mail id is onwardpathconsult@yahoo.com

1luv @all.

people in da house , is there anybody that applied for uk settlement visa recently in ikeja vfs centre ? my application will be 5weeks this week and 1 month tomoro, am kind of worry,

Hi Guys,

I have bit problem can you please advise.

I am married to British Girl.
Submitted visa in Nov 2011.
Its been more then a year now and my visa application is not decided, I have call UKBA and response of status is " NOT YET COMPLETED".
Sent Letters through solicitors but response is " Case is valid and its with investigation department "
Its too long time now and its been really a huge delay and i am getting frustrated because of this situation.

What you guys suggest

How can put pressure on UKBA to decide case?
How can I get them to process application fast?


or any other ways in your opinions.

Please let me know

iCraxy: Hi Guys,

I have bit problem can you please advise.

I am married to British Girl.
Submitted visa in Nov 2011.
Its been more then a year now and my visa application is not decided, I have call UKBA and response of status is " NOT YET COMPLETED".
Sent Letters through solicitors but response is " Case is valid and its with investigation department "
Its too long time now and its been really a huge delay and i am getting frustrated because of this situation.

What you guys suggest

How can put pressure on UKBA to decide case?
How can I get them to process application fast?


or any other ways in your opinions.

Please let me know

That is really long time.

You submitted in the UK or where?

Yes Submitted in the UK

I am in UK with my wife.

iCraxy: Yes Submitted in the UK

I am in UK with my wife.

Have you had any visa problem before getting married to your wife?

No not any problem

iCraxy: No not any problem

Then you got nothing to worry about, they will not hold it pass this month or coming month. Keep calling and emailing them.

shall i revive this post...seems like the number of settlement visa apps in nigeria is next to nothing.....coz there's little or info out there..Anyways..37days and waiting for spouse settlement..i applied thru the ikeja vfs..any others out there..speak upp share your processing time timeline and keep those of us waiting...sum sort oh hope to hang on to....

Mrs Bam. How long did you wait in the end and at the end of it all was it successful?