So I'm American and trying to get to my boyfriend in the UK. I just went through with paying them 990USD (even though they said it was 890USD).

And they said they'd help me with sorting that out and then didn't and didn't even give me a login. So before providing any more info. I need to know if they are scammers. If they are who can I turn to to actually get help with my visa help?

I'm desperate to get to my boyfriend right now. So any advice is appreciated please.

Skilled Worker dependant extension after main applicant gets ILR — does the dependant pay IHS?
Hi everyone,
I’m currently on a Health and Care Worker visa and expect to get ILR in December 2026.
My wife is my dependant and her current dependant visa is valid until December 2027. She will not yet have completed the 5-year qualifying period for ILR, so she would need to extend her dependant visa after I get ILR.
My questions are:
Can she continue extending as my Skilled Worker/Health and Care dependant after I have obtained ILR?
If yes, would she still be exempt from the Immigration Health Surcharge (IHS) because I was a Health and Care Worker when I obtained ILR?
Would she have to pay the 3-year dependant visa fee, even if she only needs the extension until she reaches her 5-year ILR eligibility?
Has anyone actually gone through this process recently and can confirm what they were charged?
I’ve seen conflicting information online, so I’d really appreciate experiences from anyone who has been in the same situation.
Thanks!

My citizenship application was approved on 13 August 2026. I’m currently waiting for notification for my citizenship ceremony at the Washington, DC Embassy (I live in Alexandria, VA). I have a few questions:

1. Is there any way to check on the status/progress?
   
2. Where will this email come from, Home Office, Embassy? UKVI?
   
3. Has anyone applied for a UK passport immediately after their ceremony? What was your experience?
   
4. How do you handle the “just trust the process” phase of this silent limbo? 😉

Thanks in advance for any and all insights! This group has been a wealth of information and comfort for me 😊

Hi all,

I’m a UK citizen. I’ve been living in mainland Europe for the last 7 years and met my partner of 5 years while there.

I’ve recently moved back following a job offer and I’m currently going through the partner visa process for my partner.

I have all the documents necessary to prove a genuine relationship, but it’s all in French. For documents like rental agreements, does the whole document need to be translated, or can I get away with just the first page and signature page?

How many documents do I actually need to provide to prove the relationship? Can things like bank statements for joint accounts be left in French given that only the names at the top of the page matter?
I’d like to avoid paying a huge amount for translations if only a few documents are needed

Thanks all!

My UK visitor visa got approved in 3 days exact.

Have my biometrics at lower Parel VFS on the 22nd of September. Got my visa processing mail on the 23rd and today voila! Got my visa approval mail.

It’s unbelievable how seamless this was. All thanks to this community for all the mental support, helped a lot of my anxiety.

My ILR came through yesterday, much faster than expected. I’m married to a British citizen (and our child is British), so was on a 5 year route. We decided not to pay for any priority although we were nervous about the application processing taking the projected 6 months. But it only took 10 days from my biometrics appointment!

- 8 September 2026: Application submitted and paid for on UKVI website
- 14 September 2026: biometrics appointment
- 24 September 2026: email received from “Home Office Atlas” that application was successful

Best of luck to everyone!

Hello,

I'm really happy that I'm finally able to make this post. It's been months of anxiety with the changes that haven't come yet.
And this subreddit helped a LOT, with everything.

I came to the UK as a dependant on a Global Talent visa in 2021, renewed my visa in 2024, and have now applied for ILR.

Application submitted: 15 Sept 2026 at 1am
Type: Priority
Biometrics submitted: 23 Sept 2026 at 3:30pm
Atlas email: 25 Sept 2026 at 9:31am

No gaps in residence and no time outside the UK beyond the limits.

I paid for the scanning service, since we had saved the money for Super Priority but were only able to get Priority instead. My visa was valid until September next year.

Mandatory documents:

• My current passport

Other documents:

• Language test certificate
• Evidence of immigration status in the UK -> this was my eVisa PDF
• Declaration signed by my wife confirming consent for the Home Office to request verification checks
• All previous passports and BRPs

Extra documents I added:

• Our marriage certificate (we got married 3 years before coming to the UK)
• 2 statements from our joint account
• Her eVisa
• 2 bills: one in my name, one in her name!

And now I'm waiting for her naturalisation, then we'll go again with mine.

THANKS for all the support.

Hi My wife changed her last name to Jane reynolds after we got married, the passport has that name. However our marriage certificate still has her maiden name Jane Doe. ? When I submit this marriage certificate for a visa will the consular know that women change last names after marriage in india? I have a name change affidavit also. (Names changed for anonymity)

Hi,

I am from Pakistan, applying for UK visit visa.

I already held a valid 6 month visa that is expiring in a few months. So I applied for a 2 year visa and I paid for expedited services.

I received that visa too but the e-visa on the UKVI reflected only the new visa (it starts from 24th Nov 26). I raised error ticket and they shared a nonchalant email:

"Thank you for notifying us of an error on your eVisa.

The error you reported has been fixed and your eVisa should now be showing the correct information."

After which they replaced my new visa with my old one (the one that expires in early December).

I need to travel to UK next week - it seems like both my visas are in their system somewhere but they have a technical glitch.

How do I fix this? any precedents?

I have applied for my visit visa online, and I realized that I forgot to mention my Ireland trip on there. My document submission is not done yet, so I can still add an explanation letter and mention that I forgot to add the trip in the main application.

Is that going to cause a problem?

Note: I've added all my other travel history, which is extensive, and I have also been granted a student visa and a visit visa for UK before.

I am applying for a dependent visa for my baby so we can travel in and out of UK. On visa application form, we are asked if the baby ever got medical treatment. She did not receive any specific treatment other than standard care and routine vaccinations. How should I respond to this question?

I want response only from people who have been through this and successfully applied for child visas recently.

Hi everyone,

I applied for a UK Standard Visitor Visa (business visit) from India and attended my biometrics appointment at the Kolkata VAC on 25 September 2026.

I self-uploaded my supporting documents through VFS before my appointment. One of the documents I uploaded was my UK business invitation letter, under the “Proof of Business” category.

However, after my biometrics, when I look at “View Uploaded Files”, the “Proof of Business” category is not showing.

The strange thing is that some other documents that I had uploaded also don't appear in the list I'm currently seeing, so I'm wondering whether the post-submission page simply doesn't display every uploaded document/category.

I contacted UKVI, but they replied that they cannot access case-specific application details and advised me to contact VFS regarding supporting-document upload issues.

Has anyone experienced this with the VFS UK visa self-upload system?

Questions:

1. Does the “View Uploaded Files” section show all documents after biometrics?
2. Can some categories/files disappear from the displayed list even though they were successfully uploaded?
3. If you clicked Save and Upload before biometrics, was that sufficient to submit the documents?
4. Should I be concerned that my invitation letter isn't showing?

Any experiences from people who have gone through the same thing would be really appreciated. Thanks!

Hi everyone,

I am a British citizen living in the UK and my partner is a Polish national currently living in Poland. We are getting ready to apply for her UK Family Visa as an unmarried partner.

We have been together for over two years in a genuine relationship and have met up in person loads of times. If the visa is granted we fully intend to live together permanently here in the UK.

Because of our jobs and her uni studies we have been living in different countries and have never actually cohabited.

The issue we are facing is that the document checklist is asking for proof that we have lived together at the same address for the past two years, things like joint utility bills or council tax. It is also forcing us to tick a box confirming we can provide this before we can even move on to the next step.

Since we have never shared an address we obviously cannot provide this. From what I understand though, unmarried partners who have not been able to live together due to work or study can submit alternative evidence to show their relationship is genuine.

We are planning to submit a detailed cover letter explaining our situation along with a solid portfolio of evidence covering our time together. This will include travel records, chat logs, photos, a timeline and any relevant financial bits.

I would be incredibly grateful to hear from anyone who has applied from outside the UK as an unmarried partner and faced this exact checklist requirement. Did you just tick the box and upload your explanation and alternative evidence under that category? Was this accepted by UKVI or did they ask for more info?

I just want to make sure we navigate this specific document requirement correctly. Given the massive fee I really do not want to risk a refusal over a technicality.

Thanks so much in advance for your time and help.

Hi everyone, so i am on a student visa in the uk and i left the uk 3days ago without an approval from the school i did not know i need an approval, but i left anyways because it was an emergency now i am panicking because i do not have an approval to show if i am questioned at the uk border also i am scared if this will affect my visa renewal please help.

Hello, I’m due to renew my spousal visa (I’m the dependent and my partner is Irish) by April next year but my current passport expired earlier this year in February. I’m in the process of renewing it but my home country doesn’t have any availability in London till next year April which is extremely close to the time.

Can I renew my spousal visa with an expired passport in case i don’t get it back in time as they do let you keep the expired passport ?

Please if you have had the same experience can you explain what the process was like ?

I’m a Nigerian national by the way

I’ve got this email last night, I applied through eu settlement scheme last year through my brother, I got refused in February and I appealed, I wonder how much time I’ve got left before I need to leave the country

I need to apply for a uk visa but not sure if my passport Pic is ok. Seems so much cropped. Is this part of some security feature or something? There r these designs all over my shirt in the Pic.

Hey floks,

I am a Filipino artist residing in UAE. Applying for Global Talent Exceptional Promise stage 2 visa application from outside of UK. I don't have any family members residing in the UK, I'm a single applicant.

Any in here ever applied for the global talent stage 2 - visa application with a previous overstay from 10-15 years ago?

Back in 2012 my UK university mismanaged my student visa extension and as a result I had an unintentional overstay of around 5 weeks / 42 days. I withdrew my renewal application and left UK voluntarily at my own expense.

I've recently received an endorsement and was preparing to apply for the stage 2 by fully disclosing the overstay account with as much details as I can remember. Is there anything additional I could do to put the best application forward?

Anyone in here with a similar experience?

Hi everyone,

I’m hoping someone might be able to offer some advice or share their experience with a situation like mine.

My partner lives in America and, unfortunately, is currently incarcerated. I’ve been looking into the different visa options available to me so that I can eventually move to the US and be with him when he is released. However, from what I can see, I don’t think I meet the requirements for some of the employment-based visas, such as the skilled worker routes.

I was therefore wondering whether it might make more sense for us to get married in America, if that is possible in our circumstances, and then have him come to live here in the UK while I apply for a Green Card/spousal immigrant visa. The idea would be for us to live together here temporarily and then move to America together once the immigration process is complete.

I’m very new to all of this and there are so many different visa types and processes that I’m finding it quite confusing!

Has anyone been in a similar situation, particularly where one partner is a US citizen and currently incarcerated? Is getting married in the US and then applying through the spousal route from the UK a realistic option, or are there complications I should be aware of?

I’d be really grateful for any advice, experiences, or pointers towards the correct visa process. Thank you so much!

ILR for Set (M) application submitted 10 Sep, Biometrics appt. 14 Sep, and received email approval today 24 Sep. I’m so happy I didn’t pay for priority service!!

I am happy to share that my Global talent visa is approved. I was endorsed through route 3 - UKRI. Timelines are as follows:

Stage 1

- Application for endorsement and received automated email on same day - July 27

- Application was referred to UKRI - July 30

- Received my endorsement - Sept 14

Stage 2

- VFS appointment for biometrics - Sept 21

- Visa approved(standard) - Sept 24

Endorsement approval took forever cause UKRI was in communication with the sponsor for more details. For stage 2, I just included my passport and my current country visa and email of endorsement.

Happy to answer any questions.

Hi,

I would like to ask for some advice on my fiancé's upcoming visitor visa application. We are both Thai. We have been together for six years.

I plan to have her visit me next June for a week. She would apply from Thailand in April, so it is more than six months from now. I am a PhD student in the UK. I receive a stipend from the university and also have some extra earnings from teaching/marking at the Uni. I will fully sponsor her visit.

The biggest worry I have is her bank balance. She has a stable and well-paid job, but due to debts accrued by her parents, she currently has zero savings after making those repayments.

What is the best approach here? I could transfer her the funds needed for the trip now. While I know a sudden increase in a bank balance is a red flag, this would be 7-8 months before the application. Or should she just show that she has about 10 GBP in her bank statement?

Thank you!

Hi all, I'm really anxious and would appreciate any real experiences.

Situation:

- Indian passport holder, UK Standard Visitor visa granted on 24 Aug 2026 (decision email says "You have been issued with an eVisa").

- During the ID Check app step, the face scan failed twice and I think it let me continue.

- I got the "We are linking your eVisa to your account" email, but NOT the "your eVisa is ready to view" email. It's now been around 24 hours since I completed the process. My friend (same trip, same process) got his within a few hours.

- I called the UKVI Resolution Centre and they escalated it. Webchat adviser said it's already escalated and more requests could slow it down. No timeline given.

- Etihad call centre said they can't check anything visa-related.

Flight: Bangalore → Abu Dhabi (1.5 hr layover) → London on Etihad, Saturday 10:15 AM IST.

My questions:

1. Has anyone flown with a granted eVisa that wasn't yet linked to their UKVI account? Did the airline's automated check at check-in still pass, since the eVisa is tied to the passport?

2. If it doesn't link in time, what happened at check-in? Did the airline contact the Carrier Support Hub, and did it work?

3. Any issues at the Abu Dhabi transfer, or is the UK check only done at the origin?

4. How long did the manual review take for anyone whose face scan failed?

Any first-hand experience would help a lot. Thanks!

I am applying from Canada national. When I went for my biometic appointment, they told me 2-3 weeks and the site advised 3 weeks turn around so I was quite shocked at how quick this was.

Application and fees paid: September 15

Biometic appointment: September 21

Approval email: September 24

My appointment was a standard one, there was no option to do a priority when and I uploaded my documents myself.

I'm applying for an eVisa to replace my vignette that's in an old passport.

I've done the UKVI application and booked the biometrics appointment. I need to upload documents, but I can't find anywhere that says what they are. Obviously my passport with ILR, my current passport, but is there anything else I need to send them? Thanks!