UK visa processing times

How processing times work

A visa processing time is the period between the point your biometrics or identity check is completed and the point UKVI makes a decision on your application. It is a target, expressed as a maximum most applications are decided within, rather than a promise.

The published standard depends on two things: the route you are applying under (for example a visit, study, work or family visa) and whether you are applying from outside the UK (an entry-clearance application) or from inside the UK (an application to switch route or extend your stay). The same route can carry a very different standard depending on where you apply from.

• The clock starts at the biometrics appointment, or the working day after you complete your identity check and document upload using the ID Check app.
• GOV.UK states you will be contacted if your application will take longer than the current processing time.
• Times can be exceeded where identity or documents need verifying, further evidence or an interview is required, or UKVI is dealing with increased demand.
• These are guidance service standards, not statutory time limits, so a delay beyond them is not automatically unlawful.

Standard times for applications made outside the UK

For most entry-clearance applications made from outside the UK, the standard service target is faster than for equivalent in-country applications. Family (settlement) applications are the notable exception, taking considerably longer.

• Visit visas (Standard Visitor, Marriage Visitor, transit): around 3 weeks.
• Study visas (Student, Child Student, Short-term study): around 3 weeks.
• Work visas (Skilled Worker, Health and Care Worker, Global Talent, Youth Mobility and other work categories): around 3 weeks.
• Family / settlement visas (partner or spouse, parent, child, adult dependent relative): around 12 weeks.
• British National (Overseas) visas: around 12 weeks.

Standard times for applications made inside the UK

When you apply from inside the UK to extend your stay or switch to a different route, the common standard is longer than the outside-UK equivalent. Most routes sit at around 8 weeks, but a few are faster and some are much slower.

Note that a small number of routes carry very long standards. For example, applications to stay as a partner or parent on a private life basis, and Turkish Businessperson and Turkish Worker applications, are published with much longer targets.

• Most work routes (including Skilled Worker, Global Talent, Graduate, Innovator Founder, UK Ancestry): around 8 weeks.
• Health and Care Worker and Start-up: around 3 weeks.
• Study visas (Student, Child Student): around 8 weeks.
• Family visas on the standard partner route (meeting income and language requirements), and child and adult dependent relative applications: around 8 weeks.
• Partner or spouse applications on a private life basis, and parent applications: up to 12 months.
• British National (Overseas): around 12 weeks; Turkish Businessperson and Turkish Worker: around 6 months.

Paying for a faster decision: priority and super priority

For many (but not all) routes, UKVI offers optional paid services that aim to speed up the decision. These are add-on fees on top of the visa fee, and they buy a faster target, not a different outcome. They are only available for certain visa categories, and UKVI can withdraw or pause them.

As with the standard service, these faster targets run from your biometrics appointment or identity check, and they can still be exceeded if your case needs extra checks. Where that happens UKVI does not usually refund the fee.

• Priority service: aims for a decision within about 5 working days for most routes (longer for some family routes applied for from outside the UK).
• Super priority service: aims for a decision by the end of the next working day after your appointment, or within about 2 working days if you complete the identity step at a weekend or on a bank holiday.
• Both are optional, route-dependent, and carry an extra fee on top of the application fee.
• The faster target is not guaranteed; if additional information or background checks are needed, the decision can still take longer.

What this means for planning

Treat published processing times as planning estimates, not fixed dates. Because the clock starts at biometrics, book that step as early as you can, and do not make non-refundable travel or work-start commitments around a standard time. Check the live GOV.UK waiting-times pages close to when you apply, as the figures change regularly and can be exceeded during busy periods.