Paying for a faster decision

The Three Service Levels

The service level is chosen at the point of applying, on the GOV.UK website. GOV.UK publishes three:

• Standard service. No additional fee. GOV.UK says a decision usually follows within 6 months of providing fingerprints and a photograph, or of submitting the application where the “UK Immigration: ID Check” app is used. See our guide to settlement processing times.
• Priority service, £500. A decision usually within 5 working days — 30 working days for citizenship applications and for Family visa applications made from outside the UK.
• Super priority service, £1,000. A decision usually by the end of the next working day, or 2 working days where identity is proved at a weekend or on a bank holiday. It cannot be used for citizenship applications.

Working days are Monday to Friday, excluding bank holidays. GOV.UK says the processing time ends “when you get a letter or email telling you that a decision has been made”.

The Cost, Including for a Family

The settlement application fee is £3,226 for each person applying, and there is no fee for the fingerprints and photograph. The faster service is charged on top, and it is charged per person: GOV.UK states that for each family member applying alongside, an additional £500 is payable for a decision within 5 working days, or an additional £1,000 for a decision by the end of the next working day, and that “every family member will need to pay for a faster decision”. Everyone then gets a decision at the same time, though GOV.UK adds that a decision may take longer if any family member has to give fingerprints and a photograph in person.

So a couple applying together pays £6,452 in application fees, plus £1,000 for priority or £2,000 for super priority. A family of four pays £12,904, plus £2,000 or £4,000. Our settlement cost breakdown sets out the full arithmetic.

Check the GOV.UK visa fees page for exact current fees, as they change periodically.

When the Clock Starts

The published times do not run from the date the online form is submitted. GOV.UK sets the start point by how identity is proved, and applicants are told which applies when they apply:

• In person: the time starts on the day of the appointment. For super priority, the decision usually follows by the end of the next working day where the appointment is on a weekday, and 2 working days after it where it is at a weekend or on a bank holiday.
• Using the “UK Immigration: ID Check” app: for priority, the time starts the working day after the documents have finished uploading. For super priority, the decision usually follows by the end of the next working day where uploading finishes on a weekday, and 2 working days after it where it finishes on a weekend or a bank holiday.

Our guide to the in-person appointment covers that step. Note that the older “premium walk-in” arrangement is not what GOV.UK now publishes: both faster services run through a booked appointment or the app.

What the Faster Services Do Not Change

• The requirements. The same published requirements and the same suitability rules apply whichever service is used. The services buy a place in the queue, not a different test.
• The travel rule. GOV.UK states that the application is withdrawn if the applicant travels outside the UK, Ireland, the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man before a decision. That applies at every speed.
• Section 3C. Where the application was made before the existing permission expired, section 3C of the Immigration Act 1971 continues that permission, on the same conditions, until the application is decided, whichever service was paid for.
• The possibility of delay. GOV.UK says a decision can take longer, for example where the Home Office asks for more information or checks details with other government departments, and that the applicant will be told if that happens. Where more information is provided, GOV.UK says the application is then prioritised.

Who Cannot Use Them, and What Happens to the Money

• Permission is required. GOV.UK states that someone in the UK “must have permission to be here to apply for the priority or super priority service”, and that a faster decision can only be paid for on certain visas.
• Citizenship applications. Super priority is not available for them at all. Priority for a citizenship application is 30 working days rather than 5.
• Protection routes. GOV.UK’s settlement page for people with refugee status, humanitarian protection or section 67 leave states that they cannot use the super priority service. Settlement is free for people with protection status or section 67 leave.
• If the decision is late. GOV.UK: “If the decision takes longer, you will not usually get your money back.” It publishes a separate page on getting a refund of a priority or super priority fee, and the health surcharge guidance notes that a priority fee refund must be asked for rather than being paid automatically. Our guide to UK visa fees sets out the published fee table.

Tracking Your Application

GOV.UK does not publish a progress tracker for settlement applications, and its contact tool states that contact centre staff “cannot give you advice about your personal circumstances” and cannot say when a decision will come. What it does publish is the service standard above and a commitment to make contact where an application is complex and will take longer. See our guide to checking on a settlement application.

The published channels for correspondence are the Home Office contact routes, a regulated adviser or solicitor acting as a representative, and an MP’s enquiry.

Questions and answers