Spouse Visa Priority Service: Faster Processing Options

The two services and what they cost

GOV.UK publishes two paid services for a faster decision. Both are charged on top of the application fee, and both are charged again for each family member applying with you.

• Priority service: £500. Usually a decision within 5 working days for most visa and settlement applications — but see below, because the partner route is one of the exceptions.
• Super priority service: £1,000. Usually a decision by the end of the next working day, or 2 working days if your appointment falls on a weekend or bank holiday.

Both figures come from GOV.UK's guide to getting a faster decision.

Inside the UK: the 5-working-day service is not offered

This is the point most often got wrong. GOV.UK publishes a table of which applications from inside the UK can pay for a faster decision. In the section headed "If you want to join family in the UK", the Family visa is marked:

• Within 5 working days: No — whether you prove your identity at an appointment or through the app.
• By the end of the next working day: Yes at a UK Visa and Citizenship Application Services appointment, No through the "UK Immigration: ID Check" app.

So on a partner or spouse application made inside the UK there is one paid option, not two: the super priority service at £1,000, and only where you attend an appointment in person. The same pattern applies to settling as a partner on form SET(M) — the table marks it No for 5 working days and Yes for the next working day.

GOV.UK also notes that there is a limit on how many people can pay for a faster decision, and that if the option is not offered to you, you can still make a standard application.

Outside the UK: 30 working days, not 5

The £500 priority service is available on family applications made outside the UK, but the published target is different. GOV.UK says it "usually takes up to 30 working days for Family visa applications from outside the UK" where you are applying as:

• a partner or spouse
• a parent
• a child
• an adult coming to be cared for by a relative

GOV.UK does not publish a list of which visa application centres outside the UK offer which services. Availability is confirmed through the centre handling your application, and the option is shown to you when you apply.

When the clock starts

The published time runs from either:

• the day of your appointment, if you prove your identity in person
• the working day after you finish uploading your documents, if you use the "UK Immigration: ID Check" app

You are told when you apply whether you can prove your identity in person or through the app. On a family application inside the UK that matters, because the app route is not eligible for a faster decision at all.

What the standard times are

The comparison only means something against the published standard times, which are:

• Inside the UK: 8 weeks for a partner or spouse application.
• Outside the UK: 12 weeks for a partner, spouse, parent, child or adult dependent relative application.

Our processing times guide covers these and what happens when a decision runs past them.

What paying does not change

A faster decision changes the speed of the decision and nothing else. The requirements, the evidence and the way the application is assessed are identical. You still meet the same English language requirement and pay the same healthcare surcharge. A refusal carries the same rights as it would on a standard application; our guide on what happens after a refusal sets those out.

GOV.UK is also explicit that the times are targets. A decision can take longer if the Home Office asks for more information or checks your details with other government departments, and you are told if that happens.

Refunds

The published rules, in short:

• Refused application: no refund of the priority fee.
• You cancel, identity in person: refund if you have not yet given your fingerprints and photo; usually no refund if you have.
• You cancel, identity through the app: refund if you cancelled before the upload deadline and have not selected "confirm and upload".
• You are not cancelling: usually no refund. Each case is considered individually. There is no refund where the delay was caused by the Home Office needing more information or evidence; the Home Office may refund where the delay was outside its control, such as a technical problem.

A refund is not always paid automatically, and GOV.UK says it can take up to 28 days to arrive.

Things a faster decision is often bought for

These are the situations people describe, not a recommendation either way:

• Current permission is close to expiring, or a start date at work is fixed.
• Travel is already booked and cannot be moved.
• The couple is living apart while the application is decided, and the outside-the-UK wait is 12 weeks as standard.

And the arithmetic on the other side: £1,000 for each person is close to half the £2,064 outside-the-UK application fee again. Our fees guide sets out the whole cost of the route.

How you choose it

You are shown the options you are eligible for while you apply. Inside the UK, the paid option on a family visa appears with the appointment booking for your fingerprints and photo. Outside the UK, the option is offered by the visa application centre handling your application.

Related entries:

• Spouse visa processing times
• Extension processing times
• Spouse visa costs
• The partner and spouse route

Questions and answers