# Waiting on ILR for four months



## ptikobj (Jul 15, 2018)

Hi all

My spouse submitted her ILR application online in mid-February this year and went for her biometrics appointment on 28 February. We know that the UK Home Office advises the process of receiving a decision can take up to six month, and we're now at the end of June without a decision yet. So, I'm curious as to whether anyone else has found that the Home Office is taking quite long to reach a decision for their ILR application? We applied for the Super Priority service last time the visa was up for renewal and my spouse got a decision within a day; however, there didn't appear to be any appointments for that service this time around.

Is anyone else experiencing a long delay with their ILR decision? We were told by the staff at the biometrics appointment that it's rather unusual for the decision to take up to six months, but I'm also aware that a lot of EU citizens are applying for settlement before the end of June, so I'm wondering whether that is causing a backlog of applications.

Any advice or information about other recent ILR decisions would be very helpful. At this stage it's just frustrating that it's taking so long and we can't get an update.


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## nyclon (Apr 3, 2011)

Check the timeline thread. 6 months is the norm. People who applied in January are just now getting notice of approval.


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## clever-octopus (May 17, 2015)

I would also add that 4 months, when the stated maximum is 6 months, is not by any means a "delay". Even during the pre-Covid, pre-Brexit eras this would still be considered a pretty normal wait


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## sniper1975 (Jun 13, 2013)

hi i am in the same predicament as you. submitted an ILR online on the 16th of feb, had biometrics on 26th of feb, since then been waiting. recently i rang up HO, and guy said " if its not over 6 months dont call us" and he put the phone down.i guess we just have to wait. if anything happens i will update, let me know how it goes, thanks


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## joysleep1 (Jul 1, 2015)

I am in exactly the same position. I would have been furious if Hajj was not cancelled becuase i wont have been able to go becuase of this stupid issue.
I submitted my wife application mid Feb and have still not heart anything.


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## Kankan (Oct 11, 2017)

joysleep1 said:


> I am in exactly the same position. I would have been furious if Hajj was not cancelled becuase i wont have been able to go becuase of this stupid issue.
> I submitted my wife application mid Feb and have still not heart anything.


I'm sorry for you too, as one of the lessons of Hajj is patience 😄


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## Vatha (Jul 8, 2021)

sniper1975 said:


> hi i am in the same predicament as you. submitted an ILR online on the 16th of feb, had biometrics on 26th of feb, since then been waiting. recently i rang up HO, and guy said " if its not over 6 months dont call us" and he put the phone down.i guess we just have to wait. if anything happens i will update, let me know how it goes, thanks


Thanks for sharing that as I was just about to call. I applied in early April so I guess it's just a waiting game now.


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## LMH71 (Jan 2, 2019)

I just submitted my visa via my immigration solicitier and she said it as 6 months minimium at the moment. Basically I opted to just pay the extra money  to bad they dont offer the 500pound service on this one. It was 800 or nothing.


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## HAS2 (May 11, 2015)

Hiya,

Is the 6 months calculated from the date of appointment or the date of application please?

I applied in February and had the the appointment in March and still haven't heard back


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## joysleep1 (Jul 1, 2015)

HAS2 said:


> Hiya,
> 
> Is the 6 months calculated from the date of appointment or the date of application please?
> 
> I applied in February and had the the appointment in March and still haven't heard back



Hi

My wife applied mid feb. Finally got a decision last week and got approved. You should hear something soon.

Now need to do citizenship. Dunno how hard that is going to be or how costly.


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## gauleh (Nov 20, 2015)

Waiting time is around 5 months 2 weeks. I found that a lot in 2020 Timeline.


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## HAS2 (May 11, 2015)

joysleep1 said:


> Hi
> 
> My wife applied mid feb. Finally got a decision last week and got approved. You should hear something soon.
> 
> Now need to do citizenship. Dunno how hard that is going to be or how costly.


Thanks so much Joy, that's very helpful. I hope we get our decision soon too.When was your BRP appointment?

Good luck with your citizenship application, hopefully it lll be a lot easier than the other application processes


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## HAS2 (May 11, 2015)

gauleh said:


> Waiting time is around 5 months 2 weeks. I found that a lot in 2020 Timeline.


Thanks Gauleh- is that from the BRP appointment date or the date of application please?


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## joysleep1 (Jul 1, 2015)

HAS2 said:


> Thanks so much Joy, that's very helpful. I hope we get our decision soon too.When was your BRP appointment?
> 
> Good luck with your citizenship application, hopefully it lll be a lot easier than the other application processes


 Brp appointment was on 18th feb


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## ptikobj (Jul 15, 2018)

Hi everyone

Just an update, my wife received her ILR approval last week after applying in mid-February and submitting biometrics at the end of February. So, the total waiting time was just under five months.

With respect to the priority service, we similarly thought that it was no longer available and so applied for her ILR using the standard 6 month service. However, I have subsequently found out that priority slots are available for ILR applications, although they seem to be quite limited and of course much more expensive. A friend had applied for her ILR this month (July 2021) using the priority service and received a decision within 24 hours, while my wife was still waiting on a decision for her ILR from late February. Go figure.


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## Crawford (Jan 23, 2011)

Go figure what ? Your friend paid for priority service and received an answer in 24 hours; you did not pay for priority service and standard service these days is taking much longer due to a long back log....... Pretty logical really......

I understand from your earlier posts that you are contemplating moving to the US as you have a US wife. Bear in mind that these days spouse visas to the US can take a year or more (even in normal times they were taking 8 to 10 months) and NO priority service available at all........ so the UK system is not too bad compared to the US.


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## flammable999 (Feb 22, 2016)

ptikobj said:


> Hi everyone
> 
> Just an update, my wife received her ILR approval last week after applying in mid-February and submitting biometrics at the end of February. So, the total waiting time was just under five months.
> 
> With respect to the priority service, we similarly thought that it was no longer available and so applied for her ILR using the standard 6 month service. However, I have subsequently found out that priority slots are available for ILR applications, although they seem to be quite limited and of course much more expensive. A friend had applied for her ILR this month (July 2021) using the priority service and received a decision within 24 hours, while my wife was still waiting on a decision for her ILR from late February. Go figure.


The super priority service was still suspended on February. It was only reinstated in Mid April and like you said, limited number of slots available per day.


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## ptikobj (Jul 15, 2018)

Crawford said:


> Go figure what ? Your friend paid for priority service and received an answer in 24 hours; you did not pay for priority service and standard service these days is taking much longer due to a long back log....... Pretty logical really......
> 
> I understand from your earlier posts that you are contemplating moving to the US as you have a US wife. Bear in mind that these days spouse visas to the US can take a year or more (even in normal times they were taking 8 to 10 months) and NO priority service available at all........ so the UK system is not too bad compared to the US.


I meant go figure in the sense that if we had access to the priority service, we would've paid for it as we didn't want to wait six months for an answer. From all the information we could find online, there were no priority slots available, and yet months later they were - only after we had to submit my wife's application.

I'll also add that while you may think the US immigration system takes longer compared to the UK system, at least spouses of US citizens are entitled to apply for a ten year green card, whereas in the UK this has been my wife's third application to the home office for permission to live in the UK as each spousal visa period is limited to 30 months. After three applications, months of waiting, spending thousands of pounds, and six years of living in the UK, my wife now has settled status. I think the US immigration system sounds more straightforward by comparison.


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## Crawford (Jan 23, 2011)

I agree that the provision of a Green card for spouses, as soon as they enter the US, is a big bonus, the initial wait to enter (unless you have very good lawyers working for you) is extremely lengthy these days.


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## gauleh (Nov 20, 2015)

HAS2 said:


> Thanks Gauleh- is that from the BRP appointment date or the date of application please?


From the date of Online Application.


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## HAS2 (May 11, 2015)

Hi All

I got the email to say my application was a success day before yesterday 

I applied on the 20th Feb and had the BRP appointment on the 23rd of March. I got an email today to say the BRP should be delivered within the next 48 hours..

Thank you so much for all your help- could not have done it without this forum!


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## LMH71 (Jan 2, 2019)

I used the super priority and got a decision within 5 hours today my appointment was at 10 am and we had an email by 4pm


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## Gilly84 (Apr 22, 2016)

LMH71 said:


> I used the super priority and got a decision within 5 hours today my appointment was at 10 am and we had an email by 4pm


 Hi, 

I hope you don’t mind me asking about the Super Priority Service. For some reason, I am not being given the SPS option when I got to pay for my ILR application. I read somewhere on another thread that limited slots are available online to book daily at specific times. Sounds bizarre. Was this your experience too? Thanks!


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## e.zozo (6 mo ago)

Hi, i am wondering if anyone knows .. does the Super Priority Service still available for the ILR visa inside the UK? thanks


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## clever-octopus (May 17, 2015)

Yes it is available but super priority appointments are very limited, so it may take several days checking exactly at 1am to find one.


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## ananinami (5 mo ago)

when I checked gov.uk website it was saying priority service is suspended but it was not. Everyone was trying at mid night and getting slot. I had no this information. It was not on the website. This is against information equality. It is not fair at all. I posted a letter to Home Office. They just apologize and gave me exact date that 16th November is going to be the latest. My application is via mobile app on 25th of May.


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## flammable999 (Feb 22, 2016)

rusentuzcu said:


> when I checked gov.uk website it was saying priority service is suspended but it was not. Everyone was trying at mid night and getting slot. I had no this information. It was not on the website. This is against information equality. It is not fair at all. I posted a letter to Home Office. They just apologize and gave me exact date that 16th November is going to be the latest. My application is via mobile app on 25th of May.


Priority services outside the UK ARE suspended. Priority services within the UK are not and the website has reflected this since April 2021 when they were reinstated following covid related suspensions. So I think you are being a little bit dramatic. It's not the Home Offices fault if you couldn't distinguish between inside and outside the UK on their website.


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## ananinami (5 mo ago)

flammable999 said:


> Priority services outside the UK ARE suspended. Priority services within the UK are not and the website has reflected this since April 2021 when they were reinstated following covid related suspensions. So I think you are being a little bit dramatic. It's not the Home Offices fault if you couldn't distinguish between inside and outside the UK on their website.


 Ok. Link please that mentions it.


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## flammable999 (Feb 22, 2016)

rusentuzcu said:


> Ok. Link please that mentions it.











Get a faster decision on your visa or settlement application


Getting a faster decision on a visa or settlement application; priority service, super priority service; waiting times; how to check if you're eligible




www.gov.uk




.


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## ananinami (5 mo ago)

flammable999 said:


> Get a faster decision on your visa or settlement application
> 
> 
> Getting a faster decision on a visa or settlement application; priority service, super priority service; waiting times; how to check if you're eligible
> ...


It is generic information man. It has been there probably years. Does it say first come first serve bases limited number? You should try after midnight??! How can I know? I dont know how much home office pay you but good job.


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## flammable999 (Feb 22, 2016)

rusentuzcu said:


> It is generic information man. It has been there probably years. Does it say first come first serve bases limited number? You should try after midnight??! How can I know? I dont know how much home office pay you but good job.


What a pathetic response. It isn't generic information. It got updated after the covid restrictions were relaxed. Before that, it said No instead of Yes when the suspensions were in place.

We applied for my wifes ILR in April 2021. We knew that was a limited number and when to submit because we asked the question on forums like this and reading others comments on Facebook and through trial and error.

Everyone had the same information available to them on the website, so why is it suddenly only unfair to you? If you didn't do your research and expect everything to be spoon fed to you, your problem. Not to mention you didn't even look in the right place to begin with. I dont even know why HO apologised to you.


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