# How does booking a Premium Appointment work at the moment?



## topo morto (May 24, 2014)

Hoping to book a Premium Appointment in Croydon for mid March for an appointment for second FLR(M) - first period of leave is expiring 11 April. I have a few questions about how the process actually works these days.

1) Previously I think I've seen warnings on this forum to NOT pay a separate IHS charge in advance of making a premium booking, as you'd pay the IHS as part of the premium booking. However, my wife registered with the site and when she goes through what looks like the premium booking process is prompted for an IHS reference number:










Are we even doing the right thing? Should we go to https://www.immigration-health-surcharge.service.gov.uk/payment/start and pay the IHS charge and then come back and complete the premium appointment?

2) If we have to pay the IHS charge first, does it essentially last forever until we add it in as part of a submitted booking?

3) I'm still a bit unsure whether you can book the appointment 28 or 42 days in advance. I'd like to book it for a particular day in March, but you don't seem to be able to see the appointments until after you've paid the charge. Is it OK to add the IHS number to the booking, then look at the appointments and if the one you want is not available yet, keep coming back to your saved booking until the date you want has been released?

Thanks.


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## orangejus (Dec 19, 2016)

i want to know this also, I booked a premium service but then i cancelled it. is our IHS still valid to use in postal application ?


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## topo morto (May 24, 2014)

orangejus said:


> i want to know this also, I booked a premium service but then i cancelled it. is our IHS still valid to use in postal application ?


One would hope so - hope someone can give you an answer.

How far did you get in the Premium booking process?


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## Whatshouldwedo (Sep 29, 2013)

It looks as if your wife is using the online form which is fairly new, so hopefully someone who has applied that way will be able to advise. Certainly when using the paper form in November, we were able to choose our date before paying and paying the IHS was done having registered for an account and within the application process.


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## topo morto (May 24, 2014)

Whatshouldwedo said:


> It looks as if your wife is using the online form which is fairly new, so hopefully someone who has applied that way will be able to advise. Certainly when using the paper form in November, we were able to choose our date before paying and paying the IHS was done having registered for an account and within the application process.


Hmm... I don't _think _she chose the online form... we are still intending to use the paper form we are familiar with. Did we click the wrong thing somewhere? What URL did you go through?


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## Whatshouldwedo (Sep 29, 2013)

This is where we started 

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/579278/FLR_M_-12-2016.pdf To get the form. Having printed that off, we set up an account starting at 

https://www.gov.uk/ukvi-premium-service-centres/overview

The trouble is that, even though it was only two months ago, I cannot remember what it looked like! But we definitely could see appointments before booking and paying except for the IHS payment which came quite soon after starting the process. As advised, don't pay the IHS from a separate URL as you would have to pay again when making the appointment.


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## topo morto (May 24, 2014)

That link does seem to take us to the same place we were.

when you click that link 'I don't have an IHS reference number', 
it makes it Look like you should go off elsewhere and pay, 
and that that's a designed part of the process:










Except that the page it takes you to tells you should pay there
UNLESS you're booking a premium appointment - 
which is the link that just sent me there...










You then get to an Alpha IHS page... I wonder if this is all new?


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## Whatshouldwedo (Sep 29, 2013)

I wish I could remember! Even though ours went through without a problem, I was a nervous wreck doing it, worrying the payments would no go through etc. I hope someone who has done this more recently can help.


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## topo morto (May 24, 2014)

Whatshouldwedo said:


> I wish I could remember! Even though ours went through without a problem, I was a nervous wreck doing it, worrying the payments would no go through etc. I hope someone who has done this more recently can help.


Thanks for your support. Yep, any help welcome. If someone tells us that it's definitely only 28 days ahead that would give me a bit longer to decipher it too!


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## SJDurrant (Jan 31, 2017)

I booked a Premium Appointment and paid the IHS charge during the process. I was worried that I had done something wrong and would have to pay again at the Croydon PSC (after reading this forum!!) but called the HO afterwards and they said what I did was fine (i.e. paying the IHS during the appointment booking process.) I'll find out when I get there I guess, I won't be pleased if I have to pay another £500!


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## topo morto (May 24, 2014)

It sounds like what I'm seeing may be right despite the web pages themselves saying they're wrong! I've sent the helpdesk an email to see if they can clarify.


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## Whatshouldwedo (Sep 29, 2013)

Looking back at my emails, I see we booked the appointment about thirty five days in advance. We registered and having input all the personal details, we were directed to pay for IHS and received two emails confirming the IHS number and the payment. The following day I logged back in to the site and booked and paid for the appointment. I received another email confirming this. I think you are probably doing it correctly. Let us hope the help desk can advise!


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## topo morto (May 24, 2014)

Whatshouldwedo said:


> Looking back at my emails, I see we booked the appointment about thirty five days in advance. We registered and having input all the personal details, we were directed to pay for IHS and received two emails confirming the IHS number and the payment. The following day I logged back in to the site and booked and paid for the appointment. I received another email confirming this. I think you are probably doing it correctly. Let us hope the help desk can advise!


Thanks - I'll make sure what we do isn't too different to that!



SJDurrant said:


> I booked a Premium Appointment and paid the IHS charge during the process. I was worried that I had done something wrong and would have to pay again at the Croydon PSC (after reading this forum!!) but called the HO afterwards and they said what I did was fine (i.e. paying the IHS during the appointment booking process.) I'll find out when I get there I guess, I won't be pleased if I have to pay another £500!


Do you remember if that was by clicking the 'Go to IHS website' button (screenshot on previous page) ?

I'm sure if you have an IHS that you paid for and added the number to the booking, you'll be fine.... well, I'm not sure of anything as you can see, but you'd hope so!


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## orangejus (Dec 19, 2016)

here is what i did, i paid IHS about 3 weeks ago, and went into the site, it accepted the IHS reference but then i decided to cancel the appt , to send by post..


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## topo morto (May 24, 2014)

orangejus said:


> here is what i did, i paid IHS about 3 weeks ago, and went into the site, it accepted the IHS reference but then i decided to cancel the appt , to send by post..


I wonder if they've changed it so that it's a bit _more _like the postal application (so that you _can _ pay the IHS and then book online, unlike what was previously advised).


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## orangejus (Dec 19, 2016)

if you go online and search IHS payment, you make a new account for it and pay it. for the premium booking you also make a new account then pay for it, and you just add the IHS number...


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## topo morto (May 24, 2014)

OK, so we booked... Just following through the links and ignoring the "UNLESS you're booking a premium appointment" wording, which seems to be incorrect.

You fill in personal details, then get redirected to pay IHS, then come back and choose date, then pay the rest of the fees.

The dates do now seem to go up to 42 days ahead.

All fairly straightforward actually apart from that confusing wording.


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