Priority services for sponsored work and student visa applications outside the UK have been reinstated from 23 September 2022.
Priority service is a ‘premium service’ where you can pay a fee for a faster decision on your visa application.
UKVI suspended all priority visa services in March 2022 while they prioritised Ukraine Family Scheme applications following the Russian invasion of Ukraine. There have been widespread delays in visa processing times with most applications submitted outside the UK still taking twice as long as normal to process.
Priority services have now been reintroduced for most work and study routes, though these are not available at all visa application centres. A limited number of priority appointments may also be available for visit visa applications.
The cost and availability of priority services varies depending on which visa application centre you will attend. Super Priority service is only available in a small number of Visa Application Centres.
Service | Approximate processing time | Cost |
Priority service | 5 working days after appointment | £250 - £350 |
Super Priority service | 1-2 working days after appointment | £800 - £1,000 |
UKVI warn that the above processing time is not guaranteed. If your application is not straightforward, it may not be possible to meet this timescale.
Priority services continue to be suspended for new family applications submitted from outside the UK. VFS, one of UKVI’s visa application centre partners, confirms that “UKVI continue to monitor this, and updates will be provided once these services are ready to be resumed.”
You can check the availability and cost of priority services on the visa application centre website.