Please help - Settlement Visa - urgent

[mane]

Hello everyone,

Please help me. My friend is an English and his fiancee is an Indian living in India. She is going to be his wife on Mar 30 in India and she is applying visa on April 1st.
When my friend had contacted the UK visa application centre in India,VFS -http://www.vfs-uk-in.com/ they told him that it may take 12 days for settlement visa.
We found in the homeoffice website that the new immigration rules are going to be effective from April 1st 2008 in India. So he had contacted VFS and asked how the new rules are going to effect his future wife's settlement visa. Now they are telling that it may take 3 months time for the Settlement visa and there is no fast track service.
So could any one of you guys can give a suggestion on how long will it take for the settlement visa as per the new rules. Any kind of help is appreciated.

Many Thanks

[parvez]

As far as I know, the new rules to come into force of 1st April do not apply to Settlement applications in particular. Rather, they focus on targetting applicants who use deception to enter the UK.

VFS in India are morons! The information they give can often be inaccurate, mis-leading and sometimes inconsistent too! The British High Commission in India suggest allowing a maximum of 3 months to process visa applications. However, in most cases, if the paperwork is complete and up-to-date, you could expect to hear back within 10-12 working days. But then most settlement (spouse) applicants are usually interviewed too and are required to undergo medical check-ups afterwards which delays things a bit more.

As a rough guideline, here are the dates/timelines of my wife's visa application in Mumbai recently.

23rd Jan 2008 - Application and all supporting documents submitted at VFS, Mumbai South
31st Jan 2008 - Advised by Deputy British High Commission in Mumbai by email upon enquiring that my wife will need to be interviewed at their office, after being told by VFS previously that the application was pending at the British High Commission.
15th Feb 2008 - Interview held and passed at Deputy British High Commission, Mumbai (no earlier appointments available)
18th Feb 2008 - Medical check-ups completed
26th Feb 2008 - Visa issued and passport returned to VFS by Deputy British High Commission, Mumbai
27th Feb 2008 - Advised by VFS upon actively enquiring over the phone that passport is ready for collection
28th Feb 2008 - Passport collected from VFS Mumbai South
2nd March 2008 - Entered UK

Hope that helps. As a word of warning though, ask you friend to ask his wife not to apply permanent mehndi/henna on her hands for the wedding if they're having a traditional ceremony because VFS will refuse to take her application in because they wont be able to take her fingerprints. My wife and I were caught out by this new rule as we weren't aware of it, which delayed the initial submission of the application.

[mane]

Thank you pervez for your information. I m really happy to see your reply and I will let you know about the updates.
Once again thanks for your help.

As far as I know, the new rules to come into force of 1st April do not apply to Settlement applications in particular. Rather, they focus on targetting applicants who use deception to enter the UK.

VFS in India are morons! The information they give can often be inaccurate, mis-leading and sometimes inconsistent too! The British High Commission in India suggest allowing a maximum of 3 months to process visa applications. However, in most cases, if the paperwork is complete and up-to-date, you could expect to hear back within 10-12 working days. But then most settlement (spouse) applicants are usually interviewed too and are required to undergo medical check-ups afterwards which delays things a bit more.

As a rough guideline, here are the dates/timelines of my wife's visa application in Mumbai recently.

23rd Jan 2008 - Applicant and all supporting documents submitted at
30th Jan 2008 - Advised by Deputy British High Commission in Mumbai by email upon enquiring that my wife will need to be interviewed at their office, after being told by VFS previously that the application was pending at the British High Commission.
15th Feb 2008 - Interview held and passed at Deputy British High Commission, Mumbai (no earlier appointments available)
18th Feb 2008 - Medical check-ups completed
26th Feb 2008 - Visa issued and passport returned to VFS by Deputy British High Commission, Mumbai
27th Feb 2008 - Advised by VFS upon actively enquiring over the phone that passport is ready for collection
28th Feb 2008 - Passport collected from VFS Mumbai South
2nd March 2008 - Entered UK

Hope that helps. As a word of warning though, ask you friend to ask his wife not to apply permanent mehndi/henna on her hands for the wedding if they're having a traditional ceremony because VFS will refuse to take her application in because they wont be able to take her fingerprints. My wife and I were caught out by this new rule as we weren't aware of it, which delayed the initial submission of the application.

[nchowdhury]

Any idea in Kolkata how many days they take.
Regards