**** COVID19 and UKVCAS Appointments **** (ONLY discuss here)

[AnILRApplicant]

Those who get biometric Reuse option is it because they include their previous visa case reference numbers to application???

I didn't put my previous one in - pretty sure I'm in the re-use camp. No sense in making sense of this policy -It's a lottery.

[Mitras]

I applied for ILR on July 1st Set(M) and I have received and email tonight at 10:40pm stating that I did not fall into the biometrics reuse even though my last renewal was in Jan 2018. I do have a 9 year old child so maybe that's why. The email stated that the system was now open for me to book an appointment.

There were no free appointment. I could have gotten an appointment in Sheffield tomorrow for £270 but I opted for Friday at £140.

I have not received the confirmation email with the QR code as yet though.

I too applied on 1st July and same Set(M) category. So, fingers crossed. Hopefully I will get an email. can you tell me from which email id do you get the email. I will make sure I dont inadvertently delete it from SPAM. Thanks.

[stonelove]

Guys another question what will happen if you send the IDV app OPT OUT email say on the 08/08/2020 will you still be invited to book an appointment.

[GondalUK]

I applied on 15th July and no email received for biometric appointment so far. Also can't see any appointments when I log in to UKVCAS. So most probably I am selected for biometric reuse.

[gc362952246]

Guys another question what will happen if you send the IDV app OPT OUT email say on the 08/08/2020 will you still be invited to book an appointment.

I guess yes but no guarantee to book an appointment on the week 10/08

[GondalUK]

Many people are asking for the pattern, I have been thinking about the situation and have some ideas about how the things may be working behind the scenes. This is based on my assessment of current situation as a Software Developer/Data Engineer and speculation only:

The following normally used patterns are not seen in current situation:

• They are not selecting people and sending emails by date order and by alphabet order.

• Biometric invitation and biometric reuse email are not sent to all people in one go, however this is possible to send email to all people in one go.

So by keeping in mind the phase approach that they are using at the moment for everything, what I can assume is that they have multiple systems which are not linked together at the moment and they are doing following things:

For Biometric Appointments:

• They shortlist and select people based on some criteria manually and then enter their details to a system, which allows those people to access appointment system.

• There may be multiple staff members working to process that lists so that's possible reason there is not any order.

• As soon as person details are entered into system, the email is sent (immediately or if there is a cron job it send email to people who were processed in last few hour).

For Biometric Reuse Emails:

Again they use same approach, they may not have enough staff so this process starts after people who are qualified to book appointments.

• They shortlist and select people based on some criteria manually and then enter their details to a system, which send email about biometric re-use.

• There may be multiple staff members working to process that lists so that's possible reason there is not any order.

• As soon as person details are entered into system, the email is sent (immediately or if there is a cron job it send email to people who were processed in last few hour).

For IDV App Invitations:

As the app is not ready yet, so they may need to enter some details into the new system when that is ready, that is possible reason why they want to rollout that in phases

• They will start entering information for people who were selected as biometric re-use as soon as app is ready.

• Again there will be multiple staff members working to process the lists so there won't be any order.

• As soon as person details are entered into system, the email will be sent with details how to take a photo (immediately or if there is a cron job it will send email to people who were processed in last few hour).

[ILRGB]

I applied on 15th July and no email received for biometric appointment so far. Also can't see any appointments when I log in to UKVCAS. So most probably I am selected for biometric reuse.

Hello do you know where I can find the cut-off date to upload and submit the documents on the portal? Say X days after the application is submitted/payed for?

[CULLINAN]

I applied on 15th July and no email received for biometric appointment so far. Also can't see any appointments when I log in to UKVCAS. So most probably I am selected for biometric reuse.

Hello do you know where I can find the cut-off date to upload and submit the documents on the portal? Say X days after the application is submitted/payed for?

There is no time limit. You can upload anytime before your biometrics.

[Shaaz2029]

Hi friends,

Just wanted to share my timeline if it helps. I applied on 16th July (Set O) and uploaded all my docs on the 17th July to the UKVCAS website. I then got an email from UKVI asking for my document on the 22nd July. Today at 4am I got an email from FES to book my appointment as I am not eligible for biometric reuse. I booked one in Croydon costing ca. £70, for next Tuesday 11th Aug. Hopefully finger crossed and all the best to everyone on this forum.

Cheers.

If you don’t mind to share , did you apply set o tier 2 ?

[ILRGB]

I applied on 15th July and no email received for biometric appointment so far. Also can't see any appointments when I log in to UKVCAS. So most probably I am selected for biometric reuse.

Hello do you know where I can find the cut-off date to upload and submit the documents on the portal? Say X days after the application is submitted/payed for?

There is no time limit. You can upload anytime before your biometrics.

ok thanks.

So even after uploading on UKVCAS or submitting via email, it is wait and watch untill the biometric related email arrives!

[youyuanannie]

Hi friends,

Just wanted to share my timeline if it helps. I applied on 16th July (Set O) and uploaded all my docs on the 17th July to the UKVCAS website. I then got an email from UKVI asking for my document on the 22nd July. Today at 4am I got an email from FES to book my appointment as I am not eligible for biometric reuse. I booked one in Croydon costing ca. £70, for next Tuesday 11th Aug. Hopefully finger crossed and all the best to everyone on this forum.

Cheers.

If you don’t mind to share , did you apply set o tier 2 ?

Yep Tier 2 and no dependent.

[Simre]

Hi everyone, I applied to Set(O) around mid April and I am in the biometric reuse category. As stated in the last email from UKVCAS, if you want to get an urgent decision, you still have the option to opt out.

I am trying to understand how opting out and arrange an appointment with UKVCAS can help for an urgent decision? The decision will be made by UKVI, right? Do you think UKVI will give priority to people who opt out? And if they will assume that those who do not opt out are in no hurry so they will consider their applications later?

Thank you

[CULLINAN]

Hi everyone, I applied to Set(O) around mid April and I am in the biometric reuse category. As stated in the last email from UKVCAS, if you want to get an urgent decision, you still have the option to opt out.

I am trying to understand how opting out and arrange an appointment with UKVCAS can help for an urgent decision? The decision will be made by UKVI, right? Do you think UKVI will give priority to people who opt out? And if they will assume that those who do not opt out are in no hurry so they will consider their applications later?

Thank you

Possibly, UKVI has already reached interim decisions on most of the pending cases even without biometrics. What I understand is that once biometrics are done, the final decision can be sent by UKVI.

[Shaaz2029]

Hi friends,

Just wanted to share my timeline if it helps. I applied on 16th July (Set O) and uploaded all my docs on the 17th July to the UKVCAS website. I then got an email from UKVI asking for my document on the 22nd July. Today at 4am I got an email from FES to book my appointment as I am not eligible for biometric reuse. I booked one in Croydon costing ca. £70, for next Tuesday 11th Aug. Hopefully finger crossed and all the best to everyone on this forum.

Cheers.

If you don’t mind to share , did you apply set o tier 2 ?

Yep Tier 2 and no dependent.

All the best dear.

[Simre]

Hi everyone, I applied to Set(O) around mid April and I am in the biometric reuse category. As stated in the last email from UKVCAS, if you want to get an urgent decision, you still have the option to opt out.

I am trying to understand how opting out and arrange an appointment with UKVCAS can help for an urgent decision? The decision will be made by UKVI, right? Do you think UKVI will give priority to people who opt out? And if they will assume that those who do not opt out are in no hurry so they will consider their applications later?

Thank you

Possibly, UKVI has already reached interim decisions on most of the pending cases even without biometrics. What I understand is that once biometrics are done, the final decision can be sent by UKVI.

When I made the application I uploaded my documents straight away. Unfortunately I did not notice the submit button when they released and I submitted the documents last week. I hope they could see the files without submission and I hope they made the interim decisions so far as you said. Thanks for the reply!

[GondalUK]

I applied on 15th July and no email received for biometric appointment so far. Also can't see any appointments when I log in to UKVCAS. So most probably I am selected for biometric reuse.

Hello do you know where I can find the cut-off date to upload and submit the documents on the portal? Say X days after the application is submitted/payed for?

There is no time limit. You can upload anytime before your biometrics.

As @CULLINAN mentioned there is no limit but I would suggest to upload and submit documents as soon as possible. So ideally documents should be uploaded and submitted immediately after application submission. It increases the chances that UKVI will proceed and do some work on case before biometrics submission or IDV App photo submission.

[ajitu92]

Hi everyone, I applied to Set(O) around mid April and I am in the biometric reuse category. As stated in the last email from UKVCAS, if you want to get an urgent decision, you still have the option to opt out.

I am trying to understand how opting out and arrange an appointment with UKVCAS can help for an urgent decision? The decision will be made by UKVI, right? Do you think UKVI will give priority to people who opt out? And if they will assume that those who do not opt out are in no hurry so they will consider their applications later?

Thank you

Possibly, UKVI has already reached interim decisions on most of the pending cases even without biometrics. What I understand is that once biometrics are done, the final decision can be sent by UKVI.

In the most polite way possible, is this based on some concrete evidence you have, @CULLINAN, or is it speculation? I ask as it would be good if you share this evidence with rest of us if that is indeed the case.

[CULLINAN]

Hi everyone, I applied to Set(O) around mid April and I am in the biometric reuse category. As stated in the last email from UKVCAS, if you want to get an urgent decision, you still have the option to opt out.

I am trying to understand how opting out and arrange an appointment with UKVCAS can help for an urgent decision? The decision will be made by UKVI, right? Do you think UKVI will give priority to people who opt out? And if they will assume that those who do not opt out are in no hurry so they will consider their applications later?

Thank you

Possibly, UKVI has already reached interim decisions on most of the pending cases even without biometrics. What I understand is that once biometrics are done, the final decision can be sent by UKVI.

In the most polite way possible, is this based on some concrete evidence you have, @CULLINAN, or is it speculation? I ask as it would be good if you share this evidence with rest of us if that is indeed the case.

There are many members who have reported getting approvals within 7-10 days after submitting their biometrics. This confirms that UKVI is processing applications at pace. Most likely, all who are chosen for reuse pool, interim decisions will be made and their decisions will soon follow after they submit facial image via IDV app. This is the pattern I have observed which is reported on the forum.

[miche868]

I applied for ILR on July 1st Set(M) and I have received and email tonight at 10:40pm stating that I did not fall into the biometrics reuse even though my last renewal was in Jan 2018. I do have a 9 year old child so maybe that's why. The email stated that the system was now open for me to book an appointment.

There were no free appointment. I could have gotten an appointment in Sheffield tomorrow for £270 but I opted for Friday at £140.

I have not received the confirmation email with the QR code as yet though.

I too applied on 1st July and same Set(M) category. So, fingers crossed. Hopefully I will get an email. can you tell me from which email id do you get the email. I will make sure I dont inadvertently delete it from SPAM. Thanks.

Hi,

I got it from
FES Appointments <no-reply@mail.ukvcas.co.uk

[ajitu92]

Hi everyone, I applied to Set(O) around mid April and I am in the biometric reuse category. As stated in the last email from UKVCAS, if you want to get an urgent decision, you still have the option to opt out.

I am trying to understand how opting out and arrange an appointment with UKVCAS can help for an urgent decision? The decision will be made by UKVI, right? Do you think UKVI will give priority to people who opt out? And if they will assume that those who do not opt out are in no hurry so they will consider their applications later?

Thank you

Possibly, UKVI has already reached interim decisions on most of the pending cases even without biometrics. What I understand is that once biometrics are done, the final decision can be sent by UKVI.

In the most polite way possible, is this based on some concrete evidence you have, @CULLINAN, or is it speculation? I ask as it would be good if you share this evidence with rest of us if that is indeed the case.

There are many members who have reported getting approvals within 7-10 days after submitting their biometrics. This confirms that UKVI is processing applications at pace. Most likely, all who are chosen for reuse pool, interim decisions will be made and their decisions will soon follow after they submit facial image via IDV app. This is the pattern I have observed which is reported on the forum.

I have been keeping an eye on the timeline threads as well, and I agree that they seem to be processing quicker than normal, so there must be something happening in the background, that's for certain. But given that there seems to be no concrete pattern with any of the rest of the stuff, while what you say is likely the case, no one knows for certain. Which is why I wanted to clear that up, so thank you for doing that.

[CULLINAN]

@ajitu92

Yes there is no certainty when the IDV app will be rolled out. But, I believe, the processing of the application AFTER the biometrics is sent (via UKVCAS appointment OR IDV app) will result in the same pace decisions. Obviously there is no evidence for now unless the IDV app is rolled out, but I do not see any reason why UKVI will do faster processing for those whose biometrics came via UKVCAS VS IDV app.

[Simre]

@ajitu92

Yes there is no certainty when the IDV app will be rolled out. But, I believe, the processing of the application AFTER the biometrics is sent (via UKVCAS appointment OR IDV app) will result in the same pace decisions. Obviously there is no evidence for now unless the IDV app is rolled out, but I do not see any reason why UKVI will do faster processing for those whose biometrics came via UKVCAS VS IDV app.

"Rollout of the IDV app will take place in phases, beginning in August. We will invite eligible customers to use the new IDV app rather than require you to book an appointment at a UKVCAS service point."

According to the last UKVCAS email it will be ready for at least March applicants in August if they keep their word. So fingers crossed.

[ajitu92]

@ajitu92

Yes there is no certainty when the IDV app will be rolled out. But, I believe, the processing of the application AFTER the biometrics is sent (via UKVCAS appointment OR IDV app) will result in the same pace decisions. Obviously there is no evidence for now unless the IDV app is rolled out, but I do not see any reason why UKVI will do faster processing for those whose biometrics came via UKVCAS VS IDV app.

I agree. The only sticking point would be how many opt out of re-use vs stay on for the biometric reuse. My guess would be if they have indeed processed applications in the background and made interim decisions for ALL applications - what you say will stand true. If they have only processed and made interim decisions on applications that are not eligible for biometric re-use, we may see longer lead times on decisions than what we are currently seeing after biometric appointments are submitted.

On the IDV app, I don't see why it is taking them so long apart from intentionally delaying to clear backlogs and earn some extra monies through people who will opt out. That, and maybe the approval process on the Apple & Google side of things. The reason I say this, is that the Home Office have been using this technology for over a year now, to verify facial images as well as biometrics (BRP/passport NFC scanning) and supporting documentation for processing the EU Settlement Scheme applications (for which essentially Settled Status = ILR). And I have also seen and heard results and decisions for those applications being made fairly quickly as well (approx 3 weeks). So they have the technology and the know-how, so it's not a built from scratch system called "IDV app" at all in my opinion. It will end up being a somewhat re-labelled version of the existing app, which doesn't take as long as they are taking.

[CULLINAN]

Hopefully we will get answers after the 10th. Lets see.

[AnILRApplicant]

Guys, I'm a july applicant and I am selected for biometric reuse - I got informed just now that I can opt out and book an appt next week like everyone else.