Delays in Super Priority Service for Innovation Visa to ILR Conversion

[arminkhan]

Hello all,

We are currently experiencing substantial delays with our application to convert our Innovation Visa to Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR), despite opting for the Super Priority service. The Home Office has requested documents from us five times, each of which we have complied with in great detail. We submitted the latest batch of requested documents via email two weeks ago and have had zero communication from them since. This has left us incredibly stressed and we're not sure what to do next. If anyone has experienced a similar situation or has any advice, your help would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you in advance.

[meself2]

I don't think you can do anything else but wait, unfortunately.

Priority service is not a guaranteed service, so UKVI not making a decision in short timeframe is nothing unusual (even somewhat expected, given business route applications are usually examined in great detail).

[arminkhan]

I don't think you can do anything else but wait, unfortunately.

Priority service is not a guaranteed service, so UKVI not making a decision in short timeframe is nothing unusual (even somewhat expected, given business route applications are usually examined in great detail).

About 40 days have passed since the fingerprinting and 2 weeks have passed since the last time they asked questions and we sent documents.

Please guide me, I am very worried

[arminkhan]

40 days have passed and 2 weeks ago was the last time they asked me for documents and then they kept silent. How long do you think I should wait?

[Casa]

I don't think you can do anything else but wait, unfortunately.

Priority service is not a guaranteed service, so UKVI not making a decision in short timeframe is nothing unusual (even somewhat expected, given business route applications are usually examined in great detail).

[AmazonianX]

40 days have passed and 2 weeks ago was the last time they asked me for documents and then they kept silent. How long do you think I should wait?

Wait till you hear from HO on the outcome of application or contact them which you may not get a response or get a confusing one.

[arminkhan]

40 days have passed and 2 weeks ago was the last time they asked me for documents and then they kept silent. How long do you think I should wait?

Wait till you hear from HO on the outcome of application or contact them which you may not get a response or get a confusing one.

Is it correct to follow up through MP? Or do not recommend?

[AmazonianX]

40 days have passed and 2 weeks ago was the last time they asked me for documents and then they kept silent. How long do you think I should wait?

Wait till you hear from HO on the outcome of application or contact them which you may not get a response or get a confusing one.

Is it correct to follow up through MP? Or do not recommend?

You may do so, there is no guarantee of a response through your MP if not up to 6months.

[arminkhan]

Do you think that if they had decided to reject my request, they would have waited until now?
On August 4, I took my fingerprints, they asked me for financial documents 5 times, I sent them, and from the last time until today, they have been silent for 16 days.
Can you provide an analysis of all these delays? They asked for documents every week and seemed to be investigating urgently, but they have been silent since 16 days ago

[AmazonianX]

Do you think that if they had decided to reject my request, they would have waited until now?
On August 4, I took my fingerprints, they asked me for financial documents 5 times, I sent them, and from the last time until today, they have been silent for 16 days.
Can you provide an analysis of all these delays? They asked for documents every week and seemed to be investigating urgently, but they have been silent since 16 days ago

If you want analysis, this can only be provided by HO. What anyone thinks does not mean they are right or wrong. Exercise patience till you hear decision from HO.

PS: Are there things in your financial statements that warrants investigations and which you are worried about?

[Frontier Mole]

If you have met all the requirements and are able to supply the additional information on request then you just have to wait.

My advice to those on investor / innovator routes there is little point in using the priority service. It would be an incredible rare event for a priority service decision to be made in that timescale.

I would be far more concerned if you are contacted for a compliance visit, that would be a serious issue.

[arminkhan]

Do you think that if they had decided to reject my request, they would have waited until now?
On August 4, I took my fingerprints, they asked me for financial documents 5 times, I sent them, and from the last time until today, they have been silent for 16 days.
Can you provide an analysis of all these delays? They asked for documents every week and seemed to be investigating urgently, but they have been silent since 16 days ago

If you want analysis, this can only be provided by HO. What anyone thinks does not mean they are right or wrong. Exercise patience till you hear decision from HO.

PS: Are there things in your financial statements that warrants investigations and which you are worried about?

Not at all, only this delay has disrupted all my business trips

[arminkhan]

If you have met all the requirements and are able to supply the additional information on request then you just have to wait.

My advice to those on investor / innovator routes there is little point in using the priority service. It would be an incredible rare event for a priority service decision to be made in that timescale.

I would be far more concerned if you are contacted for a compliance visit, that would be a serious issue.

It's been 43 days and the wait is frustrating and they don't give any answer

[Frontier Mole]

It could be several months before you get an answer. Counting the days is not going to help your frustration

[arminkhan]

Hello everyone, I received such an email from the home office today after following up. Can you explain based on this email, when will they probably make the final decision?

Good afternoon,
Thank you for your email.
Our records show that the applications are with the appropriate team who are working on the application and aim to make a decision as soon as possible.
Should the caseworker require further information and / or documents they will contact you.
We will process all applications as soon as we possibly can and please accept our apologies for the delay and any inconvenience caused.
Kind regards,
Work Correspondence Team | Visa, Status and Information Services| Customer Services | Home Office

[meself2]

We don't know.

As mentioned above, might take months.

[arminkhan]

Hello everyone
MP has sent a letter to Home Office two days ago
But there is still no response from Home Office
Does Home Office respond to MP quickly?
And how effective is this issue for the immediate decision of the Home Office
Does anyone have experience?

[meself2]

You might have to accept the wait, I'm afraid.

It's expected for startup/business applications to have a longer wait. Example post from Tier 1 timeline topic - post2114493.html#p2114493

Application online - 08 July 2022
Biometric appointment - 12 July 2022
Chaser email 5th October - No Answer
Complaint raised - No Answer
Additional documents requested by HO - 21 November 2022
Provided the documents on - 30 November 2022
Still pending decision - 10 December 2022
Interview done on - 17 April 2023
Application approved - 2 May 2023

[Frontier Mole]

Hello everyone
MP has sent a letter to Home Office two days ago
But there is still no response from Home Office
Does Home Office respond to MP quickly?
And how effective is this issue for the immediate decision of the Home Office
Does anyone have experience?

An MP’s letter is basically pretty worthless unless there has been serious failures and/ or unacceptable delays. Your case does not meet either of these criteria. Your MP will get a standard reply and it will not progress your case any quicker.

[Frontier Mole]

In the past MP’s letters used to be reasonably meaningful but it is so overused and there is no filtering to see if there is any substance to the claimed issues. Plus the Home Office receives such a high volume per week they rarely achieve anything other than being logged to file and a “so what” shrug from the case working teams. There was concern years ago when an MP’s letter arrived, now it is just seen as a regular part of everyday business. The basic reply’s template replies sent are in standard form and there really is no force behind your MP’s enquiry.

If you had waited for a substantial period beyond the norm for your type of application then it would perhaps help.

[arminkhan]

In the past MP’s letters used to be reasonably meaningful but it is so overused and there is no filtering to see if there is any substance to the claimed issues. Plus the Home Office receives such a high volume per week they rarely achieve anything other than being logged to file and a “so what” shrug from the case working teams. There was concern years ago when an MP’s letter arrived, now it is just seen as a regular part of everyday business. The basic reply’s template replies sent are in standard form and there really is no force behind your MP’s enquiry.

If you had waited for a substantial period beyond the norm for your type of application then it would perhaps help.

Thank you very much for your explanation
It's been 50 days and there is no response and this delay has caused me severe problems

[Frontier Mole]

Six months is the usual decision period in ILR applications for business or investment routes. I appreciate it will be causing issues particularly if your business is travel dependent. A 90 day turnaround would be considered fast, so a bit to go even on that.

[arminkhan]

Six months is the usual decision period in ILR applications for business or investment routes. I appreciate it will be causing issues particularly if your business is travel dependent. A 90 day turnaround would be considered fast, so a bit to go even on that.

Thank you very much for your reply
Can you tell me why the Home Office needs a longer time for investment or innovation visas?
What do they spend this long time doing?

[Frontier Mole]

The amount of checks and verification that is completed to ensure the requirements were met for the visa before ILR is granted. Unfortunately the business and investment routes are known for dubious practices and hence the checks are thorough and cross referenced to other government departments.

[arminkhan]

The amount of checks and verification that is completed to ensure the requirements were met for the visa before ILR is granted. Unfortunately the business and investment routes are known for dubious practices and hence the checks are thorough and cross referenced to other government departments.

Thanks for the explanations you gave
In 9 days it will be exactly 2 months since my fingerprinting date
I really don't understand what exactly they are controlling for about 2 months
It's been about a week since MP emailed the Home Office and they didn't reply
Another important point is that they continuously asked me for documents and more documents 5 times, almost twice a week, and I expected them to make a decision at this speed, but a month has passed since the last answer to them.
And it is very strange why they are silent
Everyone says we should wait, but can anyone provide an analysis of this behavior of Home Office?