biometrics appointment advice without letter

[fibreman]

Hi all,

I have been reading through many messages here, and even asked a couple of questions myself, but now I will give some advice.

For all applying through post, you DO NOT need to wait for biom letter to get biom done. There are delays now, and in my case, I didn't get ack letter, nor biom letter, or anything at all.

Instead of waiting for weeks, or even more, as soon as you get biom email invitation, book your appointment straight away. Tell them you don't have the letter yet. They ask some qs, and pronto, you sort it out.

Even though I have not received any letters yet, my visa has been issued, and I will soon get it. Hope this helps a lot of people... I have wasted 2+ weeks on this.

[adnaan_23]

Hey!
Thanks for starting this thread...I was just thinking about this same thing since I'm kinda sailing in the same boat here.

I've got my acknowledgement letter dated 25th Oct (recvd on 28th Oct). Still waiting on the biometrics letter. But I understand that there is some sort of a delay going on with this and it could take around 4 weeks to get the letter.

What I'm wondering is, is it possible to just book an appointment without waiting for the biometrics letter (and haven't received any email either!!)...coz I've got the case reference no. that I need, isnt it? Do they actually ask you to show them that letter when you turn up for the appointment?? Also, do you suggest it's wise to actually try doing this...or am I just being too smart for my own good ?

I hate being left hanging like this...its not a very good position to be in where you have absolutely no idea about where your heading! Any help will be sincerely appreciated.

[fibreman]

Hey!
Thanks for starting this thread...I was just thinking about this same thing since I'm kinda sailing in the same boat here.

I've got my acknowledgement letter dated 25th Oct (recvd on 28th Oct). Still waiting on the biometrics letter. But I understand that there is some sort of a delay going on with this and it could take around 4 weeks to get the letter.

What I'm wondering is, is it possible to just book an appointment without waiting for the biometrics letter (and haven't received any email either!!)...coz I've got the case reference no. that I need, isnt it? Do they actually ask you to show them that letter when you turn up for the appointment?? Also, do you suggest it's wise to actually try doing this...or am I just being too smart for my own good ?

I hate being left hanging like this...its not a very good position to be in where you have absolutely no idea about where your heading! Any help will be sincerely appreciated.

Hi there, as I have said, you don't need the letter. There is a lot of confusion, since even the email states you need the letter.

However, you don't really need it. You can't go to post office, but you can go to ukba for biom. Just tell them you don't have the letter when you come, they will ask for date of birth etc. to confirm identity.
As for whether you should wait for email, it came within week or so after sending the app in my case. Maybe just wait for that and book the earliest date then.

What happens is, letters get lost, delayed etc. and when you give biom, they start working on your app. So you should speed it up.

I was perfectly fine with just case no and no letter.

[Greenie]

You can't make a biometric appointment without a case ID which you will not have if you don't have the letter or email. Please note that not everyone receives an email so cannot rely on this as an option and instead need to wait for the letter.

[alex13]

I have called today (again) and they said I have to wait until its been 4 weeks so they can request a letter for biometrics. And you cannot go to the post office and take the biometrics without it because the letter has a bar code that theyll need to scan. This delay is ridiculous, for me its been 3 weeks already, Ill probably wont even be able to go home for Christmas!

[fibreman]

You can't make a biometric appointment without a case ID which you will not have if you don't have the letter or email. Please note that not everyone receives an email so cannot rely on this as an option and instead need to wait for the letter.

Greenie, I was not aware whether everyone gets the email or not... I thought it was standard for everyone, obviously not.

That said, I had the case ID there, so I gave bio without the letter, which still hasn't come, it's been like 6+ weeks.

What I advised people to do is, if they have their ID, not to waste time. You can't go to post office, but still.

[fibreman]

I have called today (again) and they said I have to wait until its been 4 weeks so they can request a letter for biometrics. And you cannot go to the post office and take the biometrics without it because the letter has a bar code that theyll need to scan. This delay is ridiculous, for me its been 3 weeks already, Ill probably wont even be able to go home for Christmas!

I understand your problem...

I couldn't go to post either, since no letter... but as I had my case id from email, i still went to ukba.

I will not that my visa has been issued already, whereas the letter still hasn't arrived!

[s_saini]

I agree with fibreman.

I got an Email for Biometrics on 20 Jan 2012 and I booked an biometrics appointment with one dependent at Croydon office on 24 Jan 2012 and they haven't asked me about any postal letter.

I go their with email print out and every thing went fine.

I don't know about postoffice biometrics.