premium service hold-ups/biometrics gone down - docs held

[walro809]

Has any one got any experience of this?

I had my Premium service appointment on Thursday 5th in Sheffield. After waiting for a few hours they called me up, and said they told me I could leave - but they hadn't made a decision as their whole Biometrics system had gone down Nationwide. I was told that my application looked mostly fine, but because they couldn't check my biometrics I couldn't be granted a visa and they would need to hold my documents.

I was told they would phone the next day, which they didn't.


Has anyone ever experienced this, and how long do you think it will take to receive my documents back assuming my application was OK? I was hoping to fly out next week to see family (I knoww- you shouldn't book flights and all that, but I had hoped (naively) that by using a premium service I would get my passport back on the day - or quickly!