Premium Service appointment booking issue for ILR (LR)

[dannga]

Last week when I first waited up until exactly midnight for an appointment, although I didn't get one, dates appeared suggesting there was at least one time slot made available. Since then every night nothing happened. There was absolutely no change for any of the appointment centres. I refreshed the page repeatedly at midnight on different browsers and nothing appeared. Do the midnight appointments only appear every few nights? Did something change last week? Does anybody who has been trying this for longer know the pattern?

Thanks,
Dan

[allyf]

Hi Dan, I have experienced exactly the same thing as you… Last week I was able to see appointments available exactly 42 days away… So I was able to see November 26th 27th28th and 29th… And then nothing. I need a date in December. I thought there would be a pattern as well but I have a feeling nothing December is showing for a reason… Coincidentally all the settlement checking office is Will be stopping their service at the end of November. I suspect maybe the PSE is following suit? I really hope not because I dread the thought of sending this application through via post!

[fasssika]

So, has it been confirmed that there will not be any appointments after the end of November? Or is it still a technical issue? I don't think its good practice by the home office to not communicate changes with definitive dates. The service the home office provides is extremely poor.

[Nicki01]

Hi All

After so many failed attempts, on 24 July at 00:00, I again attempted to book a premium service appointment (ILR-LR) for 04 September at Croydon centre. The payment was successful but the system didn't allocate any date for appointment. Received an email stating the following lines:

'This email confirms the amount you have paid and your application reference number. We cannot provide an invoice, but this email provides confirmation that we have received your payment.

The time taken to make your payment was too long and your visa appointment has expired. You must book a new appointment'

So I emailed to online help team about this issue and got the following reply:

' Although we are unsure as to why you received the error message, it is a known issue in which we are currently investigating. We can confirm that there is an appointment booked at Croydon Premium Service Centre for 04/09/2018 at XX:XX am with the booking reference number X-X-XXXXXX.

We have been advised the following by the relevant team if you have confirmation from your bank that the fees were deducted you can still attend your appointment.

You will need to ensure to take your booking reference number (BRN) and evidence of payment, along with your application together with your supporting documents to your appointment.'

The money has been taken from my account on 25 July. When I log into my PSC application account, I still get the message that 'You have a few more steps before your booking will be complete'. So it is clear that if, in case, I want to change the appointment date or want to cancel I cannot do that with my account. Even, I can not download and print checklist.

Moreover, although they provided me a BRN (an actual number, not XXXXX) but it is unclear if the BRN is associated with my name as they said 'there is an appointment booked' at that time and date.

Can someone knowledgeable and experienced in this forum advice me what I should do in this situation?
Is the checklist is a mandatory item for that appointment day because of which the application might be refused?

Hi All,

I am new on here so please forgive me if I am not supposed to be on thid topic. I am in a similar situation as Morshed. For the last 3 days I have been trying very hard to get an appt for any psc and to no avail until today. I managed to come across two availabilities at Cardiff for outside of office hours on 13 November and without thinking twice I clicked and managed to get to payment section. The payment went through and I received a confirmation email like the above. However, I was also told that I took too long to book the appointment and have to rebook. I then checked my husbands bank account and found that payment was pending. Can the original person who posted this message please let me know what your outcome was or anyone else who has been in this situation. I phoned a number through the contact us section and quite frankly the lady was very very u helpful and rude. There is no email or helpline to contact, I am tearing my hair out that what if they take the money and we are accepted at the appointment despite them not sending us the confirmation email to notify us of the time and day. Please anyone who has been through this let me know. My husbands visa runs out on 26 November 2018 and we are desperate to get an appointment. We don’t want to apply by post as the thought of waiting so long has put us off big time . I know we may be able to get an appointment at some point but this pending transaction has me worried. Any advice or help will be greatly appreciated. Many thanks in advance

[allyf]

So, has it been confirmed that there will not be any appointments after the end of November? Or is it still a technical issue? I don't think its good practice by the home office to not communicate changes with definitive dates. The service the home office provides is extremely poor.

Hi fasssika, I am just speculating on the PSC as I haven’t seen a single date for December appear. As for the settlement checking offices, they are accepting appointments only until end of nov...I can definitely confirm that. Are you looking for December as well for premium appointment? Yes the whole system is disgraceful and demoralizing.

[aga8383]

Hi All

After so many failed attempts, on 24 July at 00:00, I again attempted to book a premium service appointment (ILR-LR) for 04 September at Croydon centre. The payment was successful but the system didn't allocate any date for appointment. Received an email stating the following lines:

'This email confirms the amount you have paid and your application reference number. We cannot provide an invoice, but this email provides confirmation that we have received your payment.

The time taken to make your payment was too long and your visa appointment has expired. You must book a new appointment'

So I emailed to online help team about this issue and got the following reply:

' Although we are unsure as to why you received the error message, it is a known issue in which we are currently investigating. We can confirm that there is an appointment booked at Croydon Premium Service Centre for 04/09/2018 at XX:XX am with the booking reference number X-X-XXXXXX.

We have been advised the following by the relevant team if you have confirmation from your bank that the fees were deducted you can still attend your appointment.

You will need to ensure to take your booking reference number (BRN) and evidence of payment, along with your application together with your supporting documents to your appointment.'

The money has been taken from my account on 25 July. When I log into my PSC application account, I still get the message that 'You have a few more steps before your booking will be complete'. So it is clear that if, in case, I want to change the appointment date or want to cancel I cannot do that with my account. Even, I can not download and print checklist.

Moreover, although they provided me a BRN (an actual number, not XXXXX) but it is unclear if the BRN is associated with my name as they said 'there is an appointment booked' at that time and date.

Can someone knowledgeable and experienced in this forum advice me what I should do in this situation?
Is the checklist is a mandatory item for that appointment day because of which the application might be refused?

Hi All,

I am new on here so please forgive me if I am not supposed to be on thid topic. I am in a similar situation as Morshed. For the last 3 days I have been trying very hard to get an appt for any psc and to no avail until today. I managed to come across two availabilities at Cardiff for outside of office hours on 13 November and without thinking twice I clicked and managed to get to payment section. The payment went through and I received a confirmation email like the above. However, I was also told that I took too long to book the appointment and have to rebook. I then checked my husbands bank account and found that payment was pending. Can the original person who posted this message please let me know what your outcome was or anyone else who has been in this situation. I phoned a number through the contact us section and quite frankly the lady was very very u helpful and rude. There is no email or helpline to contact, I am tearing my hair out that what if they take the money and we are accepted at the appointment despite them not sending us the confirmation email to notify us of the time and day. Please anyone who has been through this let me know. My husbands visa runs out on 26 November 2018 and we are desperate to get an appointment. We don’t want to apply by post as the thought of waiting so long has put us off big time . I know we may be able to get an appointment at some point but this pending transaction has me worried. Any advice or help will be greatly appreciated. Many thanks in advance

your appointment hasn't been booked. You have 10 minutes to complete the payment and if it takes longer the appointment is released back into the system. It took you too long so you were charged but you don't have an appointment. You just need to keep searching for new slot. You can use the same payment for new appoiment.

[Ritchie12]

So, has it been confirmed that there will not be any appointments after the end of November? Or is it still a technical issue? I don't think its good practice by the home office to not communicate changes with definitive dates. The service the home office provides is extremely poor.

Hi fasssika, I am just speculating on the PSC as I haven’t seen a single date for December appear. As for the settlement checking offices, they are accepting appointments only until end of nov...I can definitely confirm that. Are you looking for December as well for premium appointment? Yes the whole system is disgraceful and demoralizing.

Now, i know i wasn't going insane. I have been trying for 8 weeks, continuously and consistently refreshing and going through all the service centre. My hunch, PSC sites plant a cookie when you miss the 12.00am slot. That means you loose your chance to book a slot. In my experience and taking some time off to do this from home was useless and pointless. Nothing appears in Liverpool, Sheffield or Solihull. I can't for the life of me believe that all slots are fully booked. IMHO, if PSC don't want to offer a service in Dec, they should communicate this to the general public and then open up dates in January ready for booking.

I have decided, i am going through postal service. I have a question though, if i go through the postal service can i upgrade to PSC when a slot "magically " appears my way?

[allyf]

Hi Ritchie12, I feel your pain and frustrations. I did surprisingly see appointments come up last week, but it was only 3 nights..showing for nov 26-28. But last few days I’ve seen last minute slots (ie tomorrow!) pop up everywhere. I need 3rd week December but I haven’t seen anything at all. Lucky me I have to contend with Christmas and Ny weeks in my 28 days. PSC need to clarify if December is out because it’s driving everyone to make assumptions. As for postal I’m starting to think I need to just proceed with immigration lawyers and get them to send by post. But what if something miraculously appears in appointments when I need it and my app has now been sent by post?! I don’t know the answer ...I think we’re out of luck..but if you do find out please let me know. What dates do you need for the appointment?

[aka007]

I don't see any slots tonight either. Anyone got to book any appointments tonight?

[allyf]

Just tried for last 20 mins and nothing...

[aka007]

I remember reading an official response letter from UKBA to a person who had raised a public interest query about the system of online appointment booking and no. of slots available for each PSC. This was way back in 2012 and UKBA had mentioned in the letter that Croydon has 220 slots available per day. I assume that number may have gone up or atleast stayed the same till date. I can't imagine how can so many appointments be booked in a matter of seconds!

[aka007]

The system is responding fast now. So I guess everyone has stopped trying. No slots for tonight either. I didn't see any cancellation today morning as well. I wonder if they have started migrating to the new system where people can upload documents as attachments. The UKVI newsletter says the new system will start from 1st November with many changes to their digital platform. There will be new support centers supporting the PSCs. I hope they migrate my application data otherwise I will have to fill everything again!

[AdotS]

Anyone got lucky today? I have been struggling to find an appointment in the first week of december myself.

[Ritchie12]

I remember reading an official response letter from UKBA to a person who had raised a public interest query about the system of online appointment booking and no. of slots available for each PSC. This was way back in 2012 and UKBA had mentioned in the letter that Croydon has 220 slots available per day. I assume that number may have gone up or atleast stayed the same till date. I can't imagine how can so many appointments be booked in a matter of seconds!

Aka007, you may be onto something here. I called UKVI today to complain about the no. of slots and the lady on the phone was very very rude. She told me "You are not the only person in this situation, you can choose whatever you want to do. Im only here to tell you what i have been told". All i wanted to know was the allocation given to the various PSC centres as i sensed there was something wrong.

I checked with a mate who works with the US Based appointment system and he said, they see over 400 applicants everyday and their system always has slots, so its very strange Premium slots will vanish that quickly. Moreover, he said, for arguments sake if there are 7 service centre and search have 100 slots per day, that makes 700 and the rule of 42 or 45 days in advance should mean slots are readily available. So he senses something is going on behind the scenes and we are left in the dark.

So aka007, you may be correct on the restructuring. My worry is that, this will come with an added cost. Its difficult raising £3k let along HO or UKVI adding an extra 400 or 600 quid next month. Hard times.

[Ritchie12]

Hi Ritchie12, I feel your pain and frustrations. I did surprisingly see appointments come up last week, but it was only 3 nights..showing for nov 26-28. But last few days I’ve seen last minute slots (ie tomorrow!) pop up everywhere. I need 3rd week December but I haven’t seen anything at all. Lucky me I have to contend with Christmas and Ny weeks in my 28 days. PSC need to clarify if December is out because it’s driving everyone to make assumptions. As for postal I’m starting to think I need to just proceed with immigration lawyers and get them to send by post. But what if something miraculously appears in appointments when I need it and my app has now been sent by post?! I don’t know the answer ...I think we’re out of luck..but if you do find out please let me know. What dates do you need for the appointment?

Hi allyf,
Were the Nov 26-28 slot for Liverpool?
Im looking for first week of December. My current visa runs out 23rd Dec and thats crunch time as it gets into holiday zone after that. Thats why i'm planning to go postal route. If i don't get any PSC slots,its either FLR or postal application for me.

It will be nice if experience members like CR001 can help with the upgrade question. Any help will be appreciated.

[michali]

Even though the HO have published some information about the new system, we can only speculate on how it will really work. But as it is supposed to kick in on either the 1st or 5th November, I would imagine that it will become more difficult to get PSC slots as we know them. We do not even know if there will be the option of same day decisions any more.

[allyf]

Hi Ritchie12, I feel your pain and frustrations. I did surprisingly see appointments come up last week, but it was only 3 nights..showing for nov 26-28. But last few days I’ve seen last minute slots (ie tomorrow!) pop up everywhere. I need 3rd week December but I haven’t seen anything at all. Lucky me I have to contend with Christmas and Ny weeks in my 28 days. PSC need to clarify if December is out because it’s driving everyone to make assumptions. As for postal I’m starting to think I need to just proceed with immigration lawyers and get them to send by post. But what if something miraculously appears in appointments when I need it and my app has now been sent by post?! I don’t know the answer ...I think we’re out of luck..but if you do find out please let me know. What dates do you need for the appointment?

Hi allyf,
Were the Nov 26-28 slot for Liverpool?
Im looking for first week of December. My current visa runs out 23rd Dec and thats crunch time as it gets into holiday zone after that. Thats why i'm planning to go postal route. If i don't get any PSC slots,its either FLR or postal application for me.

It will be nice if experience members like CR001 can help with the upgrade question. Any help will be appreciated.

Hi Ritchie12,
I did see appointments early last week, for November 26- to 28 … Exactly 42 days in advance. It was for Liverpool and a couple other centers… I believe Glasgow and Sheffield. did you not see any at all at midnight early last week? That’s more concerning that some people are able to see dates and some people can’t see anything? I really didn’t think that was possible.
Overall it looks like PSC are decreasing their appointments but it would be nice for the government to advise so that people like us can move forward with other options instead of wasting our lives looking for appointments that will never appear. I agree it would be nice if experienced members such as CR001 couldn’t respond.
Sorry, but what is FLR?

[fasssika]

So, has it been confirmed that there will not be any appointments after the end of November? Or is it still a technical issue? I don't think its good practice by the home office to not communicate changes with definitive dates. The service the home office provides is extremely poor.

Hi fasssika, I am just speculating on the PSC as I haven’t seen a single date for December appear. As for the settlement checking offices, they are accepting appointments only until end of nov...I can definitely confirm that. Are you looking for December as well for premium appointment? Yes the whole system is disgraceful and demoralizing.

Hey allyf,

I am looking for one in December. Hopefully the first week of December as I want to get this over and done with. I really would rather not send it by post as my father is really unwell and I need to be able to travel on short notice. This is all so frustrating. I have been up at 12 midnight everyday for the past week and a half......

[aka007]

Just saw two slots in Liverpool for 29th ad 30th Oct. They came and went before I could click and move to the next page, let alone decide whether to travel to Liverpool or not! Our eyes and hands have to operate independently of our brain if we were to nail this. At this rate I have a better probability of winning the much talked about $1.5 billion mega lotto than getting an appointment in Croydon.

[thedudeintheuk]

I just had a slot pop up for Friday (26th) in Cardiff so will be leaving at 03h00 in the morning to make sure there are no issues. I am surprised I managed to get the slot as fumbled with the details and reloaded the page way to many times, but it went through and have my appointment.

I am beyond nervous and the anxiety is driving me crazy already

[allyf]

So, has it been confirmed that there will not be any appointments after the end of November? Or is it still a technical issue? I don't think its good practice by the home office to not communicate changes with definitive dates. The service the home office provides is extremely poor.

Hi fasssika, I am just speculating on the PSC as I haven’t seen a single date for December appear. As for the settlement checking offices, they are accepting appointments only until end of nov...I can definitely confirm that. Are you looking for December as well for premium appointment? Yes the whole system is disgraceful and demoralizing.

Hey allyf,

I am looking for one in December. Hopefully the first week of December as I want to get this over and done with. I really would rather not send it by post as my father is really unwell and I need to be able to travel on short notice. This is all so frustrating. I have been up at 12 midnight everyday for the past week and a half......

Yes I haven’t seen a single date come up for December as of yet. I’m losing hope and would be happy for someone just to advise that there are no appointments available for December so at least I can plan for the next option. The only thing that appears to be popping up at the moment our very last-minute appointments… Clearly cancellations… what happened to the 42 date rule?! At least then people can plan instead of scrambling at the last minute. please do keep me posted if at all you said something for December. Best of luck

[allyf]

Just saw two slots in Liverpool for 29th ad 30th Oct. They came and went before I could click and move to the next page, let alone decide whether to travel to Liverpool or not! Our eyes and hands have to operate independently of our brain if we were to nail this. At this rate I have a better probability of winning the much talked about $1.5 billion mega lotto than getting an appointment in Croydon.

These last minute slots are not helping at all. What happened to 42 days in advance?! You’re right… We have a better chance of winning the lottery than finding an appointment with the home office!

[allyf]

I just had a slot pop up for Friday (26th) in Cardiff so will be leaving at 03h00 in the morning to make sure there are no issues. I am surprised I managed to get the slot as fumbled with the details and reloaded the page way to many times, but it went through and have my appointment.

I am beyond nervous and the anxiety is driving me crazy already

Great job and congratulations! It’s nice to hear successful stories as it gives all of us hope ! Best of luck

[Nicki01]

Just wanted to let everyone know, I managed to grab an appt for next week after 3 days of constant checking. It was pure luck that it came up for a date when my hubbys 28 day starts(Im assuming it was a cancellation but it didn’t matter to us that it was so close because it was ideal for us) The good thing was our payment had been processed yesterday because we tried booking a slot that came up for Cardiff but somehow we ended up missing it ( someone got there before us I guess). It was extremely stressful but with perseverance we managed to get our hands on another one. I do wish to give some pointers that may help some of you and they are as follows;

1) although I have read on numerous forums that appts are released at 12am every day, I have found rhat is not is the case.
2) I have found appointments around 1pm and 2.30pm ( these are usually cancellations and for the next day or even 2/3 days from tody ( so if you are going to be within your 28 days then go for it cos these appointments are scarce so just take what’s available)
3) dont look for centres nearest to you, be prepared to go further than your area.
4) if possible keep trying Cardiff, liverpool, sheffield because these centres have the most quick slots every afternoon)
5) check every centre (ideally the above one) every few minutes and if possible keep your mobile/tablet near you at all times. I was lucky that I am on holiday from work this week so this came in handy for me.( didnt do much work unfortunately )
6) have your payment card ready and your mobile with you incase your bank sends a verification code that you need to enter in the payment section.
7) if like me you manage to get the payment through but you are greeted with “ you were too slow and your appointment has been cancelled” then it just simply means someone got there before you so you just have to find another slot and when you do you wont have to put your payment details in again because your payments is already “pending transaction”
when and if you find a slot then always always click on the first date you are shown cos that is the date where the appointment will be, sometimes you will have two appointments on the same day so just click on the date and then the time and hopefully that will take you to the payment section.

Thats all I did and I hope this will help someone else. I pray that you all find an appointment to suit your visa date.
All the best to you all and do wish us luck that my hubbys visa gets through .
Now off to sleep as I have lost 3 nights of sleep because of this.

[allyf]

Just wanted to let everyone know, I managed to grab an appt for next week after 3 days of constant checking. It was pure luck that it came up for a date when my hubbys 28 day starts(Im assuming it was a cancellation but it didn’t matter to us that it was so close because it was ideal for us) The good thing was our payment had been processed yesterday because we tried booking a slot that came up for Cardiff but somehow we ended up missing it ( someone got there before us I guess). It was extremely stressful but with perseverance we managed to get our hands on another one. I do wish to give some pointers that may help some of you and they are as follows;

1) although I have read on numerous forums that appts are released at 12am every day, I have found rhat is not is the case.
2) I have found appointments around 1pm and 2.30pm ( these are usually cancellations and for the next day or even 2/3 days from tody ( so if you are going to be within your 28 days then go for it cos these appointments are scarce so just take what’s available)
3) dont look for centres nearest to you, be prepared to go further than your area.
4) if possible keep trying Cardiff, liverpool, sheffield because these centres have the most quick slots every afternoon)
5) check every centre (ideally the above one) every few minutes and if possible keep your mobile/tablet near you at all times. I was lucky that I am on holiday from work this week so this came in handy for me.( didnt do much work unfortunately )
6) have your payment card ready and your mobile with you incase your bank sends a verification code that you need to enter in the payment section.
7) if like me you manage to get the payment through but you are greeted with “ you were too slow and your appointment has been cancelled” then it just simply means someone got there before you so you just have to find another slot and when you do you wont have to put your payment details in again because your payments is already “pending transaction”
when and if you find a slot then always always click on the first date you are shown cos that is the date where the appointment will be, sometimes you will have two appointments on the same day so just click on the date and then the time and hopefully that will take you to the payment section.

Thats all I did and I hope this will help someone else. I pray that you all find an appointment to suit your visa date.
All the best to you all and do wish us luck that my hubbys visa gets through .
Now off to sleep as I have lost 3 nights of sleep because of this.

Thank you Nicky for this information, very kind of you to let the forum know. Congrats on getting an appointment before expiry, I’m sure all will go through fine! Enjoy the rest of your time off xoxo