UK visas to soon be back at 15-day processing format, assures British envoy

British high commissioner to India Alex Ellis on October 19 said the United Kingdom is on track to process visa applications within the standard 15-day period.

In a video message posted on Twitter, Alex Ellis said: "We are on track to get back to processing India-to-UK visa applications within our standard of 15 days."

Ellis said that the delay in visa processing is largely due to a surge in demand, the coronavirus pandemic, and the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

“We are back on track. We have dealt with an unprecedented surge in the demand for student visas, which was up by 89 percent from last year. We are turning right off skilled worker visas very fast and now we are focusing on visitor visas,” the official said.

Indians are facing a mounting backlog for visas in recent months due to appointment unavailability and prolonged processing time.

Ellis requested visa applicants to apply for visas three months in advance. “Don’t forget, we have got good availability in our visa application centres as well. You can help by applying early. You can use the different services, including the priority visa service and the super priority visa service if you have a particular urgency,” he said.

India recently overtook China as the largest nationality being issued sponsored study visas in the UK.