Hot off the Press – UK Priority Visa for South Africans
The UK Border Agency has introduced a priority UK Visa service for people in South Africa.
For an additional fee, you can opt to have your UK Visa application processed ahead of others should you need to travel to the UK at the last minute. It must be noted that only a limited number of priority UK Visas will be sold on a daily basis – it’s on a first come, first serve basis.
How to apply for a Priority Visa?
- Only those applying for the UK Visitor’s Visa can have their application prioritized
- Complete the usual UK Visa application form online
- Setup your appointment at your closest VFS Global Visa Application Centre. They can be found in Johannesburg, Pretoria, Durban, Cape Town and Port Elizabeth
- As of 17 November 2011, the cost of the UK priority Visa is R675 – this payment is made over and above the cost of the UK Visa (currently R1026 for the short term UK General Visitor’s Visa) and must be done at the VFS Application Centre by Debit/CC (Visa & MasterCard accepted)
This new service from the UK Border Agency does not guarantee your UK Visa application will be successful. In other words, you must meet all the requirements of UK immigration and have all the required, legit documents with you at the time of applying.
Extended processing time can occur if…
- You’ve been refused a UK Visa before
- You’ve been refused entry to the UK before
- You’ve been deported or removed from the UK
- You’ve previously overstayed your Visa
- You’ve been refused a Visa for Australia, Canada, New Zealand, United States of America or any of the Schengen countries
- You’ve been convicted in any country
How long does the UK Visa take?
As per usual there’s no clarity from the UK Border Agency as to how long the Visa takes to process. From experience I can tell you normal applications (without priority), usually take anything from 5 – 15 working days. With the UK priority Visa service you can expect your passport back in less than 5 days. Let us know (in the comments below) your experiences of the priority UK Visa.
Photos: Ian Kershaw & Jk5854
I received the media release about this six days ago. Your article is hardly “hot off the press” is it?
Hi Theresa, we received the news this week regarding the express visa and published it as soon as we had a moment to do so. We also schedule our blogs to keep a constant stream of new stories for our readers who subscribe. Well done on picking up this article so early after it’s release though, it’s being hot on the heels of the latest news which makes journalists like yourself so good at what you do.
Hardly doing us a favor. The normal visa (and I have had several) takes between 5-6 days, if not less, now they want to screw us for an extra R675 for one or two days priority. Fine if you get it same day, but you may as well wait than spend more money. This is a huge money-making racket.
About time! Never know when there is an emergency over seas.
When my son and I went to the UK in December 2010 we realised that his passport did not have the 6 months required and he had to apply for a passport and a visa in 2 weeks…we got the visa 3 days after application…. so it can be done!
hi. How r u? Im forener . Im stay in south africa now. I got t.r.p . So can i apply for any pacage ture? And i like2 ture . If is possible 2 for me ture any country just feed back 2 me please
Hi Ruhul, thanks for getting in touch. It’s probably best to chat to our consultants for advice on 0861 878 278 (extension 5)
Hello, any one with personal experience on how long it ACTUALLY takes to get their passports back when applying for UK visa in Durban? We made an application on 26/03/2012, and desperately need our passports back by latest 04/04/2012. We have an appointment in JHB for French Schenegn visas, that cannot be delayed any further since departure date is 26/04/2012.
Any advice please…we’re stressing out like mad
We are submitting our Priority UK Visa applications on 30th April 2012 and keeping the faith that we will have them back on Wednesday 2nd May to travel on Thursday. We look forward to providing you with positive feedback on Wednesday afternoon.
Kind regards,
Masekele