Does anyone know London office timescales?
- Thread starter LoudArts
- Start date
I'm in the process of doing some research, but I've read that London is helping with Islamabad applications so that's why it's so long.. 
According to the Spousal Sponsorship Wiki page (sorry, the forum won't let me post a link but it's on the BritishExpats website, then in the Wiki tab), straightforward applications are said to still be taking on average of 7-8 months (that is, "applications that would normally have gone through London anyway - British, Irish, Swedish, etc." and that have "no criminal records, no messy divorces and remarriages, no previous sponsorship undertakings, and so on - generally, "easy" circumstances.")
You will also find there a very useful spreadsheet that has been keeping track of processing times for these straight-forward applications.
Here's is the copy-pasted information:
How long will it take?
The application process is broken into two stages: The first stage is the approval of the Sponsor, and the second stage is the approval of the Applicant. CIC posts their estimated processing times for each stage here: (CIC website, but again, I can't post links) The total time to process is the combination of the two processing times.
As of February 2015, the advertised processing time for Stage 1 is 84 days (~3 months) for sponsor approval. This quote is usually pretty accurate, generally within a week or two. CIC's website also says that they are processing applications received on x date. Allow a two-week window; once 14 days have passed, send CIC a case-specific enquiry through their website if you still haven't heard.
For Stage 2, the current processing time is longer. In February 2015, London increased their estimated processing time from 11 months to 29 months. This change is the result of overflow applications being sent to London from Islamabad, where the processing time is around 36 months. As one might expect, applications that go through Islamabad tend to be more complicated; background checks are more complex and take much longer, there is a much higher rate of fraud (both in terms of relationships and fraudulent documents being provided), and so on. The London office still faces these complications, and as such, London's advertised processing time has increased accordingly.
However, 'standard' applications (that is, applications that would normally have gone through London anyway - British, Irish, Swedish, etc) appear to be taking the same average of 8-9 months total processing time, providing the application is straight-forward (see below). It is reasonable to say that the processing time of 29 months does NOT apply to straight-forward applications.
The majority of applicants who come to BE have "straight-forward" applications - no criminal records, no messy divorces and remarriages, no previous sponsorship undertakings, and so on - generally, "easy" circumstances. A spreadsheet is maintained that tracks processing time for these straight-forward applications: (again, sorry for not being able to post the link) (Details on how to be added to the spreadsheet can be found right on the spreadsheet.) As of February 2015, average processing time for straight-forward applications is about 7 to 8 months.
You will also find there a very useful spreadsheet that has been keeping track of processing times for these straight-forward applications.
Here's is the copy-pasted information:
How long will it take?
The application process is broken into two stages: The first stage is the approval of the Sponsor, and the second stage is the approval of the Applicant. CIC posts their estimated processing times for each stage here: (CIC website, but again, I can't post links) The total time to process is the combination of the two processing times.
As of February 2015, the advertised processing time for Stage 1 is 84 days (~3 months) for sponsor approval. This quote is usually pretty accurate, generally within a week or two. CIC's website also says that they are processing applications received on x date. Allow a two-week window; once 14 days have passed, send CIC a case-specific enquiry through their website if you still haven't heard.
For Stage 2, the current processing time is longer. In February 2015, London increased their estimated processing time from 11 months to 29 months. This change is the result of overflow applications being sent to London from Islamabad, where the processing time is around 36 months. As one might expect, applications that go through Islamabad tend to be more complicated; background checks are more complex and take much longer, there is a much higher rate of fraud (both in terms of relationships and fraudulent documents being provided), and so on. The London office still faces these complications, and as such, London's advertised processing time has increased accordingly.
However, 'standard' applications (that is, applications that would normally have gone through London anyway - British, Irish, Swedish, etc) appear to be taking the same average of 8-9 months total processing time, providing the application is straight-forward (see below). It is reasonable to say that the processing time of 29 months does NOT apply to straight-forward applications.
The majority of applicants who come to BE have "straight-forward" applications - no criminal records, no messy divorces and remarriages, no previous sponsorship undertakings, and so on - generally, "easy" circumstances. A spreadsheet is maintained that tracks processing time for these straight-forward applications: (again, sorry for not being able to post the link) (Details on how to be added to the spreadsheet can be found right on the spreadsheet.) As of February 2015, average processing time for straight-forward applications is about 7 to 8 months.