The flag of the United Kingdom and the flag of European Union are displayed prior to the meeting between UK Brexit Minister Stephen Barclay and EU chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier on September 20, 2019, in Brussels. (Photo by Kenzo TRIBOUILLARD / POOL / AFP)
South Africans applying for visas to live and work in the United Kingdom (UK) are experiencing “serious delays” in their visa application processing times, warns Ryan Rennison, director of UK immigration agency Move Up.
Rennison reiterated his concerns as expressed in a meeting with the regional manager of UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) earlier this year, of the decision to put UKVI in charge of the development of Teleperformance (or TSL Contact) – their visa agent’s website.
This, according to Rennison, enabled the UK government to take charge of backend changes such as their visa tracking facility and the website’s content – meaning South African settlement visas were no longer processed locally but at the head office in Sheffield, along with many other applications from all over the world.
Rennison said: “There are global inconsistencies that applicants cannot be held liable for. However, this dynamic is seems to be causing inconsistencies in their decision-making processes.”
Move Up further claimed that some English testing institutions in South Africa did not supply UKVI reference numbers as other institutions abroad did, and saw many South African visa applications declined because of this.
“From what I can tell, the Sheffield team has adopted a strict interpretation of settlement visa rules, whereas the Pretoria team was far more lenient. However, from the consistently delayed visa processing times, it seems that Sheffield’s newly implemented team of decision-makers are taking strain,” added Rennison.
South Africans who plan to apply for UK settlement visas should expect delayed notifications on their status, he warned.
Those who had already applied were advised to go to the visa centre to check their application status or collect their visas.
“We have no doubt that the UKVI are aware of this delay and that their technicians are actively looking to resolve this. For now, the status remains disrupted,” said Rennison.
(Compiled by Vhahangwele Nemakonde)
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