Entry Clearance Applications | UK Visa Blog

Apart from a few exceptions such as India and Pakistan, the UK visa fees are mostly paid either in GBP or US$. However, most of the applicants like to know an approximate amount in the local currencies. Therefore, the posts in this category provide the details of the UK entry clearance visa application fees relating to:

• Standard Visitor Visa Applications
• Marriage Visitor Visa
• Permitted Paid Engagement Visa
• Short Term Study Visa
• Family Settlement such as Spouse, Fiancé, Dependent Family Members
• Startup and Innovator Visa under Appendix W
• PBS Tier 1 for High Value Migrants
• PBS Tier 2 for Skilled Workers
• Tier 4 Student Visa Fees
• Tier 5 Temporary Worker
• Other work-related applications

Apart from North Korea, applicants can apply for UK entry clearance visa applications online. Therefore, no paper application form is required. Moreover, applicants can read questions in languages other than English. However, can only fill the UK visa online application form in English. Moreover, usually, a UK entry clearance visitor visa application process consists of the following steps:

• Specify the Purpose of Visiting the UK
• Gathering Supporting Documents
• Filling the Online Application Form
• Scheduling an Appointment
• Paying the Application Fees Online
• Uploading/Preparing the documents bunch
• Attending Appointment at UKVAC for Biometrics and Application Submission
• Awaiting the decision
• Passport Collection from UKVAC

Please note, if required, only in a very few instances, the ECO may schedule an Interview.

Depending on the purpose and type of UK entry clearance visa application, an applicant needs to furnish the appropriate supporting documents. For instance, the required documents for UK visitor visa are usually:

• Print out of the online application form
• Current valid travel document, mostly means a passport
• Previous passport, if applicable
• Translation of documents, which are not in English/Welsh
• Invitation letter, if applicable but not necessary, especially for tourist visa applications
• A UK address for staying during the visit
• Residential address in country of residence or home country
• Telephone or mobile number
• Marriage certificate, if applicable
• Family certificate, if applicable
• Business/Employer details
• Tax registration certificate
• Tax returns
• Bank statements
• Salary slips (for employed persons)
• Conveyance/Mortgage Deed or Rental Agreement of the residential address
• Evidence of assets, only if available

In fact, information relating to processing time is quite handy for applicants to correctly plan the submission of their application. Moreover, all the applicants after submitting their UK entry clearance application, quite anxiously wait for the decision. Therefore, this category provides the details of the country-specific processing times for diverse types of applications. Indeed, in 90% of the instances, the UK visa processing time is usually within 10-15 workings days for non-settlement visa applications such as visitor, short term study, student etc. However, 70-75% of the UK settlement visa applications are decided within sixty working days. Furthermore, the priority visa service is available in most of the countries. However, the 24 hour super-priority service is only available at a very few application centres and countries.

The country-specific posts also provide statistical such as number of entry clearance applications, decisions, grants, and refusals. And the details of the visa grants under major routes i.e. work, family, visit etc. Please note, the UK visa and immigration statistics indicate that every year more than 3 million entry clearances are made from outside the UK. A couple of years ago (i.e. till 2016) the number of entry clearance applications were less than 3 m. During 2005-16, the number of entry clearance applications hovered in the range of 2.5-2.8 million. Therefore, the applications for UK entry clearance visas are showing an upward trend as the number of entry clearance applications have increased to 3m, 3.3m and 3.6m in 2017, 2018 and 2019, respectively.

The UK visa refusal rate for entry clearance applications is usually 10-15%. However, the UK visa refusal rate by country varies. Indeed, for some country such as Saudi Arabia, Russia, United Arab Emirates and USA, it is not more than 1-3%, but for others such as Ghana, Iraq, Nigeria, and Pakistan it is more than 35-40%. Nevertheless, for an overwhelming majority of countries such as Egypt, India, Jordan, Lebanon, Philippines, Turkey, the refusal rate is 10-20%.

Furthermore, the visa rejection rate is different for different type of applications. For instance, in 2019, the UK visitor and family settlement visa rejection rates were 12.33% and 19.61%, respectively. In fact, there could be several distinct reasons for UK visa rejection- even a 10 year re-entry or deception ban under general grounds for refusal.