How to track your UK Visa application

Currently, there is no possible way to track your UK visa application status online. The only way you can do this is by either calling the Home Office or sending them an email. However, it must be noted that you will be charged for both ways of enquiring.

You can get in touch with the UKVI to know your UK visa application status at any time. Phone communications are available 24 hours from Monday to Friday. You will be required to provide your credit card information for billing when you initiate your phone call. In addition, your call charges will depend on the country you are calling from.

Although phone inquiries may receive a more detailed response, this is also the most expensive option to track your visa status. In other words, you may possibly spend a significant amount of money and time on hold on the phone, just to be told that your application is still pending for processing.

Page Contents

• How to track your UK visa application status online?
• Can I track my visa application from outside the UK?
• What do I need to track my UK visa status?
• How to check your UK visa processing time online?
• Can I speed up my UK visa processing time?
• What is the right time to submit my UK visa application?
• How Can Total Law Help?

If you are enquiring from outside the UK, it may be easier to send the UKVI an email. This may not be the most immediate way to track your UK visa application status but, in most cases, it is the less expensive one.

Email inquiries cost £5.48. However, you will not be charged for any follow-up communication about the same enquiry. Usually, the Home Office replies to the queries received by email within 2 working days.

If you wish, you can choose to contact a UKVI centre that can process queries in a foreign language. You can find more details about this service by selecting your home country or desired language on the UKVI’s contact page.

Whether you are enquiring about your Visa status online or by phone, you are going to be asked to provide specific information about your application. This allows the Home Office to individuate your case and consequently to answer to your questions.

To check your visa application either from the UK or from abroad, you will need the following information:

• Your Case Identification Number, often indicated on your paperwork as “CaseID”. It is an 8-digit number, and you can find it on all the written communications that you have exchanged with the Home Office. If it includes a 0 at the beginning, do not forget to omit it from your visa status request.
• Your Unique Application Number (UAN). This is a 16-digit number, and it is reported in any email or letter received from the Home Office.
• Your Payment Reference number. You are going to receive it only after your payment for your visa fee is processed.
• Your Biometric Residence Permit number. This is a combination of letters and numbers and it can be found on your Biometric Residence Permit.
• Your Immigration Health Surcharge number. You will have access to this information only after you have paid the NHS Immigration Health Surcharge along with your application fees.

If you hold any additional information that you believe may be beneficial to track your UK visa status, you should mention it to the Home Office.

The Home Office provides a useful tool to track your expected UK visa processing time, based on the average waiting time for that permit category. This tool can be used either from within the UK or from abroad.

Once you have selected the country you applied for and the type of visa you are interested in, the tool will show you the estimated processing time of each permit. This is expressed in working days.

In other words, you can use this tool to investigate your predicted UK visa processing time also before you submit your application.

You can reduce your waiting time by choosing the Premium Processing Service. With this service, you can receive a final decision from the UKVI within five working days.

However, this is only available to those who used one of the following forms to submit their application:

• SET (F)
• SET (AF)
• SET (M)
• SET (LR)

The cost for this service is £490, to be paid together with your application fees.

One of the most common mistakes that applicants often make is to apply for a UK visa too close to the date they intend to enter the country. In the majority of cases, the visa processing times can be longer than expected. In addition, UK public holidays and busy periods such as summer and Christmas vacations can delay your application even more.

As a general rule, it is advisable to submit your UK visa application at least two months before your travel date.

If you have already filed your request and you wish to check your UK visa status, you can get in touch with the Home Office either via email or by phone.