UNITED KINGDOM – Improved Visa Services for Indian Nationals
The United Kingdom’s Immigration Minister, James Brokenshire, recently announced the implementation of improved visa services in U.K. visa application centers located in India. Visa applicants in India will benefit from a new online visa application form being launched on February 29th and the amended Super Priority and Priority services being implemented on March 1st. Furthermore, a new visa application center will open in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh.
Among some of its improvements, the online visa form will be more concise and accessible from mobile devices which in-turn will simplify the entire application process for visa applicants seeking to apply for a U.K. visa or Schengen C visa.
The Super Priority Service will now include Tier 2 work visa applicants as well as first-time visitors. Visa applicants using the Super Priority Service will receive a visa decision within 24 hours but they will be required to pay a government fee of 600 GBP in addition to the regular application fees.
Those seeking to apply as visitors, students or workers may now take advantage of the Priority Service which will provide them with visa decisions in 3-5 days for an additional government fee of 120 GBP. Previously, both the Super Priority and Priority services were exclusive to visitors who had traveled to the U.K. within the last five years and also to employees of companies who belonged to the Business Express Program.