UNITED KINGDOM – WorldBridge to No Longer Offer Priority Visa Service
Beginning March 26, 2014, WorldBridge, the U.K. Home Office’s outsourced commercial partner, will no longer offer the Priority Service. The service will, however, be transferred over to a new provider, VFS Global. The Priority Service is currently an additional $150 per visa application and is used to grant applicants the fastest processing times possible. The visa application procedure is standard; however, the additional fee must be paid online to the outsourced provider prior to submission of the application in order to secure the “priority” status. Companies and applicants should keep in mind that there may be potential service disruptions during the period that the service transfers from WorldBridge to VFS Global. Additionally, any companies planning to move high amounts of employees from the U.S. to the U.K. and other frequent Priority Service users should expect higher processing costs with this provider change. Costs are expected to be great as $170 per applicant.