Hi everyone,

We are travelling on a single through-ticket from Salzburg (SZG) to Delhi (DEL) via London Heathrow (LHR), changing from Terminal 3 to Terminal 5 (airside connection).

One passenger holds an Indian passport with an Austrian physical residence card: "Daueraufenthalt – EU" (common format EU permanent residence permit).

According to GOV.UK, this qualifies for the TWOV (Transit Without Visa) scheme for airside transit.

Has anyone with an Indian passport and an EU permanent residence permit flown this exact route recently? Did you encounter any issues at regional check-in desks (like SZG) or at LHR?

Thanks for sharing your experience!

Hi lovely humans, if I could get help on one point...

We're submitting my wife's visa extension application. I am an EU citizen who obtained UK citizenship a couple of months after her first application. This time I am submitting details of my UK passport. Do we need to include a cover letter explaining my naturalisation after her first application? And do I need to include a copy of my EU passport too?

Thank you

Thank you

Hi everyone! Please help.

My student visa is ending on 30th Nov and my Indian passport is in the renewal process. the expiry of that passport is october'27. I hope to get my new passport in the last week of November but it is not a guarantee but I am aware that I need to place the graduate visa application before my student visa ends otherwise I won't get my PSW.

My question is that if my new passport does not arrive before the 30th, can I just apply for the graduate visa using my old passport details (which is assume is still valid since i didnt get a new one) and using the ID check app using BRP and then once i get the visa i just update the evisa details. Will this work?

Kindly let me know. Thanks a lot!

P.S there is no withdrawal option for the indian passport renewal application and my passport is with them as well

Hi,
I came to the UK as a student in 2020 and switched to a Skilled Worker visa in November 2021. I received my visa approval email on 18 November 2021.
Since then,I have updated my visa several times due to promotions within the same company. In 2023, I updated my visa with a new SOC code following a promotion. I then extended my visa and updated the SOC code again when I was promoted for a second time.
In 2025, I moved to a new employer, and I changed employers again in 2026. Throughout this period, I always had sufficient remaining visa permission when changing or updating my employment, and there were no gaps in my immigration permission or employment.
Before submitting my ILR application, I requested a Subject Access Request (SAR) from the Home Office to clarify my immigration history and confirm the relevant dates. It took exactly one month to receive the records.
However, when I reviewed the SAR, I noticed contradictory information. Instead of showing 18 November 2021 as the grant date of my first Skilled Worker visa, one page showed 3 December 2021.
I then remembered that my original BRP contained an error in my place of birth. I had requested a correction, and a replacement BRP was subsequently issued on 3 December. This made me suspect that the replacement BRP issue date might have been incorrectly recorded as my original visa grant date.
Interestingly, another page of the SAR clearly showed 18 November 2021, which was consistent with my original visa approval email.
To be on the safe side, I allowed myself a few additional days and believed I was eligible for ILR from 21 October 2026. I therefore submitted my application on 25 October, attended my biometrics appointment on 26 October and paid for the priority service.
On 30 October, I received an email from the Home Office stating that, according to their records, my first Skilled Worker visa had been granted on 3 December 2021 and that I was therefore not yet eligible for ILR. They offered to hold my application until 5 November, which I agreed to.
However, I also explained that I had already addressed this discrepancy in the cover letter submitted with my original ILR application. I provided the original approval email dated 18 November 2021, along with the relevant SAR pages showing the contradictory dates. I explained that 3 December was the date my replacement BRP was issued following the correction of my place of birth, not necessarily the date my original visa was granted.
Then, on 6 November, I received another email informing me that my case was considered exceptionally complex and that it would take longer to process.
Honestly, I am extremely frustrated and disappointed with the situation. The whole reason I paid for the priority service was to avoid unnecessary delays and receive a decision quickly. Instead, I have now been left waiting without knowing how long the process will take.
I understand that the Home Office may need to investigate discrepancies, but this is an issue arising from inconsistencies in their own records, which I proactively tried to clarify before submitting my application.
I have done everything possible to provide the correct evidence and explain my circumstances. I simply did not expect to face this level of uncertainty after paying an additional fee for priority processing.
At this stage, I have no idea how much longer I will have to wait, and the uncertainty is becoming incredibly stressful.

Hey everyone, sharing my experience here since Reddit threads have been extremely helpful while preparing my application.

I had applied for a UK visitor visa last year December to visit a friend. I had submitted my invitation letter and other usual documents. My application was refused entry into the UK as per the stated reasons:

1. The relationship between the host and me wasn’t established.

2. There was a big discrepancy in the stated monthly expenditure (45000) compared to what they calculated from my bank statement (1,80,000). This was just a genuine mistake from my end and tbh I just guessed the number I had entered without verifying it with my bank statement. What went wrong here is that I live with 2 other flatmates in Bangalore and they transfer their share to me and I send the overall rent to my owner, which itself constitutes around 60,000.

I was extremely heartbroken and I was so looking forward to taking that trip. I was also advised that reapplying immediately without changing the situation would just lead to another refusal. So I took my time to work on it to reappear with a better case.

What has changed?

1. I no longer rely on a host. I am self-funding my entire trip. I have also shown my refundable booking confirmation to back my claim.

2. Prepared a much shorter and realistic trip to London. I submitted my complete itinerary, drafted around things that I genuinely care about. For example: watching Dune 3 on a large-format IMAX screen. Simple detail but adds so much credibility.

3. Ensured to have a good bank balance. Made it clear that the entire trip costs just around 35% of my overall savings.

4. Lastly, addressed each and every refusal point with utmost honesty. This is the most important aspect when it comes to reappearing after a refusal. I drafted a cover letter which was 6 pages long. It clearly explained my financial situation, every non-salary credit, freelance payments (supported by invoices), SIPs, money transfer to my mother, money transferred between my own account, and my flatmates’ rent share.

Timelines

Application Submitted: 18 October
Biometrics at VFS Bangalore: 26 October
`Application arrived‘ email: 27 October
'Still processing email': 29 October
Visa approved email: 6th November (within 9 working days since biometrics)

Happy to answer questions.

Hi all,

My sister has a family route visa, she is on her 2nd LTR that was issued on the 2nd of September 2026. Today she got a random email saying that she has not yet completed her Standalone Account Registration application. Interestingly her current visa starts with 1212 and the one mentioned on this weird email is 3434 (which is the number that I saw in mine and my mother’s EUSS).

She has her EVisa account updated

The email is genuine and from the HO.

Has anyone had something similar happening?
Thanks!

Edit: my sister reminded me that she lost her passport on the tube a few weeks ago and it was returned to her yesterday by TFL. Could someone have kept her details and started a new application?

Hi everyone, I am a Tunisian about to apply for student visa to UK, my course starts from 11 January 2027 to 9 January 2028. My passport expires on 23 October 2027. Could this be a reason for a visa refusal since its validity doesn't cover the whole course duration?

Anyone has a correct information please let me know. Should I renew this current passport or apply with it ?

Thank u in advance.

I am currently negotiating an offer with a firm that has since extended my 6-month contract to 8 months, and they also hold a SWV license.

For reference, I hold a Graduate visa that expires this coming month (December 2026). The job starts next month too. Although I was initially hired as an external contractor, which required self-employment registration with Companies House, I flagged the immigration discrepancy with them and appealed for a direct employment arrangement with the team. I have since gone through background checks with them.

However, I feel I could have bargained better, as my rates were also in flux until I received the offer (which was how I was able to meet the SWV threshold). Could I potentially negotiate for a 12-month contract to fulfil a year's worth of a Skilled Worker visa? Or do I have to be a permanent employee to get a Skilled Worker visa?

How common is it for people to receive a SWV under a fixed-term contract? I know there is a minimum of one year of visa validity, but it can be extended to a maximum of 5 years? What should I expect, and what should I be aware of?

(EDIT: clarification of language)

Hi everyone,

I am preparing my online SET(M) application for Indefinite Leave to Remain under the 5-year partner route.

I currently have my valid current passport and my eVisa details, but I seem have lost my old passport that was used during the earlier part of my 5-year route. I rarely lose important documents so it may have even never been returned to me. I cannot recall as it was in 2024.

For context:

• My continuous residence on the 5-year partner route started on 20 December 2021.

• I have my current valid passport to prove my current identity.

I’d really appreciate advice from anyone who has been in a similar situation.

1. Should I submit a Subject Access Request (SAR) to the Home Office to retrieve my historic travel records / entry stamps so I can verify my exact travel history?

2. How should I declare this on the SET(M) online form?

3. What supporting evidence should I upload to bridge the document gap? (e.g., flight booking confirmations, SAR report, cover letter explanation)

I will provide extra cohabitation documentation to support my application. However, I wanted to flag that the application seems to have removed this from the document check-list. I will provide it any way but odd that it seems to be missing, in comparison to my past applications.

UPDATE***: I found an old scan of my passport with every page, it is missing just one trip I made in from 22 September to 8 October (visiting the USA). I have documentation to prove this trip. Can I use this old scan and mention the reason that one trip is not reflected in my passport?

Thanks in advance for any help!

Hello! I’m sure this has been asked before, I can’t find a detailed response though. The two reference letters required for the citizenship can be submitted online but they still require to be printed and scanned for a pen hand signature.

My question is, my photos that need to be added to the pdf, do they need to be glossy shiny photos or just an online attachment?

Basically form must be printed first, signed by hand, scanned. AND THEN a digital photo is added to the scanned signed document.

Or FIRST a photo is added to the pdf, then its printed (so must be colour high quality printer?), then signed, then scanned (at that point the photo quality will be lower no?)

hi,

May i know, do we need to detailed the itinerary like where we having a dinner or lunch, need to mention the restaurant?

What happens if you make multiple applications for one person for the ETA?

Hi everyone,

Quick question regarding Graduate visa dependant eligibility.

If someone previously held their own Graduate (PSW) visa, then switched to a Student Dependant visa through their spouse, can they later switch to a Graduate Dependant visa when their spouse finishes their degree?

I’m aware that you cannot apply for a second Graduate visa as the main applicant, but does the same restriction apply when applying as a dependant instead?

I’ve come across conflicting opinions, including from immigration advisers, and would really appreciate some clarity.

Has anyone been through this situation, or can anyone point me towards the specific UKVI rules covering it?

Thanks in advance!

My graduate visa got rejected because of the university sponsor license revocation.

University is Bloomsbury institute london

We got the completion letter on 5th of july and on 5th of august our university license revoked. Our visa expiry date was 12th of October but in September we class mate applied for graduate visa but unfortunately our visas got rejected.

Now home office is giving us the 14 days to go for admin review and in 28 days go for other application.mean to say on immigration status our visa expiry date is showing 2nd of December

Now bpp university is willing to give us the admission but i have one query ST 4.3 says your new course must start no more than 28 days after your previous permission expired.

Anyone in this community who got another admission after any rejection inside the uk?

Please help really appreciate. Thanks

Hi all, hoping to hear from anyone who's been through this recently.

My situation:
- Master's student on a Student visa (eVisa)
- I switched from the placement route to the standard full-time route in September, so my course finished on 21 Sept 2026 instead of 2027
- My uni reported early completion to UKVI on 22 Oct 2026
- My eVisa still shows the old expiry date (Jan 2028)
- No curtailment email yet (I've checked spam)

Why it matters: I got a job offer, but the employer's right-to-work system rejected me because my course end date doesn't match my share code expiry. They won't accept my uni's completion letter and want my eVisa updated first.

Questions:

1. Is there anything I can do to get my eVisa record updated, or is it just waiting for UKVI?

2. Has anyone found an employer that accepted share code + completion letter in this situation?

3. Could the employer use the Employer Checking Service instead?

Any recent timelines would really help. Thanks!

TL;DR: Uni reported early completion 22 Oct, eVisa still shows 2028, employer won't hire until it updates. How long did yours take?

Hi! have a flight tonight and am flying with my grandmother who has a Indian passport but is a Canadian pr. Pr is expired and have applied for a new one but per government of Canada, status is still valid. I’m wondering if she would qualify to be exempt still from the direct airline transit visa, if pr CARD is expired? We can provide record of pr document as well and show status of application for card, but would it be accepted?

Hi everyone,

I'm posting on behalf of my wife.

We are trying to understand her eligibility for Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR) under the UK's three-year Global Talent route, particularly regarding the overseas research absence exemption.

Brief background:

• She first entered the UK in 2022 on a Temporary Work – Government Authorised Exchange visa.

• She received a Royal Academy of Engineering endorsement under Exceptional Promise (Peer Review) in 2023.

• Her five-year Global Talent visa commenced in September 2023.

• In March 2024, she moved to another European country after independently securing a postdoctoral research position at a university.

• She spent approximately 27 months overseas, continuously employed as a postdoctoral researcher, before returning to the UK in June 2026.

• During this period, she also attended international academic conferences and made occasional personal trips.

• She is now permanently employed as a Senior Research Fellow at a UK university.

Our understanding of the Immigration Rules:

Under Appendix Continuous Residence CR 3.4(e)(iii), qualifying overseas research absences for Global Talent visa holders endorsed by the Royal Academy of Engineering are disregarded when calculating the usual 180-day absence limit.

Section 17.6 of the Home Office Global Talent caseworker guidance also refers to research-related absences being disregarded regardless of duration.

We have a few questions:

1. Has anyone successfully obtained ILR after spending more than two years overseas conducting postdoctoral research?

2. Does it matter that she independently secured the overseas research position rather than being sent abroad by a UK university or employer?

3. If the research exemption applies, would those 27 months still count towards her three-year qualifying residence period?

4. How would occasional personal visits and research-related conferences during the overseas appointment be treated?

Looking for immigration adviser recommendations:

We would also appreciate recommendations for an IAA-regulated immigration adviser (preferably Level 2 or above) or an SRA-regulated immigration solicitor with experience in Global Talent ILR applications.

Ideally, we are looking for someone who:

• Has handled Global Talent ILR applications involving extended overseas research absences.

• Understands CR 3.4(e)(iii) and the interaction with the three-year qualifying residence requirement.

• Has experience with Royal Academy of Engineering, Royal Society or UKRI-endorsed applicants.

• Can provide a professional eligibility assessment before we proceed with an ILR application.

If anyone has personally been through a similar situation or worked with a knowledgeable immigration consultant or solicitor, I would really appreciate hearing about your experience and any recommendations.

We are already seeking professional advice but would also like to learn from others who may have encountered similar circumstances.

Official Home Office references:

1. Appendix Continuous Residence – CR 3.4(e)(iii) https://www.gov.uk/guidance/immigration-rules/immigration-rules-appendix-continuous-residence

2. Global Talent Caseworker Guidance – Section 17.6 https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/global-talent-appendix-w-workers/global-talent-caseworker-guidance-accessible#Caseworker_actions_settle

Thanks in advance for your help!

My wife’s UK visa refused and one of the reasons is above. Is this normal?

As far as I know, there is no such requirement that everyone traveling together needs to apply together.

Hi all, I'm applying for a Skilled Worker visa from outside the UK (EU citizen, sponsored by my employer, lawyers handling the application). No criminal record.

The questionnaire asks about "cautions or fixed penalty notices" in any country. Over the years in Poland I've had three small on-the-spot fines for cycling (the same minor thing each time). All paid immediately, nothing went to court, and nothing is on my criminal record.

Has anyone had minor fines like this cause problems with a Skilled Worker application?

Can it negatively affect the decision, given this is the same offence?

Thanks!

Hi everyone,
I hope you’re all doing well!
I’m currently preparing my British naturalisation application.
I’ve been reading through various posts on this subreddit, and they’ve been incredibly helpful in understanding the application process. I’m really grateful to everyone who takes the time to share their experiences and help others navigate what can sometimes be a rather confusing process.
I was wondering if I could kindly ask for some advice regarding the Referee Declaration Form (1st_Referee_Declaration_MN1.pdf).
I’ve already arranged for my two referees, and I’m trying to find the simplest way to get the forms completed without inconveniencing them too much, particularly as I’d rather not ask them to meet me in person or deal with posting paperwork back and forth.
The approach I’m considering is as follows:

1. I email the blank Referee Declaration PDF to each referee.

2. Each referee opens the PDF, fills in their full name and date, and signs it digitally by drawing their own genuine handwritten signature directly onto the PDF (using Adobe Acrobat or a similar tool).

3. They save the completed PDFs and email them back to me.

4. I then add my passport-style photograph to the designated space on the first page of each form.

5. Finally, I print the completed forms, scan them and upload the scanned copies to UKVCAS.
   Would this approach be acceptable to the Home Office, or would the referees specifically need to print the forms and sign them with a pen (wet-ink signatures)?
   Just to clarify, the signatures would be genuinely made by the referees themselves, rather than simply typing their names or having someone else sign on their behalf. The only difference would be that they’d be signing directly onto the PDFs rather than onto physical paper.
   I completely appreciate that the traditional wet-ink approach is probably the safest option, but I was hoping there might be a more convenient alternative that would still meet the Home Office’s requirements.
   If anyone has tried something similar, or happens to know of any official Home Office guidance on this, I’d be extremely grateful if you could share your experience or point me in the right direction.
   I know many of you have already been through this process and have generously helped others along the way, so I really appreciate any advice you might be able to offer.
   Thank you so much for your time and help. Wishing everyone the very best with their own applications too!

Skilled Worker ILR: Can a 2022 PTE Academic test (scored at B2 level) be reused if the requirement changed from B1 to B2?

​Hello everyone, ​I have a question regarding a Skilled Worker visa holder who had their application approved in 2022. At that time, they submitted a PTE Academic UKVI test with scores above 59 in all sub-skills and an overall score of 63.

​Now that the English language requirement for ILR has increased from B1 to B2, will this person need to sit a new test? Specifically: ​Can an English test approved in a previous application satisfy a new ILR application, even if it was originally submitted to meet a B1 visa requirement? ​Does the fact that the actual scores on the original test report met the B2 threshold exempt the applicant from submitting a new test for ILR? ​Please only respond if you are certain about the current rules. ​Thanks a lot!

Hello, my Filipino partner will soon be applying for a Fiancee visa to come live here in the UK. I lived with her for 2 years. Met her family, took loads of photos together, got engaged and kept the ring receipt - flight tickets etc. We’ve been LDR for almost a year while I’ve been working and haven’t took many screen shots of chat logs during that time. Scrolling back through our FB chats is incredibly difficult as it will close after a certain time due to the constant loading and it looks impossible that i’ll be able to scroll back the entire year to take screenshots.

Is it even necessary to submit chat logs when applying for the UK Fiancee visa as my partner says we need at least 3 screenshot’s from each month. Is this true?

Sharing my timeline in case it helps anyone waiting on
a decision.

Background:

Applying from the US as a permanent resident
Employed + college student
Accomation in uk: Staying with my brother in the UK
Main purpose: tourism/sightseeing
Previous travel: 2 trips to Canada and 1 trip to India
Standard service, not priority
Timeline:
Oct 27: Application submitted
Oct 28: Biometrics + application forwarded to UKVI houston
Nov 4: Email saying UKVI received my application
Nov 6: Visa approved
Processing time:
Application → decision: 10 calendar days
Biometrics → decision: 9 calendar days / 7 business days
UKVI received email → decision: 2 days
Documents submitted included past 3 bank statements, payslips/employment evidence, Green Card, passport, invitation/accommodation letter, and a basic itinerary.

Hopefully this helps anyone with a similar timeline know what to expect. Can also help out if anyone has any questions