With waiting times of more than two months, applying for UK visas remains a hassle for UAE citizens. The irony of it all is that after a busy summer that included daily limits on departure passengers from London Heathrow, UAE-UK air travel volumes are beginning to show more signs of a return to normalcy in the coming weeks.
According to sources in the travel business, even though arranging an appointment only takes about 10 days, acquiring a visa actually takes more than 60 days. Currently, there is a significant demand for UK visas, but the long waiting period deters many potential applicants, according to a UAE immigration lawyer in London.
While acquiring a Scheme visa is getting easier for UAE citizens after several weeks of lengthy waiting periods, getting a UK visa remains challenging. The wait time for a visa interview has decreased from three to four months to one month or less.
However, the processing time for tourist visas, including regular visitor visa applications, is currently seven weeks on average for the UK. However, some applications can take more time, according to a statement from UK Visas & Immigration (UKVI) and VFS Global.
UK has created a "Priority Visa Service" with a dramatically decreased processing time of 5–6 days for those who are ready to pay an additional Dh1,500. This is for new customers and students applying for subsidised work routes.
According to industry sources, the backlog is mostly caused by a surge in Ukrainian migrants trying to enter the UK, and aircraft cancellations have only made matters worse. Due to personnel shortages and union strikes, thousands of flights have been cancelled in the UK and Europe during the past few months. Despite this, London was Dubai's top destination in the first half of this year with 1.3 million passengers, making UAE-UK one of the busiest flight routes in the world.
Emiratis and citizens of the other GCC nations will soon have simpler admission since they won't need a visa to visit the UK starting in 2023. They will so be the first nations to gain from the UK's new electronic travel authorization system (ETA).
Passengers must submit an online application for the travel permit, which will likely be made available soon. This can be done at any moment up until a few days before leaving for the country.
Emiratis and citizens of the other GCC nations will soon have simpler admission since they won't need a visa to visit the UK starting in 2023. They will so be the first nations to gain from the UK's new electronic travel authorization system (ETA).
Passengers must submit an online application for the travel permit, which will likely be made available soon. This can be done at any moment up until a few days before leaving for the country.
In the year ending March 2022, the UK issued more than 1.6 million visas and permits, according to a leading UAE immigration lawyer in London. Despite being only about 50% higher than 2019 statistics, this was still 145% higher than 2020 levels.
No comments:
Post a Comment