Skilled Worker visa processing time and your decision date
UKVI aims to decide a Skilled Worker application in 3 weeks from abroad and 8 weeks from inside the UK, counted from your identity check. Enter that date to get yours.
Expected decision date for your application
Decision expected by
3 November 2026
UKVI service standard: 3 weeks.
| Contact UKVI if no news after | 4 November 2026 |
Counted from the day you prove your identity (app or appointment), not the day you pay. Working days skip weekends and bank holidays in England and Wales. Abroad, faster services depend on the visa centre: their timing is given when you book.
Calculated in your browser: nothing you type is sent anywhere. Not legal advice; not affiliated with the Home Office.
Published by Radif Partners · How we calculate · Home Office fees of 8 October 2026, rules checked 13 October 2026
Processing time for a Skilled Worker visa is a service standard, not a promise. UKVI's tables updated on 9 September 2026 give 3 weeks for applications from outside the UK and 8 weeks for extensions, switches and changes of employer made inside it. The clock does not start when you pay: it starts once you have proved your identity, either by scanning your passport with the UK Immigration: ID Check app or by giving fingerprints and a photo at a visa application centre or UKVCAS service point. Weeks are UK working weeks and include UK public holidays. Where the service is offered you can pay for a faster decision, £500 for priority or £1,000 for super priority from abroad, aimed at 5 working days and 1 working day respectively. Cases that need document checks, an interview or a closer look at a criminal record can take longer. The date tool above turns your appointment date into an expected decision date.
When the clock starts and stops
Your application is "made" when you submit and pay online, but UKVI starts counting only after your identity step. With the ID Check app that is the day you scan your document and upload your evidence; otherwise it is your appointment at a visa application centre abroad or a UKVCAS or Service and Support Centre in the UK. GOV.UK warns that you may need to allow extra time when an appointment is required, since the standard only begins once it has taken place, and the nearest centre can be in another country.
The clock stops when the decision letter or email is sent. A worked example from this site's date engine: an applicant abroad who gives biometrics on 2 November 2026 can expect a decision by 23 November 2026. A worker extending in the UK who completes the identity step on 14 December 2026 has a standard date of 8 February 2027, because the Christmas bank holidays sit inside the 8 weeks rather than being added to them.
| Where you apply | Standard | Priority | Super priority |
|---|---|---|---|
| Outside the UK | 3 weeks | £500, about 5 working days | £1,000, about 1 working day |
| Inside the UK (extend, switch, update) | 8 weeks | £500, about 5 working days | £1,000, about 1 working day |
What makes a Skilled Worker case take longer
UKVI lists the usual reasons a decision runs past the standard:
- information in the application is inaccurate or needs further consideration;
- more evidence is needed, for example of your savings;
- supporting documents have to be verified with the issuer;
- you are asked to attend an interview;
- your personal circumstances need a closer look, for example a criminal conviction;
- demand is unusually high, or a technical outage hits the visa systems.
Skilled Worker cases have a further layer: under SW 6.3 the caseworker may weigh whether the sponsor has shown a genuine need for the job, whether you have the skills it describes and the sponsor's record of paying sponsored workers, and may ask the sponsor for more information. If a case runs past the standard and nobody has contacted you, UKVI asks you to get in touch; within the standard, it says contacting it will not tell you anything new.
Planning around the wait
From abroad you can apply up to 3 months before the start date on your certificate, and you must apply within 3 months of receiving it. Applying early is the cheapest way to make the standard fit. Do not book travel before the decision: UKVI does not repay travel costs if a case is refused or slow.
Inside the UK, apply before your current permission expires. While the application is pending you must not travel outside the UK, Ireland, the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man, or it will be treated as withdrawn. If you are changing employer you can keep working in your current job, or work out your notice, while UKVI decides, but you should not start the new job until the new permission is confirmed. Partners and children usually get the same standard, 3 weeks from abroad or 8 in the UK. Employers waiting for a licence face a separate timetable of about 8 weeks, explained on the sponsor licence page; costs are on the Skilled Worker cost page. The figures come from UKVI processing times outside the UK and inside the UK.