UK visa processing times and your decision date
Most visas applied for from abroad are decided within 3 weeks, in-UK applications within 8, partner visas from abroad within 12. Enter your appointment date to see yours.
When to expect your decision
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
UK Visas and Immigration publishes a service standard for each type of application, the time within which it aims to decide most cases; the figures in force were updated on 9 September 2026. From abroad, almost every work, study and visit visa has a standard of 3 weeks and partner, parent and child visas 12 weeks. From inside the UK, extensions and switches usually take 8 weeks, the Health and Care Worker visa 3, and settlement and citizenship 6 months. The clock starts when you prove your identity, at a visa centre or through the ID Check app, not when you pay, and it counts the UK working week with public holidays included, so 3 weeks means about 21 calendar days. An appointment on 14 December 2026 for a Skilled Worker visa from abroad therefore points to a decision by 4 January 2027. Inside the UK, priority and super priority services buy a decision within 5 working days or by the end of the next working day; abroad, faster services are sold where the visa centre offers them.
Service standards by route
| Application | From outside the UK | Inside the UK |
|---|---|---|
| Skilled Worker | 3 weeks | 8 weeks |
| Health and Care Worker | 3 weeks | 3 weeks |
| Student | 3 weeks | 8 weeks |
| Standard Visitor | 3 weeks | 8 weeks |
| Partner or spouse | 12 weeks | 8 weeks |
| Global Talent | 3 weeks | 8 weeks |
| High Potential Individual | 3 weeks | 8 weeks |
| UK Ancestry | 3 weeks | 8 weeks |
| Graduate | not available | 8 weeks |
Two in-UK family cases have no service standard: a partner who does not meet the income and English requirements and applies on the basis of private life, and a parent. UKVI states they currently take around 12 months. Indefinite leave to remain and naturalisation are usually decided within 6 months of the biometrics appointment.
Planning around the standard
Skilled Workers can apply up to three months before the start date on their certificate of sponsorship, and students up to six months before their course from abroad: with a standard of a few weeks, applying early leaves room for a request for more evidence. For an extension, apply before the current visa expires, then stay within the UK, Ireland, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man until the decision: GOV.UK warns that travelling further withdraws the application.
What makes an application take longer
The standards describe straightforward cases. UKVI lists the usual reasons for a longer wait: documents that need checking, information that does not match, a request for more evidence (bank statements, for instance), an interview, a criminal record or other personal circumstances, and periods of high demand or technical outages. In those cases it should contact you within the standard to say that the decision will take longer. Booking travel before the decision is at your own risk: UKVI does not reimburse tickets if a visa is late or refused.
Paying for a faster decision
Inside the UK, priority costs £500 for a decision within 5 working days, and super priority £1,000 for a decision by the end of the next working day after a weekday appointment (2 working days after a weekend one; for settlement, 2 working days). Working days exclude weekends and bank holidays. Outside the UK the fee table prices priority at £500 and super priority at £1,000, in the countries and visa centres that sell them, with the timing stated when you book. Places are limited and some routes, such as adults coming to be cared for by a relative, are excluded. The fee buys speed, not a better chance: a weak application is refused faster.
When the standard has passed and nobody has contacted you, UKVI asks applicants to get in touch through its contact centre; the calculator gives that date. For the cost of each service with the visa itself, see the cost calculator; for Skilled Worker and partner cases in detail, the Skilled Worker and spouse visa timing pages.