Visa Processing

Applying for a visa and the time it takes to process can vary dependent not only on the country you’re applying to, but also the type of visa you’re hoping to obtain. Even if you do know the usual time it takes to process your particular visa, the smallest discrepancy in your forms can add extra weeks or months onto the application, so there are very few concrete processing times.

Tourist and Visitor Visas

If you’re going abroad to visit a country before making the decision to move there, you’ll require a visa for certain countries such as the USA and Australia. Normally these visas can be processed within 24 hours and must be taken with you in your passport when you travel. If going to the USA, most people from the UK are able to use the Visa Waiver Program which means you don’t require a visa for entry. If you are planning to stay in a country for a longer period than the ‘normal’ visa allows, you must declare this and apply for an extended visa. Most countries will allow you to stay for up to 3 months as a tourist, some as long as 6 months.

Visa Processing Times for Australia

The best way of finding out the approximate processing times for visa categories in Australia, is to contact the Department of Immigration in Australia or check on their website. The times they specify are relevant to around 75% of cases and therefore should be used as a guide only.

Below is a rough estimate of processing times for different visa classes:

• Business Skills Migration Worldwide – 18 weeks to 121 weeks dependent on subclass
• Business Sponsorship UK – 6 to 20 weeks
• Child Migration – 7 weeks
• Partner migration – 9 to 12 weeks dependent on subclass
• Other Family Migration – 37 to 90 weeks

Visa Processing Times for the USA

The USA immigration service, don’t normally publicly publish processing times for visas due to the varying numbers of visa classes and subclasses. The best tip when applying for a visa to live in the USA is to apply as early as possible. If you’re from the UK you can’t apply through the diversity lottery, otherwise known as a green card. This is because the UK has already sent over a large number of migrants to the USA and the numbers are now restricted. If you are from Northern Ireland however you can apply for a green card.

It can take up to 7 days in London to just obtain an appointment at the local embassy or consulate to find out about your visa. If you have a migration agent then you should deal with them as they will know the average waiting times for visa processing. It can be a lengthy process and you should be prepared to hang in there for the long haul.

Visa Processing Times for Canada

As with the USA, there are variances in the processing times for Canada. Many people are surprised to find that they may be in the visa process for over 2 years and this is fairly standard. There are different waiting times dependent on business migration or family migration and often family migration can be slightly quicker, but again, the key is to make the decision to go ahead with the process and see it through to the end.

Visa Processing in General

In order to have your visa processed you will normally need to have some kind of contact with the issuing authority. This may come in the form of an interview either face-to-face or over the phone. You may also need to provide numerous pieces of evidence to have your visa considered for processing initially. All of this can be explained to you to suit your individual case by obtaining the correct forms and leaflets or speaking to a registered migration agent.