UK visa wait times double for spouses as skills fears mount

UK visa application processing times for spouses wanting to work in Britain have doubled, according to Home Office data. There are now fears that lengthier waiting times for visas could deepen Britain’s skills crisis. Those wishing to join family in the UK, and have job offers in place, are now having to renegotiate start dates amid Home Office visa processing delays.

Meanwhile, British businesses supporting spousal applications for UK employees returning from overseas with a non-British partner are also facing delays in returning to the UK. It’s understood that many spouse applicants have started receiving emails from the Home Office informing them of potential delays.

The situation means that people could face a wait of up to six months for a decision on their application. Those with plans to start a job, study and for housing will likely be forced to put their plans on hold, causing uncertainty for many. Those facing UK visa delays say that they ‘feel forgotten’.

Ukrainian UK visa applications

The Home Office claims that demand for UK visas among Ukrainians fleeing the Russian invasion of their homeland is the reason for visa processing delays elsewhere. 

According to recent guidance published by the Home Office, an application for a UK Family Visa could take up to 24 weeks because processing visas for Ukrainian nationals is currently the top priority.

The guidance states: “You should get a decision within 24 weeks once you attend your appointment at the visa application centre, if you are applying to settle in the UK as the spouse, partner or family member of someone who has British citizenship or is settled in the UK.

“If you are applying as the dependent of another applicant, you will get your decision at the same time,” the guidance added.

Critical skills shortage

However, amid a seemingly growing skills shortage in the UK, business leaders fear more disruption for the wider economy. 

Many have argued that the situation is potentially damaging for employers and could have a knock-on effect on UK staff levels, forcing business to consider work visa sponsorship, despite the higher costs associated with hiring from overseas.

For every organisation staff are the lifeblood, and one business leader said that they ‘wouldn’t be surprised to see companies who hold a UK sponsorship licence sponsoring workers from abroad, despite the astronomical costs, because they might get a quicker decision’.

Care staff 

News of delays with spousal visa applications come on hot on the heels of a recent Migration Advisory Committee report urging the government to scrap UK immigration fees for foreign care staff.

According to a recent estimate from Skills for Care, there are more than 100,000 vacancies across the UK care sector, and the industry is struggling to fill jobs with British-born workers.

Meanwhile, a high number of foreign staff – mostly from the EU – have left their jobs in Britain in the aftermath of Brexit.

Furthermore, for those that have remained, the MAC report revealed that the high cost for care workers to remain in Britain is disproportionate to the ‘low wages paid in the social care sector’, and advised that the pay rate for care workers in England should be raised above the National Living Wage, with a minimum hourly rate starting at £10.50.

The MAC said: “Ministers should adopt a string of recommendations as soon as possible to ease the pressure and challenges faced across the social care sector.” 

The MAC’s report comes amid rising demand for care services, high vacancy numbers and poor conditions of employment compared to other occupations.

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