Priority service or not...?

Hello everyone, Ive posted on here before, my lady was refused a visit visa a few months back. Usual story, didnt think she would return blah blah...
Anyway we have made the decision to apply for a settlement (fiancee) visa. We have used a visa agent/service in the Philippines, not everyone thinks this is necessary but we have found it useful and they know what they're doing as they are aware of recent changes in procedure etc.
Next step is a biometric & passport appointment in Manila, then I have to send my paperwork into Sheffield. My Q is: Is it worth paying for the Priority service? Has anyone any recent experience of this? I feel our situation is quite 'straight forward' Im divorced, self employed, my lady never married, no children, all paperwork present and correct (verified & barcoded by visa agent), VAF4A & appendix, divorce, cenomar, earnings, tax etc etc
We have waited a long time for this so Im happy to pay the extra 600, but obviously there are other things to spend money on and I cant find much recent feedback on processing times.
I will keep a log of events and post them on here, hopefully that will be of help to others in a similar situation. Any advice appreciated and thankyou.
Chris & Lorna

@shie1989 and @Drunken Max have recently applied using Priority service. They both passed the processing times for Priority (30 working days) and still waiting for the visa. Maybe they can give more advice.

Look for @shie1989 comment on the last page.
http://www.british-filipino.com/index.php?threads/how-to-apply-for-a-uk-fiance-e-visa.4280/page-76

In my case I would say it would have worked because they started processing the visa well within the 30 days. It was then however that they discovered that the biometrics had been lost / corrupted so we have to do them again.

I would be more inclined to use a visa agency from the UK rather that Philippines if I was going to use one. I would say they are more likely to be up to date with what is involved for a UK visa.

I would also add that your situation is not straight forward if you are self-employed. There's a lot of paperwork to put together if you are. I was self-employed when we did our first few applications. We failed first time, partly because of a lack of proof on earnings.

Do you have an accountant?

I used a visa agency and they made sure that everything was done correctly to make sure we didn't fail becasue of the application content. That being said, having had subsequent issues they have been silent and shown no interest in the outcome. Its unlikely we would use them for further applications such as LtR. We have learned a lot from the process, and more importantly we have confidence in oursleves now to do it.

Yes, its definitely a learning curve! I contacted a couple of agencies here in the UK and wasn't convinced they would be of any help, just wanted to take my money. The guys/girls in the Philippines have been a bit slow but very good and explained a lot along the way. Very thorough and helpful. Also good for my lady, she can call at her time of day and speak Tagalog. I have seen the other reports about priority service, more negative than positive, its all a lottery!

i wouldnt class self employed as straightforward--at all. very likely to delay the application. any excuse.

It is dangerous to presume your application is 'straightforward', especially if you intend spending around £500 on a Priority application!
Even something as simple as the Applicant having dared to travel outside of the Philippines makes it 'not straightforward' - unless it was on a Visitor Visa to the UK, which seems to be a 'positive' but near impossible to achieve for the 'average' Filipino/Filipina! I'm certainly glad I didn't choose Priority as - from what was said previously - this just gets your application 'looked at' within the 30 days and could still result in it being classed as 'not straightforward'.
We are currently 121 working days and still waiting...!

Hi there

I was curious about the failure that you get on the first time of your applications as self employed , don't you mind me telling what is the reasons.For now , me and husband are gathering many documents to provide as he is self employed as well, nature of work is gas and oil. He has an accountant and lawyer still waiting for the papers to be sign.Any suggestions also might help our applications.

Thank you
Joan and Craig

Hi there

Hi bigmac

Are you yourself a self employed when you applied a visa? Me and husband are going to apply for my first FLR M maybe this end of August coz all documents are still pending to sign by accountants and lawyers. Do you have any thought or might helpful to our applications. And why is not straightforward at all and very likely to delay application?

Thank you
Joan and Craig

As @Maharg says in his Post, proof of self-employed earnings was key in that case...

The guidelines at gov.uk give very specific details of Financial Requirements - read those and if you still have questions Post them here...

no--i'm not self employed. i'm retired and used savings to meet the requirement.

Not enough information provided by us.

For a start you need a full set of accounts going back to the start of the last financial year - so, for example, if you applied now you would need accounts back to April 2017. Not just the 6 months employed people provide.

You also need them done by an accountant, with an accountant letter stating your earnings.

Plus business bank statements back to April 2017. Tax returns. Invoices. Basically, everything you have - include it. It's not like being employed, where all you need is pay slips and a letter.

I was employed for our most recent application, and to say there was less paperwork would be an understatement.

Don't cut any corners. If you think something isn't important enough to include, include it anyway.

I sent accounts spreadsheets, self-employment registration, tax bills. Everything.

When I said straightforward I think it was perhaps the wrong phrase to use! I was meaning I feel I can tick all the boxes, proof of earnings, NI, tax due and paid, verified accounts, SA302, etc. No problems with inland revenue, bad debt, tax not paid and so on. Im divorced and decree absolute issued, my lady never married and no children and Cenomar issued. Im sure there are more complicated cases although I will never take anything to do with UKVI for granted!!!
Since I started this topic I have been advised by visa agency...
''I won't advise you to avail the priority service Sir because based on our experience, there is no difference with regards to the processing time. And you have to pay extra amount for the priority service.''

Well no one said it was going to be easy, or quick! I will keep a log of events and post them on here so others can get a feel of how the system works. Until they change it again!

Note to Joan & Craig, our first (visit) visa denied due to the usual Paragraph 4.2 (a) (c) nonesense, nothing to do with me being self employed.

Applied for fiancè visa as well. Paid for priority processing and I'm on our 38 working days since biometrics.

Ours was pretty straightforward.
Fiancè is employed - category A. Gets paid monthly.

We both have never been married.

I have a UK tourist visa too. And was never denied any visas or got deported in any country.

But still it's been 38 days going 39 working days of waiting. I didn't receive any non straightforward email from them too.

For us if we get the visa next week or before we hit 50 working days I guess it's somehow worth it then, compared to waiting 60 to 90 working days for standard.

@shie1989 I have a question if you don't mind enlightening me, are you supposed to receive an email if the application is classed as NON Straightforward?, it the first time I have heard of this.

@Paulfozz yes. I know some women who applied for spouse visa and received a non straightforward email from UKVI on their 59th working day or after their 60th working day.

Most people say that this email is sent to the applicant to informed them that the ECO needs more time before they can release a decision.

If your application is more than the processing time email or call them. We did that since I didn't receive any non straightforward email so we wanted to know the reason why it's taking so long to process my application. ukvi replied to us and told us that we should just wait 15 working days after escalation and they'll give us update.

Day 40 now (priority application)

@shie1989 thanks for the prompt reply, we are currently 40 working days priority also.

Email them. They will probably reply a generic email but at least they know that you wanted to know why there's still no decision or any update.

On VFS it states there that they will contact us after 30 working days. But they didn't contact me so I had to email them. They told me they wil escalate it and I should wait another 15 working days for an update.

@shie1989 did you email through the gov.uk Web page app?