Differences in times for Premium and Normal appointments to get a visa

The request was partially successful.

Simone Barrett-White

Dear Sir or Madam,

It is possible to book an appointment online to obtain a visa:

http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/contac...

What I would like to know, under the Freedom of Information Act, is the statistical breakdown for how long it takes upon application for an appointment to the actual appointment, for both normal and premium choices.

If possible, could this be broken down further for those who used the postal service/phone-call as opposed to doing it online.

Something like:

Total applications
Premium applications with the shortest, longest and average time to appointment
Normal applications with the shortest, longest and average time to appointment
Phone applications with the shortest, longest and average time to appointment
Postal applications with the shortest, longest and average time to appointment
Number of applications online
Number of applications by post
Number of applications by phone
Number of applications by other means

And if possible, the timings broken down by online/postal split.

Yours faithfully,

Simone Barrett-White

Freedom Of Information Team \( IND \), UK Border Agency

Dear Simone Barrett-White

Differences in times for Premium and Normal appointments to get a visa
(23129)

Thank you for your recent e-mail concerning the above matter. Your
request is being dealt with under the terms of the Freedom of
Information Act 2000 and we will respond shortly.

Kind Regards

UKBA
FOI Team

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Freedom Of Information Team \( IND \), UK Border Agency

Dear Ms Barrett-White

Thank you for your e-mail of 13 November, in which you ask for information about appointment bookings. Your request is being handled as a request for information under the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

It is not clear, from your e-mail, exactly what information you require. To help us to deal with your request properly, I would be grateful if you could clarify it. Please can you confirm whether you require information relating to just biometric appointments, non biometric appointments, or both categories of appointments?

You may wish to take into account when clarifying your request, that under section 12 of the Freedom of Information Act, the Home Office is not obliged to comply with an information request where it would cost more than £600 to do so. The £600 limit applies to all central government departments and is based on work being carried out at a rate of £25 per hour, which equates to 3½ days work per request. The cost of locating and retrieving information and preparing the response can be included in the costs for these purposes. The costs do not include considering whether any information is exempt from disclosure, overheads such as heating or lighting, or items such as photocopying or postage.

Once you provide the information about which category of appointments you require information about, we will aim to send you a full response to your request within twenty working days. If we do not receive clarification of your request within three months from the date of this letter, we will consider this request to be closed.

Yours sincerely

Freedom of Information Team
UK Border Agency

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Simone Barrett-White

Dear Freedom Of Information Team ( IND ),

Thanks for your reply, it is much appreciated.

Firstly, I was unaware there were biometric appointments! But if you have that information to hand, it would be great, but if it is not as easy to track down as what I want, I won't miss it. This time round.

I hope that clarifies it somewhat, if you wish me to supply more information, please just ask.

Yours sincerely,

Simone Barrett-White

vito left an annotation ()

Similar issue raised by me via another request here - http://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/ho...

Thanks

Charman, Kim,

Dear Ms Barrett-White,

I write in response to your emails of 13 and 27 November 2009 requesting information about the PEO's appointment booking system. I apologise for the delay in responding to your query and hope that you find the following information useful.

Demand for premium appointments at the Public Enquiry Office in Croydon - for those customers wanting to make their applications for further leave to remain or permanent stay in the United Kingdom - in person, remains high.

206 premium appointment slots - made available regardless of staffing levels - are released daily, six weeks in advance of the actual appointment date.

161 of these are made available online. The remaining 45 slots are made available via the Immigration Enquiry Bureau (IEB) call centre.

All premium slots whether made available online or via the IEB's call centre, are booked on a first come, first served basis.

The 206 premium appointments made available as described above, are broken down as follows:-

APPOINTMENT TYPE ONLINE CALL CENTRE

BIOMETRIC CASES

Sole Applicant 60 12
Family Single Slots* 18 18

NON-BIOMETRIC CASES

Sole Applicant 50 0
Family single Slots* 9 1
Points Based System 10 4
Long Residency Concession 1 1
Freedom of Movement of People 13 8
A2 0 1

TOTAL 161 45

*Single slots refers to the number of slots available to individual family members

Additional premium appointment slots are released daily to the IEB's call centre only, one week ahead of the appointment date, whenever staffing levels permit. This resulted in a further 742 slots being released during September, 654 in October, 133 in November and 313 during December so far.

The demand for postal appointments remains steady. 462 single postal appointments and 30 family postal appointments are released daily, six weeks in advance of the actual appointment date. Of these appointments 314 are available to book online and 178 available to book through the Tele performance call centre.

There are no appointments for normal as referred to in your original request.

Please let me know if you require any further information.

Yours sincerely

Kim

Kim Charman
Deputy Group Leader
PUBLIC ENQUIRY OFFICE - Croydon

London and South East Region - Area 1
UK Border Agency
2nd Floor, Lunar House, Wellesley Road, Croydon. CR9 2BY

Tel: +44 (0)20 8196 4639 - [mobile number]
Web: www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk <http://www.bia.homeoffice.gov.uk>
E-Mail: [email address]

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