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Ahead of the new academic year in September, the UK Home Office has reopened visa priority services for international students. Amid ongoing delays processing UK visas, priority services enable international students to pay extra for a quicker decision on their UK student visa application.
The priority and super priority visa services reopened earlier this month, and those prepared to use the options could potentially receive their visas within 24 hours. With the new academic year looming, many international students are likely to consider a quicker visa process, despite the extra costs, as UK visa processing delays continue.
In March, the UK government suspended priority visa services without warning, saying that preference to UK visa processing was being given to Ukrainian nationals fleeing the conflict with Russia. Months of UK visa delays have resulted in some international students missing their university start dates.
Stakeholders welcome reopening of priority services
According to PIE News, higher education stakeholders have welcomed the resumption of UK visa priority services. Education agents say that the announcement has come just in time for the new academic year.
Director at Indian agency Meridean Overseas Education Consultants, Amar Bahada, told PIE News: “I believe that it has just come at the right time. If it had been a couple of more weeks, we would have ended up in a really messy situation.”
“A quicker decision on their UK visa will give students more time to book flights, preventing them from being forced to pay for expensive last-minute journeys,” Bahada added.
However, British embassies in India and Bangladesh have posted on social media warning international students that demand for priority processing for visas will be in high demand in the coming weeks as start dates for learning programmes loom.
The UK government is recommending that international students apply for their visas sooner rather than later to avoid delays.
A Universities UK International spokesperson said: “The resumption of priority visa services is a significant and positive development from UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI), which will help those international students looking to come to the UK in the autumn.”
“We know that demand for student visas is high at this time of year and, with the start of the new academic year fast approaching, it is crucial that students apply for their visas as soon as possible to avoid any delays,” the spokesperson added.
Countries struggle with visa delays
In the aftermath of COVID and numerous lockdowns, countries around the world have struggled to kickstart their immigration systems. Student visas in particular have seen significant delays around the world as governments priortised other visa routes.
The global higher education sector has suffered in recent years and the industry’s post-COVID recovery has stalled amid student visa delays. Popular international student destinations like the UK, the USA, Australia and Canada are still trying to restore their immigration and visa processes to pre-pandemic levels.
In encouraging news for the UK and Canada, a series of surveys conducted by education.com in 2021 showed that the two nations were becoming increasingly preferred destinations for international students.
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