Study abroad: UK Visa may not arrive in time
 

Due to my exchange school in Glasgow taking so long to provide me with a CAS number (needed for a tier 4 student visa) my visa may not be ready in time for my flight.

I have an appointment to do biometrics on Monday (8-10) and will send out my application that day with overnight shipping. My flight is September 2nd, and I fear I will be stuck without a passport, as it may still be at the UK embassy getting stamped.

My counselor said it would be possible to get a temporary passport and have my real passport/visa shipped to me by my parents.

Is this possible?

Also is the visa priority fee of $190 worth it in my situation, or will it be a waste of money?

You should definitely not rely on FT to provide an answer. Speak to the embassy as soon as possible.

Assuming you're a US citizen (purely going by your screen name), you can obviously arrive as a visitor in the UK. However you will enter the UK as exactly that, a visitor with the usual 90 days. Come to think of it, since your motive for entering the UK is not tourism but study you might not be issued with a visa and get sent back home on the next available flight. Even if you are granted entry to the UK, later on just because they grant you a visa thereafter doesn't mean your status changes legally. You might have to leave the country first before being issued with the student visa.

Ask the UK embassy for the best solution after you explain your situation.

So a temporary travel passport will not work for me?

I've read online that the uk embassy outsources their questions, and is not too helpful.

I am american, and I would have 16-17 business days to receive my visa back. Will the priority visa program give me a chance at hitting this mark?

Probably re-read what I told you. It is not about whether you have a second US passport but about UK legislation. Do they allow you to be issued with your student visa while in the country as visitor, does you applying for a visitor visa after applying for a student visa cancel your student visa application? Someone here can say you'll be fine but if that's not actually the case then what are you going to say to an immigration officer? Somebody1234 on flyertalk said it was alright therefor you shouldn't deport me?

Instead of spending time reading up online that the UK embassy is not too helpful you might as well spend that time just giving them a ring.

I would not take the chance of entering the UK on false premises. If you say you are there for tourism but in fact are there to study, it is entirely possible that you could be refused entry (or admitted and then deported for violating the terms of your entry); it is possible that you could be banned from future entry into the UK.

I'd suggest finding yourself a UK immigration lawyer PRIOR to any attempt to enter the UK without the proper visa. Your UK university should be able to refer you to one.

I think the question depends on whether you visa can change during your stay in the UK. In other words, you enter the UK on a typical tourist visa, with which you cannot study; and you don't. If your tier 4 visa is approved (which it very likely will be), the question becomes can this occur while you are still in the UK or do you need to exit and re-enter. I do not know this but you should start by reading this:

https://www.gov.uk/government/upload...final_v1_0.pdf

I don't think hiring an expensive lawyer for something as basic as this is money well spent. Find a way to get information from the UK consulate in Houston.

Good advice. But, what about hiring an inexpensive lawyer? There seem to be plenty here on FT.....

:p I kid, I kid - I don't have time for political correctness. And probably neither does the OP.

Another thing to keep in mind, you can't get a "temporary" passport in your situation. Temporary passports are only issued to Americans stuck in another country in special circumstances.

Like others have already advised, talk to the UK embassy to see what the processing times are for your visa type. You may find all this worry is for naught. Also you'll find out if paying the $190 will you get the visa on time.

Worst case you find out there is no way your visa can arrive on time, even with paying for priority. This means changing your flight to a later date that will work and advise your school. You won't be the first nor the last student to have visa trouble.

Thanks for all your input, it has really helped.

After researching online it appears that the priority visa fee has an average processing time of 5 business days. I am going to email the embassy after posting this message to confirm that 5 days is still the average processing time.

I will have 16 business days in the time between submitting my application and my flight.

Worse case scenario I can use my avios points on BA to get a later flight.

For now i'm making sure my visa packet is as complete as possible.

I think the OP meant a second passport, not a temporary passport.

That said, it is good that OP has now contacted the UK Embassy and is paying to have her/his visa expedited.

OP means a second passport, which USA issues in precisely these sorts of situations, namely where the person must travel internationally but the passport is needed to be used for visa applications. IIRC they're good for three years, versus ten for a normal passport, so it that sense they're temporary even if this isn't what is meant by ther term temporary passport.

Two years, not three years. And they are issued for two reasons - the visa processing as you indicated - and security. It is sometimes better - sometimes even required - not to have certain visa/entry stamps in one's passport when entering other countries. Likewise, it is sometimes required to deposit one's passport with one's host and it can be problematic to do certain daily business without passport-in-hand, let alone being able to flea in time of crisis.

In Houston one can walk from the British Consulate downtown to the DoS Passport Office in the fed building, even in nearly 100 degree heat down in the tunnels in nice A/C ;) to bad the consulate does not handle visas :td:

On a serious note, and as others have stated, getting a second passport is very possible (I have done this before) and it is good for two years. You can do this at the passport agency in downtown Houston or several other cities.

The British Embassy's outsourced system is not as good as the former, at least according to several people I have worked with on various int'l projects. That being said one can check status there via phone if needed and contact them via the web with questions. You do not want to try and enter the UK under odd or false circumstances, as others have noted. Work to get it squared away. Sometimes rush fees or what not are worth it in the long term- 190 bucks versus losing out on a major experience. You have to weigh the risk versus reward factor for spending the extra money. Stay on the Brits and I am sure they will sort it out! Good luck.

Yeah the more I look at it the fee makes sense.

And by the way I actually live in San Diego now.

There is a US passport agency office in San Diego also, so you can also get a second passport there IF needed. Hopefully the visa rush will solve the problem for you.