What is UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI)?

UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) is the part of the Home Office that decides who has the right to visit or stay in the UK. It runs the visa service, considers applications for British citizenship and decides applications from employers and education providers to join the register of sponsors. The Home Office is the department it belongs to.

How UKVI and the Home Office work together

The Home Office is the lead government department for immigration and passports, drugs policy, crime, counter-terrorism and police. Its responsibilities include securing the UK border and controlling immigration, considering applications to enter and stay in the UK, and issuing passports and visas.^{[3]Home Office, About us - Home Office}

The Home Office is supported by a number of agencies and public bodies. GOV.UK names Border Force, HM Passport Office, Immigration Enforcement and UK Visas and Immigration.^{[3]Home Office, About us - Home Office} UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) is part of the Home Office.^{[2]Home Office, UK Visas and Immigration}

The Immigration Rules use the term “decision maker”. A “decision maker” can be an entry clearance officer, an immigration officer, the Secretary of State or another person the Secretary of State has authorised.^{[7]Home Office, Immigration Rules: introduction} The Rules also say that Home Office staff will carry out their duties without regard to the race, colour or religion of people seeking to enter or remain in the UK.^{[7]Home Office, Immigration Rules: introduction}

What UKVI does

GOV.UK describes UKVI as responsible for making millions of decisions every year about who has the right to visit or stay in the country.^{[1]Home Office, About us - UK Visas and Immigration} Its responsibilities include:

• running the UK visa service, managing around 3 million applications a year from overseas nationals who wish to come to the UK to visit, study or work
• considering applications for British citizenship from overseas nationals who wish to settle in the UK permanently
• deciding applications from employers and education providers who want to join the register of sponsors
• managing appeals from unsuccessful applicants

UKVI has a workforce of 7,500 people in locations around the UK and overseas.^{[1]Home Office, About us - UK Visas and Immigration}

Your UKVI account is the online account for your eVisa. For the paid option for a faster decision, see priority and super priority service. The register that UKVI decides applications for is covered in register of licensed sponsors.

Getting help and making a complaint

UKVI has a tool to find the right contact details. Staff in the contact centre cannot give advice about your personal circumstances. They cannot tell you which visas you can apply for, whether your application will be successful or when you will get a decision.^{[5]Home Office, Contact UK Visas and Immigration for help}

UKVI says you do not need to contact it to track an application that is still within current processing times, and that it will not be able to give information on the status of your application.^{[6]Home Office, Visa processing times: applications outside the UK} It also starts the processing time once you verify your identity and submit your documents using the ID Check app, or attend your appointment at a visa application centre.^{[6]Home Office, Visa processing times: applications outside the UK}

If you are unhappy about service, you can complain. The complaints procedure sets these rules:^{[4]Home Office, Complaints procedure - UK Visas and Immigration}

A complaint is not the way to challenge a decision. If you are not satisfied with a decision, or you want to ask for a review, you may be able to apply for an administrative review. If you are refused entry or leave to remain, you may be able to appeal.^{[4]Home Office, Complaints procedure - UK Visas and Immigration}

Example

Anna applied for a visa from outside the UK and attended her appointment at a visa application centre. She wants to know when her decision will come. She checks the visa processing times page instead of calling UKVI, because UKVI will not be able to give her a status update while she is within the current processing time. Later she wants to complain about the service she received. She makes the complaint within 3 months of the incident, using the online form.

What people get wrong

The complaints form is not for chasing an application. GOV.UK says UKVI will only respond to enquiries that are considered as complaints, will not respond to progress enquiries sent through the online complaints form, and that a complaint does not change how fast an application is decided.

That is set out in the UKVI complaints procedure.^{[4]Home Office, Complaints procedure - UK Visas and Immigration}

A second mistake is to assume UKVI and the Home Office are separate organisations. UKVI is part of the Home Office.^{[2]Home Office, UK Visas and Immigration} A third is to spend a call asking UKVI for advice. Its contact centre cannot give advice about your personal circumstances.^{[5]Home Office, Contact UK Visas and Immigration for help}

The bottom line

UKVI is the part of the Home Office that decides visa, citizenship and sponsor applications. The Home Office is the wider department that also covers the border, passports and policing. For service problems, use the complaints procedure within 3 months. For a decision you disagree with, look at administrative review or appeal instead.