Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 11
11
Technical changes, application surges, and deferred cases contributed to slower visa processing.
Conclusion
The NAO reported that the Home Office believed several issues contributed to slower turnaround times. These included: technical changes to the application process; an influx of applications when the Scottish Government announced it would be pausing the super sponsorship scheme; and the impact of staff being moved back to other roles. The Home Office also deferred some cases, which caused delays. The Home Office told us that deferring cases was often because it was awaiting policy decisions such as on how to treat sponsor applications from Ukrainians living in the UK. If deferred cases are excluded, of 135,539 applications received by July 2023, 90% were processed within 15 working days.15
Government Response
A response document is linked to this report, dated 3 May 2024. Response attribution to this conclusion has not been verified. Read the response document ↗