[Swerwer]

Three portions:

1. IELTS - if you did your undergrad in Afrikaans or any other language but English
SA - +- 2 months + 2 weeks (around 10 weeks if written in SA) - could be 3-4 weeks if written in the UK
2. HSMP application - 5 weeks (promised - have to see the facts)
3. Visa application - 2-3 weeks

Thus all together +- 18 weeks (+- 4-5 months)

[Pieter & Andri]

Our first HSMP application took 14 weeks to be approved in 2006. We then decided not to go and to stay in SA. In 2007 we again applied for HSMP and got it in 4 weeks. (Unfortunately the second time I had to do the IELTS test)
This time we did come and are very glad we did.

It also takes time to get all your paper work in order before you can apply. But you can do that while you wait for your IELTS test.

This post has been edited by Pieter & Andri: 21 March 2008 - 01:58 PM

[marionm]

My timeline in 2007:
1. Language - IELTS n/a as my undergrad was in English. Took Unisa 2 attempts and about 3 weeks to issue the letter needed to support this.
2. Application to the Home Office in Sheffield. Sent off by courier, received the approval letter and all supporting docs back 8 days later to my SA address by normal mail. This was a normal application, and not a rush application.
3. Application to the High Commission in Sandton - 3 weeks exactly from the date of application.

The difference also from 2006 is that now the initial visa is valid for 2 years, after which you have to reapply, and again meet all critiera (except this time your earnings are judged against band A - UK, and not against band C for SA. This means that to qualify in SA (max earnings) you need £12 500 pa, but to renew you need to prove £40 000 pa) Renewal then is for a further 3 years. Before November 2006, the visa was valid for 1 year only, after which you only had to prove you were economically active to have it renewed again.

[Dedré]

Who else have submitted HSMP recently? We would like to start a queueing system here, to see how they progress through applicants.

What we have so far out of all the Application Dates are (note that AOR stands for Application On Record):
2007:
Pieter & Andri
AOR:
Approved:
Landed: November '07

MarionM
AOR:
Apporved:
Landed:

2008:
Charl & Dedré
AOR: 20 Feb... (Waiting...)

Please feel free to add your names to the list. The idea is to see how fast the UK moves through our applications... so that others know how far they are from processing theirs.

[Minette]

Our HSMP Application process was really quite quick. We deceided in about July 2007 to move to the UK while we wait for the Canadian PR process to run its couse...

We could not submit right away, as I was committed to a project at work, and would only be able to leave by the end of 2007. In the meantime we prepared all our documentation, wrote the IELTS test, and finally submitted on 18 December, and was approved on 21 December - only 4 working days later.

We applied for leave to enter in February 2008, and this also took only 4 working days at the UKVisa Office in Pretoria.

Overall the process is quick, but in my opinion the HSMP Visa is quite expensive. However, now that we have arrived in the UK - it's well worth it!

[Dedré]

WOW! That is fast. We have been waiting for 5 weeks now, no e-mail and no word. They just went quiet! We even sent them an e-mail to get info out of them, but NO-NO-NO... they replied back stating they are too busy to e-mail us back.

[marionm]

Dedré, on Apr 16 2008, 12:21 PM, said:

WOW! That is fast. We have been waiting for 5 weeks now, no e-mail and no word. They just went quiet! We even sent them an e-mail to get info out of them, but NO-NO-NO... they replied back stating they are too busy to e-mail us back.

Mine was also quick.
Application sent off to Sheffield mid-May 2007. Sent by courier.
8 days later, received everything back, including the approval letter, through normal mail into my SA Postnet box. This was before any AOR was received (none ever was, it seems that they just did the HSMP straight away and sent it back)

I hadn't expected it so fast, and had to wait to apply for the Entry Clearance, as other things needed to be in place.

Applied for entry clearance in Johannesburg in August 2007. Took exactly 3 weeks from the date of handing in until ready.

Arrived UK September 2007.

Also very glad I am here, Canadian move still years away at this point! Having fun, and life is good here too, in a different way from SA and Canada.

[Dedré]

Aurgh, I am jealous!

[Maryne]

Hi all,

Just a bit of background: Myself and my husband and our two boys (aged 2 and 4) are heading to the UK for that all important little red book, the British Passport. We have also applied for a Canadian visa hence me finding this site. We love England (lived there for quite a few years) and have always had a love affair with Vancouver and Canada in general.

We see this as an enormous opportunity, adventure and an experience, however hard it may be, to teach our children about diversity, tenacity and the wonders (and trials) of the human condition. Apart from that we also know about the heart-ache waiting in the wings but will have to deal with it as it comes as this is a decision that will not see us returning to South Africa.

Just to add your time-line:
We submitted our HSMP application on 22 February and we received our confirmation of visa letter on 25 April.
We applied for entry clearance on Monday 19 May and received our Passports with Visa's on Wednesday 21 May (Pretoria Visa Office).
(We used Lisa Randall at Liveabroad and she was exceptional.)

We will probably be heading to the English countryside in Surrey but it all depends on that all-important job that we're about to start looking for!.

[Swerwer]

I have two university papers (tomorrow and Monday) and will then send my HSMP application in. - I did slip on the NARIC requirement as that was not required in the past. That was quite quick to get.

[Dedré]

Maryne, congratulations on your success. Glad to hear you guys made it. Must say the passport side went exceptionally fast! Glad you guys made it and good luck with the rest of the process.

Swerwer, hope it went well with your papers. Good luck with HSMP. Hope they process it in NO time.

[Maryne]

Dedre and Swerwer,

Thanks for the good wishes. We were surprised and pleased at the HSMP process and are looking forward to finally getting a move on. My husband leaves in August and we will follow in November once all loose ends are tied up.

Dedre, have you had word on your visa? Hope it all went well.

Swerwer: Good luck with your application!

[Dedré]

We had word. We were approved. I have not had time yet to post our time line. But will soon. We are not leaving SA just yet.

[Paisley]

Why not Dedre? Now I have to finish the Champagne all by myself. Was looking forward to our High Tea at Fortnum & Masons.

[Dedré]

Well, Charl got a job offer somewhere else... but I will share as soon as we have the passports in our hands. We can still meet up... I'm also looking forward to some looooong chats.

[Dedré]

Hey you guys. Our HSMP was approved 2 months ago. It took just more than a month. But unfortunately. I have bad news for those who hoped to see us in the UK. Just a week after our Visa Fees was taken off from our account, we were offered a job in Canada, where we originally wanted to be. We never took it seriously, until it really became serious!

We hope to land in Canada during August. But I will still be here trying to get us all active and online!

[Maryne]

That's fantastic news! Congratulations! One move is infinitely better than two and from what I gather you are one of the few who manage to secure a job from SA. Canada was also our first choice but the wait is just too soul destroying. Our application is in but we can't put our lives on hold. Also, by virtue of our work (me: A lawyer and husband: A management consultant) I doubt we'll mange what you guys achieved. Better the devil we know, as in the UK, in the meantime.

Best of wishes for the huge move.

This post has been edited by Maryne: 19 July 2008 - 11:47 AM

[Dedré]

Thank you Maryne. If your application is in, then we will surely see you in Canada! Keeping our fingers crossed, praying and looking out for you guys!

[AnleMarne]

Hi

We received confirmation of our Application on 10 June 2008. I have been tracking their progress weekly, based on the data gathered over the last 11 weeks from http://www.bia.homeoffice.gov.uk/workingin...p/waitingtimes/

The trend has seemingly stabilized around currently processing received around 130 days, meaning that if they keep to their SLA’s they will decide 50% of applications within 165 days (+/- 24 weeks) and 90% of applications within 228 days (+/- 33 weeks), unfortunately they do note on the site high volumes received, which may vary well result in delayed processing times, and an increase in the number of days between receipt and initiating processing…

It may very well be too early to mention it, but it seems that they have been able to reduce the backlog by 1 day during the last week, which is good news to all of us waiting, but 1 swallow does not make a winter… I will keep on monitoring this to see it any trend develops…

Hope this helps a bit…

[Dedré]

Wow. It has increased from 3 months hey? Darn. They must be flooded!