r/UKHighPotentialVisa

The rejection letter said that as we are not married or in a civil partnership, we need to demonstrate a relationship similar to marriage for 2+ years. It says we have not demonstrated the relationship is genuine or subsisting, that we have provided no official documents in joint names or any evidence of having
lived together or been in a relationship for over 2 years.

We have been together online for 3 years and spent around two months living together across three trips. The website clearly says that we can apply as an online couple if we've been in relationship for over 2 years but cannot live together yet because of work or study (which is the case, we have provided ample official evidence including a previous visa attempt to the US). The website says we need to provide evidence that we communicate regularly, support each other financially, and spend time together as a couple, all of which we did.

So I feel upset and confused, is it possible that since they only recently allowed online relationships, the case worker wouldn't be used to these new rules? I believe we check every condition and nowhere does it say we require official documents in joint name or having lived together (i.e. outside of trips).

Should we apply for administrative review? Anyone in a similar situation or knows how long it would take or if there's any chance of success?

Hi everyone

How lond it take to processing a student visa form Iraq.

I provided my biometric 2 of april and they sent an email 16 of april saying they needed more time.

So far, I haven't heard anything from them, even though 46 days have passed.

Any guide?

It's 2 days after May 19, 2021, which was my Master's degree conferral - should I pay and apply or save my money because I'll be rejected?

Thank you!

Please bear with me while I explain the full situation. I would really appreciate help from anyone experienced with UK visas or someone who went through the same situation.

Nationality Iraq

• 4 May 2026
Submitted biometrics at VFS Global in Iraq

• 4 May 2026
Received email from VFS Global confirming that the application was forwarded to UKVI for consideration.

• 6 May 2026
Received acknowledgment email from UKVI confirming that the application and biometric information were received.

• 7 May 2026
Received processing update email from UKVI stating:
“We are still processing your visa application.”

• 21 May 2026
Received another email from UKVI stating:
“We are unable to make a decision on your application within published visa processing times.”

The last email mentioned possible reasons such as:
• additional review
• supporting documents verification
• additional consideration
• increased visa demand

No interview request yet.
No additional documents requested yet.
No verification contact yet.

I would really appreciate hearing from anyone who had a similar timeline or received the same emails.

What was your final decision in the end?

My timeline was as follows

Ecctis

9-april

submitted application

15-april

Additional documents needed

27-april

Consent form needed for university contact

12-may

Ecctis contacted my university

My uni responded the same day

18-may

Positive verification

19-may

Positive outcome

HPI Visa

19-may

Submitted visa application late at night with fast track fee and did my biometrics online (EU passport)

I did this as I have a trip planned to the uk in two weeks and travel to the UK is not allowed when a visa is pending

20-may

At 11:00 uk time I received a positive outcome

Tips

-The planned travel date is the start date of your visa validity

-You are allowed to enter the uk later than the planned travel date

-The planned travel date can be no more than 3 months later than your submission date

-Travel to the common travel area during a pending visa application may lead to refusal for some reason (I was told this by a lawyer of my future employer)

Any questions feel free to ask!

I’m considering applying for the HPI visa from the States. I completed my master’s degree three years ago, and my university is on the eligibility list.

Last year, I was arrested based on allegations. The misdemeanor charges were later dropped, and I ultimately accepted a plea for a disorderly conduct violation. There was no jail time, probation, or supervision involved.

My case is closed and I do not have a criminal record. I’m concerned about the potential impact the arrest may have. IK Reddit isn’t the right place for legal advice, but I’m hoping to get some general insight so I can figure out what to ask a lawyer.

TY

Ok so firstly, yes i should have been timely and not waited for the last day to submit my HPI visa application , I get that.

Now, I graduated from NYU in May 2021, and it just mentions the month and year on the degree certficate. However, on the transcript , it mentions degree awarded date as 19th May 2021.

I applied for both Ecctis verification and UKVI HPI application along with payments today morning in IST , i.e. 19th of May 2026. Technically , it still falls within the 5 year range as mentioned on HPI website.

However when I was trying to choose 19th may 2021 as date of qualification, the HPI application was throwing an error 'You must have been awarded your qualification in the last 5 years'. I panicked and just chose 20th may 2021, and finished the application and paid everyhting.

Is this fine? Will it work ? I have not booked my biometric appointment yet as it complicates cancellation and refunds, also my Ecctis status is 'in review' as of now.

When i reached out to UKVI over email and call different agents suggested different options, please help me choose the best path , or suggest another-

1. Cancel the application and get refund, file a new one - but the problem remains the same , it wont let me enter 19th may 2021 again.
2. Attach a covering letter beforehand explaining my situation during biometric documents upload.
3. Do nothing, just go with , schedule biometric and give explanation only if they ask for it over email. The only reason I feel this could work is because, they have not asked to upload transcript for biometric , only the degree certificate which only mentions the month. I guess they would rely on QLS results/letter from ECCTIS regd. my degree validity and all. Does it mention anywhere regarding the date of degree awarded ? The transcript was a reqd. document for Ecctis so they have that info.

I'm pretty stressed, will a difference of 4.5 hrs ( I submitted at 430 am british time today) lead to a rejection OR can i explain my way out of this? Once i have a clear way forward, I'll book my biometrics, which is just fingerprint and photo taken , not any interview afaik.

UKVI agents suggested speaking to immigration advisor and i have seen some of them replying on this space before, would greatly appreciate if you could chime in.

Thanks for your input

I got my ECCTIS verification done and I’m planning to complete my visa application in a couple of days.
I graduated in May 2021 so I don’t have much time to complete my application, it must happen now. However, I’m not ready to go to the UK just yet. I live in USA and I’m considering moving next year. Will it be okay to put the entry date as Jan 1 2027? Or would that be considered too far away and reduce my chances of being the visa approved?
Is there a maximum allowed time period for the time difference between application date and visa issue date?

hi all c: I have been reading about everyone's experience with the ecctis qls process and as someone who is on a bit of a time crunch I was wondering what do you suggest that I do at this point. This morning, the status changed from basically point 0 to this:

"We have checked your qualification and confirmed it is eligible for the service.

Your application has now been passed to our Verification team for review."

I have all the email addresses my uni should contact and send the documents to, however, do you know which documents they need exactly? I could email my uni (already emailed them last week to let them know ecctis would reach out) and tell them exactly what to send before ecctis does to cut down some processing time maybe? idkkkkk also if anyone has any experience witht he columbia registrar specifically please enlighten me on what you told them when you went through this process pls🙏🏻😭 this is taking forever and it is stressing me outttt

thank you so much for your help and suggestions in advance!!

I am aware some other people asked this question before. I just would like to know double check.

I would show 3 bank statements (Feb 1-28, March 1-31 and April 1-30). My application date is May 9.

Is it sufficient or should I also know statement for May 1-8? Thanks!

Hi all, I wanted to post this in case it’s helpful.

My day to apply was expiring on May 14th, 2026.

I secured a UK based job in April 2026, so I started the process on the edge of my cut off.

April 25th: applied for ECCTIS. On this date I asked my university (a University of California campus) to email the documents to emails I found searching online (mailto:documents@ecctis.com and mailto:visa.verifications@ecctis.com). I also applied for my HPI visa this date, but I made a huge mistake: I was already in the UK on my tourist visa. I cancelled my application and left the country 48 hours later to reapply from my country. Don’t be like me! Only apply in the UK if you are already living there.

April 27th: my university sent the documents to the ECCTIS emails.

April 28th: returned to my country of residence (US)

May 6th: didn’t see anything move on ECCTIS’ end, so I contacted ECCTIS via the messaging service and they said they couldn’t help expedite the process. I also let them know my university emailed everything to them in advance and thanked them for their time.

May 8th: ECCTIS was approved.

May 9th: submitted HPI application for the second time. I was very worried because my primary bank account dropped 40 pounds below the requirement. I successfully used a retirement account and got a letter from my retirement service provider explicitly stating that the funds are available for immediate withdrawal. Retirement accounts work for this, folks!

May 12th: had biometrics in person. Information was sent to the UK by VFS during closing hours UK time.

May 13th: HPI visa was approved at 4:12 pm UK time. I shit you not, the same day they received everything. I am so happy, especially with the mistakes I made along the way.

As for a job, I don’t have much advice on how to land a role other than network with everyone in your target city who lives in your field and use a recruiter if you need. I LinkedIn’d the shit out of people, messaged everyone with my intent to move and desired jobs, set up virtual meetings to discuss the career landscape (so many strangers agreed to talk to me and even gave me tips on my UK CV), and applied to all the roles around the UK that are similar to my line of work. I also set google alerts for my line of work and so I got notifications about openings that way. And now I have a dream role with a very nice team in a dream city. And my HPI visa!

Best of luck everyone.

Timeline:

Ecctis submitted March 27

Ecctis completed April 10

UKVI application submitted May 6

Biometrics May 7

Final visa approval May 11

I'm arriving in the UK May 28 and starting my new job in June!