#14: UK Visa Processing Delays

Hello my beautiful students and welcome back to English News Pod, the best way for you to learn practical English through the news. I’m your host and teacher, Caroline. 

In this episode, we’ll be discussing the impact of the delays in the UK’s visa processing times. You can find a full transcript of this podcast episode in the description. 

In May 2022, the UK Home Office issued an updated list of visa processing times showing processing delays across many visa categories and the pause of services to expedite visa processing. Normally, visa decision wait times for tourists wishing to visit the UK are up to 3 weeks, but now they are taking on average 6 weeks. Similarly, student and family visa processing has also been delayed. The visas to join family in the UK are taking the longest to process. Typically, the visa decision times for joining family in the UK takes up to 12 weeks if the application is submitted in a country outside of the UK - these days, it is averaging 24 weeks. 

This situation has resulted in separated families, international new hires unable to get work visas in a timely manner, and international students stressed about whether they will be able to obtain their visa before their university courses begin in September. A silver lining - visas for Commonwealth citizens seem unaffected! Do you have plans to go to the UK soon? 

Let’s take a look at some grammar:

1. The UK Home Office - the UK Home Office is the department in the UK government responsible for immigration, security, and law and order.  
2. To Expedite - "to expedite" is a verb that means to do a normal process more  quickly. In this case, the Home Office has paused, or stopped, the ability to expedite visa processing. This means applicants cannot pay more to have their application processed quickly. 
3. New Hires - "new hires" is a noun that means new employees. It originated from the verb “to hire”, which means to employ someone. So, a new hire is a new employee. In this example, the visa processing delays for international new hires are delaying the ability for new employees to start their new jobs in the UK. 
4. To be Stressed About Something - adding the word “about” as a preposition to the verb “to be stressed” creates a commonly used phrase. For example, instead of saying “the students are stressed,” you can give more details by saying, “the students are stressed about whether they will be able to obtain their visa before their university courses begin in September.” 
5. A silver lining - a metaphor, or a symbolic figure of speech, meaning there is something positive in a negative situation. In this case, the positive piece is that Commonwealth citizens are not experiencing visa delays.   

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Thanks for listening, and I will see you soon for more news in English!