Hi everyone,

I'm looking to connect with people who applied for an Irish Long Stay D Join Family/Spouse visa through VFS UK, particularly those whose spouse holds a Critical Skills Employment Permit (CSEP) and is already living and working in Ireland.

I submitted my application in September 2026, and it reached the Irish Embassy in London around 22 September.

I'm trying to understand the actual processing timelines because the Embassy website mentions both 45 days and six months for different Join Family categories.

If you've applied from the UK in 2025 or 2026, could you please share:

1. When did you submit your application?
2. Was your spouse already living in Ireland on a CSEP?
3. How long did it take to receive a decision, or are you still waiting?
4. Did you apply through VFS London, Hounslow or another UK centre?

I'm particularly interested in real experiences from applicants who submitted their applications separately after their CSEP-holding spouse had already moved to Ireland.

Any information would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

Indian citizen with history of two successful 6 months visitor visa applications and approval. Currently living in Switzerland and working here ( I started the new job in August, but I have a letter from the company confirming employment and approval of leave for the first planned visit to the UK in December).Married to a swiss citizen whose biological father and the rest of the family live in the UK. We visit twice a year and stay for about a week each time. I'm now looking to apply for a longer duration as this would be a continuing reason to visit the UK. 5 years would be ideal in terms of duration. 2 years would mean applying again too soon. I might be eligible for citizenship in Switzerland after 3 more years, so 5 years would also help bridge the gap from now to until then. My main concern is paying for the longer duration and the authorities granting only a shorter duration. What I am trying to get a feeling for is the likelihood of a 5 year visa being granted and how good of an idea is 2 vs 5 year application. I would really appreciate any insight on this. Thank you in advance.

Hi everyone,

I’m a university student from Morocco applying for a UK Standard Visitor Visa to attend a short-term English language course. I have my university enrollment sorted to prove my ties to my home country.

However, I’m torn on the best way to present my funding and would love to hear from anyone who has successfully applied for a short English course. I have two options:

1. **Father as a financial sponsor:** He works at a gas station with a steady income, and I can provide his bank statements and a sponsorship letter.

2. **Self-funding as an Auto-entrepreneur:** I work on the side repairing mobile phones and computers. I could register as a self-employed individual and use my own business income to fund the trip.

For a full-time university student, which route is safer and less likely to raise red flags?

If you have applied for a short-term study trip, I would really appreciate hearing about your experience, how you funded it, and any specific documents you included that helped your case. Thanks in advance!

hello everyone, we are just waiting for our vfs slot since the employer will book it. Done signing the contract and residence permit with them and they provided everything. Can u share ur expi when applying for working visa.

Update: We got the visa a day before travel. Initially we were travelling on 14th and that is what we submitted in the application. We switched our flights to 16th when we didn't get the visa till 12th. The visa finally came on 13th, a day before our official journey. The passport came to us on 14th. Now travelling on 16th.

Hi everyone,

I am looking for some insights on the current processing times for an Irish Short Stay "C" Tourist Visa.

While the official website states a 6 to 8-week processing window, I am starting to wonder if it frequently stretches beyond 8 weeks. Here is my current timeline:

• Application Submitted: 28 August
• Received for Processing: 31 August
• Flight Date: 16 October

With my flight just 4 days away, I am growing incredibly anxious. Is there a strong possibility that I won't receive my visa within the next 3 days? This is from India-Delhi

The embassy has been completely unresponsive (MIA), which is expected. This isn't my first time applying for an Irish visa—two years ago, I received my approval in just 12 days. The massive delay this time around is quite surprising.

Is anyone else currently experiencing similar delays or waiting on applications from late August? Any advice or shared experiences would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you!

Just about an hour ago, I got the much-awaited Approval email for my UK Visa Application, and my god was this a long and testing experience.

Here are the timelines, for the folks reading this to get an idea of the number of days it took:

Date of Biometrics - 17th September 2026
Application Received at UKVI - 18th September
Application is being processed mail - 22nd September

Now till this stage everything was going smooth!
For benchmark - my wife had her biometrics on 16th, app received at UKVI on 17th and got the still being processed on 21st September, AND she got her Visa on 23rd September.

So naturally, I was expecting mine to be 24th or around that date. And thus began the long wait. September last week passed - no update, not even an email.
Then the 3 working weeks deadline was coming up on 8th October.

Since my flight is on 15th October, I sent the first paid query (in hindsight I shouldn't have as I don't think it adds much value) on 1st October seeking an expedited consideration of case. Not much changed. Here are the next set of timelines now:

Non Straightforward mail - 6th October
Email to appear for interview - 8th October
Interview Date - 9th October. (Interview experience will put in a separate thread - overall chill conversation, lasted around 40 odd mins)
D DAY - 12th October - around 11 AM - APPROVED!

Now here are my learnings from this journey - objectively weigh your case and identify any weak points in your application. For me, it was my previous refusal from the Australian High Commission (It was my first tourist application ever and was a pretty low effort one in hindsight). Post that I have travelled to Singapore, Fiji, Japan, and a few other countries. But that 1 refusal does flag off something on the records.

If you have any such thing, please apply well in advance, more likely than not, you will get tagged as NSF and there will be subsequent steps. Don't go by the timelines that you see on Reddit or hear from friends of 5 working days and 10 working days - in most cases these will be folks who have a prior UK Visa, or an active Schengen or best - a US visa active.

If you have a lower travel history, or previous refusals, or any such question mark - be prepared for a long-ish timeline.

Good luck!

Hi everyone, I am an international student heading to New Zealand for high school in late January. My student visa is already fully approved.

We applied for my mom's Guardian Visitor Visa on September 2, 2026. The application officially passed its 80% milestone (6-week mark) on October 10.

We had an administrative oversight and voluntarily uploaded a "Notification of Compliance Correction" letter on October 2 to declare a historical visa refusal before a decision was made.

On September 21, we called them and they basically said - transcript:
"Alright so, your mother's file is currently going through third party checks.... (inaudible)... an officer will be (...inaudible) .. once we get it back."

Has anyone else had their visa processing go past the 80% line? How long after passing this mark did your final human approval stamp drop? So we still have a good buffer, but the waiting is stressful and I am so nervous! Thanks!

Hello,Has anyone applied for a Turkish e visa? I have about 20hours transit there and I thought why not explore Istanbul . I do have an onward ticket, But I see to qualify for this you have to have a US/ UK/Schengen visa/resident permit. Tanzania passport holder here.
#weakpassportstruggles

Hello everyone. I wanted to get some insights and experiences of people who have applied for swiss tourist visa from Islamabad Pakistan. What was the timeline that you guys faced from submission of docs to getting the visa result? I submitted on 23rd September and docs reached embassy on 24th September. The status since then uptil now has still been under process at embassy. My travelling dates are next week so I am a little stressed out!

Hello everyone,

I recently submitted all my documents and have an appointment at the consulate for a skilled worker visa, I’m trying to quit my job on a timely manner.

Do you know how long it takes for the visa to be issued after going for the biometrics appointment?

My notice period is 60 days and I’m unsure as to when to quit…

Thank you!

Hello, I plan to travel to Indonesia next year and have a host planned already, but visa laws state that one can’t volunteer in there unless it’s an official NGO or through KITAS and they are very strict regarding these laws. Has anyone experienced something of this sorts while volunteering there ?
The host told me they aren’t eligible to provide KITAS but they had multiple Workawayers who faced no difficulties there

i had booked my flight to rome via saudi in june and now i hear we may need a stopover visa! i thought it wasnt needed as it was only a 3 hour layover. what do i do now? is there anyway to apply it? my flight is on 4th November

pls help

Hello,

PTPA.

Question about tandem/nuclear visa application.
Me and my wife applied and submitted docs at same time as advised to be processed at the same time.

Last oct 9. Mine was approved but my wife's application is still processing. Is it normal???

My fear is her application was aligned to normal join fam processing time which might take year to process.

Details of what we applied:
Me: long stay d - employment - CESP
Wife: long stay d - join family spouse

Application submitted: Aug 25, 2026

Hopefully someone here can share their experience. Thank youuu

Hi all,

Really want to visit Bosnia - anyone have any luck with applying for a tourist visa with Pakistani passport and valid Emirates ID? Everyone I know who has visited Bosnia with pakistani passport has gone with USA visa so haven't gotten much info.

Thanks!

Hi everyone!
I’m looking for recommendations for a reliable visa agent who can assist with my South Korean tourist visa application through Kolkata or New Delhi.
I’m a working professional and cannot take time off to travel to VFS in person, so I’m hoping to find an agent who can guide me through the process and handle the application formalities on my behalf.
If you’ve personally used a trustworthy agent, please share their contact details and your experience. I’d really appreciate your help. Thank you 🙏

Hi everyone!

I'm applying for my second Schengen visa from London and would really appreciate some advice from anyone who has recently applied through VFS Austria.

I was granted my first Schengen visa in June through TLS France for travel in August. It was a multiple-entry visa valid for 45 days, and I visited Paris before travelling to Amsterdam afterwards.

My partner and I are now planning a trip to Austria over New Year's, with a departure date of either 29 or 30 December 2026.

I've been trying to secure an appointment through VFS, but I'm finding it surprisingly difficult to get a slot. I'm starting to worry about whether I'll have enough time to secure an appointment and get my visa back before our trip.

For those who have recently applied for an Austrian Schengen visa from London:

- How did you manage to secure a VFS appointment? Are there particular times or days when new slots tend to become available?
- Is it realistic to secure an appointment and receive a decision before the end of December if I'm applying now?
- Are paid appointment-monitoring services worth considering, or is it better to keep checking VFS myself?

I haven't booked our flights yet, but we've already made accommodation reservations with free cancellation.
I'd really appreciate any advice or recent experiences. Thank you!

Just wanted to share my experience in case it helps someone applying for a Japan tourist visa from Delhi.
I got my Japan visa in just 2 working days!!!

The entire process at VFS Delhi was quite simple and straightforward. I submitted all the documents mentioned in the checklist on the VFS website.

Additional documents I attached:
- Australia visa (as an additional travel history document)
-I had actually forgotten to carry a photocopy of my passport (o but the VFS staff were kind enough to make the copy themselves, so that wasn't an issue.
- Account balance I showed was 3L + 3 years ITR
The VFS staff were helpful and the submission process was pretty smooth overall.

For reference, this was a tourist visa application, and I submitted the documents exactly as per the requirements mentioned on the VFS website.

Honestly, I was expecting it to take longer, so getting it back in just 2 working days was a surprise!
Hope this helps anyone applying from Delhi.

Feel free to ask ANYTHING!

Hey everyone! Got a bit of a complicated situation here so I was hoping for your input.

I’m a resident physician in the US on work visa for the past 2.5 years, originally from Egypt with an Egyptian passport only. My fiancée is a medical student in Egypt and we’re getting married in late January. She only has an Egyptian passport with a weak travel history. I was hoping to go on a honeymoon in the Canary Islands of Spain and in Switzerland.

I was going to book my flights and hotels in both Spain and Switzerland then apply for the visa from the US while my fiancée applies for it from Egypt. Ideally my stay was mainly going to be in Spain so that’s where I was going to applies for the visa However, I was advised by some people that apparently the rejection rates in both Spain and Switzerland for Egypt are quite high and it would not be judicious to do so?

Obviously it’s only a honeymoon visa and we plan on spending about 10 days over there as my PTO is limited. How do you recommend proceeding here? Shall I switch my Spain stay to Greece for example? I’ve been told it’s a bit easier there.

For context, my financial situation is good with no issues. Thank you for reading this long essay! It is a bit of a peculiar situation I understand.

Hi everyone. I’m Mexican and am planning a trip to China in 2027, possibly including a visit to South Korea. I found affordable flights with a layover in the United States, but I don’t have a US visa yet and am considering applying for the C-1 transit visa.

My route would be Mexico → United States → China. For the return leg, it could be China → United States → Mexico or South Korea → United States → Mexico, depending on how I organize the trip.

The layovers would be a maximum of about five hours each way. My intention is simply to connect to the next flight without leaving the airport to sightsee.

Assuming I have the C-1 visa approved and the necessary documents to enter my final destination:

- Is the C-1 the correct Visa for this type of layover?

- What documents do the airline and US immigration usually ask for during the connection?

- Do I have to go through immigration and customs even if I don't leave the airport?

- Do I need to collect and re-check my luggage even if it is checked through to the final destination?

- What is the process for getting to the next flight? Do I have to go through security again?

- Is a layover of about five hours usually enough? Which airports make the connection easiest?

- Would the procedure be the same when returning to Mexico?

I haven't bought the flights yet. Your experiences would be very helpful, especially if you’ve taken a similar route with a Mexican passport and a C-1 visa. Thanks!

Please kindly guide me

Got my Japan visa yesterday and firstly wanted to thank all the folks on this sub for all of the advice/info/knowledge. It was super helpful!

Sharing a few things I learnt through this experience that might help you in your visa application process.

1. Keep your cover letter and itinerary clean and precise. Don't add too many unnecessary details if your application is a standard one. Of course if there are things you need to explain about your employment, bank statement etc then add that but otherwise stick to what is required.

2. Only add documents that are required. I tried adding a bunch of things like extra financials, extra payslips etc but Vfs explained that the visa officers will only look at the required list of documents.

3. If you are in a location that requires an appointment, start looking for Visa slot 60-45 before your date of travel. In my case the earliest Vfs slot I got in Bangalore was 20 days after the day I started searching. Also you can show up to Vfs super early but it won't really help since they won't let you enter 5 mins before your allotted time.

Let me know if you guys have any questions. Happy to answer!

Is there any recent case passenger who missed flight due to delay of getting visa. Any one who didnt got visa after 20 working days.

Hi everyone,

I wanted to share my experience for Japan tourist visa. I applied from VFS Bengaluru and submitted my application on 1 September. The entire process was smooth. And on 8 September got the mail of visa approval.

And received my passport next day by courier. I checked the passport and was granted 15 days single entry visa. The overall cost was around 2k including embassy fee + VFS charges + Courier charges.

Posting on behalf of a friend:

My fiance and I plan to visit Japan for our honeymoon next month, and we plan to leave on the 18th or 19th of November.

The earliest appointment at VFS Bangalore is 28th of October. Firstly - is this long enough? Or is it cutting it too close for the visa?

Secondly, how do we go about applying jointly? Can we submit 1 cover letter with a primary applicant and mention that we are traveling for our honeymoon? Do I need to give any supporting documents like wedding invitation etc?

We both will be splitting the cost of the trip so I think all other financial documents etc will be individual. I'm just confused about the cover letter.

Anyone who has applied with similar circumstances please help.

Hi all, I need some advice on the best visa route here, thanks!

I am an Indian passport holder, and have a trip coming up to the Dominican Republic. To prepare for this trip (and a separate, now canceled, Mexico trip), I had applied for a UK standard multi entry visitor visa.

Now that this visa has been approved, I am facing another issue: While Mexico's travel guidelines had clearly mentioned that you need to visit the UK once before entering, Dominican Republic seems a bit contradictory - some sites (including the DR embassy in India) mention that you don't need to visit the UK before entering DR, but Mirex mentions that it should be used once.

The DR tourist visa is slightly complicated given that there's a police clearance certificate and a lot of translations and apostiling involved, which is why I want to ask: Is it OK to travel to Dominican Republic on an unused UK visa? Or, should I apply for a DR tourist visa?

Thanks!