New Zealanders planning their big OE have had to cancel flights and change their travel plans.

Young Kiwis planning their big OE in the UK have cancelled flights and lost money on booked travel plans because of "significant" delays processing working holiday visas.

﻿Danielle Howden of Invercargill said she submitted her application for a Tier 5 general migrant visa on May 18, paying an extra £120 (NZ$213) for "priority service".

Six and a half weeks later, Howden still has no idea when she can expect a decision on her application.



UK Visas & Immigration (UKVI) says it aims to process applications within 15 working days. Those who have paid for the priority service would be fast-tracked.



Have you been affected by the UK visa processing delays? Email newstips@stuff.co.nz.



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"I've spent about £150 (NZ$266) on calls trying to get to the bottom of why it has taken so long and there's no end in sight," Howden said.



She received an email from the UK visa contact centre in Sheffield last night apologising for the delay. The email said her application "has been escalated to a manager for consideration" and a decision would be made "as soon as it could".

123RF Many New Zealanders have discussed their UK visa issues on the Kiwis in London social media sites.

Scarlett Tansy of Christchurch is also awaiting a decision on the Tier 5 youth mobility visa she applied for in mid-May.

The delay forced her to forgo her flight. She also gave up her job in NZ, thinking she'd be in London already.

Tansy received an email from UKVI on June 1 which said her application wasn't "straightforward" - a message she has since discovered was sent to many New Zealand applicants.



"They had changed their process, but instead of saying that, they make it sound like there's something wrong with your application. The main issue is that there's been no clear communication. Our passports could be anywhere in the world."



Howden and Tansy are far from alone. Multiple New Zealanders have posted on the social media sites of Kiwis in London (KIL), an organisation which connects Kiwis on their OEs in the UK capital, to express their frustration.

Wellingtonian Kelsey Moffatt and four of her friends also applied for their Tier 5 youth mobility visas in mid-May and while two of them received theirs in early June, the others are still waiting.

123RF Scarlett Tansy is unnerved by the thought her passport "could be anywhere in the world".

"We've missed our flights now and are missing out on loads of our travel plans. We have lost a lot of money so far and are eating it up everyday. Communicating with them costs a s...load and gets us nowhere."

One woman, who preferred not to be named, said she was afraid she would be thousands of dollars out of pocket if she didn't receive her visa soon.

The woman applied for a Tier 5 youth mobility visa on May 16 and has paid to email the UKVI contact centre four times.

After her second email, she was told her case would be "escalated" but her last two emails have gone unanswered. She is due to fly out on July 21.

"All I want to know is where my passport and visa application are and whether I'm going to miss out on my travel plans, which I don't believe will be covered by travel insurance," she said

A GLITCH IN THE SYSTEM

Vicki Kenny, founder of New Zealand-based employment agency International Working Holidays, said all clients who had applied for UK visas recently had faced significant delays. Standard applications used to take about four weeks to process, but are now taking six to eight weeks, she said.

"They're not being upfront or honest with people," she said.

Anecdotal evidence suggests visa processing times have grown since the UK shifted its visa processing centre from the Philippine capital of Manila to Sheffield in the UK.

Mandy Strydom, of immigration consultancy Global Visas, said a new scanning system had beenntroduced which seemed to have created a glitch in the system, slowing processing times.

"Our understanding is that the UK is working hard to fix the glitch," she said.

A spokesperson for the UK Home Office confirmed the processing centre for New Zeland visa applications was recently moved from Manila to Sheffield "in line with our global on-shoring plans".

"UKVI continually reviews its global visa operation to improve performance and ensure it continues to deliver fast and fair decisions to customers."

The centre could not provide status updates on applications until 15 working days after submission, the spokesperson said, at which time applicants should contact the customer enquiry service.

A COSTLY AFFAIR

However, many Kiwis have found the service unhelpful and unacceptably costly.

Another traveller, who wanted to remain anonymous, said emails saying applications were not straightforward were "a bit of a cop out".

"They're keeping priority fees for everyone, and as far as I'm aware they haven't hit the promised target for anyone," she said.

"Priority and non-priority are basically the same thing now, but they're charging a non-refundable $300 for a service they're not providing."

She said it had become harder - and more expensive - to contact the centre since it outsourced its customer service team to a private firm.

"Now you have to pay £5 to even send an email and £20 to make a call (plus minute fees). I emailed them about three days before they outsourced and they're supposed to have a one-day turnaround and they just ignored it. I didn't want to pay fees to be given generic answers."

The UK Home Office announced in May it had contracted out its customer enquiries service to Sitel UK, which charges £5.48 per email sent.

Liam Cavanagh is worried delays processing his application for an ancestry visa will cause him lose the job he has secured in the UK.

"We understand the terror attacks may have meant more vetting and I totally understand that. I would want my government to do more intensive vetting too.

"But it seems that may not be the issue here. Just let us know. If staff cannot handle the volume of applications, or whatever, please let us know. It would help assuage many a fear."

Not all New Zealanders who have applied for UK visas have experienced delays, however. Some KIL members who said they applied for theirs two to three weeks ago have received them already.

Mike McClanaghan, sales and marketing manager for IEP, which specialises in sending New Zealanders and Australians on overseas working holidays, said processing times seemed to have returned to normal "just recently".

It was high season for Australasians to head off on their UK OEs and this could also have contributed to delays, he said.

Kenny said it used to be relatively simple to get a UK visa but these days even a single mistake can mean an applicant will have to reapply and pay another application fee.

"Since they don't tell you what you have got wrong, you might end up doing it all again and still have the application rejected. It's a big risk if your flights are already booked and you get it wrong. A lot of kids choose bargain flights, which don't allow refunds or date changes."