British Ambassador Andy Sparkes returned passports of Prem Kumar Rai and Chhali Rai- the first people to use the UK’s new priority visa service in Nepal.

Prem Kumar Rai and Chhali Rai are travelling to visit their daughter to be present at the birth of their grandchild. Their daughter is a high risk pregnancy and they wanted to get to the UK quickly to help care for her and put her mind at ease. So they took advantage of the priority visa service which cut the waiting time for a visa from 15 working days to just six.

Ambassador Sparkes said, “Our new Priority Visa service is already helping ensure people like Rai family get to the UK quickly for important family occasions or business deals. I encourage anybody who is qualified and needs to be in the UK at short notice to take advantage of this service which I am confident will boost UK-Nepal ties.”

From 6 November 2013, customers in Nepal who apply for a UK visitor visa can request a brand new Priority Visa service. For an additional fee of NPR 7000/- (including taxes), the Home Office will expedite the visa application and return the documents in 6 working days.

Customers may request this service if they are applying for a visitor visa (excluding student visas) and have travelled without difficulty in the last five years to one of the following countries: UK, USA, Australia, New Zealand, Canada or a Schengen country.

Customers are advised to schedule an appointment in advance as there is a limited allocation of Priority Visa slots each day.  Customers with a normal online appointment may avail the Priority service without a separate appointment only if there are unallocated slots available.

According to British Embassy, using the Priority Visa service does not guarantee that the visa application will be successful. All applicants must meet the requirements of the UK’s Immigration Rules

If a customer has been refused a visa for any one of the countries mentioned above or overstayed their visa to the UK or been removed or otherwise been required to leave the UK, the processing of your application is likely to take longer than the processing times set out below, and is unsuitable for the Priority Visa service.