UK visa centres are run by private firm Sopra Steria, after the
company took on a Home Office contract last year. While applicants
could previously go to their local post office to provide
biometric data such as fingerprints free of charge, they now
attend one of six “core centres” across the country which offer a
free service, or another 51 which usually charge a fee starting
from £69.99.
All visa application centres within the UK closed in late March in
response to the coronavirus pandemic. Sopra Steria announced at
the end of May that a phased reopening of visa centres was to
begin on 1 June, though it said the service was operating at a
“lower capacity than usual”, with fewer service points open across
the country.
While the centres have been closed, many visa applicants â€`
including refugees who are required to apply for leave to remain
after being in the UK for five years â€` have been unable to proceed
with their applications, leaving them in a “state of limbo” and in
some cases unable to access state support, according to lawyers.
Since visa centres have started to reopen, immigration solicitors
say they have struggled to find free appointments at the six core
centres on Sopra Steria’s online booking system, while the paid-
for options are charging considerably more than normal.
In one case, a Japanese man had to pay £440 to submit his wife and
children`s biometrics for their application for indefinite leave
to remain, as the only appointments they could find at the Croydon
centre â€` one of the “core” facilities â€` were £110 each.
Immigration adviser Anton Koval, from the Legal Centre, who has
been aiding the family, said: “They had already paid a few
thousand pounds for the immigration fees for five people. They
didn’t want to wait long as the time they had to submit the
biometrics was running out. It’s totally unfair. It’s
profiteering.”
In another case, a family of seven who arrived in the UK in
February 2020 on a family reunion visa, to join their refugee
father, had to travel from Liverpool to Birmingham in early July
in order to attend a free appointment, because it was the only one
available and they couldn’t afford to pay the £770 â€` £110 each â€`
for a slot more locally. A charity paid for their train fare and
provided face masks for the journey.
Judith Carter, lecturer and in-house solicitor at the University
of Liverpool Law Clinic, who is representing the family, said it
took her 10 days to find a free appointment for the clients, and
that in order to do so she had to log onto Sopra Steria’s booking
website at 1am.
She said: “This family has had to wait an additional four months
to submit their biometrics because of lockdown, and then they had
the cost of travel to Birmingham, plus the cost to the local
council supporting them and the charity supporting them. It’s not
just the cost, it’s also forcing a large family to wander about on
public transport during a pandemic. It’s needless.
“Sopra Steria is prioritising the paid appointments over the free
appointments. Profit is prioritised over people who the UK has an
international obligation to support and welcome.”
David Pountney, senior solicitor at Greater Manchester Immigration
Aid Unit (GMIAU), said he had been logging onto the

booking
website late at night and early in the morning in a bid to find
free appointments since visa centres started to reopen, but had
only managed to find one.
He said most of his clients couldn’t afford to pay for
appointments, leaving them “stuck in limbo” for a prolonged
period, and in some cases without access to any public services
and at risk of destitution.
“Some of them who had no status before are still stuck with no
right to access anything. The decision has usually been made and
they’re just waiting for the fingerprints to issue the card to
prove it. They could’ve had recourse to public funds months ago,
and during this time in particular it’s really needed,” he added.

The limited number of free appointments available are almost one
month in advance (UKVAS.co.uk)
Sonia Lenegan, legal director at the Immigration Law
Practitioners’ Association (ILPA), said the organisation had been
raising the fact that people were unable to access free
appointments to register their biometrics with the Home Office
“for weeks now”, but that nothing had changed.
She added: “It was entirely foreseeable that once the centres
opened up again that there would be a backlog of people who needed
these appointments, and availability was a problem even before the
pandemic.”
A Sopra Steria spokesperson said: “We recognise it has been a
difficult time for people unable to access appointments because of
the global pandemic.”
They said the company had made “significant progress” in reducing
the number of customers waiting for an appointment and that, under
direction from the Home Office, it was working to release as many
new appointments as possible while considering the safety of
customers and staff.
The spokesperson added: “During this time, we have continued to
make more than half of our appointments at core sites available
for free, between 9am-7pm Monday to Friday. As expected, there has
been unprecedented demand for these free appointments and
customers with urgent or exceptional cases can contact UK Visas
and Immigration (UKVI) using the Coronavirus Immigration Team
helpline.”
Home Office facing investigation for breach of law over outsourced
visa service deluged with complaints
They said that in order to reduce the number of people needing to
attend a service point and minimise waiting times for
appointments, the company was looking to introduce a new process
which will facilitate the Home Office reusing previously supplied
biometrics for some customers, adding: “We look forward to
providing more information on this very soon.”
A Home Office spokesperson said: “We are committed to providing a
world class service and visa applicants still have the option to
book a free appointment at six core centres across the UK
including London, Belfast, Birmingham, Cardiff, Glasgow and
Manchester.”
They said other UK visa centres were reopening “as soon as they
can, in line with public health guidance, to provide more
appointments for visa applicants”.
www.samigration.com V.3113

One of the highlighted topics: Critical Skills Visa.

- Key Insight: Is your profession on the Critical Skills List? This visa is your fast track to working in South Afr...
- This matter relates to critical skills visa and its broader implications.
- Individuals are advised to seek professional guidance.

Is your profession on the Critical Skills List? This visa is your fast trac V.6139
Click here for full article

One of the applicants, Phindile Mazibuko, became a victim of identity theft in 2012 when fraudulent transactions occurred, using her personal details.

-The Pretoria High Court found that the department of home affairs had violated constitutional rights without due process.
-Only half of Lawyers for Human Rights` test group has been unblocked, while 385 000 identities remain blocked nationwide.
-LHR appeals extension, urges affected people to seek help now.

Lawyers for Human Rights (LHR) are intensifying pressure on the department of home affairs over the national ID-blocking crisis, accusing the state of acting too slowly to unblock qualifying individuals despite a landmark court ruling.

In January last year, the Pretoria High Court found that the department`s practice of blocking IDs without due process was unlawful and unconstitutional. One of the applicants, Phindile Mazibuko, a Swati citizen and South African permanent resident since 1998, fell victim to identity theft in 2012 when fraudsters used her personal details.

 V.6133
Click here for full article

The Border Management Authority (BMA) has doubled its staff at Airports in South Africa , including immigration officers.

What does this mean for travelers? V.6128
Click here for full article

The Border Management Authority (BMA) has doubled its staff at Airports in South Africa , including immigration officers.

What does this mean for travelers? V.6129
Click here for full article

A Washington state mother and her 6-year-old son have been released after spending more than three weeks in US immigration detention due to a brief trip to Canada and a small paperwork mistake, her attorney told CNN on Saturday.

Sarah Shaw, a New Zealand citizen who has lived legally in the US since she arrived in 2021, was detained at the Blaine, Washington, Customs and Border Protection checkpoint when returning home after dropping her two oldest children off at the Vancouver airport for a flight to visit their grandparents in New Zealand. Shaw, 33, chose the flight out of Vancouver because it was direct and she didn`t want her children to have to navigate a layover alone, her attorney Minda Thorward, told CNN.

 V.6130
Click here for full article

On 22 July 2025, the Gauteng High Court dismissed Sitrusrand Boerdery`s review of the Department of Employment and Labour`s refusal to issue a Working Conditions and Salary Benchmarking Certificate, an essential precondition for obtaining corporate visas under the Immigration Act.

Acting Judge Kekana AJ held that the Department`s decision was lawful, rational and procedurally fair. This judgment illustrates how businesses can - and must - structure their corporate visa applications to meet statutory requirements, and how legal practitioners should prepare robust review challenges when administrative authorities decline to recommend foreign-work permits.

 V.6131
Click here for full article

The United States could forfeit an estimated 9.4 billion dollars in visitor spending over the next three years following the introduction of a new 250 dollars `visa integrity fee,` according to industry groups, who warn the policy risks undermining tourism and costing thousands of jobs.
The United States’ decision to introduce a 250 dollars `visa integrity fee` on international visitors has triggered sharp criticism from the global tourism industry, with officials warning that the measure could deter millions of travellers and cost the U.S. economy billions.
The 250dollar `visa integrity fee,` part of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act signed on July 4, 2025, will take effect later this year. According to immigration law firm Envoy Global, it applies to all nonimmigrant visa holders which include students, tourists, temporary workers, and business visitors particularly from African countries. V.6132
Click here for full article

The Border Management Authority (BMA) has doubled its staff at Airports in South Africa , including immigration officers.

What does this mean for travelers? V.6127
Click here for full article

1. Right to Legal Representation•You have the right to consult with a legal representative.•Contact an immigration practitioner, legal aid clinic, or attorney urgently.•Do not sign any documents without understanding them fully. 2. Section 34 of the Immigration Act•You must be brought to court with 48 hours to confirm arrest but you can remain locked up very long as courts figure out what to do with you •If you`re found to be illegally in South Africa, you may be detained for up to 30 days (extendable by a magistrate) pending deportation.•BUT this cannot happen arbitrarily. You must be informed of your rights, and Home Affairs must follow due process.- becomes a nightmare , you could lose your job , business , place to stay V.6121
Click here for full article

Driving for Bolt, Uber, Mr D, or Checkers Sixty60?If you`re undocumented, you`re risking more than just your income.The Risks if You`re Not Legal: - Vehicle impoundment - Heavy fines - Arrest & deportation - Permanent bans from working in SA V.6122
Click here for full article