In an announcement the VIS said, “The Super Priority Visa Service (SPVS) is an optional first-class visa service to facilitate the most urgent travel needs and will be available to all visitor visa applicants and some work visa categories.
“SPVS complements our efficient standard service and the existing five-day Priority Visa Service, an option which will also be made available to even more visitors.”
The Priority Visa Service for all visit and non-settlement customers takes three to five working days and costs £100 (B5,200) on top of the standard visa fee.
The Super Priority Visa Service for all visit customers and some work categories takes 24 hours only and costs £600 (B31,200) on top of the standard visa fee.
According to the announcement, more than 67,500 Thai nationals were granted a visa or travel to the UK in 2014, 13 per cent more than in 2012.
“This strong growth underscores the continued popularity of the UK as a destination for tourism, business and study and the strong ties between both countries.”
Other upcoming changes to visa services include:
- Simplification of visit visa categories, from 15 different routes to just four, and visit visa guidance to make it easier for visa customers to understand which visa is best for them.
This will also provide greater flexibility for visa customers as the new standard visit visa will allow those travelling on business to use the same visa to visit the UK as a tourist. This change will come into effect from April 24.
- The re-launch of the Select Business Scheme in April to include reducing the number of documents business visitors will have to provide with their visa application if they are travelling on business for a company endorsed by UK Trade and Investment.