Booking your biometrics appointment for ILR

BOOKING THE APPOINTMENT 
Having applied for visas in the UK before, I knew that it will be difficult to get an appointment for biometrics- even before COVID-19. Having heard other colleagues' experiences, I decided not to bother with getting an early appointment and decided to go for the next free appointment as I had these options:

1. Check the UKVCAS portal every day at 0900 and midnight to check for early free slots 
2. Book a paid slot - available 2 weeks from the time of submission of our documents 
3. Book the next free slot. 

I submitted my ILR application online on the 5th of February 
I started looking for appointments as soon as I submitted the applications. I had a few options of paid appointments which were available - which were costing us 270 GBP. 
I checked the next free available appointment - which was on the 5th of March in Manchester.

I booked an appointment here:
Manchester Fountain Street
Barnett House,
53 Fountain Street
Manchester M2 2AN

I checked the UKVCAS website and it clearly stated that we could not bring anyone extra. As we had a 2 year old and no childcare, I mentioned this in the special request sections of the booking:
Special requirements/preferences
We have a 2.5 year old toddler who isn't applying with us however we do not have any child care hence we are bringing her to our appointment. We are one family hence classed as a bubble.

We were worried that they may still not allow our daughter to enter in which case we decided to park as close to the UKVCAS center and I would go in first and then ask my wife to come for her biometrics and come out to look after our daughter. 

We had 4 weeks to upload our documents on the UKVCAS website and I had plenty of time to scan the relevant documents, work on our cover letters without feeling pressed for time. 

THE APPOINTMENT
We left early as it was a 2 hour drive. As everything was closed because of the pandemic, there were plenty of on-street parking slots right outside the center. There were plenty of traffic wardens roaming about so do not forget to pay for your parking ticket. 

I went in with all the documents and asked if I could bring my wife and daughter in - the receptionist said that it was fine and let all of us in 30 minutes prior to our actual appointment. The center was almost empty and they were very accommodating.  

We were asked to go into one of the rooms which had plenty of chairs. The UKVCAS agent asked me for my original passport and BRP. He then took my fingerprints, took my picture and then my wife was asked to do the same. He returned our passports at the end. We were done in 30 minutes (This has been the quickest appointment we have attended). 

Tips:
1. It is up to you whether you want to keep searching for early appointments every day however I found it less stressful by booking the next free appointment ASAP- which allowed me plenty of time to upload my documents on the UKVCAS portal and work on our cover letters. 
2. It is a good idea to mention special requests like bringing your kid(s) for the appointment so that they can accept it. 
3. Do not forget to print out your UKVCAS booking appointment 
4. We took all our originals and printouts of the documents we had uploaded onto the UKVCAS portal - they did not check anything apart from our current passport and BRP. I would stull suggest you take your originals as well as they have asked for them in the past ( 2 years ago when I was extending my work visa) 
5. I have heard mixed reviews about UKVCAS centers. I did not have a very good experience in Croydon a few years ago but would definitely recommend this office in Manchester: 
Manchester Fountain Street
Barnett House,
53 Fountain Street
Manchester M2 2AN



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