Christmas & New Year Holiday dates

What are the dates over Christmas and New Year that affect service?

Due to the multiple public holidays over the Christmas and New Year period, you may find that our regular visa service may be disrupted.

Below we have listed opening times for our offices as well as all relevant consulates and visa processing centres. You will also find information on any postal disruptions during this time. Please review this information to ensure that you can obtain your visa or travel service in time for your departure date.

If you have any concerns or questions, please contact us and we will be happy to help. As usual, during the holidays our 24 hour emergency help line will still be available to assist you if you have any issues while travelling.

What are the last postal dates for Royal Mail Special Delivery?

The last postal date before Christmas for Royal Mail Special Delivery items to arrive guaranteed next day is 14th December.
There will be no passport collections on 18th, 22nd, 24th, 25th, 26th, 28th 29th, 30th and 31st December and on 1st January 2021.
Normal service resumes on 11th January 2021.
DHL/FedEx follow UK bank holidays and will be closed on 24th, 25th, 26th and 28th December and 1st January.

Please note that all the service information and the dates presented are subject to change and are dependent upon any new local service provider policies or government, mandated restrictions due to the Coronavirus pandemic.

Please contact us directly first before you post any paper documents for your visa application.

We will do our best to post all visas collected from the consulates on 23rd and 30th December the same day however we cannot give any guarantee due to an early cut off time for post collection.

When are Consulates in the United Kingdom closed?

	December		January
Azerbaijan Consulate	25th - 28th	31st	1st
Belarus Consulate	25th - 28th	31st	1st and 7th
Chinese Consulate	25th	28th	1st
Mongolian Consulate	25th - 28th	30th	1st
Russian Consulate	25th	31st (from 13:00)	1st - 10th
Tajikstan Consulate	25th	28th	1st
Turkmenistan Consulate	12th	25th - 28th	1st
Ukrainian Consulate	25th	28th	1st and 7th
Uzbekistan Consulate	25th	28th	1st
Vietnamese Consulate	25th	28th	1st

On these dates it will not be possible to lodge applications or collect visas, and they will not count towards visa processing time. Please note that this information is subject to change by the consulates and other authorities.

Russian visa processing times?

The table below summarises Russian visa processing times:

Service type	Last application date
The last date applicants can apply for full visa service using standard service to collect their passport at the Russian Visa Centre on 16th December.	18/11/2020
The last date applicants can apply for full visa service using express service to collect their passport at the Russian Visa Centre on 16th of December.	11/12/2020
The last date applicants can apply for full visa service using standard service to collect their passport at the Russian Visa Centre on 30th December.	30/11/2020
The last date applicants can apply for full visa service using express service to collect their passport at the Russian Visa Centre on 30th December.	23/12/2020

Our Check & Prepare service is available on the following days: 28th, 29th and 30th December.

If you are a US passport holder or applying using a TIN letter of invitation then different processing times will apply, please contact us for more information.

Please note that this information is subject to change by the Russian consulate. There will be no visa submissions to the Consulate on the 18th, 21st, 22nd, 23rd, 24th, 25th, 28th, 29th, 30th and 31st December 2020.

We are unable to post applicants` passports on the 18th, 28th, 29th and 31st December 2020. If you have any questions or for further information, please contact our visa team.