What the email says
Some applicants receive an automated email from UK Visas and Immigration saying their Skilled Worker application has not been completed, that they should sign in and complete it before a stated date, and that otherwise the application and all data entered will be deleted. It quotes a UKVI reference number.
It is an alarming email to receive, particularly if your visa has already been granted. In almost every case it does not mean anything is wrong with your application.
Why it happens
When you complete your identity check through the UK Immigration: ID Check app, a form is opened in your UKVI account. You are asked to stop at that point and return to Borderless, because our immigration team completes and submits the rest of the application for you. The form you started is therefore left part completed by design, and UKVI's automated reminders chase it.
The reminder is generated by that part completed form, not by the application we submitted on your behalf. The two are separate records with different reference numbers. If you compare the reference number in the email with the one on your submitted or granted application, you will usually find they do not match.
What to do
Do not sign in and complete the application yourself. Filling in the visa form, or entering a sponsor or CoS number, can delay or cancel the application our team has submitted. This is the one thing that turns a harmless email into a real problem.
Do not pay anything. A genuine reminder of this kind does not ask you for a fee. If one does, treat it as suspicious and see Phishing emails impersonating the Home Office or UKVI.
Forward it to us. Send the email to your Borderless contact, including the reference number it quotes. We will check it against your case and confirm what it relates to. If your visa has already been granted, nothing about the reminder affects that grant.
You can ignore the deletion warning. What would be deleted is the abandoned draft form, not your submitted application and not a decision you have already received.
Other UKVI notifications that worry people unnecessarily
A few other automated messages cause the same alarm and have the same answer, which is to send them to us before acting:
A prompt to complete the ID check again after you have already done it. This is usually because a detail on your UKVI account, most often your passport number, no longer matches the document you used. Update it on your UKVI account and tell us, and we will confirm the step on your case.
A message about biometrics when you completed your identity check in the app. If your ID check was accepted in the app, you do not also need to attend a biometric appointment. What a friend or colleague was asked to do is not a guide, because requirements differ case by case.
A status on the platform suggesting the Home Office has requested more information, when in fact the Home Office has replied to a chaser we sent. We will tell you if anything is genuinely needed from you.
For the identity check itself, see How do I complete my ID check?
Government guidance: How to sign in to continue your visa application