I was successful via the soft power option. I applied early September. Took around 3 weeks in total. They asked for a higher quality of my passport, then heard nothing for 2 weeks, so emailed just to check it was all good. They gave me a generic reply, but 1 hr later it was approved.

I have been in person with my wife during restricted travel to the embassy and it’s pretty slow in person too. I’m sure it will come through soon for you. All the best 🙏🙏