Visa Problem in UK

[Chill27]

55 minutes ago, Tanoshi said:

UK Visa do not state 'valid' from and until, which implies that is the validity in which the Visa can be used to enter a specific Country, as Thai Visas do.

UK Visas state 'from' and 'until' dates, being the period(s) during which you can enter and stay.

My Gf's visa has an Issue date and an Expiry Date.

The only Visas I've had to use over the past 20 odd years, have been for entry into Thailand, many times.

I think this may well have contributed to my mistake with this UK visa.

[theoldgit]

@7by7Yes, of course the visa vingette still has a valid from and an until to date, and most of us know that means that the holder must leave the UK on or before the valid until date, but nevethertheless the OP could be forgiven for assuming that means the holder could enter by that date and stay for the period applied for as Thailand, and no doubt other countries, allow.

 

I'm pleased to learn that the guidance is now part of the application process, at least it's still somewhere, but I think that there's a strong argument for the criterea being published on the UKVI website so that potential applicants could fully research the criteria and process in advance of the actual application process.

 

Whilst there are guidance notes available from the link, they are guidance for caseworkers who need a fairly long training process before they need to refer to these notes. 

[7by7]

15 hours ago, Chill27 said:

My Gf's visa has an Issue date and an Expiry Date.

 

As the example I posted earlier shows, and others have confirmed, until 2019 at least a UK visit visa said "Valid for United Kingdom, from (date) until (date)." 

 

I'd be very interested to discover when this changed to "issue date" and "expiry date."

 

9 hours ago, theoldgit said:

Yes, of course the visa vingette still has a valid from and an until to date, and most of us know that means that the holder must leave the UK on or before the valid until date

Again, unless it's recently changed, nowhere on the vignette does it say that the visa is valid for a maximum of 6 months stay.

 

Coupled with the applicant being asked for their date of travel during the application process, I feel it should be obvious that they must leave the UK on or before the valid until date.

 

But if the OP insists that it was not so to he and his girlfriend, I'll believe him; but will UKVI?

 

Furthermore, at the start of the process applicants are asked to complete a short questionnaire to ensure that they apply for the correct visa. Having answered the questions thus

Quote

Question/Answer

What’s your nationality as shown on your passport or travel document?/Thailand

What are you coming to the UK to do?/Tourism

Will you be travelling with or visiting either your partner or a family member in the UK?/Yes

one is told to apply for a Standard Visit Visa and there's a link to the guidance for applicants; included in which is Visit the UK on a Standard Visitor visa.

 

Which contains

Quote

7 After you arrive in the UK,

Check your visa to find out when you must leave the UK. If you break the conditions of your visa you may not be able to return to the UK again.

Not "The latest you can enter by" but "when you must leave."

 

OK it does say "After you arrive in the UK" which is a bit late for such a check. But it does make it clear that the visa says when you must leave, not the latest date you can enter and still stay for 6 months.

 

Again, if the OP says that neither he nor his girlfriend read any of this before she applied, then I'll believe him; but will UKVI?

[Chill27]

The Visa states "Duration 180 days"

 

Anyway, this morning I have an update.

She has been granted an "exceptional assurance" until 30th June. 

She can now stay without any adverse consequences for future applications.

Good news and a huge weight off my mind !

Now we will try to both get vaccinated and hopefully enter Phuket or Koh Samui on 1st July without needing to quarantine.

Thanks for all your replies.

[7by7]

 

20 minutes ago, Chill27 said:

The Visa states "Duration 180 days"

My apologies, I got that bit wrong.

 

However

16 hours ago, Chill27 said:

My Gf's visa has an Issue date and an Expiry Date.

I would genuinely like to know when this wording on the vignette changed.

 

23 minutes ago, Chill27 said:

Anyway, this morning I have an update.

She has been granted an "exceptional assurance" until 30th June. 

She can now stay without any adverse consequences for future applications.

Good news and a huge weight off my mind !

Congratulations, though I am surprised due to the reasons I've already stated. 

 

32 minutes ago, Chill27 said:

Now we will try to both get vaccinated and hopefully enter Phuket or Koh Samui on 1st July without needing to quarantine.

Whilst visitors can have the vaccine for free in the UK, they must meet the same eligibility requirements as UK residents.

Quote

If you are not eligible yet

Wait to be contacted. The NHS will let you know when it's your turn to have the vaccine. It's important not to contact the NHS for a vaccination before then.

So the NHS need to know you exist! This is usually because you are registered with a GP.

 

If eligible but have not been contacted you can book online, but you must be registered with a GP to do so.

 

Note the above is for England.

 

Vaccination in other parts of the UK

• Scotland – NHS Inform: coronavirus vaccination
  www.nhsinform.scot
• Wales – Public Health Wales: coronavirus vaccination
  phw.nhs.wales
• Northern Ireland – Public Health Agency: coronavirus vaccination
  www.publichealth.hscni.net

[theoldgit]

1 hour ago, Chill27 said:

The Visa states "Duration 180 days"

 

Anyway, this morning I have an update.

She has been granted an "exceptional assurance" until 30th June. 

She can now stay without any adverse consequences for future applications.

Good news and a huge weight off my mind !

Now we will try to both get vaccinated and hopefully enter Phuket or Koh Samui on 1st July without needing to quarantine.

Thanks for all your replies.

I’m really pleased for you both, well done and I hope your girlfriend enjoys her stay.

 

My wife and I have just returned from a mini break in Phuket, I’d honestly forgotten how lovely it is, especially without the crowds.

[Chill27]

2 hours ago, theoldgit said:

I’m really pleased for you both, well done and I hope your girlfriend enjoys her stay.

 

My wife and I have just returned from a mini break in Phuket, I’d honestly forgotten how lovely it is, especially without the crowds.

Thanks so much. We've spent a lot of time in Koh Samui recently and it's beautiful without the crowds and empty beaches!

Although empty, closed bars, are not so good ????

HAVING to go back to such a place in order to avoid quarantine, will not be too bad !

Sadly will miss my Mum's birthday by 4 days, but have to be grateful for what we've been given.

[puchooay]

4 hours ago, Chill27 said:

Now we will try to both get vaccinated

I had my first jab 2 weeks ago.

 

NHS number needed. To get one you need to be registered with a GP in UK.

 

I think you'll find your girlfriend will be unable to receive a vaccine.

[treetops]

21 hours ago, Chill27 said:

She has been granted an "exceptional assurance" until 30th June. 

She can now stay without any adverse consequences for future applications.

 

Great news.

[Tanoshi]

16 hours ago, puchooay said:

I think you'll find your girlfriend will be unable to receive a vaccine.

Free through the NHS, probably, unless you pay for it.

Privately, no problem.

[Tony M]

That's good news for you both. But it doesn't answer your question about extending the validity of a visa beyond the expiry date by an FLR application. Now we won't find out about that !  The exceptional assurance is common now. I haven't heard of anyone being denied the assurance after applying, and I know of one Thai lady who has been in the UK for almost a year now on continuing applications for the assurance, even though that contradicts the UKVI guidance which says that she must provide evidence that she is unable to leave the UK.  

[theoldgit]

36 minutes ago, Tony M said:

That's good news for you both. But it doesn't answer your question about extending the validity of a visa beyond the expiry date by an FLR application. Now we won't find out about that !  

Ha Ha, given the application fee, I imagine there aren’t too many wanting to go down that route.

[youreavinalaff]

On 4/3/2021 at 8:28 AM, Tanoshi said:

Free through the NHS, probably, unless you pay for it.

Privately, no problem.

Via invitation by your GP. NHS number needed.

 

Can those on a visitor visa register with a GP? I would think there would be something against that. 

 

There would also likely be a public outcry the visitors were being vaccinated before UK nationals an residents.

 

I have not heard of any private facilities offering vaccinations for a fee.

[bigyin]

There is no facility to obtain or deliver the vaccine privately.  I agree that it is very unlikely someone on a visitor visa would be able to get the vaccine.

[KhaoYai]

A little short of time to read the entire thread but on the basis that possibly you haven't sent the application for an extension in yet - consider this:

 

Personally I don't think you've got much chance of obtaining an extension on the usual grounds - I don't think your reasons are strong enough.

 

However, there was a guy posting on here a while ago who stated that he'd obtained several monthly extensions for his girlfriend due to the Covid 19 situation.  If what he was claiming is correct its surprising that she was granted so many extensions but it seems (as with other countries) that UKVI accept that Covid 19 is causing travel problems.

 

I take it that you haven't got a ticket home for your gf and that she hasn't applied for COE? - in which case its extremely unlikely that she will be flying on 9 April in any case.  In your position, I'd accept I'd made a mistake and apply for a 1 month extension on the grounds of problems cause by Covid - maybe your gf hadn't realised that she needs to have a COE for Thailand......etc etc.  Whatever, I think you are far more likley to get a short extension on the grounds of the current situation than you are as you are proposing at the moment. I would only apply for 1 month and take it on the chin - if not I see problems in the future and once something's on the UKVI computers, you ain't getting it off.

 

One very important point, any failure to return on the correct date can cause problems with subsequent VV applications. Make sure you keep copies of all correspondence - supply them with a full explanation with any future applications.  UKVI may or may not have a full record of what occured now when future applications are made and what they do have, may not support your case, keep them yourself.

 

For example, a previous girlfriend stayed 2 months longer than she's stated on her application (but still within her 6 months allocation).  I wrote to UKVI and advised them of that - I never got a reply but I kept a copy of my e-mail and sent it with her next application together with an explanation - the application was granted.

[puchooay]

On 4/2/2021 at 11:05 AM, Chill27 said:

The Visa states "Duration 180 days"

 

Anyway, this morning I have an update.

She has been granted an "exceptional assurance" until 30th June. 

She can now stay without any adverse consequences for future applications.

Good news and a huge weight off my mind !

Now we will try to both get vaccinated and hopefully enter Phuket or Koh Samui on 1st July without needing to quarantine.

Thanks for all your replies.

 

21 minutes ago, KhaoYai said:

Personally I don't think you've got much chance of obtaining an extension on the usual grounds - I don't think your reasons are strong enough.

Maybe you should have read the entire thread. See above.

[bigyin]

Regarding the vaccine, just discovered that the government website confirms that visitors to the UK can receive the vaccine free of charge. It does not say anything about following the age criteria so I don’t know how it will work.  I must say I am very surprised but I suppose the view is to have as few unvaccinated people as possible.

[KhaoYai]

10 hours ago, puchooay said:

Maybe you should have read the entire thread. See above.

The she is exceptionally lucky. As I said, I didn't have time to read the whole thread - no harm done.

 

I think its likely the current situation is the reason why the extension was granted - I have only known of 2 other people who applied to stay longer, one because she was pregnant and her boyfried wanted her to have the baby here. the other on medical grounds, both were turned down.

 

The guy that posted a while ago and said his girlfriend had been here since March 2020 (I think) and was still getting monthly extensions due to Covid 19 which seemed odd as its been possible to return to Thailand without too many problems for quite a long time.  UKVI must be applying a more flexible policy at the moment.

[KhaoYai]

On 3/31/2021 at 11:37 AM, Chill27 said:

I any case, I would never have thought that two countries as close as the US and the UK, would have two totally different interpretations of the term "Expiry Date" !

I can't be 100% sure but I seem to remember the duration and expiry of the visa is made clear on the the application.  Maybe the OP has just got used to his visas for Thailand where you can enter up to the last day of validty and be granted the full term of the visa.

[puchooay]

6 hours ago, KhaoYai said:

The guy that posted a while ago and said his girlfriend had been here since March 2020 (I think) and was still getting monthly extensions due to Covid 19 which seemed odd as its been possible to return to Thailand without too many problems for quite a long time.  UKVI must be applying a more flexible policy at the moment.

My wife arrived in UK in November 2019 and is still here because of Covid19 rules.

 

She was due to leave UK in May 2020 to apply for a Settlement visa in Thailand.

 

We received an email, or text maybe, to say that she had been granted permission to stay until July 2020. That was around March time. It directed us to the UKVI website. Upon further investigation of the website I found that she could apply for FLRm in UK, due to travel restrictions. The funny thing is, at the time, the only issue with travel was getting a re patriation flight. There was no quarantine involved. Just a COE from Thai embassy. Travelling back really would not have been a problem.

 

Anyway, we decided to take UKVI up on their offer and applied for FLRm. The application was successful and she received her biometric card in November 2020. About a year after she had arrived. There was no need to visit any office or department, other than a college in Portsmouth, nearest place to us, to take the A1 English test. Another point worth noting, the fees that we paid were not inline with what would have been a settlement visa but rather the FLRm as if she had already been here on settlement. Saving us in the region of £700, if my memory serves me well.

 

I believe the application for Covid19 extensions is still available. The difference seems to be that one must apply. When my wife was getting her extensions in 2020 they were given automatically. We did not need to apply for them.

[7by7]

18 hours ago, bigyin said:

Regarding the vaccine, just discovered that the government website confirms that visitors to the UK can receive the vaccine free of charge. It does not say anything about following the age criteria so I don’t know how it will work.  I must say I am very surprised but I suppose the view is to have as few unvaccinated people as possible.

 

As far as i can ascertain,

On 4/2/2021 at 11:56 AM, 7by7 said:

Whilst visitors can have the vaccine for free in the UK, they must meet the same eligibility requirements as UK residents.

is correct.

 

One of the requirements is being registered with a GP. Whether or not the OP and his girlfriend can find a GP to register them I can't say. 

 

There is also their ages to consider. Her exceptional circumstance runs out on 30th June. They may not be eligible for even the first dose by then.

  

(Source)

 

Then the second dose could be up to 12 weeks later.

[jimn]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-55978334

[theoldgit]

The OP’s problem has been resolved, I think it’s time to close the thread now.