Applying for a new visitor visa, does the old one have to expire first?

[SirPaul]

Hello

My wife currently has a 5 year visitor visa (C-Visit)which expires in Mid April 2023.

 

Whilst I am here in Thailand, we now want to apply for a 10 year visitor visa, The application will be in February 2023.

 

1) Does anyone know if it is OK to apply for the new visa when the old one still has a couple of months left to run?

 

2) Also, if we were not to apply and she came to the UK in early April before the current visa expires, would she be able to stay 6 months even though the visa expires Mid April 2023?

 

Appreciate help here with these two points

 

 

[theoldgit]

Your wife can apply for a new visa at any time, her current visa doesn’t need to have expired.

 

UK visa holders must leave the country on, or before, the expiry date printed on the vignette, UK visa rules differ from countries like Thailand. 

[Tony M]

It's an interesting question, I think. There is nothing to stop you applying for a new 5-year visa even when the current visa is still valid (within 3 months of travel, of course). But, I believe that you cannot have two valid visit visas with different expiry dates running concurrently. That could cause all sorts of problems. If you had already been in the UK for one month on the first visa, and then stayed 6 months on the second visa, you might be considered to be living in the UK, or trying to make the UK your main home.  I think that, if the new application is granted (and it could be refused for whatever reason, of course) then the current visa will be curtailed (not cancelled, but curtailed) to end before the second visa starts. That would possibly mean that the visa holder must exit the UK on the current visa before entering the UK on the new visa.  

 

On the second question, it is possible to apply for an extension of stay, past the expiry date of the visa validity, if the holder has not been in the UK for 6 months. For instance, if the holder arrived in the UK one week before the validity expiry date, he could apply for an extension of 5 months and 3 weeks. But bear in mind that if the holder has already recently spent time in the UK, the decision-maker will be looking at it closely. The cost of that extension application is just 1,000 GBP (yes, 1,000).

[SirPaul]

Great, that all makes sense.

[SirPaul]

 I will want the new visa to start when the old one expires, but will be applying 2 months earlier than it expires. No intention to visit the UK until end of April or early May, so dates should not be a problem.

[Tony M]

2 minutes ago, SirPaul said:

 I will want the new visa to start when the old one expires, but will be applying 2 months earlier than it expires. No intention to visit the UK until end of April or early May, so dates should not be a problem.

Unless the new visa starts the day after the current visa expires, there will be a "gap", and the holder must leave by the expiry date on the current visa. Until you get the visa in the passport, you will not know what date the ECO has put for starting the validity, despite what you might ask him to do. He might start the visa a day later than you want ? Hard to say what will happen.

[SirPaul]

Good point, I will ask  for the new visa to start when the old one expires, but as you say, you can only ask, there is no gaurantee this will happen.