I'm looking for a bit of advice on which UK visitor visa type is more appropriate for my wife.

The situation is like this:

We have been married for 2 1/2 years now and my wife has been granted two General Visit 6-month visas previously, one before marriage, in April 2006 and one since, in October 2007. We now intend to make a further visit in April 2010, for a 2-week holiday and to visit members of my family.

I'm slightly confused - does visiting my family, as opposed to visiting her family, make this a family visit? She has no family of her own in UK anyway. I'm also a bit confused by the VAF1 form, which seems to have become a bit more complicated since I last filled one out. VAF1B, which is for Family Visits seems to assume that the person being visited is sponsoring the visit, which is not the case as I am paying for everything. This indication is in the 'Supporting Evidence' section of the form.

Maybe we should just treat this trip as a General Visit and use VAF1A?

We're also considering applying for a 2-year visa this time, having had two 6-month ones previously. No cost advantage to this but it would save the hassle, next time round. Will this work do you think? We'd really like a 5-year jobby but realistically that might be pushing things too far, especially as there's no refund if you get turned down!

Any advice gratefully received.

DM

This is the official version:

"Under the Immigration Appeals (Family Visitor) Regulations 2003, a family visitor is defined as:

1. the applicant's spouse, father, mother, son, daughter, grandfather, grandmother, grandson, granddaughter, brother, sister, uncle, aunt, nephew, niece or first cousin (NB: "first cousin" means, in relation to a person, the son or daughter of his uncle or aunt);

2.the father, mother, brother or sister of the applicant's spouse;

3.the spouse of the applicant's son or daughter;

4.the applicant's stepfather, stepmother, stepson, stepdaughter, stepbrother or stepsister; or

5.a person with whom the applicant has lived as a member of an unmarried couple for at least two of the three years before the day on which his application for entry clearance was made."

So accompanying you to visit your family qualifies as a family visit - (I think para 3 must mean the applicant and spouse visiting the spouse's, i.e. your, son and daughter; it doesn't make sense otherwise).

If someone with her previous satisfactory history can't get a 2-year multiple, assuming there's no unfavourable change in your cricumstances, it's difficult to see who can.

This is the official version:

"Under the Immigration Appeals (Family Visitor) Regulations 2003, a family visitor is defined as:

1. the applicant's spouse, father, mother, son, daughter, grandfather, grandmother, grandson, granddaughter, brother, sister, uncle, aunt, nephew, niece or first cousin (NB: "first cousin" means, in relation to a person, the son or daughter of his uncle or aunt);

2.the father, mother, brother or sister of the applicant's spouse;

3.the spouse of the applicant's son or daughter;

4.the applicant's stepfather, stepmother, stepson, stepdaughter, stepbrother or stepsister; or

5.a person with whom the applicant has lived as a member of an unmarried couple for at least two of the three years before the day on which his application for entry clearance was made."

So accompanying you to visit your family qualifies as a family visit - (I think para 3 must mean the applicant and spouse visiting the spouse's, i.e. your, son and daughter; it doesn't make sense otherwise).

If someone with her previous satisfactory history can't get a 2-year multiple, assuming there's no unfavourable change in your cricumstances, it's difficult to see who can.

Thanks for the input. The wording in the Guidance Section is a touch confusing - I suppose that if my wife had a child who was living in the UK and that child had a spouse then that person would count as a close family member. My son from a previous marrriage, who lives in the UK, presumably counts as he is stepson to my wife.

The VAF1B seems to be quite inappropriate for the purpose of myself accompanying my wife to the UK on what could be construed as either a general visit or a family visit. It doesn't really seem to fit where both husband and wife are normally non-resident in the UK and the husband is sponsoring the visit. The General Visit VAF1A seems more appropriate. The two versions must be treated differently though as it is possible to appeal against a refusal of a Family Visit application but not against a refusal of a General Visit application. This may explain why the VAF1B seems to need more detail.

In theory, we shouldn't have a problem whichever way we go. However, you can always get an ECO who's having a bad day, it seems. We live in hope and expectation.

DM