Quick Uk Visitor Visa Question

[Ch23]

Hi all,

I have been preparing a visitor visa for my TG to come to the uk. The plan is for her to stay from the 1st of june 2011 to the 30th of june 2011. As i'm going to be increasingly busy over the next few months, in interest of saving money on airfare and out excitement of knowing if she can come or not i was hoping to apply for her visa at the end of january (4 months in advance) so that i was all prepared. I have just read though, from the vfs-uk-th website that

'For all types of visa, you can apply up to 3 months in advance of your intended date of travel to the UK.'

does anyone know if this is set in stone? or should i just relax and chill out as it wont make much difference. Just wondering what you think as i have seen so many stories of it taking them forever to process applications...

thanks in advance

[VisasPlus]

You can defer the visa start date for up to 3 months, no more. At the moment visit visa processing times are less than a week, but that can vary depending on how busy the Embassy is.

Please bear in mind that it might be unwise to buy a ticket without knowing if the visas will be issued, unless it is a full - fare, fully - refundable ticket.

[7by7]

It has been known for the embassy to miss requests for postdating visas, so make sure that you highlight the request and check the start date immediately her passport is received back; preferably before leaving the VAC. Mistakes cannot be rectified later.

Visit visas are valid for 6 months anyway and can be used at any time during their validity. So as long as the start date is 1st Jan 2011 or later she will still be able to use it to enter and leave the UK on the dates you mention without any problems.

[VisasPlus]

7x7 is right. If the visa was issued in January or February it will still be valid for a visit to UK in June. What you can't do is apply for the visa in January and ask for the visa start date to be in June, as that is more than 3 months. If you apply in January, and are happy for the visa start date ( the issue date ) to be in January or February, with the expiry date ( the date she must leave the UK ) for the visa six months later, then that is fine. You could in fact apply at the end of January, ask for the start date to be 3 months later ( April ? ), and it would then be valid for use for six months from April. I hope that makes sense ?

Edited December 22, 2010 by VisasPlus

[Ch23]

That makes perfect sense. thanks guys.