Tourist Or Family Visa For Uk

[sattahipchris]

Hi there,

Last year we took our 18 year old niece to the UK for a 6 month Holiday on a tourist visa. We had no problems getting it.

As our niece stays with us most of the time when we are in Thailand (we even took her on a holiday to Laos this year) she has expressed a desire to come back to England with us again this year and both my wife and I would be only too happy to have her stay with us again.

I see when perusing the UK border site that there is a family visa available:-

1. Would this be a more appropriate visa?

2. Can you get the family visa for more than 6 months, as it was inconvenient for us the drop everything we were doing to take her back to Thailand.

3. Can you get more than 6 months on a tourist visa?

My wife a Thai has UK nationality and a UK passport. We have been married/together for 14 years.

[VisasPlus]

Getting the second visa may not, surprisingly, be as easy as getting the first. It depends on why your niece wants to return to UK again. This also depends on the original reason you/she gave for the first visa. If that reason was, for instance, to see the UK, visit places of interest, etc, the the visa officer could say " okay, she's done that, why does she want to go again ? ". It also depends on how long she applied for on the first occasion, and how long she stayed. If it was the full six months, then when did she leave? I know you say last year, but if that visit ended in, say, December then the visa officer will want to know why she wants to return so quickly. Please bear in mind that there is guidance to visa officers that says genuine visitors would not normally be expected to spend more than 6 months in any 12 months in the UK ( so if she went in June last year and stayed until Decemeber, then you may have a problem ).

A family visitor visa is the same as a general visitor visa except that as the application is to visit a family member it attracts a right of appeal if the application is refused.

Visits of more than six months are not possible on any visit visa ( with very few exceptional circumstances).

With respect, I ask the same questions that a visa officer will have in mind when he sees this application. What is an 18 year old girl doing visiting the UK so regularly ? Why does she want to return to the UK so quickly ? What does she do in Thailand ? What does she have as incentive to return to Thailand ? What does a visitor do for six months or more in the UK ? It may well be that you/she can answer all of these questions, but if so, then they must be answered satisfactorily. Please don't assume that because she has received one visa she will automatically get another.

[ThaiVisaExpress]

The main point is she a genuine visitor ?

[theoldgit]

I would add to the advice given by VP, or rather ask a question regarding your question 2, why would you and your wife need to take an 18/19 year old woman back to Thailand at the conclusion of her "holiday"?

[sattahipchris]

She went to the UK on the 30th APRIL and returned 30th October. The dates for a subsequent visit would be the same. We took her to Scotland for 2 weeks the lake district for a week and had a canal boat holiday in the Milands for a week. Although at 67 I had intended to work less I found myself really busy that meant we were unable to go to many places we planned to go to. London got missed as did Land's End, Clovelly, trips to the Broads and Yorkshire moors. I also promised her that I was hapy to take again in the future. My wife and I are both extremely fond of this niece and she behaves as if we were her parents, probably she spends more time with us than them. She had wanted to go to University this year but circumstances are against it.

[7by7]

I would suggest putting all that in your sponsor's letter. Although it would be best, I think, to leave out

she behaves as if we were her parents, probably she spends more time with us than them.

as it may raise doubts about her returning to Thailand after the visit.