can anyone help with the answer to this?

If we apply for a family visit visa with expected travel date of 1st June to the UK but we manage to get better flights at an earlier date, say early May or late April do we need to still wait for the 1st June or would we be able to travel earlier if we can get a deal?

thanks

I would say there would be no issue as long as the visa holder:

• does not use it before its start date
• dose not overstay its expiry date
• does not stay longer than six months in the UK

Probably it happens a lot because most people do not book their tickets until after they receive their visa, best advised not to exceed the stated time in the UK as this probable be reviewed in the event of further visa applications, IE someone who said they only intended to stay 2 or 3 weeks and actually stayed six months may get refused next time they apply for a visa.

Apply for a length of visa for longer than the family intend to stay. Eg, if they will stay for 1 month, apply for 2 months. As long as the financials and reason to return are in order, and within the 6 month maximum, then this is fine because it gives you the flexibility of when to fly - which is what you're after.

Visas tend to become valid soon after issue, so if you apply now, but want the flexibility to travel between now and June, then you'll need to get a visa that is valid for 4 or 5 months. Again, you needn't use that term of validity, but it gives some choice in dates to fly.

when I asked for a month visa for my partner to visit Uk we were given a six month visa valid from date of issue.

when I asked for a month visa for my partner to visit Uk we were given a six month visa valid from date of issue.

That is correct, AFAIK they do not issue visit visas for less than six months.

On the first page of you aplication form, what box did you tick in reply to the question: How long do you want your visa to be valid for? six months/1 year/2 years/5 years/10 years???

Indeed; the standard length of a UK visit visa is 6 months, even if the applicant stated in their application that they would be staying for a shorter period.

As Basil says above, a visit visa holder cannot enter the UK before the visa's start date and, if it's a 6 month visa, must leave by the expiry date. If the visa is valid for longer than 6 months then they can only spend a maximum of 6 months in the UK on any one visit and, usually, a maximum of 6 months out of 12 in the UK.

Provided they do this staying longer than originally stated is not a breach of the rules, but to avoid questions in any future application they should explain why they did so when making that application.