6Months UK Visa Help. Refusal

[Thongkorn]

I would not buy any air tickets before you are granted a Visa.

You should have a return ticket, I have known people turned back because they did not have a one. for a visit Visa.

a standard Visa is for 6 months technically she can stay for the six months as long as she is out of the Country

Before the last day that is stamped in her passport.

Edited August 1, 2012 by Thongkorn

[simon9999]

I would not buy any air tickets before you are granted a Visa.

You should have a return ticket, I have known people turned back because they did not have a one. for a visit Visa.

a standard Visa is for 6 months technically she can stay for the six months as long as she is out of the Country

Before the last day that is stamped in her passport.

she has a visa! valid from 31/7/12 for 180 days. visa was requested for 3weeks. can she have a return ticket showing she'll be leaving 180days after entering the uk?

and she'll be travelling alone dunno if it makes a differance

simon

Edited August 1, 2012 by simon9999

[marstons]

I would not buy any air tickets before you are granted a Visa.

You should have a return ticket, I have known people turned back because they did not have a one. for a visit Visa.

a standard Visa is for 6 months technically she can stay for the six months as long as she is out of the Country

Before the last day that is stamped in her passport.

she has a visa! valid from 31/7/12 for 180 days. visa was requested for 3weeks. can she have a return ticket showing she'll be leaving 180days after entering the uk?

and she'll be travelling alone dunno if it makes a differance

simon

no requirement for a return ticket, when i did mine immigration were great, the officer even came into the baggage hall and said apply for a 3 month extention to Croyden which we did so got 9 months. immigration officer had just returned from honeymoon in Samui where we had travelled from. good old days Embassey morning collect passport and visa in the afternoon. Advice to anybody is read UKBA guidlines, stick to them and in my case over supplied there minimum requirements on every application up to ILR and breezed through them all.

[rawhod]

As you say, the visa is valid for 6 months even though you asked for 3 months. This the standard period of validity for a UK visit visa.

We have had two successful visa applications. On both occasions we have travelled together.

When we entered the first time the immigration officer did not ask to about return tickets, but he did ask how long my wife was staying in the UK, we confirmed the 3 months we had asked for.

When we entered the second time the he did not ask about return tickets, but did ask me where my house was in the UK, why we had been refused a visa (the very first time we applied), he asked about my Thai visa and how long we were staying in the UK.

Bear in mind that your GF/wife will be dealing with the IO alone.

When she enters the UK, she can, either lie to the immigration officer and say that she is staying for 3 months and hope that he doesn't ask to see her return ticket, or, be truthful and say 6 months, in which case he will presumably ask why she applied for 3 months...

One approach might be to book the flights for 3 months and then change the flight booking to 6 months and pay the extra cost (£75 with Emirates)

If you do apply for a future visa, you would have to explain why she asked for 3 months and stayed for 6.

[tribalfusion001]

On our visit visa, the immigration officer did ask for the flight details, we had asked for 3 weeks and the return flight was 5 months in the future. I said that things can change and the io agreed.

[theoldgit]

she has a visa! valid from 31/7/12 for 180 days. visa was requested for 3weeks. can she have a return ticket showing she'll be leaving 180days after entering the uk? and she'll be travelling alone dunno if it makes a differance

Just bare in mind that the visa only allows your girlfriend to travel to the UK and on arrival at the UK Border it's the Immigration Officer landing her who ultimately decides whether tho land her.

An IO cannot, and wouldn't, routinely refuse somebody with entry clearance unless they believed that the application was fraudulent or that there had been a material change since the application. Chances are that the IO will not ask to see her return ticket, but they might. If they decide to delve and found out she stated that she was going to visit for three weeks and produced a return ticket for six months later, she could well have a problem as that could be regarded as a material change.

Edited August 2, 2012 by theoldgit

[whistleblower]

Might help if you wrote how you met and proof of entry stamps to Thailand, flight, hotel receipts etc

I'd also suggest typing the letters!

RAZZ

And using spell checking facility

[7by7]

the officer even came into the baggage hall and said apply for a 3 month extention to Croyden which we did so got 9 months.

Can you explain how you did this as the maximum time a visitor can spend in the UK on any one visit is 6 months; unless there is an exceptional compassionate reason for extending that time?

Simon, there is no requirement for a visitor to the UK to have a return or onward ticket, but if asked for one they must either produce it or show that they have the means with which to purchase one.

That she said in her application she intended to stay for three weeks will be on record for an IO to see if they wish to check. As theoldgit says, if she now says she intends to stay for 6 months she could be refused entry. She will certainly have problems with any future application unless she can come up with a convincing explanation of why she stayed so much longer than originally stated.

Particularly if she said she had a job she had to return to.

If the intention was to stay for 6 months, why say three weeks on the application?

[simon9999]

the officer even came into the baggage hall and said apply for a 3 month extention to Croyden which we did so got 9 months.

Can you explain how you did this as the maximum time a visitor can spend in the UK on any one visit is 6 months; unless there is an exceptional compassionate reason for extending that time?

Simon, there is no requirement for a visitor to the UK to have a return or onward ticket, but if asked for one they must either produce it or show that they have the means with which to purchase one.

That she said in her application she intended to stay for three weeks will be on record for an IO to see if they wish to check. As theoldgit says, if she now says she intends to stay for 6 months she could be refused entry. She will certainly have problems with any future application unless she can come up with a convincing explanation of why she stayed so much longer than originally stated.

Particularly if she said she had a job she had to return to.

If the intention was to stay for 6 months, why say three weeks on the application?

right ok. could she say her b/f will be paying for the return?

she put down she has no job to go back to, she will always say she intends on staying 3 weeks. i understand your point, but she doesn't intend on coming back after this application im 90% sure i will be living in thailand and working offshore next year. not a guarantee, so if that doesn't come off then we'll cross that bridge when we come to it.

one guy on here a few posts back on this thread said "ask for less use more" so i pretty much did what he said.

thanks for the reply and all the others. i think im guna book a return flight with thai airways direct, not cheap but its little over 60quid to alter the flight later. and she's never been on a plane before. so travelling alone should'nt be as bad then im hoping.

anymore replys and idea's are more than welcome im booking the flight 2moz for tuesdayish next week

cheers simon

[Paul888]

Make sure your girlfriend dresses "appropriately" mate. ie no short skirts, or tops with cleavage busting out.

Sounds a simple thing, but she has to balance her desire to look nice for you, with the need to not stand out to much in the immigration queue.

ALSO, make sure that she arrives with at least a few hundred pounds in sterling, and the letter of invitation from you to her with your address and phone number very clearly stated. Hopefully you will be picking her up at the airport, so stating that will help also.

As regards ticket, if you can change it for £60, I would make it initially for a month or so and let her enter with that and change it after you are sure she takes to England and your life there........

Anyway, good luck.

This thread and its apparent happy ending despite the multitude of cock-ups is an inspiration to anybody who ever worried if they could get a visa for their gf.

[beano2274]

The IO has a direct link to the application and may ask her how long she is staying, if she says 6 months he might think she lied on the application.\

My MIL was asked a few questions and also finger scanned again. I noticed that information appeared about her on the screen which could only have been taken from the application.

[7by7]

Simon, there is no requirement for a visitor to the UK to have a return or onward ticket, but if asked for one they must either produce it or show that they have the means with which to purchase one.

right ok. could she say her b/f will be paying for the return?

Yes, but she may be asked for proof that you have the funds to do so; such as a current bank statement.

ALSO, make sure that she arrives with at least a few hundred pounds in sterling

Why?

Very foolish to carry large amounts of cash; especially in busy, crowded places like airports where it could easily be stolen.

If she's stopped by customs they may wonder why she needs a large amount of cash on her when these days ATMs are everywhere.

If she said in her application that Simon is paying for the visit then there is no need for her to have any money at all, cash or in a bank.

Simon, I agree with Paul that the documents used in the visa application should be carried in her hand baggage, so she can produce them easily if asked, and she should have your mobile number on her so immigration can contact you if necessary (you'll presumably be waiting in arrivals, unless traveling with her).

[Paul888]

Sorry 7by7. I disagree. A few hundred is not a large sum of money..... especially in UK.

I am not suggesting she staples the cash to her forehead and wears a t-shirt saying "look at my forehead", but being able to answer "yes" she has some emergency funds if an immigration officer asks her is a lot better than answering "no". It will also give her some options if for some reason her boyfriend is delayed for whatever reason.

It is more foolish to arrive in ANY foreign country without some local currency. ATM cards are not very useful if the network is down, they don't work outside Thailand, or the card rejects for some other reason and they are just as easy to lose as cash....

[tw25rw]

My experience tallies with what 7by7 said. If they know someone local is funding her, they don't need her to have money.

[7by7]

Sorry 7by7. I disagree. A few hundred is not a large sum of money..... especially in UK.

We obviously live in different worlds; a few hundred quid is a large sum of money to me and certainly an amount I could not afford to lose.

Therefore not an amount I would want to carry on me in a crowded place such as an airport; at either end. But maybe that is coloured by having my wallet stolen by pickpockets in London a few years ago; fortunately I only had about £30 in it.

I also had my ATM and Credit cards in it, but they could be, and were, canceled and, in the UK at least, any money taken by the thieves will usually be refunded by the card provider. Stolen or lost cash is gone for good.

Every airport arrivals or departure hall I've ever been in has had numerous ATMs from multiple providers; if one is down there'll be another nearby working. Even if they're all down most foreign exchange booths will give you cash if your ATM card has a VISA or MasterCard logo.

Using an ATM after arrival is better, in my opinion, than changing currency before leaving; charges and commissions are usually lower than those at a bank or foreign exchange and the rate you get is often better, too.

Plus, as said; if a UK visitor's sponsor is paying for the visit and supporting the visitor throughout then, as far as immigration are concerned, there is no need for that visitor to be carrying any cash at all.

But I suppose we'll have to agree to disagree.

[Thongkorn]

When my now wife who lives with me in the UK came for a holiday alone before we got married. Had a post card with her, I had put my photo on it along with my phone number, and house address,

[theoldgit]

I have to agree with 7by7 on this one, there is absolutely nothing to be gained with the OP's girlfriend having a few hundred quid in case the IO wants to see it, they know she is being sponsored.

Of course she will have a small amount of cash for the journey, but going to the trouble of converting Baht to GBP in Thailand is going to nothing to convince the IO at the border that she is a genuine visitor.

As for dress, it's a long journey so dress comfortably.

Edited August 4, 2012 by theoldgit