Hi this will be the 2nd time my girlfriend will be applying for a visitor visa to the UK. she came august 2012 and stayed till January 2013 seeing out a full 6months visitor visa, Altho only applying for 3weeks stay she decided she wanted to stay longer.

This time she wants to apply for a visitor visa for 6months stay, will she have any problems from staying longer last time? She didn’t overstay the visa stamped in her passport. also could we not mention it in the visa application as she had nothing stamped in her passport when leaving the UK. Or is she in some database the embassy can check when she entered/left?

Has anything changed with the visa process in the past year? as we intend on going about it the same way as last time.

Thanks

simon

As long as she did not overstay her previous visa's expiry date then she has not broken any rule nor law.

However, she did tell them that she was only going to stay for 3 weeks and ended up staying for 6 months; this could damage her credibility in this application.

Therefore she should explain in this application why she stayed longer than intended last time, and how she was able to do so. Especially if in her last application she said she had to return after 3 weeks for work or similar!

Her passport will tell the ECO will how long she was in the UK for. She may not have been stamped out of the UK, but she will have been stamped back into Thailand (or her next destination if she did not return straight home).

The procedures have not changed; but you should check the latest fee before submitting the application.

7x7,

You say "Her passport will tell the ECO will how long she was in the UK for. She may not have been stamped out of the UK, but she will have been stamped back into Thailand (or her next destination if she did not return straight home)." , but this is not necessarily correct any more. If Thai nationals, arriving in Thailand, use the passport scanners to enter, then there is no stamp in the passport. We have seen several visa refusals where the ECO has said that there is no evidence to confirm that an applicant departed from the UK, and entered Thailand, as claimed (and they do not bother to ask for further evidence). It is, therefore, advisable in such cases to provide evidence of travel if it is available.

^ Very good point. Not all countries stamp entry and exit and even fewer (if any) when in transit. Retaining itineraries or best of all, boarding pass stubs is the best proof of actual departure.

Thanks for the update, Tony.