Can My Gf Stay Longer?

[markr]

We are just in the process of applying for my gf 6 month uk visitor visa (thanks for previous help regarding this) and (hopefully) she can stay for 1 month. IF she wanted to stay longer is it possible to extend the visa here in the uk? although we have only asked for a month ,it still is a 6 month visa! can she use all of the six months when she gets here? its just a bit confusing!!!

thanks mark

[ajarnmark]

Once the visa is issued, then immigration will stamp the passport on the airport and u can stay upto the date of visa or stamp. In your case she can stay for 6 months in UK without any problem.

[markr]

Once the visa is issued, then immigration will stamp the passport on the airport and u can stay upto the date of visa or stamp. In your case she can stay for 6 months in UK without any problem.

we have only asked for 1 month,although we ticked the 6 month visa box on the application so the stamp will only be for 1 month, will it be possible to extend it for another month lets say when she gets here??

[atlastaname]

Mark, from your post its a little unclear, but if she said , when asked , how long do you intend staying in the UK and she said/wrote a month then that is what she should ideally stay for.

She will most likely get a 6 month stamp when she enters the UK and at that point of entry she may well be asked how long she intends staying for.

Now although legally she can stay the full 6 months without problems this time , if and when she applies in the future for any other kind of visa to the UK she may well have difficulty. They would argue , quite fairly , that if she said a month and stayed 6 then it wasn't really a holiday but a way of circumventing the system so she could stay with you longer. And lets be honest , they would be right.

So to answer your question , yes she can stay the full time given on arrival (almost certainly 6 months) but it most likely will cause problems in the future.

NO you cannot extend it in the UK.

[vinny]

Once the visa is issued, then immigration will stamp the passport on the airport and u can stay upto the date of visa or stamp. In your case she can stay for 6 months in UK without any problem.

See also Leave to enter:

1.3 - Leave to enter

Prior to 2 October 2000, an Immigration Officer at the Port of entry determined the period and conditions under which someone could enter and stay in the UK (Leave to Enter). After this date, on commencement of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999, the authority to grant leave to enter was transferred to the Entry Clearance Officer overseas. Entry clearance thus became not only a prima facia means of showing that someone qualifies for admission to the UK but also confers the length, terms and conditions of admission.

and Uk Visit Visa Validity.

NO you cannot extend it in the UK.

See also 6 Momth Vsa To Uk, HELP

[Mossfinn]

although we have only asked for a month ,it still is a 6 month visa! can she use all of the six months when she gets here?

thanks mark

Hi Mark,

When my wife, then my girlfriend first came to the U.K we requested a two month stay, we actually recieved a 6 month visa.

Being ignorant of what was right and what was wrong, we took over 5 months of the visa.

We have never had any comeback on this, however, ignorance is no guide and as other posters here have said, and if you look back over previous threads, the knowledgeable posters say this is a bad idea.

I would suggest that you stick to what you have requested, whatever you are granted, things have a habit of coming back and biting you on the backside if you are not careful.

Good Luck

Moss

[GU22]

she can stay the full time given on arrival

Sorry, not the case any more, and has not been for several years.

UK visas used to be activated by an IO on first arrival in the UK, but not any more. The visa will have an expiry date put on it by the embassy when they place the bvisa in the passport. The holder cannot stay beyond this date, no matter when they arrive in the UK.

Let's say that a visit visa has an issue/commencement date of 1st March and an expiry date of 31st August. The holder could not stay in the UK beyond the 31st August, whether they arrived on the 1st March, the 31st August or any date in between.

Mark, if the ECO had some doubts about her application then rather than refuse the ECO may have asked her to sign an Undertaking to Return. Basically this is a promise by her to return to Thailand, or at least leave the UK, after a certain period. If she did this, then as Atlastaname says, she should stick to it. It's not legally enforceable, but not abiding by it would confirm the ECO's doubts and make future applications difficult.

If she didn't sign an undertaking, then there is nothing to stop her staying until the visa expires. However, again as Atlastaname says, if she stays longer than she said she would then she may be asked about this next time she applies.