Reasons for a 5 year UK general vist visa.

[stubuzz]

Hi, I want to get a long validity visa for my wife because applying every time we want to visit the UK is a pain in the ass. Is this a valid reason?

 

A little background about our application: I have lived and worked here for 15 years. We have a 11 year old who has a British/Thai passport. In the last 4 years we have applied for and been granted 2,  6 month general visit visas.

 

Any ideas about this  would be appreciated.

[brewsterbudgen]

Just apply stating the reasons why you want/need 5 years.  Evidence of your life in Thailand should be more than sufficient for it to be granted.  

[transam]

My chums GF has a 10 year Visa....

[brewsterbudgen]

4 minutes ago, transam said:

My chums GF has a 10 year Visa....

My friend too.  The only downside that I understand is if they give you a different visa to the one you applied for, say 5 years not 10, they still charge you for the more expensive one!

[7by7]

From the guidance to ECOs (page 33)

Quote

Long-term visit visas (multiple entry)

 

Applicants may apply for a visit visa that allows multiple visits of up to 6 months at a time (for a (standard) visitor) over a period of:

• 2 years
• 5 years
• 10 years

 Applicants for a long term visit visa must meet all the visitor rules relevant to their visit. You must then decide whether to issue the length of visit visa applied for.

 The applicant must satisfy you that they have a genuine intention to visit on a regular basis. Consider:

•  credible ongoing reason to visit: o a successful applicant will show a frequent and continued reason for coming to the UK, such as family links or an established business connection but must not intend to make the UK their home o visitors coming to marry or to form civil partnership in the UK, as well as unaccompanied children and those entering the UK for medical treatment are unlikely to demonstrate this
• stability of personal and economic circumstances - as far as possible, an applicant’s financial circumstances and ties to their home country should be unlikely to change significantly during the validity of the visa
• travel history - a person does not need to have previously held a visit visa before being issued with a multiple entry visit visa, however, a history of international travel which shows the individual’s compliance with UK or other immigration laws will be relevant to deciding whether the applicant intends to leave the UK at the end of each visit - see guidance on travel/ immigration history

 Where the applicant meets the visitor rules, but does not show a need to visit the UK on a regular basis and therefore does not qualify for a long-term visit visa, you can issue a visit visa for up to 6 months. In such cases, no refund (full or partial) is available.
 
You must provide clear reasons for the decision to grant a visa for a shorter period than that applied for in a covering letter when the passport is returned.

 

[DMC1]

Hi, I want to get a long validity visa for my wife because applying every time we want to visit the UK is a pain in the ass. Is this a valid reason?
 
A little background about our application: I have lived and worked here for 15 years. We have a 11 year old who has a British/Thai passport. In the last 4 years we have applied for and been granted 2,  6 month general visit visas.
 
Any ideas about this  would be appreciated.

I'm in a very similar situation to you. I've worked for a Thai company for over fifteen years and we visit UK every year and go through the same process for the 6 month visitors visa every year. We both work and have no reason not to return to Thailand after a four week annual visit. Also, it would be handy in case we did need to go for any other reasons outside of the annual visits.

The only thing that puts me off is the fact that they will keep the full fee and offer you a visa with less time if they deem it not suitable. If they refunded the difference then I would go for a five year option.

We've just done another application two weeks ago and you are right, it is a pain, especially as last year they didn't return any of the document copies that we resubmit every year.

[stubuzz]

Yes, the lack of refund is the main reason why i haven't applied yet.

[7by7]

It seems to me that both of your wives meet the criteria.

 

Reason for regular visits?

Yes, married to a British citizen with family in the UK.

 

Stability in home country?

Yes, British partner lives and works in Thailand and has done so for a number of years and will continue to do so in future. Obviously you will need to provide suitable evidence of this; ditto if your wife works as well. Also evidence of any property owned or leased by either or both of you.

 

Positive travel history?

Yes, had several 6 month UK visit visas in the past and always complied with the conditions. Any travel to other countries will strengthen this; but the UK visits alone should be enough.

 

Go for it.

[bobrussell]

A minor consideration against a ten year visa is that a lot can change in ten years. If the applicants circumstances are believed to have changed then the visa might be withdrawn. Entry is still at the discretion of immigration officers each time.

A five year visa does seem to be a reasonable compromise!

[Mattd]

Very similar circumstances to the OP, was married, lived and worked here for a very long time, 2 children with Thai & British passports.

When I applied for my now ex. wife's 5 year visa, I explained to them in the sponsor letter that I had ageing parents and wanted to have the freedom of movement for her to be able to fly to the UK with myself and the children if required, no problem to get it, though she had previously had 2 x 6 month and 2 year.

So long as she has a good travel record and with your roots in Thailand, then there really should not be any grounds for a refusal, especially as your Child is British, to deny the mother to travel with the child would be ridiculous.

Maybe go for the 2 year one first, then the 5 year, you are almost guaranteed to be OK.

[pattayapip]

Similar situation as you also, but no kids, 15 years here, working last 10 years, just got my wife the 10 year visa last month, pretty simple
She had a 6 month Visa 10 years ago, then another 6 month, then a 2 yr and lastly a 5 year, went for the 10 year this time, aware if rejecting no fee return, but what possible rejections could there be ? 10 Year Granted within 2 weeks, all good :)

[Stocky]

On 2017-6-17 at 8:38 AM, stubuzz said:

Any ideas about this  would be appreciated.

My wife has a 5 year visit visa. In the application I included a letter from myself stating that as I had ageing relatives we would like to be able to visit at short notice. When the 5 year expires in a couple of years we'll apply for the 10 year. As already pointed out in several posts, if you have a good track record of visiting and leaving, together with obvious roots in Thailand, there's no good reason not to grant the visa.

 

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Edited June 23, 2017 by Stocky