Extending Visitor Visa

[Berty]

Just wondering if I was in the UK with my missus and my kids and decided to stay over the 6 months allowed. Is there a process to extend the Visa in the UK? Anyone have any experience in this? They can't kick them out the country can they if I want to stay longer for business or other reasons?

Cheers...

[Rinrada]

Just wondering if I was in the UK with my missus and my kids and decided to stay over the 6 months allowed. Is there a process to extend the Visa in the UK? Anyone have any experience in this? They can't kick them out the country can they if I want to stay longer for business or other reasons?

Cheers...

From UK Visas.....

Q: How long can I stay?

A: The last day on which you may enter or be in the UK is the expiry date on the visa.

For visitors this is normally a maximum of six months.

Q: Can I use the visa to enter the UK more than one time?

A: UK visas are normally valid for multiple entries to the UK, until the expiry date shown on the visa.

Q: If my travel plans are delayed, can the validity of my visa be changed?

A: No, except where there are compelling compassionate circumstances. At the discretion of an entry clearance officer, the expiry date of a visa can be extended for up to 3 months, provided there has been no change in your circumstances.

Otherwise you should apply for another visa.

[Mahout Angrit]

Just wondering if I was in the UK with my missus and my kids and decided to stay over the 6 months allowed. Is there a process to extend the Visa in the UK? Anyone have any experience in this? They can't kick them out the country can they if I want to stay longer for business or other reasons?

The Home Office recently admitted what we all knew all along that there are no immigration checks on people leaving the country (unless they have been tipped off and have reason to do so)Passports are only used as ID on exit so your family could overstay and leave without even being noticed. It is however illegal to stay in the country without a valid visa and I would think you will get quizzed if ever you apply for another visitors visa.

[the scouser]

In general terms, the longest any visitor can have is 6 months. However, it is possible, in exceptional circumstances to have this extended by the Home Office. This would apply to people who, for example, have developed a medical complaint which means they can't travel.

I wouldn't encourage overstaying. It is unlikely that your wife would come to any attention, but if she were to, she could be liable to arrest and the commencement of deportation proceedings.

Scouse.

[Berty]

Thanks for the info. They'd arrest and deport my kids too?

Edited January 6, 2007 by Berty

[the scouser]

Thanks for the info. They'd arrest and deport my kids too?

Not if they're British.

Scouse.

[Mahout Angrit]

Thanks for the info. They'd arrest and deport my kids too?

As Scouse says it is unlikely your wife wil come to any attention but I know a couple of occasions where buses have been stopped and premises raided and legal Thais have been taken to the police station because they didn't have their passports with them. I would think your main concern if you overstayed would be with your wifes next Visa application.

[GU22]

I would think your main concern if you overstayed would be with your wifes next Visa application.

Indeed. Although there will not be an exit stamp from the UK placed in her passport there will be an entry one for Thailand. If there were a gap between her visa expiring and her entry into Thailand, especially with no stamps from other countries in the intervening period, she would have a lot of explaining to do next time she applied for a visa.

[atlastaname]

If you overstayed it WOULD cause you grief at your next application.

What is not clear is why you are even contemplating it ? Why not just do it the proper way?