UK IMMIGRATION

VISITORS VISA

© visas uk 2012

This edition revised 2013

All rights reserved

DISCLAIMER

This eBook has been written by an accredited OISC specialist immigration lawyer.

It has been designed to help you understand many of the hidden aspects of the immigration rules. It does not claim to guarantee you a visa to the UK and they accept

no liability and offer no warranties in relation to its content. In this edition the terms UKBA and the Home Office are currently being used

interchangeably

If you feel that your case is complex they strongly recommend that you seek

professional advice from an accredited immigration practitioner.

Contents

PLANNING YOUR VISIT THE REQUIREMENTS FOR A VISITOR RESTRICTIONS ON YOUR VISA WHO IS A FAMILY VISITOR? ACCEPTED CATEGORIES OF FAMILY VISITOR CHANGES FROM 9 JULY 2012. NON-VISA NATIONAL DOCUMENTARY EVIDENCE FOR A VISITOR VISA INFORMATION ABOUT YOU EVIDENCE OF PERMISSION TO BE IN THE COUNTRY WHERE YOU ARE APPLYING MARITAL STATUS EVIDENCE OF YOUR CURRENT EMPLOYMENT OR STUDIES PERSONAL FINANCES AND EMPLOYMENT BANK STATEMENTS OR BANK BOOKS BANK LETTER OR BALANCE CERTIFICATE ACCOMMODATION AND TRAVEL DETAILS DETAILS OF ACCOMMODATION AND RETURN TRAVEL BOOKINGS VISA APPLICATION CENTERS ‘BIOMETRIC' INFORMATION. SUPPORTING DOCUMENTS FOR A VISIT VISA DATE OF TRAVEL KEEPING TO THE TIME GRANTED REFUSAL ON THE “BALANCE OF PROBABILITIES” COMMON ASSUMPTIONS CHILD VISITORS EVIDENCE SHOWING JOINT INCOME

FINANCES USING THE RIGHT APPLICATION FORM THE COMMON TRAVEL AREA BACK SO SOON? A HISTORY LESSON GENERAL VISITOR/ TOURIST DOCUMENTS IN OTHER LANGUAGES FINANCIAL SPONSORS BUSINESS VISITOR FORM VAF1C PERMITTED PAID ENGAGEMENTS PROSPECTIVE ENTREPRENEUR STUDENT VISITOR ACADEMIC VISITOR MARRIAGE VISITOR MEDICAL VISITOR VISITOR IN TRANSIT AND DIRECT AIRSIDE TRANSIT SPORTS VISITOR AND ENTERTAINER VISITOR EVIDENCE OF YOUR INVITATION TO ATTEND THE EVENT SUPPORTING LETTERS FROM ANY SPONSORS INFORMATION ABOUT CHILDREN APPENDICES

VISITORS

Planning your visit

“Hey Matt, guess what! I’ve got 3 weeks off from work. I’ve booked a flight to Edinburgh for the 23rd of next month!” “That’s fantastic Jake! Let me know what flight you’re on and I’ll pick you up at the airport!” For most UK residents, conversations like the one above generally constitute the total sum of travel and advice arrangements for their foreign national overseas relatives. That’s great - if you already have the right of abode, settlement or are an EU national. If not - always always check that you meet the visitor requirements.

The requirements for a visitor In order to meet the rules for a visitor you must be able to show that:

you are 18 or over; you intend to visit the UK for no more than 6 months (or 12 months if you will

be accompanying an academic visitor); you intend to leave the UK at the end of your visit;

you have enough money to support and accommodate yourself without working or help from public funds, or you and any dependants will be supported and accommodated by relatives or friends;

you can meet the cost of the return or onward journey; and

you are not in transit to a country outside the 'Common Travel Area' (Ireland, the UK, the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands).

Never be complacent. There are endless cases of applicants who were previously refused because they didn’t know the rules had changed - or as happens with nationals of some countries, thought that the rules didn’t apply to them. Restrictions on your visa There are a number of things that you'll be unable to do while you're on a visit visa. These include:

Taking employment, whether or not you're paid for it. Producing goods or providing services to sell directly to members of the

public; Carrying out any course of study; Marrying, or registering a civil partnership, or giving notice of a marriage or

civil partnership; Carrying out any activities that fall under business, sports, or entertainer

visitor. Receiving private medical treatment.

There are many different categories of visit visa including student, tourist, and academic and medical. This eBook focuses on the rules for a tourist or a general visitor. Under UK immigration rules it is fairly easy to be charged with deception over an innocent error or misunderstanding. This is why it is so important to check your documents and applications right up to the last minute, even more so you’re going by the advice of a relative, family friend or acquaintance. This is not an exhaustive list; you will need to meet other requirements. If you want to do business during your visit you also have to show that you normally live and work abroad and you have no plans to work, produce goods, or provide services in the United Kingdom.

Who is a Family Visitor? A visitor to the UK is anyone who is a national of a country European Economic Area (EEA) and Switzerland. To be defined as a family visitor you must be visiting the following relatives who are settled legally settled in the UK. Legally settled means that they must:

be a British citizen; be settled in the UK;

have been granted asylum in the UK; or

have Humanitarian Protection status.

Accepted categories of family visitor You must be visiting a relative who is any of the following to you:

spouse, civil partner, father, mother, son, daughter, brother or sister; grandfather, grandmother, grandson or granddaughter; spouse or civil partner's father, mother, brother or sister; son or daughter's spouse or civil partner; stepfather, stepmother, stepson, stepdaughter, stepbrother or stepsister; or

a person you have been living with in a genuine and subsisting relationship, like marriage or civil partnership, for at least 2 years before the day you apply.

Adopted children are treated as the natural children of their adoptive parents. If the family member you wish to visit isn't listed above, you would need to apply under the rules for a general visitor.

Changes from 9 July 2012.

Only those seen as family visitors by UKBA can appeal with full rights against a family visa refusal. Unfortunately, if you are visiting any of the following family members you'll have restricted appeal rights:

Uncle Aunt Nephew Niece First cousin

If you're visiting a relative who does not have settled, refugee or humanitarian protection status in the UK, and they refuse your visa application, you will not have a full right of appeal. There will still be limited right of appeal on human rights and race discrimination grounds. Bear in mind however that the government is set to remove the full right of appeal against all family visit visa refusals by 2014. Non-visa national

Nationals of some countries won't need to apply for a visa to come to the UK. However don't be complacent. If you decide not to apply for a visa, make sure that you travel to the UK with the documents you would have used to provide a visa. You may be asked to produce evidence in customs. It's always better to have them and not need them than to be put back on the plane without even getting a look in at Duty Free. Again it is always best to bring more than nore (not enough) Documentary evidence for a visitor visa

It's important to get the documentary evidence right. While you don't have to provide everything on the UKBA list of suggested documents, it's important to get it right. Think about what applies to you and to the purpose for which you're visiting. Below is a summarised list of the documents you should provide for a family visitor visa.

Information about you Make sure that you provide a current and valid travel document or passport, as well as a colour photograph that complies with the photo guidance. Many visas and passports are still rejected because of old pictures that people have used from a photo booth before the regulations came in. Check the photo guidance before you submit your photographs.

Evidence of your permission to be in the country where you are applying, if you are not a national of that country

This could be a residence permit, ‘green card’ or valid visa showing your current immigration status. Previous passports that show your travel and immigration history. UKBA will want to check these among other things to see that you have a good immigration records and there are no irregularities on your document.

Marital status If you are or were married or are in a civil relationship, you should include a marriage certificate, a civil partnership certificate, a divorce certificate, or a death certificate

Evidence of your current employment or studies A letter from your employer on company headed paper that shows

your salary

how long you've been employed with them

confirmation of time allowed off for your holiday

confirmation of whether the work is paid or unpaid. pay slips tax returns.

If you have recently entered new employment you should consider providing details of your previous employment and salary history. A letter from your education provider on headed paper –confirming your

enrolment and leave of absence. Business registration documents confirming the business owner’s name and the

date when the business started trading.

Personal finances and employment You can submit any of the following financial documents. You should consider including evidence of your total monthly income from all sources, for example employment, friends, family, personal savings or property. This will help us assess

your circumstances in your own country and will provide us with evidence of how your trip is to be funded. You should consider providing this information even if someone else is paying for your trip. If someone else is paying for your trip then they should consider providing the same information about their finances and employment. If you are providing documents from a joint account then please explain who the other account holders are, and why you have permission to spend money from the account If your spouse or partner is employed then the Entry Clearance Officer would also like to see evidence of their employment and financial details.

Bank statements or bank books Showing what has been paid in and out of an account for up to the previous six months, and naming the account holder. If you have made deposits in your account that are not in keeping with the account history then you may wish to explain the origins and timing of these deposits.

Bank letter or balance certificate Showing the account balance, the account holder’s name and the date when the account was opened. If you provide this document you should consider providing additional documents to show the origins of the money in your account. Pay slips Covering up to the previous six months. If your salary is paid directly into your bank account, you should consider providing the statements showing these payments. Tax returns (business or personal) You could include recent documents from your government tax office, confirming your income and the amount of tax that you have paid Business bank account statements If you include these you may wish to explain why you are allowed to spend the

money from a business account if you are on a private visit Evidence of income from property or land This could include property deeds, mortgage statements, tenancy agreements,

accountant’s letters, land registration documents or crop receipts. If the property or land is registered in several names, you may wish to explain how much you own. If the money earned from the land is shared, you may wish to say how it is divided

Accommodation and travel details You may wish to submit the following documents to help show us your accommodation and travel arrangements in the UK and on which date you intend to leave the UK. We advise that you do not make any payments for accommodation, travel and so on until you have received your visa.

Details of accommodation and return travel bookings This could be: hotel booking confirmation (usually email) travel booking confirmation (can be email or copy of tickets) travel agent confirmation of both accommodation details with a supporting letter from the occupant confirming that

you are able to stay there Information about your visit to the UK Depending on the reason for your visit, you may wish to provide some of the following documents to help to show us what you plan to do while you are in the UK. In some locations you can only apply by making an online application. You should check on our supported countries page to see if you have to or if you are able to make an online application. If you make an online application you must also print off the application form and submit it with any supporting documents you have chosen to submit.

Visa Application Centers Most applications for entry clearance now need to be made through a Visa Application Centre (VAC). VACs are overseas agencies or commercial partners e.g. Worldbridge or VFS Global who have a contract to manage the initial appointment for a visa application. Their job is primarily to process your documents through to the visa section for a decision. This will include collecting your biometric information, your visa application and if necessary, the relevant fee. In some cases it is possible to pay online or at an approved local bank.