FAMILY VISA HELP applying for my sister to come visit

[Mary87]

Hi all,
Just wondered if you could help with some questions I have before I make an application for my sister to visit.

I Am a British citizen so is my partner we have a 2 year old child together and have been together for 6 years, i am now expecting our second child and would love to bring my sister over so she could be with me for the birth and a few months after.
so this are some questions i have which i am not clear on.

* Can my partner and I be sponsors? We are not married, he is the higher earner I am part time now due to childcare.
* My sister is at uni in Colombia, she is currently doing her 5th semester, she does not work, lives at home with my dad and brother. I pay for her university, I send the money every 6 months.
How can I show strong ties with the country?
How much savings do we need to have in our accounts?

She will be staying with us and we will cover all the cost of applications, travel and her stay in the UK.


All in all i just want to know all the documents i need to provide, i have a rough idea but theres not much on the UKBA site for the sponsors and I don't want a refused application.


Thank you all for your time.
Hope to hear from you all soon.

[MPH80]

Yes - you can jointly sponsor.

Her ties are her family and her studies - but those are also a problem. The ECO will think 'how can she abandon her studies for 3-4 months'? The logic being that if she can leave for 3-4 months - she can't be that committed/tied to the studies. So you'll need to have an answer to that.

You'll need to show enough savings to cover an additional person in your home for the period you want her there - think another 30-40% on your grocery bills, more power, water, electric etc. It'll be at least a couple of thousand pounds on top of the cost of travel.

You also need to be very careful that she is not coming to enable you to return to work - you need to show your maternity leave.