180 day maximum stay per year on visitor visa?

[Jw9315]

Hi for a 10 year validity visitor visa, with 180 days per stay, I had previously thought this meant you could stay for a max of 180 days in a given year. I just assumed it meant per year, but this article seems to imply it is more 180 days per visit:

https://www.freemovement.org.uk/there-i ... to-the-uk/

Does anyone have any experience of this? What represents a suitable gap that allows you back in within a year if you have already stayed 180 days?

[secret.simon]

I think the article is very clear.

There is no 180 days per year numerical limit for long-term visit visas.

BUT, "frequent and successive visits" will trigger extensive scrutiny and delays at the airport, possible deportation/return from the airport itself (i.e. the visitor may not be allowed into the UK) and the long-term visit visa can be cancelled by the Immigration Officer at the airport. And such a cancellation could result in a life-long ban for future visit visas.

Keep in mind that the pattern of visit visa entries will be visible to the Immigration Officers at the ports and the Entry Clearance Officers at the embassies. They will be able to make their own judgements based on that information.

Indeed, as the article mentions, even exceeding the length of planned visit as stated on the application (i.e. if the visitor stated that they will stay in the UK for 2 weeks and then stayed for 2 months) can result in future difficulties when getting a visit visa later on, even if the visitor left the UK within the legal length (6 months) of the visa.

So, it will depend entirely on whether the repeat visitor can justify their repeat visits to the UK to the Immigration Officer at the airport at every entry and whether the Immigration Officer is satisfied with their explanation. And on the visitors level of risk-taking, as a refusal/cancellation of the visit visa can impact all future visit visa applications.

[Jw9315]

Yes, I just have trouble interpreting guidance where specific values are given.

Eg is staying 180 consecutive days per year year seen as too frequent to an immigration official? It seems a bit too subjective and down to the whims of the immigration official you randomly meet at the border..

[secret.simon]

is staying 180 consecutive days per year year seen as too frequent to an immigration official?

If done every year, possibly. That would depend on the circumstances. A couple of years with 180 days in the year visiting the UK can have valid reasons, but 10 years with 180 days every year would start looking like residing in the UK in the guise of a visit visa.

It seems a bit too subjective and down to the whims of the immigration official you randomly meet at the border..

It likely won't be down to one official. If such a case were to arrive at the border and the Immigration Officer were concerned, they would likely keep the person within the airport while the case is discussed among the officers and likely their supervisors before a final decision is taken.