Long visitor visa and period to be away from UK

Hi all,

hope everyone is well.

my parents were given 5 year visitor visa and I know if they visit they can only spend 6 month at a time in the UK. If they had spent the 6 months and leave UK, is there a cooling off period only after which they can re-enter UK.

Asking because, they might have to visit us for various personal reasons in the UK, so would like to plan the visits accordingly.

what does the law say or is it just a matter of entry immigration officer exercising discretion that visitor visa not being abused as permanent visa..

for the record, my parents have no idea of permanently living in UK and they also have such long visitor visas for other western countries as well - so happy for them to break any restrictions by visiting those countries rather than having to make long journeys back homes

thanks in advance

n8net wrote: ↑

Sat Sep 03, 2022 1:23 pm

what does the law say or is it just a matter of entry immigration officer exercising discretion that visitor visa not being abused as permanent visa..

The requirements for visit visas do not specify a numeric value on the number of days spent outside the UK.

Instead they give the decision maker (Entry Clearance Officer at the embassy granting the visa/Immigration Officer at the UK airport/seaport) broad discretion to gauge whether the person is a genuine visitor.

The specific requirement is Section 4.2(b), Appendix V of the Immigration Rules.

The applicant must satisfy the decision maker that they are a genuine visitor, which means the applicant:
...
(b) will not live in the UK for extended periods through frequent or successive visits, or make the UK their main home;
...

Multiple close visits with each visit last five-six months will raise red flags very quickly.

n8net wrote: ↑

Sat Sep 03, 2022 1:23 pm

my parents have no idea of permanently living in UK and they also have such long visitor visas for other western countries as well - so happy for them to break any restrictions by visiting those countries rather than having to make long journeys back homes

That may cause issues when they have to renew their UK visit visas. They will have to show that they have strong ties to their country of habitual residence, which would be difficult if they spend most of their time outside said country.

The ECO will very likely go through the passports and recent travel history and make a judgment call that perhaps they do not have very strong ties to their country of habitual residence.

thanks a lot Simon..