Is Standard Visitor Visa valid for distant cousins?

Hi everyone,

I just have a quick question, please.

I am an EU national and wish to invite my non-EU relative for 10-15 days holiday to show them the UK and also travel to the Netherlands for a few days.

My questions are:

- Which visa is suitable for this purpose?
- Will they be able to travel to other EU countries with their non-EU passport but UK visa?

Many thanks!

A UK visitor visa is only valid for the UK and not for the whole of the EU. They would need a Schengen visa for Europe.

Thank you for your reply CR001.

I have a further question if you could give me some insight into, I would be forever grateful.

The persons that I want to invite is my cousin with her daughter. They are therefore not my close relatives (parents or siblings). Will this cause any disadvantage/problem when applying for the Standard Visitor Visa? Do I need to provide proof of relationship and/or regular communication when applying for the visa?

Thank you for your time.

For a UK visitor visa, they must submit evidence of strong ties to home country (social, employment, school, family, savings, property, etc etc)

Thanks for getting back to me.

- She has good excellent ties with the home country (with documents to prove this)
- will return within 15 days of visiting the UK (with return tickets booked, for example)

Only concern is the fact that she is a distant relative with a dependent child... what do you think?

Hi all,

Can a person invite their (distant) cousin to the UK with a standard visitor visa?
Is it a requirement that there is a blood relationship between the sponsor and the visitor?

Many thanks!

You can invite ANYONE, it does NOT have to be a blood relative.

The requirements are that the person applying must prove their strong ties to home country with evidence as already advised. They have to convince the eco that they are genuine visitors and will leave the UK.