Cancer Patient Treatment

Dear All,

My mother was diagnosed with Cancer in Feb this year. In March, I brought my mother and father to the UK for my mother's cancer treatment. Both were given 6 months visas which will expire in coming Sep. My mother is on Medical Visitor Visa and my father is on Visitor Visa.

I believe that the medical visa can be extended in the UK but I am not sure if there is such an arrangement to have the carer i.e. my father's visa extended without having to travel back and apply for a new one since my mother always needs someone to be with her for medical reasons.

I will highly appreciate any comments?

Regards
Mansoor

See Can you extend your stay as a family visitor? and Adult dependent relatives

D4109125 wrote:See Can you extend your stay as a family visitor? and Adult dependent relatives

Thank you for the reply.

These visas only apply to the relatives of those who are permanent residents of the UK. I am however on a tier 2 (General) visa so unfortunately these categories are not applicable.

Regards
Mansoor

Medical visit visa can be extended under certain conditions:
VAT7.5 Can medical visitors extend their stay in the UK?
Medical visitors can stay in the UK for a maximum of six months. But UK Border Agency may agree to an extension of stay where the person still meets the requirements of the Immigration Rules. And if they provide evidence from a registered medical practitioner, who holds a NHS consultant post or who appears in the Specialist Register of the General Medical Council, of satisfactory arrangements / likely duration / evidence of progress of the consultation or treatment.
People have successfully applied for family visit visa's in exceptional circumstances and I would imagine this could be considered one. You may want to seek help from an experienced immigration consultant. If the hospital is a specialist treatment centre they may have had previous experience and can point you to someone who can help. As with all things apply early

mansoorash wrote:

D4109125 wrote:See Can you extend your stay as a family visitor? and Adult dependent relatives

Thank you for the reply.

These visas only apply to the relatives of those who are permanent residents of the UK. I am however on a tier 2 (General) visa so unfortunately these categories are not applicable.

Regards
Mansoor

Sorry I assumed you were settled, though, bare them in mind when you do settle. But ILE for relatives in now very difficult to get. See here (click) for medial visa extensions.

I have spoken to a solicitor and I have been advised that the best way forward is an application outside the rules i.e. for a discretionary leave to remain for my father and normal visa extension for my mother since she, as a medical visitor, can extend the visa but not my father as he is on normal visiting visa.

My uncle, back home, is sponsoring the whole treatment. The question is can we use his bank statements without having to attest them or translate them?

Regards
Mansoor

Dear Mansoor,

was searching the forum to find someone who has applied for medical visa and especially as a cancer patient. Please please advise me!
I want to get visa for my sister, a breast cancer patient. Want to take her to a Chinese doctor in Scotland who has been preparing a traditional Chinese medicine for her for some time but he never got to actually see her. It was all through the phone and regular updates on her conditions, pictures and scan results. I really want to bring her over to meet him in person as we believe he has done wonders for her so far.
The question is, is it safer to bring her on family visa and hide the fact that she's got cancer or simply admit she is ill and she is coming to see her doctor. How hard was it to get medical visa, what docs did you submit in order to get visa for her? I really hope you got the time to give me few ideas... I would feel absolutely devastated if they refused her when she only really wants to come for medical reasons and go back to her children...

See http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/visas ... uirements/

Your sister might benefit from seeing an oncologist rather than a herbalist.

D4109125 wrote:See http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/visas ... uirements/

Your sister might benefit from seeing an oncologist rather than a herbalist.

Guru,

thank you for the link, I have read it already, same as everything else on the website. I know the official rules, but I was interested in REAL LIFE examples and experiences as I know from my own experience that you may be rejected visa from strangest reasons. I want to make sure we have a strong case. My sister is coming over to 1. get complementary treatment, 'refill batteries' for her next chemo treatment and spend some time outside hospital corridors and yes, 2. to see where her sister lives now.
And even though we know why she is coming, we obviously need to state one of those reasons as a primary reason, so either family visit, or medical visit and I am not sure which way to go.

My sister has a team of specialists, including oncologists, but this is COMPLEMENTARY therapy. This person is not a herbalist, but a traditional Chinese doctor who has trained medicine for years. He helps my sister stay strong enough mentally and physically to endure strong chemo and radiation treatments, that kill not only cancer but her healthy body too.

Please don't make assumptions that other people are just plain silly or totally uninformed/illiterate. And yes, definitely thank you for your attempt to help.

if she meets the requirements of a medical visit visa then it should be granted

Sorry if I offended you but people are often misled by false hopes, not to mention an extortionate amount of money for nothing.

D4109125 wrote:Sorry if I offended you but people are often misled by false hopes, not to mention an extortionate amount of money for nothing.

No, I am sorry, for being oversensitive.

But then you brought my attention to one thing now. What if complementary treatment is not seen as medical treatment?? Tried to find explanation of 'medical treatment' on their website, can't find anything in detail. I know the kind doctor has a registered practice, but does it have to be part of NHS or validated by NHS to count as practice that offers medical treatment?! I think this might be a problem, even though my sister will have the letter of her oncologist to confirm she is only going away for a break and to get a bit stronger for next round of chemo...

Guys, thanks for your help. Please bear with me, been in this terrible fight for my sister five years now. I do start to panic a little bit.

Medical treatment wrote:
51. The requirements to be met by a person seeking leave to enter the United Kingdom as a visitor for private medical treatment are that he:

(i) meets the requirements set out in paragraph 41 (iii)-(vii), (ix)-(x) and (xii) for entry as a general visitor; and

(ii) in the case of a person suffering from a communicable disease, has satisfied the Medical Inspector that there is no danger to public health; and

(iii) can show, if required to do so, that any proposed course of treatment is of finite duration; and

(iv) intends to leave the United Kingdom at the end of his treatment; and

(v) can produce satisfactory evidence, if required to do so, of:

(a) the medical condition requiring consultation or treatment; and

(b) satisfactory arrangements for the necessary consultation or treatment at his own expense; and

(c) the estimated costs of such consultation or treatment; and

(d) the likely duration of his visit; and

(e) sufficient funds available to him in the United Kingdom to meet the estimated costs and his undertaking to do so.

The condition would be cancer and the treatment complimentary. However, for any extension you would need a letter from a registered GMC, NHS consultant or SpR.

D4109125 wrote:

Medical treatment wrote:
51. The requirements to be met by a person seeking leave to enter the United Kingdom as a visitor for private medical treatment are that he:

(i) meets the requirements set out in paragraph 41 (iii)-(vii), (ix)-(x) and (xii) for entry as a general visitor; and

(ii) in the case of a person suffering from a communicable disease, has satisfied the Medical Inspector that there is no danger to public health; and

(iii) can show, if required to do so, that any proposed course of treatment is of finite duration; and

(iv) intends to leave the United Kingdom at the end of his treatment; and

(v) can produce satisfactory evidence, if required to do so, of:

(a) the medical condition requiring consultation or treatment; and

(b) satisfactory arrangements for the necessary consultation or treatment at his own expense; and

(c) the estimated costs of such consultation or treatment; and

(d) the likely duration of his visit; and

(e) sufficient funds available to him in the United Kingdom to meet the estimated costs and his undertaking to do so.

The condition would be cancer and the treatment complimentary. However, for any extension you would need a letter from a registered GMC, NHS consultant or SpR.

Genius! Thank you, thank you, thank you!
Don't need extension, so no problem there.

Just a proof of how you can't think straight when you let your emotions take over...

Now on to sorting health insurance. We are paying for everything, but I want her covered in case she gets any unexpected complications, heaven forbid, and needs something very costly in which case we'd struggle for cash.