General Visitor Visas

[cremegg]

Hi

I am going to be sponsoring a friend to come and visit me in the UK from out of the EU. He is not sure how long he will be here yet, may only be a couple weeks but the visa would be up to six months so he may stay longer.

As his sponsor, I would be confirming that he is staying at my address, which is fine. But someone has just told me things that has made me a bit worried.

This person said that they sponsored an aunt to visit years ago and the Home Office came round on an unscheduled visit to make sure that she was living with her. Her aunt was living with her, but unfortunately at the time the HO decided to call, her Aunt was away for the weekend visiting with a mutual friend. This caused a lot of problems for them and she was deported and the personw as threatened with court. Seems a bit extreme to me!!

This has got me thinking - if my friend stays with me, is he allowed to stay the night with a friend or visit people? Or would I have to go everywhere with him? I didn't realise I would have to babysit, just let him stay at mine. The other thing is that I am nervous of the home office deciding to visit. Are they likely to or was the above because it was a family member?

Any help greatly received, thanks.