Retired person - sponsor?

[Kitty]

I am assisting a lady making an application for a visa as a Retired Person of Independent Means.
As far as I can see, she does not require a sponsor for this category, although several UK residents will provide statements to assist her in establishing her "close connection".
She is filling in the online visa form for application from Canada, an the form automatically provides compulsory fields for a sponsor's details. On calling the helpline she was told they just need the details of "someone who can be contacted".
Does this sound right? She can supply the contact details of one of her UK contacts if necessary.
The online form seems rather clumsy to me: the sponsor information isn't required if you're just filling in the VAF2 manually.

Cheers for any insight!

[vinny]

See also How do I qualify as a retired person of independent means? and Chapter 19 - Retired persons of independent means.

[Kitty]

THanks for the reply vinny . I've been through the various UK Visas pages and I'm just confused about the online application form's requirement for a sponsor.

As far as I can see, the aim of the RPIM visa is for the person not to be supported by anyone in the UK, but the online questions proceed as though you're asking for a spouse visa (how long have you known your sponsor? how do you keep in contact? etc.).

This lady can give the name and address of one of the people who are supporting her application (in showing she has close links with the UK) but they aren't "sponsors" in the usual sense.

Just a bit confusing for people using the online forms as a lot of these are "required" fields and you can't finish the application unless you answer them.