Visiting Visa for a friend to visit the UK.

[Thorarin]

Hey,

I was just wondering if anyone had any advice you could give me about applying for a visitor visa.

My friend is currently studying in France and is originally from Vietnam so she needs a visa to visit the UK over Christmas. I have spoken to my parents and they are willing to sponsor her to come over (pay for her flights and provide accommodation for her during her visit).

So far, I have realised that I need the following from my father: A letter of invitation, his bank statement showing he has enough money and also a copy of his passport to prove his English.

On the other hand, my friend has filled in the forms on the UK Visa website and to prove she will return to France, we thought that getting a letter from her university explaining her course start-end dates and holiday times would help to prove that she intends to return to France.

She is planning on visiting from the 23rd December until the 30th of December so I'm thinking I need to get the application handed in as soon as possible to make sure we don't miss it (so we'll be handing in the application in the next few days).

Is there anything else that would help with the application? As far as I know, because my father is willing to pay her trip and provide accommodation, she shouldn't need to have any proof from her bank statements or anything like that?

The last thing I wanted to know was whether it was a good idea or not to book the flights before the visa is approved or denied? Obviously, buying a return ticket would prove that she intends to leave the UK after one week but on the other hand, if the visa isn't approved then I have a worthless ticket.

Thanks for any help you can give, this is the first time I've had to apply for a visa and I'm quite concerned that the visa will be denied.

Dan.

[geriatrix]

The last thing I wanted to know was whether it was a good idea or not to book the flights before the visa is approved or denied? Obviously, buying a return ticket would prove that she intends to leave the UK after one week but on the other hand, if the visa isn't approved then I have a worthless ticket.

You should not, because you may lose the money if the visa is denied. A return ticket is not an evidence to prove intention to return because the applicant can easily get booking (for return flight) cancelled or just not use it - after entering UK.

[Thorarin]

Thank you for your reply, that makes sense.

Have you any advice for the rest of what I wrote? Would what I specified be enough to get the visa?

[Thorarin]

Another thing I wanted to ask, my father is going to sponsor my girlfriend and he owns his own house (mortgage is completely paid off).. Do I need to provide proof of this?