Family Visitor Visa - I have less than 6 months Tier 1 visa

[tungha2106]

Hi,

My Tier 1 visa is due for an extension on April 05th 2013. But my wife is pregnant and the due date is is december 2012. I want to bring my parents from India during the month of December 2012. Now, since I will have less than 06 months of my Tier 1 visa during that time, can i still sponsor them? They will anyways go back to India in Feb 2013. Please advise. Else what are the options to bring my parents to the UK during December?

Thanks
Tungha

[rajesh9pl]

It should not be a problem. You should sponsor as usual. Anyway, you parents have plan to return in Feb 2013 and your visa is expiring in April 2013.

[rg_del]

I was having the same issue my visa was valid till Oct first week, I applied for my parents visa in July and they got a 6 months visa starting valid upto January next year.

[cs95tdg]

Just in case you haven't seen the guidance below, do take a look to ensure that they apply as General Visitors and not Family Visitors, as you will not be able to sponsor family visitors unless you meet the criteria below.

http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/sitec ... sitors.pdf

Family Visitor
The family members you are visiting must be permanently settled or have asylum/humanitarian protection status in the UK. They must also be related to you in one of the following ways:
- Spouse, civil partner, father, mother, son, daughter, brother or sister;
- Grandfather, grandmother, grandson or granddaughter;
- Spouse or civil partner’s father, mother, brother or sister;
- Son or daughter’s spouse or civil partner;
- Stepfather, stepmother, stepson, stepdaughter, stepbrother or stepsister; or
- Unmarried partner where the couple have been in a relationship akin to marriage or civil partnership for at least the two years before the day the application is made and the relationship is genuine and subsisting
If you are not related to the person you are visiting in one of the specified ways listed above or if they are not permanently settled or have asylum/humanitarian protection in the UK, then you should apply as a general visitor and complete VAF1A.

[tungha2106]

I was having the same issue my visa was valid till Oct first week, I applied for my parents visa in July and they got a 6 months visa starting valid upto January next year.

Great! so did u apply for the general visitor visa or family visitor visa for your parents? Also, which visa were u on?

[Tire1Questions]

I sponsered my brother and mother while I had only 3 months left on my Tire1 visa. So, its perfectly fine. They were granted family visit visa.

[cs95tdg]

Note that the changes to the visitor visa guidance notes I posted under this thread only came into effect in July this year. Prior to this there was no requirement for the sponsor to be settled in the UK, in order to be able to sponsor a family member under the family visit visa category.

[Tire1Questions]

Regarding my previous reply, I must add that I had sponsered my brother and mother in May 2012 So, what cs95tdg says was not applicable to me as rules have changed in July 2012..!

[rg_del]

I was having the same issue my visa was valid till Oct first week, I applied for my parents visa in July and they got a 6 months visa starting valid upto January next year.

Great! so did u apply for the general visitor visa or family visitor visa for your parents? Also, which visa were u on?

I applied for family visitor and I am on Tier 1 (General)

[cs95tdg]

I was having the same issue my visa was valid till Oct first week, I applied for my parents visa in July and they got a 6 months visa starting valid upto January next year.

Great! so did u apply for the general visitor visa or family visitor visa for your parents? Also, which visa were u on?

I applied for family visitor and I am on Tier 1 (General)

I presume you mean you sponsored a family visit visa rather than that you applied yourself. Was the application filed before or after July 9th 2012?

Either way I believe the home country consulate will let the visit visa applicant know who is allowed to sponsor family visit visa applications based on the current rules. They will advice the applicant on which visit visa category they should apply under depending on the sponsors immigration status in the UK & their relationship to the applicant. Theres nothing to worry about because anyone who previously applied as a family visitor should now still be able to apply as a general visitor. It's just the visit visa category that's changed.

[tungha2106]

I was having the same issue my visa was valid till Oct first week, I applied for my parents visa in July and they got a 6 months visa starting valid upto January next year.

Great! so did u apply for the general visitor visa or family visitor visa for your parents? Also, which visa were u on?

I applied for family visitor and I am on Tier 1 (General)

I presume you mean you sponsored a family visit visa rather than that you applied yourself. Was the application filed before or after July 9th 2012?

Either way I believe the home country consulate will let the visit visa applicant know who is allowed to sponsor family visit visa applications based on the current rules. They will advice the applicant on which visit visa category they should apply under depending on the sponsors immigration status in the UK & their relationship to the applicant. Theres nothing to worry about because anyone who previously applied as a family visitor should now still be able to apply as a general visitor. It's just the visit visa category that's changed.

Also, what documents do I need to send from the UK to support visitor visa application?

[cs95tdg]

Also, what documents do I need to send from the UK to support visitor visa application?

They should be detailed in the pdf link below:

Just in case you haven't seen the guidance below, do take a look to ensure that they apply as General Visitors and not Family Visitors, as you will not be able to sponsor family visitors unless you meet the criteria below.

http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/sitec ... sitors.pdf