Parents travel on visitor visa - request input

[acdindian]

Hi All,

My parents traveled to UK last year on a visitor visa - their visa was stamped on 25th March 2016 and they traveled on 4th April 2016.

They would want to visit me again this year.

What is the earliest that they can apply? - should the visa application reach the UK High commission on or later 25th March 2017 or 4th April 2017 (given that you can only have a 6 month visitor visa in a span of 1 year)

I want to be sure on the dates to apply to avoid rejection on technical grounds.

Would really appreciate the inputs.

Thanks
Ash

[vinny]

How long were they in the UK?

[acdindian]

Hi Vinny,

They were here for 5 months - thanks

Ash

[Wanderer]

How long did they say they'd be visiting for? Unusual to be allowed so long for a visit now.

[secret.simon]

given that you can only have a 6 month visitor visa in a span of 1 year)

There is no 6 month in a year rule.

What is not allowed is residing in the UK in the guise of a visit visa, through frequent or successive visits. This earlier post for another user summarises the situation. Also see the recently updated visit visa guidance.

Be aware that recent cases posted on these forums seem to suggest that having repeated visits to family in the UK is leading to rejection of future visit visas. Visit visas are not a means of bringing elderly parents to reside in the UK.

As Wanderer has mentioned above, why would your parents need to visit the UK again so soon after having spent five months here? If it is so that they can stay with family, that is residing and not visiting.

Also see this recent case of the visit visa application for the mother-in-law of a moderator on these forums getting rejected.

[acdindian]

Thanks very much Wanderer and Secret.Simon. this is insightful. On the original application, it was mentioned as 4 months.

Also - is there a families visit visa that they can apply for instead of a tourist visa? - I am on a tier 2 ICT visa at present.

Thanks for all the help.

Regards
Ash

[CR001]

It is the same visa, Standard Visitor Visa, with no extra concessions just because you are family. The requirements will be EXACTLY the same.

[Casa]

There is no difference between a family and a tourist visitor visa. They now both come under the Standard Visitor visa category.

Staying 5 months instead of the requested 4 months in the previous application may weaken their case for another visit.

[acdindian]

Thanks CR01, Casa,

Just a final input requested on my initial query - if I have to apply for their visa, what date should I be looking to target before applying - 25th March or 4th April.. (to ensure that 1 year has passed since the last time visa has been granted/ they have traveled to UK). It will be a short visit this time - for a couple of weeks since we have a family event.

Regards
Ash

[secret.simon]

The date of application does not matter. You can, in theory, apply today.

What does matter is convincing the ECO that your parents are visiting and not residing and that they will leave the UK when they said they would.

The facts that
(a) they have just recently spent five months in the UK,
(b) that they stayed five months when they mentioned four months in the application form and
(c) that they are being sponsored by a relative in the UK-which could imply that they can overstay because they are unlikely to run out of funds from back home
Will count against their visit visa application.

You will have to make a very compelling case as to why they need to return so soon and that they will stay only for the period mentioned in the application.

You may also want to make contingency plans for the family event assuming that your parents will not be there for the event.