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on December 20, 2024
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The UK’s status as one of the globe’s economic and cultural epicentres makes it unsurprising that so many people from around the world wish to visit this Western European country.
There is an abundance of reasons why a national of another country may seek to come to the UK for a temporary period. They may be looking to visit friends and family, embark on a business trip, or receive medical treatment, to cite just some of the possibilities.
Depending on your nationality, you might not actually need a visa in order to enter the UK:
If you aren’t from one of these groups, however, it is possible that you will need a UK visa for your visit. You can quickly check this using the relevant tool on the GOV.UK website.
For many people who wish to visit the UK, and who need a visa, the relevant visa will be the Standard Visitor visa.
This visa typically enables the holder to stay in the UK for up to six months, and to carry out certain permitted activities, such as tourism, attending business meetings, and embarking on a short course of study at an accredited institution.
To be approved for this visa, you will need to satisfy certain eligibility requirements. These will include, but will probably not be limited to:
The Standard Visitor visa is not the only visit visa for the UK. There is also the Marriage Visitor visa, for example, which is aimed at people who wish to get married or register a civil partnership in the UK.
Once you have determined that you will need a UK visit visa, will be allowed to carry out the activities you wish to carry out on your chosen visa, and can satisfy the eligibility requirements for that visa route, you can apply online for it.
After applying online for a Standard Visitor visa, proving your identity, and supplying your documents, you can expect the UK Home Office to make a decision on your application within around three weeks. Once a decision is made, you will be sent an email setting out the decision and what you need to do next.
If your application for a UK Standard Visitor visa is refused, the email will include:
When you receive an email from the Home Office explaining that your application for a UK visitor visa was unsuccessful, you will be given the reasons for this decision. In addition, the department will set out what your options are now if you wish to be approved for the visa.
Your options are likely to be:
There is a wide range of reasons why the Home Office might refuse your application for a UK visit visa. Here are some examples:
The Home Office will need to be convinced that you will have sufficient funds to support yourself and any co-travelling dependants during your time visiting the UK.
You will need to show the department that you won’t have any problems paying for your flights to and from the UK, as well as any accommodation and food you will require during the trip.
It will be expected by UK immigration officials that you will definitely go back to your country of origin once your visit to the UK has come to an end.
You can show you intend to do this in your UK visit visa application by providing employment letters, or evidence of certain responsibilities that will take you home, such as your family or marriage in your country of origin.
You can also be refused a UK visitor visa if you haven’t proved to the Home Office that your stated purpose for visiting is genuine.
It might be unclear to the department exactly why you wish to come to the UK, and your intended purpose will need to comply with the list of activities the visa allows (for example, attending a business conference, or having private medical treatment at a UK hospital).
If you have been convicted of one or several criminal offences, you can expect your application for a UK visit visa to be refused.
Your UK visitor visa application may also be unsuccessful if you overstayed your immigration permission during previous time spent in the UK, or if you have been deported from the UK in the past due to violating the country’s immigration laws. Similarly, if you are subject to a travel ban, you will need to serve this ban before you will be granted a UK visitor visa.
The Home Office will scrutinise all the details you include about yourself in your application for a UK visitor visa, to assess your suitability. If there is any information included with your application that is incorrect, you can expect this to be detected, and you will be turned down for a visa as a result. Applicants for UK visas have been known to falsify marriages in their attempts to get approved. Bank statements and other supporting documents have also often been found to have false information about an applicant.
Yes, if you are refused a visitor visa for the UK, you have the option of applying again for the visa. There is no mandatory waiting period that needs to elapse following a refusal before you will be permitted to reapply.
However, it is important to note that it is usually harder to get a positive decision from the Home Office on a UK visa application if you have already been refused in the past.
So, if you are considering submitting a new application for a UK visit visa, it is crucial to:
This will allow you to make your visa application materially different to the previous application, to strengthen your chances of success.
The Home Office’s email setting out its decision to refuse you a UK visit visa, will also explain why the department reached this decision. So, it should be clear to you how your new visa application needs to be better than the previous one.
For example, you may need to provide further documentation showing your ties to your home country, or it might be necessary for a third party – the person you will be visiting in the UK – to write to the Home Office, promising to be financially responsible for you.
At the time of typing, the application fee for a UK Standard Visitor visa is £115, presuming a six-month maximum length of stay. This fee can vary in different circumstances. For example, if you are seeking a Standard Visitor visa for medical reasons, you will need to pay £200, and in the event of you being granted the visa, the maximum length of stay will be 11 months.
Whether you are seeking to reapply for a UK visitor visa or take an alternative course of action such as submitting an appeal or requesting a judicial review, our specialists in UK immigration law at Cranbrook Legal can advise and guide you through every stage. Simply call our team on 0208 215 0053 to learn more about our comprehensive project-managed service, or complete and submit our online contact form to arrange your free consultation.
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