• 
  Travel Resources
  

  • Ex-Travel Agent Reveals How To Get Dirt Cheap Airfare!
  • Veterans of Numerous Cruises Reveal How You Can Have The Most Enjoyable Vacation Cruise You Could Ever Imagine!
  • You Don't Have To Be Rich To Have An Extravagant Disney World Vacation
  • How to happily camp, travel and live forever on $20 a day

  
  
  

• Categories

  • Aviation
  • Boating
  • Boats
  • Caribbean Destinations
  • China Destinations
  • Cruises
  • European Destinations
  • Outdoors
  • RVs
  • Travel Tips
  • Uncategorized
  • USA Destinations
  • Vacations

• Recent Postings

  • You Are Moments Away From Finding Out How To Get Great Deals On Saint Lucia Hotels
  • Why People Love Sweatshirts
  • The Importance Of Ample RV Storage
  • 5 Reasons To Visit Newburyport, Mass.
  • Having Fun With Teens In Travelling
  • How To Enjoy In San Antonio
  • Visiting Baseball Stadiums For Travelers Who Are Baseball Fans

Obtaining a visitor’s visa to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a daunting and usually difficult task. I also think it is more difficult from some countries and therefore for some nationalities than others, although this is not admitted official government policy. Poorer people from poorer countries definitely have a harder time convincing embassy staff to grant a UK visitor’s visa. This is not their personal vendetta, but a reflection of government policy, which, in turn, is supposed to be a reflection of the opinion of the majority of the British public. It is a good idea to bear this in mind when dealing with the embassy staff regarding a UK visitor’s visa application for yourself or a friend.

Take Note: a normal UK visitor’s visa to the United Kingdom lasts 6 months and allows the recipient to enter and leave the country as often as he/she wishes. Normally, though, at least for the first visa, you will be restricted to the length of stay you specify in the interview. For example, if you say you want to go for two weeks, your six months visa will have a note pinned to it requiring you to leave after two weeks. You have to agree to this limitation in writing, although your UK visitor’s visa is clearly valid for six months!

The stipulations of the visa also forbid you from claiming social benefits such as social security and national health. Very often, applicants are refused on their first try, because they do not present a strong enough reason for wanting to go to the UK. If the reason is to visit a friend, then the onus is on the applicant to prove a continuing, long-lasting relationship. This should have continued for at least 6 months and you should devote your attention to proving it

I will concentrate on providing evidence of a continuing relationship. Most applicants from poorer countries will need a sponsor. This is usually an employer or a lover. Obviously, immigration stamps in a passport can prove how long it is possible that a couple could have known each other, but you will need more evidence than that. A letter from a friend, employer or relative stating when you met can help. However, you should keep all correspondence, telephone bills, bank statements (recordings of ATM transactions), restaurant receipts, theatre tickets, train and bus tickets, even menus and photos. In fact, anything that can help establish that you are having the relationship that you claim you are having and that you have had it for at least six months.

Then you can proceed by obtaining the ‘Visa Application Form (VAF) from the embassy or its website. The websites are very helpful for advising what you should include with your visa application form, but it will often include the ‘evidence’ mentioned above, the passport, the fee, photos, and sponsor’s letter etc. In fact anything that helps your case even a little bit.

Therefore, it is necessary to realize that the sponsor plays a critical role if you want to make your first application for a UK visitor’s visa a successful one. He/she must be prepared to cover your financial requirements during your stay in the United Kingdom and he/she must prove it with a letter and bank statements.

The sponsor, therefore, has to show a letter from his/her boss proving that he/she has a steady income and/or a bank passbook or statements proving sufficient funds to be able to cover his/her guarantee of taking care of your welfare while in Britain. But not only that, if you have said that you will stay in his/her house, you must provide a letter from the mortgage provider, the council or something similar. Proof of marriage or divorce does not appear relevant although the applicant may be asked. Sometimes seemingly strange reasons are cited for a refusal for a UK visitor’s visa:

“the applicant for a UK visitor’s visa has never left the country before ” this is easier for some to remedy than others by hopping over the nearest border.

“the applicant for a UK visitor’s visa has not displayed a strong enough economic or social bond to his/her country” meaning that they do not trust him/her to return to his/her native country. A letter from a relative, proof of children and a letter from the applicant’s employer can help, although proof of children is not considered a compelling social reason to return! Proof of property ownership is useful.

Do not be tempted to hurry the application for a UK visitor’s visa. Ensure that you have a ‘valid reason’ for wanting to go to the UK and remember it; ensure that you can prove everything that you say. Pretend for the day of the interview for a UK visitor’s visa that you are a lawyer and provide solid, written proof.

Run through applicant’s story until he/she has it well-rehearsed (they will not want to see the sponsor and sometimes, he/she is not even allowed to wait on the embassy compound). The applicant for a UK visitor’s visa will be required to attend an interview the first time and this can be held in English or the applicant’s native tongue. The UK visitor’s visa will normally be available for collection the next day.

Hint: apply for more time than you need as the UK visitor’s visa runs from the day it is granted, but you may not be able to get a flight straight away. You will probably also be required to return to the issuing embassy when you arrive back to have the UK visitor’s visa cancelled; after all, it is a multiple entry, 180-day visa that could be used to return to the UK without the sponsor’s knowledge, so try not to arrive back on a Friday unless you want a holiday in the capital.

Finally, the best tip of all: do not lie, they will find out; it is their job!

If you require a UK visa to visit a loved one in Great Britain, you will not want to be without our free advice on obtaining a UK visitor’s visa on our website. Get a totally unique version of this article from our article submission service

categories: visas,Great Britain,Europe,friendship,advice,relationships,self help,travel,marriage,women,men,legal,police,other

Comments

• One Hour Auto Loan
  
  
• Search for:
•