UK Visa
Requirements
Most visitors to the UK, other
than those from the USA and the EU, require an Entry
Clearance Certificate (a visa) before boarding a flight.
In many cases international carriers will not carry
passengers unless they are satisfied that they have a
visa.
The current rules require that a visa be obtained at the
British Embassy or High Commission in the visitor’s own
country.
The rules regarding visas are found in sections 41-46 of
the Immigration Rules.
Many of those we come across who fail to obtain a visa
do so because they do not have the correct or legible
documents to support their application. A visitor needs
to satisfy the interviewing immigration officer that
they are genuine visitors to the UK. The requirements
are as follows.
- Stay must be for 6
months or less
- That they intend to
leave at the end of their stay
- That they will not
take up employment
- That they do not
intend to carry out any business
- That they do not
intend to study
- Either that they can
maintain and accommodate themselves at their own
expense or that they will be maintained and
accommodated by relatives or friends settled in the
UK
- That they can meet
the cost of their return journey
Most applicants,
particularly from the sub-continent, tend to fall foul
of the requirements of maintenance and accommodation.
They often produce evidence of their own financial
standing. In nearly every case the visitors tend to be
farmers or in relatively low-paid jobs. Notwithstanding
this, they tend to show that they have sufficient income
of their own to meet the cost of the trip to the UK.
There is no need to do this. The current rule provides
that if a person settled and living in the UK is able to
maintain and accommodate the visitor, the financial
standing of the visitor in their own homeland is
immaterial.
Where visitors are sponsored by a person settled in the
UK they should prepare a detailed statutory declaration
containing evidence of the following.
- Their income
- Accommodation
- Their family
connection with the visitors
Visitors should also
resist using local agents for advice and assistance in
completing the application form. In every case these
agencies have no knowledge of English law.
Certain decisions made by an Entry Clearance Officer
(ECO) can be appealed.
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