Visitor/ Visit Visa

Rules:

1. Be genuinely seeking entry for not more than six months as visitors.
2. Intend to leave at the end of their visit.
3. Not intend to take employment paid or unpaid or to produce goods or provide services.
4. Not intend to study.
5. Maintain and accommodate themselves and any other dependents from resources available to them, without working or recourse to public funds, or be maintained and accommodate by relatives or friends.
6. Be able to meet the costs of their onward or return journey.

Types of Visit Visa

A visit visa for the UK can be availed for the following purposes

1. Family Visitors
2. Business Visitors
3. Medical Visitors

Meaning of Rules:

1. Family Visitors: Family visitors are those visitors who are going to the UK to meet their UK settled relatives. The purpose of the visit could be any as long as it is related to the UK settled relatives.

Right of Appeal:

From 2 October 2000 people who are refused a visa to visit close relatives will have the right of appeal. A close relative is defined as: spouse, father, mother, son, daughter, grandfather, grandmother, grandson, granddaughter, brother, sister, uncle, aunt, niece, nephew or first cousin; the father, mother, brother or sister of your spouse; the spouse of their son or daughter; your stepfather, stepmother, stepson, stepdaughter, stepbrother or stepsister; or a person with whom you lived as a member of an unmarried couple for at least two of the three years before the day on which you applied for your visa.

2. Business Visitors: Business visitors are able to transact business defined as including attending meetings and briefings, fact finding negotiating or making contracts with UK business to buy and sell goods or services. Business visitors must meet all the normal requirements for leave to enter as a visitor. The Entry Clearance Officer must be satisfied that he works abroad and has no intention of transferring his base to the UK even temporarily. He must not receive any salary or fee from a UK source.

List of Typical Business Visitors:

The typical business visitors are;

• Those who come to attend any meeting and conferences.
• Those who come to arrange deals, to negotiate or to sign trade agreement etc.
• Those coming to undertake the fact-finding mission, check details or goods.
• Those coming to purchase trade goods.

Duration: Duration of visit visa is only of six months and from October 2000 it has become multiple visa.

3. Medical Visitors:

Medical visitors have to show in addition to the normal rules about visitors that

1. The course of medical treatment is of finite duration and they intend to leave at the end of it.
2. They can provide the evidence of the medical condition requiring consultation or treatment in the UK, arrangement for private medical treatment, the estimated cost and duration of treatment and of funds available to pay for it. An understanding of intention to pay can also be demanded.

   Important Points:

   1. Work & Business: Visitors are not permitted to work in the UK. This includes voluntary and unpaid work and other activities which would not normally be consider work.
   2. Extension of Visa: There is no provision in the immigration rules for extending a visit beyond six months, except for medical visitors. If they need extension they should apply to Home Office before the expiry of their visa and show good reasons for their change of plan. This application can be granted if the total time for the visit will not be more than six months.

For more information and free assessment please contact ESI