6 months in 12: visit visa clarification

[whirly]

Quick clarification, please:

American friend came to the UK as a tourist in June - granted a 6 month visitor visa. Has been travelling in/out to other countries for short periods (few days / one week at a time). Plans to go home for xmas in Dec before visitor visa expires. She wants to come back in the New Year - figures she's OK because her total amount of time in the UK so far has been less than 6 months. I think she's wrong and will be refused entry.

Which is it?

Do they count the 6 months from the date of first entry, regardless of absences that might have occurred during that time? or

Is it physical presence in the UK: literally you can come and go over the course of the year but cannot exceed 6 months actually in the UK?

I'd be surprised if the UKBA lets her back in to complete 6 months of physical presence, but this is what she expects...

Thanks!

[ElenaW]

Quick clarification, please:

American friend came to the UK as a tourist in June - granted a 6 month visitor visa. Has been travelling in/out to other countries for short periods (few days / one week at a time). Plans to go home for xmas in Dec before visitor visa expires. She wants to come back in the New Year - figures she's OK because her total amount of time in the UK so far has been less than 6 months. I think she's wrong and will be refused entry.

Which is it?

Do they count the 6 months from the date of first entry, regardless of absences that might have occurred during that time? or

Is it physical presence in the UK: literally you can come and go over the course of the year but cannot exceed 6 months actually in the UK?

I'd be surprised if the UKBA lets her back in to complete 6 months of physical presence, but this is what she expects...

Thanks!

A friend of mine did the same and was refused entry. From that I always thought it was according to the date on the stamp.

[MPH80]

Normally if you've been issued a proper visit visa before coming to the UK - then it is valid for a fixed period of time and you have to reapply before you can come back again. Length of time actually in the UK doesn't matter - it's simply valid for 6 months from the start date of the visa.

However, given your friend is American (and I presume you mean from the USA) - then they can enter without a visa here for a visit providing they can prove they are going to depart again and have sufficient funds to support themselves.

Your friend should, in theory, only encounter a problem at the border if the officer suspects she is resident here.

You can check if she has a proper visa by looking for a full page sheet in her passport - if she's not got a proper visa - it'll just be a stamp.

M

[whirly]

Thanks, blvd and MPH. I think you're both right - visit visas should be 6 months from the date of first entry, but as a USA citizen she might not actually have one (maybe just a stamp).

Either way I think she's playing a risky, potentially expensive game.

[Mr Rusty]

As a US citizen travelling without a visa, she will have been given an entry stamp valid for 6 months every time she entered the UK. That validity lapses every time she leaves the UK.

In that context the amount of time she has spent in the UK is not wholly relevant. When she comes back the IO will look at the amount of time she has spent outside the USA, and if she's hardly been home in 6 months he will wish to assure himself that she has funds to support herself and that her intentions do not include working. If her plans are vague and her background does not suggest that she is one of the privileged few who can go through life without pursuing a regular job, she is at risk of being refused entry. If she is caught in any form of deception she also risks being banned from re-entry for a long time.

[whirly]

Thanks, Mr Rusty. Your explanation makes sense.

I know it's not what she wants to hear, but better to hear it from a friend than a grumpy IO, right?

Cheers, all!