Visitor visa for girlfriend refused, advice please. Thanks

[Mowgli250]

Hi, and thanks for any time you can spare!

My situation is as follows, I had the good fortune to me a girl that I genuinely really love. I’ve been through long and short relationships, but never clicked like this.
The issues is that not long - 1.5 months after meeting her UK student visa expired, at which point she initially went to the US on another visa to look for potential jobs in her field (A cultural one not of much visa use ).

At this point we meet a couple of times in the US, and on balance she decided she wanted to be closer to me and Europe in general. So headed back to Russia – the problem!
On applying for a UK tourist visa, she was refused. As they were not satisfied of her ties to her country (potentially) and her income source as specifically stated in the refusal – family money, not silly amounts but still enough not to be desperate for work – and moreover not an easily provable continued income.

Since then we have meet a number of times in Europe as she has a Schengen zone visa. However I would like her to meet my family before I would act to sort the visa in the definitive marriage way, and not feel rushed by practicalities into this route.

With this in mind, I would like her to get another tourist visa and I have some questions as below. Any advice would also be appreciated. In terms of addressing the original refusal, she is now salaried by the family business in a standard manner.

On myself, I am a professional and earn enough to meet the visa requirements easily enough.

We are, me 29 and her 28.

1. If she re applies for a tourist visa what are the chances of getting banned? She and I are very worried about this; she has many, many visas round the world and has had no refusals so far.
This really upset her. And is reluctant to try again anytime soon .

2. If I should sponsor her. Would this help or hinder her. She thinks that I would simply mean that as a young girl without great ties to Russia it would make things much worse? I’d rather keep it straight, but it does seem that tactics have a part play – I was only named as a contact alongside a friend on her last application, but without explanation as to the relationship is was only 2.5 months at this point.

3. If I have to go all out down a fiancé visa route, what length of time is it best to leave it to prove our relationship? It’s only been 8 months but we have seen each other many, many times for a long duration – but I would like to leave it longer – but so many flights are tiring and costly.

4. Do we need to overcome the refusal before going down any alternative route, would even getting another refusal however this time be me being specifically explained be beneficial to a future fiancé application? Clearly explaining that the relationship had developed since the last application.

5. And any sage advice generally would be appreciated?!

Thanks,

David

[Wanderer]

Reasons to return are the key (I have a Russian partner).

Job, uni place, kids, family, property. In the absence of these it's always going to be tough.

Ask for a visit of two weeks or so, don't go 4-5 or 6 months, red flag. And stick to it. Folks are always getting into bother with this, visit is visit, not long-term residency.

We got MIL a visa last year, said 2 weeks, she came two weeks, then one week, she came one week. 100% sure we'll get another when time comes.

You see what you are up against are folks (lots on here) bringing family over on visit visas and using them as unofficial resident visas/help with the baby etc, then moaning when they get caught out, have a read. And it's innocents who suffer.

So I'd get her to enrol at uni or something like that, in lieu of an important job etc, say she'll visit for a week or two, and stick to it. Not saying it'll work, previous refusals always made it hard, but it's better than nowt.