Tourist visa for my parents

[BanoffeePi]

Hello Everyone,

My parents are planning to visit me and my husband this summer in the UK. My husband is a British citizen and I am currently on a spouse visa. Both my parents are retired. They will be showing their funds which is sufficient (This is the 2nd time they are visiting us showing the same amount of funds). They will be staying with my husband and me on our property, for about 4-5 months. Last time at immigration they didn't check for their return tickets so I was wondering if it is mandatory to get return tickets before they travel.

Many thanks!

[CR001]

How long did they stay last time and what duration did they put in their visitor visa application?

What ties do they have to their home country?

You risk them being returned to their home country if the IO is not satisfied that they are genuine visitors arriving with only a one way ticket into the UK.

[AmazonianX]

Hello Everyone,

My parents are planning to visit me and my husband this summer in the UK. My husband is a British citizen and I am currently on a spouse visa. Both my parents are retired. They will be showing their funds which is sufficient (This is the 2nd time they are visiting us showing the same amount of funds). They will be staying with my husband and me on our property, for about 4-5 months. Last time at immigration they didn't check for their return tickets so I was wondering if it is mandatory to get return tickets before they travel.

Many thanks!

It is important to have return ticket, they benefitted from the oversight of an IO who probably did a shoddy job. Don't always count on such luck.

How recent was their last visit?

[BanoffeePi]

Thanks everyone for your replies.

They had applied for the basic 6-month visitor visa, but they were here for 3 months. They travelled in Oct 2022 and returned in Jan 2023. As for ties in India, they own their properties, 3 to be exact. Also, my father worked for the Indian Air Force. Mum worked for the state government.

Not quite sure if the IO was doing a shoddy job as there were 2 IOs at the desk at that moment (don't know why). My father insisted on showing the return ticket, they didn't want to check. Also, recently one of my friend's parents visited the UK for the full length of 6 months with a one-way ticket and they were not checked either.

I do understand that they can get checked this time. I just wanted to double-check if it's mandatory to have a return ticket?

Many thanks.

[lolo2]

I wouldn't risk going to a visa required country with a one way ticket.

Nobody can predict if the border officer will ask for the tickets to be shown or not.

Also you might wish to instruct your parents to only share documents with the officers when requested. Perhaps due to their age or any other reason they might demand on being checked thoroughly on arrival, but that's not precisely a good practice. It's always advisable to keep the interaction with border officers to the minimum, that applies when visiting the UK and elsewhere.

[AmazonianX]

Thanks everyone for your replies.

They had applied for the basic 6-month visitor visa, but they were here for 3 months. They travelled in Oct 2022 and returned in Jan 2023. As for ties in India, they own their properties, 3 to be exact. Also, my father worked for the Indian Air Force. Mum worked for the state government.

Not quite sure if the IO was doing a shoddy job as there were 2 IOs at the desk at that moment (don't know why). My father insisted on showing the return ticket, they didn't want to check. Also, recently one of my friend's parents visited the UK for the full length of 6 months with a one-way ticket and they were not checked either.

I do understand that they can get checked this time. I just wanted to double-check if it's mandatory to have a return ticket? Opinions already expressed from more than 1 person, decision to take the risk or not lies with you and or the visitors.

Many thanks.