10-year Family Visitor visa from GZ China

[stmellon]

Good evening all,

My Chinese father-in-law would like to apply for a 10-year Family Visitor visa (VAF1B) from the Consulate in Guangzhou.

He has a clean UK immigration history (3 months (I think) in 2003, 3 months in 2007) so I'm not expecting any problems - just a little concerned about what could be considered a gamble of the £500 application fee!

Would be greatly reassured if anyone has had positive experiences of applying for the 10 year visa, particularly from GZ.

Thank you.

[vinny]

VAT1.4 Visa validity - What period for a multiple entry visit visa?

[stmellon]

Very useful, thanks Vinny.

I noticed in another post that somebody had applied for a longer term visa in Chennai only to be told that they don't deal with long term visas and that the applicant had to go elsewhere.

I'm also curious about the "not normally remaining for more than 180 days in a 12-month period." Does this mean that in exceptional circumstances it would be allowed? We are expecting our first child in June, and my wife would like her father to come over a couple of months before the birth and stay for as long as possible - given the choice, I'm sure she would ask him to stay for a total of seven or eight months, but it does seem as though 6 is the general maximum if you dont want to fall foul of the authorities.

[Wanderer]

Very useful, thanks Vinny.

I noticed in another post that somebody had applied for a longer term visa in Chennai only to be told that they don't deal with long term visas and that the applicant had to go elsewhere.

I'm also curious about the "not normally remaining for more than 180 days in a 12-month period." Does this mean that in exceptional circumstances it would be allowed? We are expecting our first child in June, and my wife would like her father to come over a couple of months before the birth and stay for as long as possible - given the choice, I'm sure she would ask him to stay for a total of seven or eight months, but it does seem as though 6 is the general maximum if you dont want to fall foul of the authorities.

It's possible to extend but seeing the kid for longer isn't a good enough reason. Valid reasons are terminal illness, civil war back home etc...

[djb123]

Very useful, thanks Vinny.

I noticed in another post that somebody had applied for a longer term visa in Chennai only to be told that they don't deal with long term visas and that the applicant had to go elsewhere.

I'm also curious about the "not normally remaining for more than 180 days in a 12-month period." Does this mean that in exceptional circumstances it would be allowed? We are expecting our first child in June, and my wife would like her father to come over a couple of months before the birth and stay for as long as possible - given the choice, I'm sure she would ask him to stay for a total of seven or eight months, but it does seem as though 6 is the general maximum if you dont want to fall foul of the authorities.

With visit visas not only should you ideally limit your time in the UK to a total of 6 months within a 12 month period, each individual visit can only be a maximum of 6 months.

[vinny]

VAT1.5 Frequency and duration of visits

[stmellon]

I've heard from a reliable source that the GZ don't typically issue 10 year visas.

According to VAT1.8 Do visitors have full rights of appeal? http://www.ukvisas.gov.uk/en/ecg/visita ... l#21231097 as someone visiting a 'qualifying family member' we should retain full rights of appeal - but does that extend to the length of the visa issued? i.e. can you appeal against being issued a 5-year visa instead of a 10-year visa, or only against being refused a visa?

Also, does anyone know whether using the visa negates the right of appeal? e.g. if we received a 5 year and used it to travel straight away, could we still appeal about the length of the visa?

Thank you, help genuinely appreciated as always.

Simon

[Wanderer]

Long term visit visas are issued at the discretion of the consulate.

[stmellon]

Long term visit visas are issued at the discretion of the consulate.

Really? That seems to be at odds with Vinny's first link to the Entry clearance guidance:

Unless there are grounds for not issuing a long term visit visa, the ECO should issue the visa applied for.

Slightly off-piste, but on another thread someone played Devil's Advocate and asked why UK Criminal Law and Immigration Law appear at odds.

In this circumstance, I would ask how Immigration Law can be incompatible with Sales Law - how can UKBA justify (a) offering a 10 year visa but not issuing it; and (b) providing a lower cost visa (i.e. a 5-year visa) but not refunding the difference?

Imagine Tesco.com offered 6 bottles of wine for £40, or 12 bottles of wine for £50. You order and pay for 12, but Tesco deliver only six bottles stating that they don't usually deliver 12 bottles at a time (or some such spurious reason), but that they would not be refunding the difference. Trading Standards would be over them like a rash.