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Visitors who are coming for tourist purposes or to see family in the Uk will often need to apply for a UK visit visa, or “entry clearance”, before travelling to the UK. The visitor visa is the most popular route for individuals to come to the UK for tourism, business, medical treatment or to visit a family. We have observed however, that the success rate of visit visas is very low when the applicants choose to make the application on their own without the help from the immigration lawyer.
Sad still, once the visit visa is refused there is neither right of appeal nor there is an administrative review right, so the applicant has no choice but to make a fresh application which also has a high probability of refusal if the applicant does not go through the refusal letter thoroughly and address all the points raised by the Entry Clearance Officer.
We therefore advise that if applicants have been refused a visa, please seek legal advice on the procedure for submitting a fresh application. If the applicant does not want to make a fresh application, the only option is Judicial Review, where the Judge reviews the lawfulness of a decision or action made by the British Embassy/Home Office in the High Court.
As of 24.01.2015, the new visitor visa immigration rules were implemented and the division of visitor visa categories was simplified from fifteen visitor routes to just four.
Visitor (standard) replaced the following routes: Family Visitor visa, General Visitor visa, Child Visitor visa, Business Visitor visa, including visas for academics, doctors and dentists, Sports Visitor visa, Entertainer Visitor visa, Prospective Entrepreneur visa, Private Medical Treatment Visitor visa and Approved Destination Status (ADS) visa.
People are coming to stay in the UK for a short period for various reasons, it can be a sightseeing, shopping, visiting family or friends, getting married, attending conferences or lectures related to your job overseas, sitting a test, going through private medical treatment or entering the UK for the purpose of seeing whether or not the conditions are right for their business idea.
Please keep in mind, it is vital to apply for the correct visitor visa category. Although all above-mention categories fall under the heading of visit visa, the required conditions to comply with while on the visit visa differ significantly depending of the reasons you have stated in your application to come to the UK. Any breach of visit visa conditions may lead to the ten year ban from the UK. In order to avoid adverse consequences, it is recommended to ask for advice from the immigration lawyer.
The applicants will have to show that they are genuine visitors and intending to leave the UK in six months unless in a category as a private medical treatment visitor, approved destination visitor or an academic visitor. The applicants must submit the supporting documents of the financial and family ties to their home country. Moreover, the applicants must be able to show that they have sufficient finds to maintain and accommodate themselves accordingly without working in the UK or recourse to public funds.
Once the visa is granted, applicants can enter the UK and partake in general visitor activities, such as sightseeing, shopping, visiting friends/family etc. Visitors can also enrol on a short-term course of up to 30 days in the UK including recreational or academic study; however, the studying should not be the main purpose of the visit. Any other study can only take place at an institution that holds a Tier 4 sponsor license and the applicant must apply under the Tier 4 General or Tier 4 Child visa category.
An additional category for professionals has been created, which includes lecturers, examiners or assessors, qualified lawyers providing advocacy, arbitration or alternative means of dispute resolution, or designated overseas airline pilot examiners. Despite there being no requirements for sponsorship, you will be expected to come from a similar background from that of your home country. For example a professional footballer may enter to give a paid interview and also attend meetings to discuss a contract. Whilst payment is allowed, this is strictly for short engagements (less than one month) and the applicant’s main place of employment should be overseas.
An additional category for professionals has been created, which includes lecturers, examiners or assessors, qualified lawyers providing advocacy, arbitration or alternative means of dispute resolution, or designated overseas airline pilot examiners. Despite there being no requirements for sponsorship, you will be expected to come from a similar background from that of your home country. For example a professional footballer may enter to give a paid interview and also attend meetings to discuss a contract. Whilst payment is allowed, this is strictly for short engagements (less than one month) and the applicant’s main place of employment should be overseas.