My wife got her first visa application approved back in Sept 2017 and is due to expire in July 2020. In the mean time we have decided to move to the Philippines and have been hear approx a year now. We want to travel back to the UK next year to visit family while the visa is still valid but we have just realised that the visa runs out about a week before we want to return the the Philippines due to family plans in the UK. (No the arrangements cannot be changed to accommodate the visa) Is there a way to extend it for a short period? I have read that if you overstay the visa date you have a 14 grace period but must have valid reason for delay in leaving..ie hospitalisation or family bereavement. If not you run the risk of a black mark on your record for any future visit visas. Any ideas or suggestions?
I think if I am reading your post right you have frustrated the conditions of the visa. it is common that a visa holder should spend no more than 180 days outside the UK whilst on a UK visa in any given year.
Yes we have but we do not intend on trying to reapply for the next 2.5yr visa as we are now living outside UK. We have travelled in and out of the UK a few times on the visa with no problems... My problem is it expires about a week earlier than would be ideal. What options do we have if any?
on your last transit through UK immigration how many days had you spent outside the UK? if less than 180 you will pass through ok once you hit 180 you May struggle. you could apply for a visit visa to run from the day after your spouse visa runs out! not sure how it would look though to UKBA. you could let it expire and leave as soon as possible to the expiry date but you might be then classed as an overstayer and this might present issues should you wish to apply for another visa in the future. There maybe a grace period after the end of a visa i am sure ive read it somewhere and you will be leaving voluntarily. I was intrigued so I looked it up this is a paste off an immigration lawyers website What is the legal position foroverstaying? It is a criminal offence under section 24 of the Immigration Act 1971 to overstay your visa without reasonable cause. If your visa has expired, you have 30 days to leave theUK voluntarily at your own expense before you face a ban on re-entry.24 Oct 2018 30 days it is then Best I can think through to be honest
Thanks Bigmac and Mattecube Last transit through UK borders was earlier this year. We had been in Philippines since September last year and returned to UK middle of May and had no issues at the border. Only issue I had was with me going to the Philippines with a one way ticket...girl at the checkin desk didn’t realise about a balikbayan visa but other than that no problem...and that was not our first time on my wife’s visa outside the UK. As far as I can tell the visa gives you free movement for as long as it is valid. The only concern is if you are going to try and renew it, then being out of the UK for more than 180 days would be an issue as you violated the terms of the visa. I would imagine that they are not concerned about you violating it as it will be on your head if you do. I will look into the visit visa which hopefully won’t be too difficult With regards to the legal position of overstaying see below If your visa has expired, you have 30 days to leave the UK voluntarily at your own expense before you face a ban on re-entry. Alternatively, you may seek to rely on the 14 day rule. The ’14 Day With Good Reason’ Rule Previous rules allowed for a 28-day grace period without the requirement to make excuse, but any degree of leniency afforded under the grace period was abolished as of November 2016 and replaced by this stricter ‘14-day with good reason rule’. Under the current rules, for late applications made on or after 24th November 2016, the Home Office will disregard a period of overstaying provided you apply for a new visa, or renewal of your existing visa, within 14 days of your previous visa expiring and that you can evidence ‘good reason’ for having overstayed your visa permission. What qualifies as ‘Good Reason’? The Home Office has provided outline guidance on what constitutes acceptable ‘good reason’ for missing your visa expiry deadline. You must be able to demonstrate that there were exceptional circumstances and be able to provide evidence to back up your claim. For example if you were receiving emergency treatment in hospital, or due to bereavement of a close family member or having a late reply from an educational institution that informed you of acceptance to study. Unacceptable reasons include forgetting your deadline or being too busy with work or studies. You would need to support your reason with evidence. A hospital stay for example would require an official letter that states the date of admission and discharge as well as what you were treated for. This must be submitted with your application within the 14 day period.
Just been reading about the standard visit visa and it says you cannot apply for the visa earlier than 3 months prior to travel. We plan to travel end of March 2020 and return end of July. Not sure if you could apply when already in the UK? If we apply for the visa to start the day after her visa expires we would already be in the UK and would have already booked a return flight for the later date. Would they even let her into Uk with a flight dated after visa expires? Either that or a one way flight to the UK as she has the right to enter and live and then apply in Uk for visit visa and then purchase a one way flight back to phils??? To many ???
