General or Family visit visa for parents(special situation)

[manku]

Hi,
I am a Tier 2 ICT holder(from 2009) with an Indian passport. Due to personal circumstances, I had to come to India for a 4 month period, during which, I am working for my UK company from home. When I go back, I intend to take my parents along for 6 months. The question is - which category do we apply for my parents visa.

Family visit implies I need to prove residence in the UK (I vacated the flat I was in before I left and will rent a new one after I get back in 2 months) and I need to give evidence of funds (I only have bank statements until March) and I do not have any utility bills or council tax statements that are current.

General visit is probably simpler since my brother who lives in India permanently can show sufficient funds to sponsor their visit for the 6 months and it is easy to show ties back to India. Some issues here are
1. If they should mention my circumstances at all (in section 8.8/8.9 for example - do you have any family in the uk and do you intend to visit them)
2. What should be the address in 8.7 (uk address)

A different alternative is to ask a friend in the UK to sponsor my parents as general visitors and use his address, but that may be construed as deliberate misinformation.

Thanks in advance for any help,
-manku

[custodian]

I am a Tier 2 ICT holder(from 2009) with an Indian passport. Due to personal circumstances, I had to come to India for a 4 month period, during which, I am working for my UK company from home.

As long as you have a contract with the UK company proving you were in continous employment during the time you spent in India it should be fine. You can show your payslips during that period. You can also show your P-60 which is the proof of tax paid during a tax year.

General visit is probably simpler

I agree with you on this one.
I had my parents visa refused even though they had shown a lot of money in their Indian bank accounts. They refused it on the basis of not providing the sponsor's employer letter, bank statements, etc.

[manku]

I am a Tier 2 ICT holder(from 2009) with an Indian passport. Due to personal circumstances, I had to come to India for a 4 month period, during which, I am working for my UK company from home.

As long as you have a contract with the UK company proving you were in continous employment during the time you spent in India it should be fine. You can show your payslips during that period. You can also show your P-60 which is the proof of tax paid during a tax year.

Thanks.

General visit is probably simpler

I agree with you on this one.
I had my parents visa refused even though they had shown a lot of money in their Indian bank accounts. They refused it on the basis of not providing the sponsor's employer letter, bank statements, etc.

I can get the employers letter, but bank statements are a problem and I cant prove that they will be staying in the UK with me. For a General visit visa, do you know if they will give a long term one (at least 2-3 months) ?

[custodian]

For a General visit visa, do you know if they will give a long term one (at least 2-3 months) ?

This is the UKBA stance on long-term visit visas.
http://www.ukvisas.gov.uk/en/howtoapply ... #165062682