mom wants to overstay, give me a reason to persuade her

[nonothing]

my parents came to the UK this summer on 6 months visitor visas to celebrate the birth of my boy.

my dad left for home a month ago. during his whole departure procedure, no one actually checked his visa, no stamp was struck on his passport or whatsoever.

the expired date of mom's visa is in november. but she loves the boy so much that she desperately wants to stay a bit longer (1-2 months) to care for him. based on my dad's direct experience, she can't see how the HO could know if she overstays or not.

now who can give me a convincing reason to persuade/crackdown her?

cheers.

[Chess]

it is best to go back - becuase the entry stamp in the home country will show an entry date (it could be argued that your mom was coming from a different country)...

..also there are occasional exit controls at some UK airports...

finally; there is no need to 'harm' her ability to return to the UK..

[nonothing]

chess, thanks for the quick input.

she can easily get a brand new passport back home by claiming the loss of the old passport, therefore no entry stamp concern.

because her first flight back home will be a domestic flight and my dad clearly said there's no immigration control during the connection, my mom is so convinced there's no way the HO could know when she exactly leaves the UK.

the "occasional exit controls" is also my main weapon to threaten her, but who can give me some direct experience about it? particularly on indirect international flight.

[scrudu]

All I can say from a similar experience with visa stamps from Thailand, is that dont be so sure that getting a new passport will solve the problem.

I know people who got new passports to avoid showing their old passports and the stamps contained therein, but when they went through visa control, the immigration were able to check up on the stamps entered in their computer system and knew whether they were legally there or not. So if you do get stopped by Immigration, they probably will know.

I dont know about the UK system, but I imagine it's not a risk you want to take if you want your Mother to come back again. Is there no way to apply for an extension of the visa? Or for her to exit the country (visit other EU country) and apply for a visa to return? Or would this take too long?

[nonothing]

the question remains the same, how do the immigration offices know when people leave the UK, since it seems no one cares about the visa when they leave rather than enter the country? in my experience, many countries put a stamp on the passport when people leave the country. but it seems not the case in the UK. i never got a stamp when i left the UK. i highly doubt if there's actually anyone who inputs people's leaving dates into computer.

as to applying an extension, it seems 2 months extension is not worth the money (£335 at least) and time.

[timefactor]

is that possible?

[quote="nonothing"]it seems 2 months extension is not worth the money (£335 at least) and time.[/quote]

[olisun]

the question remains the same, how do the immigration offices know when people leave the UK, since it seems no one cares about the visa when they leave rather than enter the country? in my experience, many countries put a stamp on the passport when people leave the country. but it seems not the case in the UK. i never got a stamp when i left the UK. i highly doubt if there's actually anyone who inputs people's leaving dates into computer.

as to applying an extension, it seems 2 months extension is not worth the money (£335 at least) and time.

Well if you mother is ready to take the risk of getting caught and future visa refusals, then there is nothing you can do I guess...

Has anybody who has overstayed his / her previous UK visa managed to come back to the UK without getting caught?? and how long ago was that?

[nonothing]

is that possible?

it seems 2 months extension is not worth the money (£335 at least) and time.

yes, it's possible, not easy though. you have to demonstrate why the extension is necessary. plus they won't give you an extension to allow you to stay here more than 6 months.

[nonothing]

Well if you mother is ready to take the risk of getting caught ...

well, the risk is exactly what i'm trying to find out. just how big the risk could be?

[ppron747]

I don't think I look particularly suspicious, but I think I've now had my passport examined on departure about eight or nine trips in succession - leaving from T1 T3 & T4 at Heathrow.

[nonothing]

paul, thanks.

my mom will be leaving from glasgow, taking the domestic flight first and connecting to the international flight at heathrow. according to my dad's report, there's no immigration control between the connection and the check-in lady in glasgow airport was not bothered to have a glimpse at his visa at all. it might be because he was leaving, might be because he is old. but my mom is the same. furthermore my mom can also use the online check-in, then she might not even need to go to the check-in desk at the airport at all.

anyway, thanks everyone. now, i think i have a decent chance to persuade her to leave by promising i'll take the boy to see her sooner after she's back, but not from a immigration control point of view.

now i really feel confused by the UK's immigration policy. you act legally, you get controled. you act illegally, you get freedom. the HO employs thousands and thousands people. why don't they just get someone out there to strick a departure stamp on peoples' passports? i've got the departure stamps from the countries all over the world. why not the UK? although the departure stamps can't solve everything, it's still better than nothing, isn't it?