Post
by Lucapooka » Thu Aug 16, 2012 12:27 pm
A long-term visit visa is valid for 1, 2, 5 or 10 years. The application fee is higher than for a short-term visit visa.
If we grant you a long-term visit visa, you are allowed unlimited entry into the UK for the time that the visa is valid. However, you can only stay in the UK for a maximum of 180 days during any 12-month period. For example, a 2-year visit visa does not entitle you to stay in the UK for 2 years.
We recommend that you limit your stay to the period stated on your visa application. If you spend long periods in the UK as a visitor, our officers may doubt your intentions.
If you breach the conditions of your entry to the UK, we may ban you from returning for up to 10 years.
If you apply for a long-term visit visa, we consider:
whether you can show a frequent and sustained need to come to the UK (such as family links or an established business connection); whether your personal circumstances are likely to change significantly while the visa is valid - so you should give us as much evidence as possible that your circumstances will remain the same;whether you have shown that you can support yourself in the UK without public funds, and that you intend to leave the UK at the end of each visit; and your previous travel history as shown in a current valid passport.
You should think carefully before applying for a long-term visit visa. We may refuse the visa or issue it for a shorter period than you have applied for (if, for example, the evidence that you provide does not support a long-term visit visa application, or does not meet the visa requirements). If we refuse the application or issue the visa for a shorter period, we will not refund your application fee.
If you have not applied for a UK visa before, we advise that you should consider applying for a short-term visit visa first.
