Can I switch/extend mum’s 6/months visiting visa?

[5am1224]

Hi all,

My mum is a 70 years old widow. She is currently on a 6 months visiting visa and been looked after by my partner and myself as all of my siblings are abroad and no one back home to look after her. She has heart condition and she is diabetic so has to take insulin before every meal (this can only be done by someone as my mum can’t do it herself) in addition to her reduced mobility.

Can I apply for a visa extension for her or switch for another type of visa that allows her to remain with me as if she goes back home she will be living on her own and would put her at risk.

I am a British citizen in full time employment and have a separate room for my mum.


Please let me know.

Thanks

[blondesafari]

You could ask for an extension, but be very aware that whatever reasons you use can be used in future by case workers to deny future visit visas. The reasons you’re mentioning in your post imply that you’re trying to get your Mother to stay in the U.K. The Adult Relative visa is the most often declined visa since 2012 when the laws changed. Even after appeals, the successful applications are minuscule- less than 10%. The reasons you use to justify the AR visa are the very reasons you are unlikely to ever have a successful visit visa again. Think about this very carefully.

[meself2]

also, according to gov.uk (https://www.gov.uk/uk-family-visa), you can't switch in-country to an ADR visa as a tourist

You have a visitor visa or a visa for 6 months or less
You’ll usually need to leave the UK to apply for a family visa if either:

you have permission to be in the UK as a visitor

so she would have to go back home and apply from home country, and the reasons that you give to HO in order to approve the dependant visa might contradict whatever reasons you gave so she could get a visit visa, so yes, be very careful if you're going that route

[AmazonianX]

Hi all,

My mum is a 70 years old widow. She is currently on a 6 months visiting visa and been looked after by my partner and myself as all of my siblings are abroad and no one back home to look after her. She has heart condition and she is diabetic so has to take insulin before every meal (this can only be done by someone as my mum can’t do it herself) in addition to her reduced mobility.

Can I apply for a visa extension for her or switch for another type of visa that allows her to remain with me as if she goes back home she will be living on her own and would put her at risk.

I am a British citizen in full time employment and have a separate room for my mum.


Please let me know.

Thanks

Watch out for the path you want to follow.
Visit visa normally does not give room for extension and or switching to another visa route.
If your efforts failed, you have limited or closed any chance of her getting any other visa.

[5am1224]

Thanks guys for your responses.

I have checked the governmental website and found the following:

Switching to a family visa

If you came to the UK on a different visa, you might be able to switch to a family visa to stay with your:

spouse or partner
child
parent
You can switch at any time before your current permission to stay in the UK expires.

Fees
How much it costs depends on how you apply.

Apply outside the UK Apply in the UK
Cost if joining your partner, parent or child £1,538 £1,048
Cost for each dependant added to your application £1,538 each person £1,048 each person
Cost for an adult who needs to be looked after by a relative £3,250


So can I just switch my mum’s visit visa to a 2.5 year initial family visa? I am so desperate to have my mum with me permanently as she really can’t be on her own morally and physically.

Please let me know.
Thanks

[CR001]

So can I just switch my mum’s visit visa to a 2.5 year initial family visa?

No, you cannot.

If you came to the UK on a different visa, you might be able to switch to a family visa to stay with your

This does NOT apply to visitor visas but other immigration route visa, ie PBS Dependent or PBS routes visa for example.

spouse or partner
child
parent
You can switch at any time before your current permission to stay in the UK expires.

Parent here refers to a parent of a British child under the age of 18. It does NOT apply to parents of adult children.

I am so desperate to have my mum with me permanently as she really can’t be on her own morally and physically.

Again, she has made a declaration to UKVI that she has ties to her home country and that she will return if granted a visitor visa. You are now trying to completely change what she has already declared as truth to UKVI. You 'wanting' her to stay is unfortunately not sufficient for her to simply be allowed to stay.

Perhaps if your siblings are in more family chain migration favourable countries, she should go to one of them.

[5am1224]

Thanks CR001 for your prompt response.

Can I reapply for her 2nd visitor visa within a month from the date she leaves the UK providing that she doesn’t exceed her current visa length? Does it matter if I apply for the 2 or 5 long-term visitor visa with maximum 6 months per visit?

Many thanks in advance.

[CR001]

She cannot be spending more time in the UK as a visitor than what she spends in her home country.

How long has she been in the UK on her current visa?

You cannot use the visitor visa, regardless of 2 or 5 years, for her to effectively live here. It will be picked up on arrival and her visa could be cancelled and she will be returned to her home country.

[secret.simon]

See Rule 4.2 of Appendix V of the UK Immigration Rules.

The applicant is the visitor (in this case, your mother) and the decision maker is either the Entry Clearance Officer issuing the visa or the Immigration Officer at the seaport/airport.

V 4.2. The applicant must satisfy the decision maker that they are a genuine visitor, which means the applicant:
(a) will leave the UK at the end of their visit; and
(b) will not live in the UK for extended periods through frequent or successive visits, or make the UK their main home; and
...

If the Immigration Officer at the sea/airport thinks that your mother is trying to reside in the UK under the guise of a visit visa, she can be returned back to her country of habitual residence directly from the airport and would almost certainly get a lifetime ban on future visits to the UK.

Also keep in mind that NHS healthcare costs will spiral out of control for any period that she resides in the UK on a visit visa. NHS hospitals (at least in England) will charge her, and by extension you if you have stood as guarantor for bearing her costs, 150% of the cost of any treatment and may require payment upfront before starting the treatment.

If your siblings are in more elderly friendly countries, such as Canada, which has a SuperVisa for parents and grandparents, it may be better for them to move to those countries, rather than try to stay in the UK, as has been advised above by CR001.

[JB007]

You might want to make sure you have very good medcal insurance for your mother. The UK advises people to ensure they have full health insurance (to cover existing conditions too) to be able to claim the money they paid to the NHS, back from their insurer. The UK also advises visitors to speak to their medical carer in their own country about existng conditions and any medication they will need to bring on their visit, to last for their visit.

As said, the law changed so that NHS England must have the full estimated payment up front (plus the additonal 50%) and if not, they must refuse treatment. Visitors are expected to cut their visit short and return home for treatment if they don't have the money to pay for their treatment.

Where a clinician deems their treatment is very urgent e.g. heart attack, NHS England still want the estimated cost up front (plus the additonal 50%) but are allowed to bill afterwards in this situation. NHS England use debt collectors if the bill is not paid or payment plans are not kept to and also advise the Home Office of the debt.