My visa application to visit for training and taking exams has been refused twice, on grounds that the cost of my trip represents three times more my stated disposable income. This is the information U had provided on the application form:   Salary: £964 Monthly expenditures: £535 (I actually don't spend it all, unless it's an emergency) Disposable income: £428 as per the ECO calculation after deducting my expenses from my income Stated trip cost: £1500  However, I wrote £535 as a rough estimate. I send money home to my family sometimes, and I normally save all my salary. I earn extra income from tips and allowances, and receive a food allowance, too, which I did mention. I don't think that this was considered, although it's evident on my pay slips which show £200 food allowance and service charge, and £220 per week in tips.   I want to visit for 4 days in July to attend a training, and 2 days in Septmeber to sit an exam. The cost of the trip came to be £1500 and includes flights, hotel, and food. I have already paid in advance for flights, accommodation, and training fees, and I attached the receipts.   In my next application, should I reduce my monthly expenditures? Should I reduce the cost of the trip to only food and ground transportation, and state that the flights and hotel are paid for, attaching receipts as evidence? Will this be enough proof to show that I am not planning to spend more than I can afford?    Note that I have £4500 accessible through my debit card and £4000 available on my credit card. I can obviously afford this trip but how can I correct how I appear financially?
1182
Many of the UK visa refusals we see here share a common pattern and the prevailing reasons refer to V 4.2 (a) and (c).    I do understand that, while the applicants may describe very different individual circumstances, there's a consistent pattern and, broadly, fall into specific categories:    Credibility (lifestyle, lack of ties, visit history, lies &amp; omissions) Funding (insufficient funds, provenance of funds, funds parking) Sponsorship (family, friends, employer)   Question: What most commonly triggers a UK visa refusal where V 4.2 (a) and (c) are given as the grounds?  Secondarily: Given that there is a clear pattern, to what extent are these refusals predictable? Does sponsorship make a difference? Is there a set of personal circumstances, however abstract, where a refusal is all but guaranteed? For example, why do those we see here on TSE who sought entry for the PLAB or British Army appear to be refused with a common theme? Is there a uniform shortcoming or is it just discrimination?   PLAB: What is about applications for a visa, for the purpose of sitting the Professional and Linguistic Assessments Board (PLAB) exam, that seem to invite refusals. After all, the test is given so that international medical graduates can show that they qualify to practise medicine in the UK. The first part, PLAB 1, can be taken in centres outside of the UK. However, PLAB 2 can be taken only in the UK. Why can't you can't get a visa just to sit the exam, promising that you'll leave immediately after?    British Army: Since Commonwealth citizens are eligible to apply online to join, even those who don't reside in the UK, why is it so difficult to get a visa just to attend an interview to see whether you are suitable? Even with an invitation from the Army, such visa applications seem to be unsuccessful. Isn't a career in the British Army a valid reason?     Lastly:  After such a refusal, what approaches would increase the chance of a successful application?
92555
I miscalculated the number of days I would be in the Schengen region for a conference, and was fined 110 euros for overstaying by a day. Will I be refused a Schengen visa in future on account of this? I am an Indian national and was traveling on a business visa.
53769
Woman planning to visit me from Ukraine to the US applied for a visa and such, claims to have paid for the visa but needs 500 dollars more for the airfare from Ukraine to the US. She says strict rules apply that the airfare cannot be purchased by US person, and must be purchased in Ukraine by person applying for the visa because of terrorist issues, etc..   Is there truth to such?
120433
I have been to the UK 12 times and I also had a 2 year visa. My boyfriend lives in England and we have been together 8 years. Last time I visited I was refused entry because I didn't have a return ticket. I also had an old resume I forgot. (It was 1 resume and it was 3 years old from when I first stayed the 2 years I just forgot it in the pocket I know it's really stupid) The officer didn't say he thought I'd work illegally but he did say he thought I might OVER stay. (I haven't over stayed the last 12 times, and he knew that.)  They took my photo and fingerprints even before I was refused. What will happen now? If I apply for a partner visa will I get refused? Before I was seeking entry as a visitor when I got refused and I want to visit again before getting this partner visa.  How hard will it be to get a visa for "join your partner in the UK" for me? I was honest the whole time and even when he was trying hard to find lies (it seemed) the immigration officer seemed pleased I didn't lie about anything.  How will having an X in my passport affect me?  I'm Canadian and he is British.
30005
I just received my UK visa and the start date is August 8th. I actually stated that my travel date would be in August because I was under the impression that the visa application needs to be made 2-3 months before intended travel. Based on my current schedule and my family availability (in the UK) July is a more favorable time to travel.   Can I ask for a change of date? Is this worth the trouble? And what would be the specific process of achieving this change? I currently live in the USA but I am not a US citizen, I am Ghanaian.
57107
I am a very recently naturalized America citizen. I want to visit the the UK but leaning towards flying in to France, and attempt entry into the UK via Calais by road on my US passport, so that if I am refused entry I can just go back to Paris and continue my vacation in France instead of flying direct into the UK from USA and risk being sent back to the USA directly.  I don’t intend to apply for a visitor's visa ahead of time. My reason being UK visitor's visa applications are evaluated purely based on the documentation you mail in without having the opportunity to talk/explain to the officer, while my current plan of going physically to the UK would mean at the very least I will have the opportunity to petition for admission face to face.  Some background for my dilemma:  In November 2015, while a permanent resident in the USA, I applied for a simple 6-month visa to visit the UK for one week and indicated I had $3,500 of spending money. I was refused under V4.2E.  His explanation for my refusal is I presented a Bank of America account with a balance of over $20k, which shows huge deposits (of $25k+ each) and withdrawals not in line with my biweekly pay deposits of about $5k. Now of course because UK visas are purely by mail and without appeal, I was unable to explain to him those funds come from my own brokerage account. I chose not to submit a new application with additional financial documents to clarify the  because of time, my vacation to Europe was about to start in a couple of weeks plus I have zero intention of providing her majesty with more in unnecessary visa fees.  I have been legally resident in the USA since 1998. I am married, have a well paying job as an engineer here in the USA, have traveled several times to the UK and never stayed more than ten days. Previously I had two different five-year multiple entry UK visas (the last of which expired in 2014), visited several other countries in Europe, own my own home and I'm financially secure. I have never overstayed a visa in any country and travel extensively.  So basically I want to travel with all my financial documents plus a copy of the previous refusal as if I were applying for a visa, and present my case if questioned at entry. I assume as an American I am allowed to travel visa free to the UK, despite my previous visa refusal.  Is this better than applying for entry clearance ahead of time, bearing in mind obtaining entry clearance ahead of time does not mean I will automatically be allowed entry into the U.K.  UPDATE 1 on March 15 2017  See my answer below to find out how it unfolded at Heathrow.  UPDATE 2 on July 8 2017  Follow-up visit after my detentiion in March.  UPDATE 3 on July 3 2018  Second visit after the initial detention.  UPDATE 4 on March 3 2019  Third visit after the initial detention and removal of stop flag from my profile.
75401
I'm from the Philippines, and 've been granted a (visitor) visa to UK. I will stay there for a month. My relative, who lives there, will sponsor my travel expenses and accommodation.   Are there any documents needed to provide at the UK Border, aside from passport (e.g travel insurance, medical insurance, the documents provided during visa application)? Do I need to show money? I'll bring money, but most of my travel expenses will be shouldered by my relative. I've read some posts that some were refused entry at UK Border due to insufficient funds to cover trip.They were paying for themselves, and I have a different case so I can't compare my situation to theirs. I'm planning to bring the financial documents my relative gave me during my visa application, and show return booked ticket (just in case they ask!).
6498
I am considering whether there is any paperwork I should be collecting for future tourist visa applications.   I am a British Citizen, US Permanent Resident, and my recent travel outside the US and EU has been group tours and cruises. I have been treated as having low risk of overstay etc. However, bureaucracy happens, and I want to be prepared.  The potential problem is that I am retired. No job, no school. A lot of visa granting seems to depend on jobs to prove monthly income and intent to return home.  I transfer a fixed allowance from an investment account to my checking account each month, and treat that as though it were my income. The investment account can go up and down in value quite dramatically over periods of months, because it contains stocks and bonds as well as cash equivalents.  I have no family in the US. I do have a house I like, and consider my home.  Is there any paperwork should I be collecting to maximize my chances of getting any tourist visas I might want in the future? Possible non-EU countries include Russia, Mongolia, and several countries in sub-Saharan Africa. EU may become an issue, depending on the terms of the Brexit divorce.  =======================================================================  I agree with the comments that I am likely to get most visas with no problem. That has been my practical experience. The question is what I should do to guard against exceptions, such as an excessively bureaucratic process requiring me to prove intent to return home.
92233
I applied for a UK visitor's visa. My friend sent me an invite to spend a month with her with a letter stating she would would pay for my accommodation and food. She provided her salary slip, bank statement and a copy of her British passport. The exact wording from the refusal letter:   You have stated that you are employed by x company and earns 35000 INR (£350 at the Onada rate of exchange) per month of which you state that you spend 20000 INR (£200) on living costs leaving difference of 15000 INR (£150)per month.  You state that you have no investment income.  You state that the personal cost to you of the proposed visit is £500 and this amount is equal to about half what you have in your account or three months savings.  With brief intervals back in India you were in the UK from 1/09/09 until 14/08/14. You do not appear to have travelled elsewhere .   4.your bank statement shows a balance of 101135 INR (£1013) on 1/7 with additionvof your salary.  You state that your brother and your friend and sponsor ms. Y will pay £1500 towards the cost of your visit.  You have not provided any evidence regarding your brother's finance anr his willingness to provide you money for a holiday,  besides what i take to be his bank statement showing a balance of 16803 INR(£168) 1/7.  In view of the above,  i am not satisfied that yiu are a genuine visitor who: A.  Will leave the UK at tge end od the visit B.  Will noy live in the uk for extended periods through frequent or successive visits,  or make the UK your main home C.  Is Genuinely seeking entry for a purpose that is permitted by the visitors routes (these are listed i  appendices 3,4 and 5) D. Will not undertake any prohibited activities set un v 4.5- v 4.10   My intention is just to go there for a month, spend some time with my friends and meet the people I took care of while working in a care home there.  How do I prove that I will return?  I am working full time. I get paid well with bonuses and am paid by the company for a holiday once a year. Can anyone suggest what should I do and what sort of documents to submit if I reapply? Is there any chance if I reapply? I live with my parents. My father works in government service. Is it a good idea to buy  return flight?
96042
Can someone please help differentiate the following application questions and what they really mean?  What is the cost to you personally of your trip in GBP(£)?  The total amount of money you have for this trip?  How much will they be paying towards your trip (in GBP £)?  What is the total amount in GBP(£)?
4820
I am currently on the academic job market, and scheduling on-campus interviews with institutions that might want to hire me.  Suppose I am invited to an on-campus interview at the University of X, and must travel there by air.  They handle travel on a reimbursement basis: I buy the plane ticket, and then they reimburse me.  However, the interview is a few weeks away.  Since the job market sometimes moves fast, there is a chance that by the time of the scheduled interview, I may have already accepted another offer (say from the University of Y).  Of course I should then decline the interview at X, but I would have already bought the plane ticket.  How should I plan for this contingency?   I could buy a refundable ticket to X.  However, these are normally several times the price of a non-refundable ticket, and if I do end up traveling to X, they might balk at reimbursing me for such an expensive fare. I could buy a non-refundable ticket to X.  If I end up not going there, I could ask X to reimburse me for the cost of the ticket (or at least the "change fee" charged by the airline to let me use the ticket's value for a future flight).  However, I suspect they will be reluctant to reimburse me for a trip I'm not making, and might refuse to do so altogether, in which case I am out-of-pocket. I could wait until the last minute to buy a non-refundable ticket for X.  But it may still be expensive for them (or may exceed their limits), and the most convenient flights may be sold out. I could contact University of X and ask them for guidance.  I'm a bit hesitant to do this, as I am afraid that if I bring up the possibility that I might accept another position, they might think I am not seriously interested in theirs.   Is there a standard way to handle this situation?  This is in the United States, if it matters.
39199
A friend from Russia (Moscow) is planning to visit me in late August. She is about to apply for a visa but she's worried that they will deny her application because she doesn't have anything to prove her willingness to return. She is 22 years old an just got her first degree in university and even though she will continue studying in the next semester, she won't have any documents from the university until September.  Is it likely that she won't get the visa? If so is there anything we can do about that, like proving she has a return ticket / reservation?  Edit: I should add that she lives with her parents (who are paying for the trip).
6987
I am a UK citizen and a friend of mine plans to visit me in the UK during the summer. He is planning to stay one month. He is a recent graduate and his parent are rewarding him with a holiday to London. The friend would be staying with me during his trip.   To support his visa application, would there be any documents I would need to provide? Would I need to be earning a certain amount of money?   Since his parents are paying for the trip, their bank statement instead of his would be fine right? And how much would they need in their bank account?
1538
I am applying for a complicated visa right now and I was told the chance of refusing visa application is high.   What happens if my visa is refused and I already have my airplane ticket? My flight is in one month, with British Airways. Is there a chance of getting my money back? Will the embassy give some affirmation for the flying company to cancel the ticket?
17621
I applied for UK visa and was rejected on 16th June on the grounds that I have not provided documents to verify my personal circumstances.  I'm planning to reapply. My question is when completing the new application form can I change figures like my monthly income after taxes must correct what I have done wrong last time?
31648
In the last few days, a friend-of-a-friend who was due to give a talk at a tech conference in the UK was denied entry at Heathrow and sent back. Their full story . It seems that, in the last few days, the  has been changed. (Compare the  with )  Understandably, with a comparatively well known tech speaker being turned back at the border before a talk, there's been a lot of "WTF"'s and "surely that's not right" on social media from those in and around the UK / US / EU tech scene.  Rather than rely on bits of www.gov.uk which appear to change quite often at the moment (possibly related to many of the people attending the conference in question having the personal phone numbers of people working on the gov.uk site!), I was wondering what the rules and guidance actually said?  If you hold a passport from one of the countries that normally entitles you to request "leave to enter" on arrival in the UK, and you're coming over to give a talk at a conference, what are the rules on if you need to get a visa in advance? And does it vary depending on if the conference organisers are paying for your flights/hotels or not? Or if they're giving you a small fee or not? Or if the conference organisers are a UK or EU registered company?
120811
So I went on holiday to the USA last summer. I filled out an ESTA application online, which cost me 14 dollars due to processing costs and whatnot. I printed a copy of the approved PDF and put it in my backpack. I took it with me where ever I went, just in case.  Nobody, in the 15 days that I was there, asked for my ESTA application. Not during customs, not during my check-in at hotels, not during my flight back to where I live, never.   Why did I fill out that form? Was it accidental that nobody asked for it? In what situation would a person of authority ask for it? Do you need to have a printed copy with you at all times? Who are the persons who may ask for validation of an ESTA application?