On the 1st of September my Tier 4 student visa application was rejected but I made the mistake of thinking I was still entitled to enter the UK with my US passport. I had already purchased a Eurostar ticket to London so I thought I could put it to use to visit some friends (one of them being my boyfriend) for two weeks before their school years started. On the 9th, I was detained in Paris and refused entry to the UK on the grounds that I recently showed "intention to live and study in the UK" and they weren't convinced I would be leaving when I said I would. Additionally, I didn't carry any documents aside from my passport, my Swiss residence permit and a copy of my passport. I am also unemployed but I am still completely financially dependent on my parents. Staying with my boyfriend was the cherry on top.  In hindsight, I acknowledge that I raised every red flag. It was like a twisted skit. However, the last time I traveled outside of Schengen was when I was 15 (I'm 19) and any recent travel I've done was by rail so I didn't anticipate the seriousness of crossing the border. It was my first time traveling alone but I suppose that level of cluelessness warrants learning the hard way.   At this point, I'm wondering what my next move should be. How long do I have to wait? I definitely want to visit the UK some time soon because I now have an unexpected gap year lying in front of me. My intentions were strictly for leisure and I wouldn't attempt anything along the lines of volunteer work while I'm there. I just want to visit my friends/boyfriend for 1-2 weeks at most. Should I apply for a visitor visa this time or can I try traveling there again but making sure I have as many documents as possible? I'm worried about getting denied entry again and having an even more "tarnished" record, so that's the main thing I want to avoid. I tried contacting the UKVI by email but they haven't responded.  Keep in mind, I'm planning on reapplying for a student visa next summer so I have no idea what I can and can't do - I really don't want to compromise anything.
122998
I'm a writer and theater/film director who has been traveling nearly all my life without incident. In February, I decided to pull up stakes in NYC and move to London. I am a freelancer and I'm working with three different organizations in NYC so I wasn't working illegally in the UK. I was, however, seeing if there might be some opportunities in London, ie. meeting with Artistic Directors of various theatre companies to see if they might be interested in producing my work.   In April, I was invited to a conference in San Diego and then a film festival in Switzerland. I didn't think it would be a problem if I went and then bummed around in France for a few days since I hadn't broken any laws and had left the UK well under my six month leave to stay. Well, when I tried to return to London, I was denied entry at Luton. The border control officer said I didn't have enough funds for a two month stay and put a black cross over a stamp in my passport. They put me in a detention room until the next flight back to Lyon, which was the following morning. I don't know anyone in Lyon so I ended up going to a friend's place in Paris.   After a few days of not knowing what to do, a friend suggested that perhaps I should try going back to London on the Eurostar since border control is in Paris. I wondered if I ought to go to the British Embassy but was deterred by something on their website that says that a visitors visa could take up to three weeks (I can't sit around here in Paris for three weeks) and anyway, the decision ultimately is with the border control, so I decided to take a chance on the Eurostar. I bought myself a return ticket in two weeks to Paris just so I had something to show.   Well, the UK border control denied me entry after giving me a third degree. They accused me of lying and seeking work in the UK. They also insisted that the amount of money I had was not enough to live on for two weeks. So I'm back at my friend's place in Paris, wondering what to do.   Is it possible for me to ever get back to the UK? I had to cancel one meeting and I'm wondering if I have to cancel going to the Sheffield DocFest. (Two of my projects were accepted to programs there.)   Should I apply for a visa from the British Embassy? Will this really take three weeks? When I started to say something about obtaining a visa, the border control officer cut me off and said, "Why are you going to the Embassy? This has nothing to do with the Embassy. We make the decisions."
111218
I am 23, female, Indian, about to travel to Paris for a conference for 4 days. I am currently unemployed, but was employed until last month. I will be applying for a Schengen visa. Do you think it will be okay to write in the application that I am still employed, since I did get my salary until last month, so the documentation is good. Do the Schengen visa officers check the employment status for everyone? I think lying is never a good option, but I also think if I show that I am just unemployed last month and apply for a visa, they might think I am not planning to return.  In reality, I resigned to study seriously for exams that will allow me higher education in India, but I don't have an admit yet, and I go to a coaching institute during weekends (I started going in February). But saying that I had this thought of resigning exactly before going to Paris sounds fishy I think.  What should I do? My bank account has salary from my employer until a week ago, so just to reiterate, the documents seem perfect if I state that I'm still employed.  I have travelled for conferences before in the past to Schengen countries as well as the UK and the US, only the US visa is valid at the moment.
79568
I'm a non-EU citizen, I will be travelling from London to Paris next month, so I was wondering since most countries track entry and leave dates, if I use the train to switch these countries and they don't control it, my UK visa will seem like entry YES but no leaving. Same for the Schengen, I wouldn't have an entry date but I'll be leaving,  Will it be trouble later? Are they controlling this on trains? If not is there anything I should do before?
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.
660
When certain nationalities of people want to travel in the Schengen zone, they are required to apply for a Schengen visa. This is a straight-forward process for most, but when an applicant has had problems with removals or refusals they may be reluctant to apply because they want to avoid the complexities of serial visa refusals. This reluctance may lead some into wondering how their history can be expunged, and this line of thought inevitably leads to the idea of getting their passport replaced with a new one.  This sounds like a great formula for people who have had prior refusals or removals.  In essence they can become 'reincarnated' as a first-time traveller and hence avoid the unpleasantness of revealing their prior interactions with the Schengen authorities.  The relevant parts of the application form are shown here...    Nothing asks about a prior removal or refusal, and the applicant is left with simple denials for 3 questions in order to present themselves as a first-time traveller.  Assuming the person is happy to set aside the moral issues associated with denying their history, are there any holes to this strategy?  This question is scoped to Schengen visa applications so that it will not be unmanageably broad, but answers from other regimes (particularly the affluent Commonwealth and the USA) are acceptable as long as the main points are relatively consistent with Schengen.
119697
I'm an American who is going to be visiting the United Kingdom in order to visit friends, do some sightseeing, etc. Since I'm only entering as a tourist, I can stay up to 6 months.   My question is: If in the middle of my trip, I fly to Italy for a few days, and want to fly back to UK for a few more days before heading home, can I re-enter the UK?   And if I can re-enter in the same 6-month tourist limit - how many times can I re-enter the UK (for example between April-Oct)?
120155
On August 5, 41 days ago, I submitted an application for a UK visitor visa. This is the third time I have applied. The only notice I have received so far says this: "Unfortunately, the processing of your application has not been straightforward. This means that we will be unable to make a decision within our published customer service standards." What should I do?
58913
Sorry about my wrong terminology, thank you for the corrections, I am revising my question a little so hope it is a little clearer. Thank once again.  We plan to travel to the US (Colorado) from the UK in early February 2018 under the VWP. Our return flight to the UK is scheduled for mid-June 2018. We plan to purchase an RV and then spend 60 days in the Western US then travel overland into Canada for approximately 40 days (asking US immigration to log us out when we leave). We understand our 90-day allowance will continue to 'run down' whilst we are in Canada. Our questions are:   Will our initial 90-day allowance expire when we are 'logged out' by US immigration. If not, does it matter? If our entry into the US expires whilst we are in Canada, is there any process for a UK citizen to apply for some sort of visa that would guarantee entry into the US for another 25 days or so? After spending approximately 40 days in Canada (therefore 100 days after we originally entered the US), will we be able to simply apply for re-entry into the US at an overland crossing from Canada (and will the initial VWP entry in February have any bearing)? We will then spend approximately 25 more days in the US, heading back to Colorado to sell the RV and fly back to UK around mid June 2018.   While I understand that the B2 visa option would solve this issue, getting that process completed (timescale, interview in London, etc) makes it impractical for us in this case.
114849
I applied for the visa to participate in a university students conference. But I had to cancel my travel plans because of a family emergency.  I wanted to know if I can still can use the multiple entry Visa I have, until it expires, to enter UK for a similar type of conference and business related travel reasons or if I have to apply again to enter UK for the different reason of travel other than I applied for initially.
82013
I have been travelling to the U.K for 25 years at least 8-10 times a year,  receiving 5 year visas, never breaking the stay period, with no problem. I've gone through immigration with no problem till my last time in London. I was stopped for eight hours and questioned about a run with the law while I was in college. This was in the US, I was around 20, it was for a credit card use. I received a conditional discharge / probation conviction which was discharged one year later. It was stupid, I was young and in college, more than 28 years ago.  After being questioned about the issue in the US, I was allowed in. They were very polite and professional.  I was also asked if I ever changed my name: I did not change it, but one letter was added in the middle of my first and last names around 20 years ago as our names are translated from Arabic to English and before the digital biometric passports, hand written passports some times varied. It was a common thing at the time.  Now I am applying for my new 5 year visas and I intend to answer truthfully  about previous conviction (previously I answered no because my conviction was spent and I expunged my record.) I want to answer yes and explain it. Is that the right thing to do?  Should I answer yes to the question about having a different name even though it was something as simple as spelling Bryan instead of Brian or Teresa and Theresa -- not really changing it and never thought of it as a change.  I have an impeccable credit rating in the Uk and the last 28 years have never received a moving violation or ever had a run in with the law.  I made one mistake when I was very young but I am  very worried about how to go ahead. I believe honesty is the best approach, is it?
51643
I am a United States citizen with a 6-month Tourist visa to the UK (a stamp in my passport). Additionally, in 2013 I spent about two months in the UK on tourist visas, split between two separate occasions (one month in April-May, and one in August-September). My passport was stamped in December of 2013, and I have two other stamps from those previous visits (so three total, now)  My original intended departure date from the UK was March 1, but that is no longer the case, as I plan to stay out the duration of my visa.  My question is, can I leave the UK (to travel in Europe for a week, for example) and come back in with this visa? Will they re-stamp me, or see that my existing stamp is still valid? Will it be a problem that I've been coming-and-going in the UK relatively frequently? Are there any other concerns I should be aware of?
33204
I applied for a Schengen multiple entry visa but I got only one single entry with a period of stay of 21 days.  I'm traveling first to Austria; then I booked a flight to Paris, France. Is that possible or should I take only trains or vehicles to travel since my visa is only a single entry? Can I fly to other Schengen countries with a single entry visa?  Should I travel to the country that issued the visa? I'm going backpacking through Europe and I don't know my longest destination or my actual destinations, to be clearer.
118270
Without judgement, please, I need help. I am in Israel at the moment and have been here for longer than 90 days, surpassing my allowed 90 day allowance. Am I going to get in trouble when I go to get my visa? I am a student and I have been here almost four months now... I am afraid to go get my visa because I'm overdue. Will they kick me out? Will I be okay? I don't know how much they enforce the 90 day rule.
94259
I have a Serbian girlfriend who I have visited in Belgrade 4 times now and she is planning a trip to the UK for her 2 weeks vacation in 2 months from now ().  When applying for this visa she must state the main reason for her visit, which is for her to see me and stay with me, also some travel to meet my friends and family etc. Thus, she must also state her relationship to me.  However, various people who have some experience of/heard stories about UK visa applications for such reasons are constantly telling us that we should never mention that I am her boyfriend or that she is my girlfriend, as she may then be refused. However, we plan to marry after my divorce (in process) is completed in 3-4 months time, so I do not under any circumstances wish to be deceptive so as to risk jeopardising our subsequent application for her to come here on a fiancée/marriage visa, as I read about .  Do the "rumours" hold any truth? Should we do as I suggest and declare that we are boyfriend/girlfriend? Is there anything specific we should be aware of to document and declare about our releationship for the initial Standard Visitor visa?
88539
I was in Germany last September, my visa said I had 14 days to stay in the Schengen area.  When I was leaving back for Egypt the passport control officer noticed that I was leaving on the 15th day. I didn't even realise that as I had written previously in my visa application that I was staying for 15 days and the embassy in Cairo had my complete airline ticket with specific dates.  Anyway the officer just filed a report on the incident but didn't stamp my passport with my exit date from the Schengen area.  Do any of you guys know if that would make it harder for me to be granted a visa in the future?
30583
I've been given a Schengen visa valid for 1 month.  Unfortunately, I won't be able to travel during the dates I've specified in my application.  What should I do?  Do I just not use the visa?  Or should I let the embassy know so they can cancel it?
4143
My husband is in Switzerland for 6 months with L permit.  I applied for visitor visa.  I submitted all documents with his entrance visa in which date of his coming back to India was not mentioned but later on after submission of visa documents to VFS office, I submitted his L-permit through mail.  But my visa got rejected stating " your intention to leave the territory of the member state before the expiry of visa could not be ascertained".  I also got confused on the answer of extension of my husbands visa permit during answering to the embassy council.  I have only 7 days left to reapply for visa.  I don't know what should I do?  Will I able to get visa again within 7 working  days??