Because I have been thinking on going to the UK for quite some time now, but I don't really know how to start the process.
100754
I am planning a trip to France and other Schengen countries. First point of entry will by France. I am from South africa. Can I visit from France, with a Schengen visa from there the UK?  Can I apply on that side, or do I have to apply in my own country first?
111713
My husband, my 4-year-old son and I as a family applied for a Family Visit visa last month to visit my husband's sister in UK. For documents we submitted everything that was required (employee certificate of my husband, bank statement, pay slips invitation letter from the family in UK, and tickets booking). The reason for refusal was a large deposit highlighted by them in the statement, which was indemnity or service money of deceased father of my husband. We got this from his company because my husband is the only son of his, and legal guardian of his mother and two sisters.    They rejected because of lack of evidence of this amount which we didn't provide them also they think that we will not leave UK and are trying to get entry in the UK. Although we have every evidence regarding money deposit and we are leaving behind our dependants in Saudi Arabia who are my husband's mother and sister, so we have their valid residents permit too. We are deciding to re apply for the visa with this evidence and support documents.   How far it's going to be approved?     ⦁ THE DECISION      ⦁ I Have refused your application for visit visa because i am not   satisfied that you meet the requirements of paragraph V 4.2 of   appendix V: Immigration rules for visitor because:      ⦁ You proposed to travel to the UK for 45 days to visit your sister   and her family. You have provided UK sponsor letter confirming your   visit. In view of proposed close family visa i have therefore   considered your application very carefully taking into full   consideration the compassionate circumstances surrounding your   application. I am however required to also assess your own personal,   domestic and economic circumstances in determining whether you are a   general visitor travelling to UK solely for the period and purpose you   state.      ⦁ I have noticed that you never previously travelled to UK or any   other country with similiar immigration requirements,and you therefore   do not have history of travel and compliance to consider.      ⦁ As evidence of available funds, you have provided bank statements   from NCB and riyad bank dated 18/11/2014 to 17/05/2015. You claim you   are employed by ABC company and earning an average monthly salary of    2777 pounds. However I note that over this period there are salary   payments are seen in the bank statement submitted. Furthermore there   are large transfer and cash deposits which are six times your claimed   salary. you have not provided evidence towards the origin of these   recent deposits and in the absence of reasonable evidence. I am not   satisfied that these bank statements accurately reflect your personal   circumstances.      ⦁ I have there been unable to assess your economic circumstances in   KSA and as such i am not satisfied your income and circumstances are   as you claim and therefore i am not satisfied that you are travelling   to the uk for the period and purpose you state on this occasion.      ⦁ I have therefore refused your application because i am not   satisfied, on the balance of probabilities, that you meet all the   requirements of the relevant paragraph V4.2 (a) (c) of the United   Kingdom Immigration Rules.      ⦁ Your right of appeal is limited to the grounds referred to in   section 84(1)(c) of the nationality, Immigration and Asylum act 2002.
93564
I live with my mom here in the Philippines. She owns a sari sari store and shes a pensioner. She pays me monthly. And I don't have a bank account as a proof of my financial status.My sister and her husband want me to visit them in the UK since she's going to have a baby and she really needs someone to be with her since my brother in law is working. My brother in law would like to sponsor my trip. What documents will I comply since I don't have a proof of employment?    And what to do to prove that I'm going to the Philippines after my visit for 6 months in the UK.   Surely, I have to return home since my 74 mom needs me. Will making a letter help to prove that I will go back home after my visit to the UK?
30316
I am planning to visit the UK on a USA travel document but there’s nowhere I am able to find information about visas: I’m a Zimbabwean but using a USA refugee travel document do I need to apply for a UK visa before I travel or I can they just give them on arrival.
106862
Just as  would be interesting, I think it could be interesting to see the inside of embassies too. Let's say I was going to be in London for a week and wanted to see the inside of the US embassy in London.  Looking at the , I guess I could do something like...  print out the form to  and try to have them notarize it, but if I didn't actually have US savings bonds that needed to be re-issued it seems like that would be a bit scammish. It also seems like the US embassy might wonder why I couldn't just wait a week and do it when I got back to the states.
35561
I was convicted of a felony in the US, and my conviction will not be considered "spent" as of the period in which I intend to travel to the UK. I understand if I were to apply for a standard visa I would be summarily denied. However, if I were to simply go there, would I be denied entry on arrival if I were not to volunteer this fact?  Basically, the question is, could I sneak one by them? One being, namely, myself. I have to use up some frequent flyer miles, and I'd decided on going to the UK before this matter of actually being able to go there came to mind. I've no doubt I'll be able to stay out of trouble while in the country, were I given the opportunity.  It would be nice to know if someone in a similar situation had a result, whether it be positive or negative, in that regard. Lacking that, I would gladly hear any wisdom from knowledgeable but less involved parties.  Edit for clarification: I was imprisoned for 3.5 years for a violent offense. There are no restrictions on my passport. I'm primarily concerned with whether or not there are communications between the relevant agencies in the US and the UK as there are between those in the US and Canada and, recently, the US and Mexico, regarding the movement of convicted criminals between these countries, as the answer would save me certain deportation if that were the case.
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.
15825
Everything I've seen points to no (and I would love that to be true since applying for a visa online costs money) but I'm worried about getting refused due to the length of time I wish to stay, which is 6 months.  I went to university in the UK on a Tier 4 visa, but have never just been a tourist which is what I would like to do now. Since graduating, I have started working but am underwhelmed and would love to travel again. My original plan was Australia but now I would like to see the rest of the UK as well beforehand.  If I arrived with the following, would I be refused entry simply for not applying online?: an approved Australian work &amp; holiday visa, a mini itinerary, bank statements for the last 6 months.
76262
Does the the UK rule, to apply for visa up to 3 months before travel, start from the date of the online application or from the date of the appointment? And, should I pay my fees on the day of the appointment?
27498
I am an Indian citizen, studying in the USA on an F1 visa that expires in 2019.   I was hoping to visit England for a couple of weeks on my way back home to India in June, but I do not have a valid UK Tourist visa. I was wondering if I could apply for the visa from the USA itself.
56574
I am a Bangladeshi citizen married with my husband who is a British citizen by birth. Currently, we both live in Bangladesh and my husband works at a university. We, are planning to visit UK for about 3 weeks. Just to be clear, we have no intention to settle down in the UK.  Do I need to apply for a visa? If so, then what type of visa should I apply for?  N.B. I've been searching on the internet (including the UK border agency website) for hours now but couldn't get a definite answer.
3222
I'm married have a job with stable income.I have 2 kids. I have applied for UK visit visa about 7 years ago and was refused. I can't remember what exactly was the reason for refusal.  I want to travel for tourism to spend 9 days and my budget is around 1300GBP for the trip. I would be spending part of my annual leave in the UK. I have the following people in UK: Mother, Dad, Sister(she's married), Brother (married), Uncle and Aunt.  I'm travelling alone since my wife is pregnant. I haven't travelled since I was in school then.  I will be on my yearly 21 days annual leave during which I will be spending 9days in UK. I can't think of anything more about my circumstance.  So what should a cover letter look like?  secondly I have just 1 account where my salary is paid in monthly and my savings.I will be submitting the 6 months bank statement for the account.  Additional question:  In the income &amp; expenditure where one is asked to indicate if I have income and savings,should I click Yes or No. And if Yes should state the ending balance as at the time of my application.
52870
I believe there are certain countries which in order to be granted a visa you must submit your intended itinerary. I am pretty sure I've heard Russia is or was formerly such a country.  What do independent travellers do? I've been thinking of hitch-hiking across Russia without a precise plan and a friend of mine has wanted to do a road trip across Russia also without an exact plan.  Is this a no-brainer or is there lots of red tape we would have to deal with? Or is it just official-speak / bureaucracy where they make it look complicated but in practice it turns out to be easy?
21697
I'm a British national. My grandmother just passed. My wife is Chinese. In general it's a major pain to get my wife a visa to visit the UK, we have never been before.  Is there any way to get an emergency visa to attend the funeral?  What sort of documents would we need?
90254
I am an American who wants to come to the UK to discern whether or not my boyfriend and I want to continue our dating and possibly marry in the future (not necessarily this trip). If I purchase a one-way ticket, will I be refused entry? I am allowed to stay up to 6 months with just my passport, but wanted to make sure that was, indeed, the case. I already have a place to stay, and I do not plan on working for the time I will be in the UK. I just do not know yet when I will return (within the 6 month period). Suggestions?
95615
I'm from the State of Kuwait and hold an Eritrean passport. I'm planning to visit UK in October but my visa will expire in November.    Is it OK to make a journey in the last month of my visa, provided that I make sure that I book my plane back before expiring date?
42301
I am a doctor and I want to give my plab 2 exam in the UK.  As I am a recent graduate my father is supporting me financially. He is a retired government officer who gets pension, rents from his properties and interest from his fixed term deposits. Please tell me that how should I maintain his bank statement for 6 months, and is my employment necessary to get a visit visa as I heard from many guys that it shows ties back to your country.