Visitor Visa: Visiting Family and Friends

Visiting friends and family in the UK usually requires a Standard Visitor Visa, and applicants are often expected to provide an invitation letter from their UK-based host, including their name, address, relationship to the visitor and their immigration status proof.

To qualify for a UK Standard Visitor Visa, applicants must meet the genuine visitor requirement set out in the Immigration Rules. This means you must demonstrate that you are visiting the UK for a permitted purpose, such as tourism, seeing friends or family, or attending a short event, and that you intend to leave the UK at the end of your visit. 

The Home Office will assess whether you are a genuine visitor by looking at your personal, financial, and family circumstances, your immigration history, and the overall credibility of your application. You must show that you can support yourself financially during your stay without working or accessing public funds, and that you have strong ties to your home country, such as employment, property, or family responsibilities.

Importantly, applicants must not use a visitor visa to live in the UK through frequent or successive visits, or to undertake activities not permitted under the visa. If the Home Office suspects that your visit is not genuine, your visa may be refused, and it could affect future applications.

It is essential that all information provided in the application form is complete and accurate.

We have seen cases where an applicant stated they were visiting a “friend” when in fact they were visiting a long-term partner or boyfriend. Years later, this omission came back to undermine a marriage-related application, leading the Home Office to question the genuineness of the relationship.  Failing to disclose a romantic relationship when it existed can be seen as an attempt to mislead the Home Office. These discrepancies, no matter how minor they seem at the time, are often retained in immigration records and may be used to challenge your credibility in future applications.

At Angelov Solicitors, we understand how important accuracy is in even the simplest visa applications. We help our clients ensure that all information is complete, consistent, and future-proof, so that past visits do not become future problems.