Visa renewal upon leaving and re-entering/return itinerary necessary?

I can't seem to find the answer to this anywhere, so it's probably a no.

Does a visitor visa (not general) "start over" upon leaving and re-entering the country? I am leaving in 2 weeks and just have had news of a family reunion elsewhere in Europe taking place a month after my 6 month visa would expire. I am planning on taking trips from the UK before then and wasn't sure if leaving for any specific amount of time would be long enough to renew the entry date of my visa (I'm not phrasing this properly, I'm sorry!) and allow me to stay that extra bit of time?


ALSO is it necessary to have your return flight booked upon entering the country if you have not applied for a visa?

Does a visitor visa (not general) "start over" upon leaving and re-entering the country?

If you do not apply for a visa before travel, then yes, the visa that you are issued upon entry is only valid while you are in the UK.

As soon as you leave the UK for another country, the visa expires and you have to get issued a new 6-month visa every time you come back.

So, every time you leave the UK in the next 6 months, your visa will become invalid and you will have to show all your evidence again to prove you are a genuine visitor, in order to be allowed back in again.

As a general rule of thumb a visitor should not try to spend more than 6 months in the UK in a rolling 12-month period, so each time you try to re-enter the UK during your time in Europe, you may be questioned about your UK trip, your finances, your job and home back in the US, and your return ticket back to the US.

If you want to avoid having to get a new 6-month visa every single time you leave the UK for another country in Europe, you should apply for a 6-month visitor visa before you go (although you won't have time now, if you are leaving in 2 weeks)... the visa would be multi-entry so all you would have to do when you re-entered is show the valid visa.

ALSO is it necessary to have your return flight booked upon entering the country if you have not applied for a visa?

Yes.

It will be one of the first things they ask to see and if you can't produce one, you may have problems being allowed into the country (the return ticket is a big part of your proof you will leave the UK within 6 months.

Ok, thank you so much. That is so helpful. All the research I've done hasn't helped make much sense of the visa situation. I so regret deciding against a visa months ago.

Do you have any recommendations for expediting a visa?

Recommendations for what exactly? You can either do it or not do it. You purchase the priority service when completing the application for the visa online.

I've come across several different companies, was just wondering if anyone has had experience or recommendations as I've never done this before

There is only one company that processes request for priority - Worldbridge. Individual companies cannot arrange for priority processing.

I've come across several different companies, was just wondering if anyone has had experience or recommendations as I've never done this before

It used to be the case that you could pay these companies about $150 for an expedited service and they would hand-deliver your application to the consulate and get it processed within 24-48 hours.

However, in 2010, UKBA put a stop to these companies being allowed to offer an expedited service and they introduced their own service: Priority Processing.

The only way to expedite a visa application now is to go to the Worldbridge website (https://www.visainfoservices.com/Pages/dest_org.aspx)on the day you mail your visa application documents to NYC and pay $150 for Priority Processing. This will get your application put to the front of the processing line.

Technically, you could still pay a company to submit your application for you, but it won't speed up the process at all unless you ALSO purchase the Priority Processing from UKBA (via the Worldbridge website), so you would be paying $150 for priority processing, plus about another $150 just for someone to deliver your application for you.

You might as well just buy the priority processing for $150, mail it yourself and save yourself the cost of the visa company.

I'm not sure you'll have enough time to apply for a visa now though, if you are leaving in 2 weeks (I would normally say to allow at least a month to apply for a visa, just in case).

The visa application process is as follows:

- Gather up your supporting documents (example flight itinerary, original bank statements, original payslips, a letter from your employer giving you time off work and stating when you will be back at work, evidence of your home in the US that you will be returning to, any other evidence of your life in the US that you need to return to) Note that if you don't apply for a visa, you will still need to have these documents with you to enter the UK, in case they ask for them.

- Fill out the online application. Submit the application, pay for the visa online, book a biometrics appointment at a USCIS center

- Attend the biometrics appointment

- Mail the visa documents to NYC (paying for priority processing before you mail them). They must arrive within 14 days of the biometrics.

- Wait for the visa to be processed

- Wait for the visa to be mailed back to you

- Check the visa for any errors. If there are any, you will have to contact UKBA in NYC and send the visa back for correction

- Book your flights to the UK and travel.

Ok. Such helpful information again! 

Another random question - if i opt out of getting the expedited visa and just get a stamp, is that stamp good for 6 months regardless of the length of your stay, or do they date it for your return flight?

Another random question - if i opt out of getting the expedited visa and just get a stamp, is that stamp good for 6 months regardless of the length of your stay, or do they date it for your return flight?

It depends on whether they believe you are a genuine visitor or not.

The majority of people will get a stamp for 6 months, regardless of their flight home. Even if they are only visiting for 2 weeks, they will get a 6-month stamp.

However, if the immigration officer feels you are a risk or may try to live in the UK illegally and not leave within 6 months, they may only let you in until your flight back (i.e. if you are staying for 2 weeks, they may only stamp you in for 2 weeks). Or they may even only let you in for a couple of days.

Sometimes if they really feel you are a risk they will keep your passport, so you have to return to the airport and get on the flight back in order to get your passport back.

Remember though, that even if you are stamped in for 6 months, the '6 months' ends the minute you leave the UK - you cannot re-enter on the same stamp, you have to get another one when you re-enter... and so you have to prove that you are a genuine visitor all over again.

For example,

- You arrive on Feb 1st and are given a 6 month stamp.

- You leave the UK for a trip to France on 14th Feb. Your 6-month stamp becomes invalid.

- You return to the UK on Feb 28th. You have to apply for another 6-month stamp.

- You leave the UK on March 14th for a trip to Italy. Your second 6 month stamp becomes invalid.

- You return to the UK on April 1st. You have to apply for a third 6-month stamp.

For each 6-month stamp/re-entry to the UK, you have to 'apply for' another visa - each time, proving yet again that you are a genuine visitor and will leave within 6 months, and have enough money, and ties to the US. The more times you leave and re-enter in a short period of time, the more questions you may be asked.