Going to the Uk next month....questions about visa

Hey everyone,

I will be in the UK next month and have some questions about getting past customs. I have a return ticket for 2 weeks after I arrive. However, i have decided I would like to stay for about 3 months or so.

Should I tell the IO this? Or can i just say I am here for 2 weeks and then when i change my flight, get my visa extended? Or do they stamp your passport with 6 months regardless how long you tell them? I know that happened when I arrived in glasgow last summer.

Thanks for reading this! I am quite worried that I will get refused entry if I tell them I am visiting my boyfriend.

Generally, they should stamp you for 6 months irregardless of the length of your stay. I'm sure there's exceptions to this rule pertaining to those who have problems at the border, but if they wave you through and there's no problems it should be for 6 months.

With that said, are you telling them you're going to see your boyfriend when they ask you? I'm just curious since if you don't tell them, and they somehow find out you're fibbing, you'll most likely get bounced and face some problems because they'll see you as trying to lie in order to get into the UK. Especially if they find out you bought a return ticket for 2 weeks when you fully intend to stay longer than that before even entering the country--deception while trying to enter the UK is quite serious.

If you want to extend your trip, you might want to do it before you leave so your ticket will reflect this at least. And really, be honest with them in terms of how long you're intending to stay--if you're worried about getting bounced, do you have any paperwork that can tie you to the US? Possibly school commitments, work, housing contracts, etc.?

Being deceptive when speaking to immigration officials is never a good thing. I am not saying that your intentions are bad, but you are lying if you say you are staying for 2 weeks with the intent of staying for 3 months, and no one here is going to suggest that you do that.

As kittenfish said, they most likely will stamp you for 6 months even if you say you are staying for 2 weeks, but seriously rethink any "should I tell them?" and just tell the truth - they are quite good at getting the real story out of people and you could create some very serious problems for yourself in the future if you ever wanted to settle in the UK.

Will this be the first time you have traveled to the UK to see your BF?  Have you met before?  How did you meet?  What do you plan to do/see while in the UK? These are all questions they will ask you, so be prepared.

Thanks for advice guys. I really dont want to lie to immigration, but the hard part of this trip is that I truly don't know how long I intend to stay. My BF and I have been fighting recently, and i'm not sure if its just due to the distance or we are finding out that we aren't for eachother.

So if 2 weeks passes and nothing gets better, I will want to go home. But I figure its also good to keep my options open if things go well. Do I explain all this is to immigration? Have either of you been through something similar?

I would mention any personal details of your relationship other than what they ask you - keep your story as simple and straightforward as possible.

Just wanted to mention that the new version of the UK landing card (which you need to fill out and give to the immigration official) now ask explicitly how long you are staying. Not sure when they updated these, but I first noticed them in April.

[mod note]

Off topic posts have been removed.  This is not spelling class.

Questions or comments PM me.

Just a question....

If your ticket is for 2 weeks and you only THINK you might have a desire to stay longer (but not exceed your visa stamp)....do you have to disclose that?

It seems just as possible that the OP could be staying for only the 2 weeks she booked for and she is only entertaining the though that she might stay a little longer if the circumstances turn out different than she expects.

I am just wondering where the line exists between thinking something *might* happen and failing to disclose your intentions. It is irrelevant for me, I live here with my partner. But I just want to know more for a philosophical reason.

Someone could *think* they want to marry their boyfriend who they are coming out to see....but no proposal has happened yet. Do they then have to disclose that their intention when entering the country is to secure a husband?

Depends what they are asked.

Vicky

[mod note]

Off topic posts have been removed.  This is not spelling class.

Questions or comments PM me.

Just a question....

If your ticket is for 2 weeks and you only THINK you might have a desire to stay longer (but not exceed your visa stamp)....do you have to disclose that?

It seems just as possible that the OP could be staying for only the 2 weeks she booked for and she is only entertaining the though that she might stay a little longer if the circumstances turn out different than she expects.

I am just wondering where the line exists between thinking something *might* happen and failing to disclose your intentions. It is irrelevant for me, I live here with my partner. But I just want to know more for a philosophical reason.

Someone could *think* they want to marry their boyfriend who they are coming out to see....but no proposal has happened yet. Do they then have to disclose that their intention when entering the country is to secure a husband?

DH and I recently discovered Border Force, a TV documentary that followed immigration officials at Heathrow (amongst other places and stories).  From what that show implies, then yes, you have to disclose intentions.  I am not saying I agree with it by any means.  They would read people's diaries and see that they wanted to work or would open their luggage and question their intentions based on what they brought with them.  So the potential problem I see in saying you want to stay for 2 weeks but having an intention of staying for 3 months is the different amount of luggage you might bring with you.  In my opinion, if you tell them you are here on vacation for 2 weeks and visiting a friend, they will probably stamp you in for 6 months automatically, but if they suspect something and examine your luggage, they will bounce you if they think you are intending on overstaying or settling here without the proper visa.  It doesn't even really have to be your intention, but if they suspect it, they will bounce you.  I would go for keeping it short and sweet and just answering what they ask you, not offering up loads of other information. 

This was my plan in October 2008 when I was refused entry. I knew I'd be staying in the UK for a couple of months, but my return date hadn't been set yet-- it depended on when we got the date for our civil wedding in France and when my fiance could take off work for our Christmas holiday in the US. I saw that round-trip flights were cheaper, so bought one with a pretty much arbitrary return date 2 weeks later. The problem was that in my enormous naivete, I hadn't clearly communicated that to my fiance. So the immigration officer begins to ask me questions about who I'm visiting (I acknowledge I'm visiting my boyfriend), for how long (I go with what I've got on paper-- the date of my return ticket), etc. and things go really sour when he calls my fiance (who is waiting just outside the customs doors) and is told that I'll be in the UK for a couple of months or so.
You and your boyfriend both need to be on the same page and be up front with immigration. Also, any hint of uncertainty or unfixed plans seems to alarm them. Looking back, I should have gotten my return ticket for 2 months later, sometime closer to the date I actually planned on going back to the US. Referring to a return ticket I knew I wasn't going to use got me into a pretty unpleasant situation. Don't know if this helps-- after all, you may realistically use your ticket.

I entered in October for two months.  Two months is what I honestly expected to stay. Later, we did decide to extend my visit, but that was never our intentions when I entered the country.  My suggestion would be to book a longer visit since you said you want to stay longer than the initial 2 weeks. Things DO come up that prevent people from leaving right away (in my case, it was illness and death in Tim's family), but it's really bad to enter the UK and lie to the I/O.  Plus, if the I/O thinks you're being deceptive, you could wind up with a stamp for the exact length of time your tickets say, and then you won't be able to change things.

Like above posters said, if you bring in more clothing than is expected for a 2-week visit, it really could throw off the I/O. Granted, you don't have your suitcase with you when you go through, but if you get detained, they might search your luggage.