Leaving UK and Returning as means to extend stay

Hi All
 I hope it's okay to post this question here - if anyone knows the answer.
 I am wondering if it would be okay (and not look too bad) if I left the UK for a day or two (drive to France) and came back and stayed on my passport another 6 months. Actually, I don't believe I would stay another full 6 months before returning to the US temporarily.
 I do not have the money for fiance visa and flights to the US and back until possibly December sometime.
Then there is the fact that it may be more expensive to travel during the holidays, not to mention all the covid restrictions.
 My current stay (I arrived to the UK on  a passport on July 8, 2020) runs out the first week of January so I am trying to figure out the best way to do things.  I will spend money in the US but not here in the UK where I currently am - so saving money is one of my main thoughts as well.

So again, my question is whether it will look bad for me to extend my stay by heading to France for a day or two whenever it is permissible - maybe the first part of December. So much going on these days.

Thanks!
 Kathy
 

Hi All
 I hope it's okay to post this question here - if anyone knows the answer.
 I am wondering if it would be okay (and not look too bad) if I left the UK for a day or two (drive to France) and came back and stayed on my passport another 6 months. Actually, I don't believe I would stay another full 6 months before returning to the US temporarily.
 I do not have the money for fiance visa and flights to the US and back until possibly December sometime.
Then there is the fact that it may be more expensive to travel during the holidays, not to mention all the covid restrictions.
 My current stay (I arrived to the UK on  a passport on July 8, 2020) runs out the first week of January so I am trying to figure out the best way to do things.  I will spend money in the US but not here in the UK where I currently am - so saving money is one of my main thoughts as well.

So again, my question is whether it will look bad for me to extend my stay by heading to France for a day or two whenever it is permissible - maybe the first part of December. So much going on these days.

Thanks!
 Kathy

It is unlikely the border guards would let you back in without proof of flight home, because you cannot live in the UK on a visitor visa and that is what you are attempting to do. There is also no travel permitted for leisure purposes until at least the end of lockdown. I would keep an eye on the covid information page, they did allow in country extensions for the first lockdown, but you do have to confirm you will be leaving as soon as feasible. Unfortunately we all know the financial hurdles of the visas, but you put your ability to travel to the country in the future at risk if you break the immigration rules now. (once you qualify and can afford it, a refusal for entry wouldn't prevent you from obtaining a settlement visa, but an overstay could cause problems.)

V. 4.2. (b) might be a problem.

Genuine intention to visit

    V 4.2 The applicant must satisfy the decision maker that they are a genuine visitor. This means that the applicant:
        (a) will leave the UK at the end of their visit; and
        (b) will not live in the UK for extended periods through frequent or successive visits, or make the UK their main home; and
        (c) is genuinely seeking entry for a purpose that is permitted by the visitor routes (these are listed in Appendices 3, 4 and 5); and
        (d) will not undertake any prohibited activities set out in V 4.5 – V 4.10; and
        (e) must have sufficient funds to cover all reasonable costs in relation to their visit without working or accessing public funds. This includes the cost of the return or onward journey, any costs relating to dependants, and the cost of planned activities such as private medical treatment.
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/immigration-rules/immigration-rules-appendix-v-visitor-rules


You might still need supporting documents, to show that you will  leave the UK as you have a life in the US to return to and you have the  funds to support yourself while you visit.
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/visitor-visa-guide-to-supporting-documents/guide-to-supporting-documents-visiting-the-uk

It will be up to the entry officier on the day to decide if they will grant you entry and if they will, how long you will be allowed to visit (up to 6 months).

Then there is the fact that it may be more expensive to travel during the holidays, not to mention all the covid restrictions.

There doesn't appear to be any ban on US citizens returning to the US.

However as Margo said, "There is also no travel permitted for leisure purposes until at least the end of lockdown", so going to France and back would not be allowed. We don't know when lockdown will end.

Hmm
I definitely wouldn’t go until the end of lockdown for sure if I forgot to say that.
Thanks for all the info. I’d seen that one bit of info before but could not recall where, so it was very helpful. I definitely don’t have a life in the US to go back to but I could buy a ticket to go if we do decide to do that. Excellent point. Hadn’t even thought of that though it should have been obvious... 

You must return at some point to apply for a visa.  There is no way around that.  Why not just knock it on the head and be done? Get your visa!

You must return at some point to apply for a visa.  There is no way around that.  Why not just knock it on the head and be done? Get your visa!

Excellent advice, I agree. 

As Margo stated already, if you continue to stay and take that risk and potentially are caught oit as either overstaying or trying to unlawfully live in the UK without a visa, you do put yourself at risk to get your visa and stay legally. Not worth the risk for me nor would i every suggest anybody try to get close to skirting the rules as all it will do is shoot yourself in the foot. Agree with KF as well. If you can do it, it'll make your life that much easier. We all had to do it and we get how frustrating it is but you cant really get around it (and it'll likely only get more frustrating with brexit as i wouldn't be surprised if they did an overhaul on the immigration process in general)

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Echoing others' advice, I wouldn't recommend leaving and then trying to come back as a visitor so soon. It's too risky, and there's a good chance you'll just be put on the next flight back to the US anyway (at your own expense).

If that does happen, it will also mean you have a 'refused entry' on your record which means your fiance visa application (and all future visa applications) will be considered non-straightforward and may take longer to process than normal.

To gain entry as a visitor, you need to be able to show:
- you will leave the UK within 6 months (return ticket)
- you have enough money to support yourself for the entire length of your visit without working
- you have strong ties to the US to return to, such as a current job, a home you are still paying for, events/appointments you are scheduled to attend etc.
- you are not using the visitor visa to live in the UK, meaning you have not spent more time in the UK than in the US in recent months

The general rule of thumb is that you should try to spend as much time outside the UK as you spent inside the UK before you try to return. So, if you've just spent 6 months here, you really want to wait at least another 6 months before trying to come back.

I do not have the money for fiance visa and flights to the US and back until possibly December sometime.
Then there is the fact that it may be more expensive to travel during the holidays, not to mention all the covid restrictions.
 My current stay (I arrived to the UK on  a passport on July 8, 2020) runs out the first week of January

If you will have enough money for the fiance visa and flights to the US by December, and you won't be leaving the UK until early January anyway, why not just fly back to the US and apply for the fiance visa right away in January? You could prepare all the documents and the online application while you're here, so that you're ready to submit the online application as soon as you arrive back in the US.

I'm not sure I see the point in trying to spend another 6 months here as a visitor, without being able to work or legally live here, when you could just apply for the fiance visa in January and then move here legally a few weeks/couple of months later.

Also, suppose something (hopefully not!) Happens and you need to use the NHS. As a visitor you'll pay. You're delaying yourself to be able to utilise services here

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Actually they won't put you on a flight back to the USA at your own cost.  They will force you to return to France, as that's where you would be entering from!  So then you'll literally be stuck somewhere you don't have a place to stay (unless you do have a place to stay of course).

Completely agree.  As you say you'll have the money to apply in December and are okay until January, just get it done!  Then you can live peacefully for the next 5 years of visas knowing that you did what you had to do without causing any extra headaches. 

I concur with most of the above.  Come home. Put in your paperwork, and wait it out over here. It would mean being away from your S.O., but with a greatly enhanced chance of being able to go back to the UK permanently. Things there will not be pleasant at all for some time, and the NHS is overstretched. If you need emergency care (at least in Scotland) as a foreigner you'll get it, but non-emergency care will need to be paid for.  If you are caught overstaying, you are putting it all on the line. And it's not a friendly administration towards immigrants there now.

Medical care in the UK, even if you have to pay for it, is a heck of a lot cheaper than paying out-of-pocket in the USA, but how much you will be able to actually get if needed in the UK...? If you have no insurance in the USA you're in the same boat - they have to treat you until you are stable at all public (usually county) hospitals, if you can pay or not, but only in cases of emergency care. If you then get stuck with a huge bill you are looking at bankruptcy - which rolls off your credit report in 10 years and can play havoc with getting apartments/jobs/loans until then. (It's a fair trade for lifesaving treatment, but you do have to figure it into the balance.)  It's not unheard of for patients who cannot pay but who need non-emergency hospital care to be wheeled out to the street in their hospital gown and left there on their own. (It's not supposed to happen, but it does.)  Unless you qualify for Medicaid, and the qualifications for the vary from state to state, or have private insurance,  you really need to have several tens-of-thousands of dollars held back for possible major medical expenses.

The Covid R rating is increasing in the USA, as it is almost everywhere, and you'll deal with it here or deal with it there. There are still pockets here where it's relatively low, if you have the option to target your landing. (NY State, for example, but it is still rising here as well.)

If you fly, avoid BA/American. Delta is doing head-and-shoulders above the BA/AA franchise in safe travel. The only way we could get a flight back at the end of August was to fly a commuter flight to Amsterdam and pick up the Delta flight there.

Whatever you do, travel as if you are in a war-zone, because you are. Be very, very careful about where you go and who you are around, and what you touch.

Best wishes....

As Margo stated already, if you continue to stay and take that risk and potentially are caught oit as either overstaying or trying to unlawfully live in the UK without a visa, you do put yourself at risk to get your visa and stay legally. Not worth the risk for me nor would i every suggest anybody try to get close to skirting the rules as all it will do is shoot yourself in the foot.

Strange as it sounds, just overstaying doesn't appear to affect a family visa, although other things can e.g. working, not paying when using the  NHS, deception, frivoulous and vexatious visa applications etc  However, overstaying can affect British citizenship.

Strange as it sounds, just overstaying doesn't appear to affect a family visa, although other things can e.g. working, not paying when using the  NHS, deception, frivoulous and vexatious visa applications etc  However, overstaying can affect British citizenship.

It can impact it in that it will very likely become a not straight forward application which can take longer to process

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Also, might I add, we're in lockdown. Now is the perfect time to get back to the US while legally nobody can leave the house (excluding the obvious exceptions). You're not missing out on anything except for your partner.

You'll be stealing A LOT from your potential future for a short term gain. It's not worth it.