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I am a Malaysian passport holder and I am eligible for visa-free visits to the UK for up to 6 months. In the past few months I have travelled to the UK multiple times without any problems. Details of my travel:

  • March to April (10 days)
  • May (10 days)
  • July - September (2 month and a few days)

I'm planning to come again around 5 Nov and intend to spend Christmas and New Year's holiday with friends so I was thinking of getting a return on 5 Jan.

I was wondering if I should apply Standard Visitor Visa because of my frequent travels to the UK. I've had some horrible experiences with IOs in the past and would like to keep the questioning at the border to a minimum.

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    What do you do while in the UK? How do you support yourself? The two 10-day visits are not cause for much concern IMHO, however two visits lasting 2 months and more, less than 2 months apart will start raising flags.
    – jcaron
    Commented Oct 22, 2018 at 7:42
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    The danger is that if you're denied a visa, you'll have that on your immigration record, and will have a harder time visiting even for just short visits. Four out of six months is a lot of time to spend abroad, so it's worth assessing for yourself how strong your visa application is likely to be. They're going to look at it with an eye toward how you support yourself and your likelihood to return home as promised, and an ability to spend these extended amounts of time away doesn't help you show strong ties to your home country.
    – Zach Lipton
    Commented Oct 22, 2018 at 7:45
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    You’re playing with fire. Malaysia is not nearby such that frequent visits like that are just like visiting a nearby town. What you’re doing can be construed to be an attempt to live in the UK for extended periods through frequent or successive visits which is prohibited in the rules. Unless you have business meetings or something in the uk, I fully expect you to be interrogated and denied entry within the next two visits if you maintain this pattern. Somewhat related travel.stackexchange.com/questions/74423/…
    – Augustine of Hippo
    Commented Oct 22, 2018 at 8:39
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    If you have ever been refused entry to the UK, then obtaining a visa is a very good idea. Otherwise it really isn't necessary.
    – Michael Hampton
    Commented Oct 22, 2018 at 13:34
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    @AndrewLazarus The issues is the two two-month visits; not the ten-day ones.
    – David Richerby
    Commented Oct 22, 2018 at 21:46

3 Answers 3

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It is quite pointless applying for a visa in your particular case because the same condition which appears to be currently tripping you up with the visa-free entry is still at play even if you get a visa.

Namely:

Immigration Rules Appendix V: visitor rules

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:

  • (b) will not live in the UK for extended periods through frequent or successive visits, or make the UK their main home;

Procuring a visa will not provide relief from that requirement. Basically the only way to eliminate the risk is to either have a very good reason for frequent/successive visits (e.g. business meetings), acquire legal residence in the UK or acquire British or EU citizenship etc. You get the idea

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Like most advice given on this site, this advice is contingent on your intention to be a visitor to the UK, and to not intend to live or work in the UK. If you intend to live or work in the UK, this will not work for you, and will almost certainly result in trouble.

That said...

The UK has a Registered Traveller program for which you may be eligible, either now or in the near future. Holding a passport from Malaysia, if you have visited the UK at least four times in the previous 24 months (or if you hold a visa) you can apply for the program. This makes you eligible to use the UK/EU passport lanes and the smart entry gates. You won't have to fill in a landing card, and your immigration interviews (if any) will generally be very short. The cost of the program is £70 per year and you can apply online.

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No, getting a visa is absolutely pointless, as it won't give you more freedoms in the UK, nor does it let you stay longer.

And yes, if you lie you will be caught if they dig deeper (which they likely will, given that this will be your second 2-month visit). So definitely tell them you have a Swedish girlfriend.

You need to bring any and all proof of your ties to Malaysia (work, family, property etc.). Everything, even if that constitutes 50 pages or more, that helps answer the question "why would he return home and not just stay illegally, especially since he has a girlfriend here?"

If you're unemployed, you also need to bring solid proof of how you support yourself (including notarised statements from your source(s) of income)

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  • How did you divine that OP has a Swedish Girlfriend or did I miss something? o_O
    – RedBaron
    Commented Oct 24, 2018 at 4:24
  • @RedBaron He says it in a deleted "answer". SHe's a UK resident
    – Crazydre
    Commented Oct 24, 2018 at 6:04
  • Ah OK. It may be a good idea to add the "deleted answer" information to the question if it provides more context (which probably was the original intention of the OP)
    – RedBaron
    Commented Oct 24, 2018 at 6:07

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