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I plan to go to UK to visit my long-term boyfriend who is living there on a Tier 2 visa and guarantees for my accommodation and funds. I've already visited him twice in the past (on a 6 month visitor visa), but back then I was a student, and I have graduated a month ago. Currently, I'm the owner of our family business, but am receiving no salary and am otherwise unemployed. Is this situation problematic in terms of getting a visa, specifically proving that I'll leave the UK after my 2 week visit? Is there anything I could do to increase the likelyhood of getting a visa?

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    If you are the owner, you are not receiving a salary, what other source of income do you have? How are you going to prove that you are not going there to say with your boyfriend, get married and then apply for citizenship/permanent residence?
    – Burhan Khalid
    Commented Oct 24, 2016 at 11:57
  • Burhan makes some good points. Also, owning a business does not mean you are unemployed.
    – Belle
    Commented Oct 24, 2016 at 12:11
  • I find it hard to believe you're not receiving any salary. Even if you're paying it to yourself it still counts for these purposes as a salary. You must be surviving somehow- even if you're putting most of your money back into the business you still earn it correct?
    – the other one
    Commented Oct 24, 2016 at 12:16
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    @JovanaDinić Depending on the structure of the business the income from that business may be your income, so you don't need a direct salary to show income and provenance of funds.
    – Karlson
    Commented Oct 24, 2016 at 14:29
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    if you have a profitable business in another country that needs you there running it for it to stay profitable then that is pretty big proof you aren't going to become an illegal immigrant
    – the other one
    Commented Oct 25, 2016 at 9:30

1 Answer 1

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I will try to summarize your situation:

  1. You want to visit your boyfriend in the UK.
  2. You are supported financially by your parents.
  3. You own a business, but are not receiving a salary from that business. It is not clear from the comments if the business is registered or not (ie, do you have a business license or are you a freelancer); and if you own the business what is your equity in the business (are you getting a share of the profits? are you listed as an owner in the legal documents of the business?)
  4. You have been accepted for a masters program in the UK, but have yet to apply for the required visa to attend the program; which starts in September.

Now, given all the above - the simplest way to move forward is:

  1. Apply for a student visa based on your acceptance letter.
  2. Provide the financial details of your parents as they will be supporting your studies while in the UK.
  3. Provide the other normal documents required for such a visa (as you have previously applied for the same, you should know exactly what is required).

Trying to apply to visit your boyfriend is going to be very difficult:

  1. There is nothing that ties you to your homeland; but there is something that is a strong reason for you to stay (or overstay) in the UK. You have a boyfriend there that is willing to support you.

  2. You are (by your own admission) unemployed; and are not receiving a salary.

  3. The fact that you own a business; but somehow it is clear that you are not being compensated for it. Perhaps its a family business and you just have shares in it, but aren't actually an employee of the business. In either case, this is not compelling ties to the homeland.

All these will be difficult to overcome if you are applying for the purposes of visiting your boyfriend, and trying to convince the officer that you are not going to immigrate.

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  • From where did #4 come from? She has not mentioned that she has been accepted for a masters program!
    – Prashanth
    Commented Oct 25, 2016 at 10:22
  • She mentioned in the comments "Also, I am starting my MA studies in London in September, and I have an offer letter from University of Arts London. Do you think that I should give them the offer letter as an evidence that I will come back to my country, since I wouldn't want to blow my chances of loosing the MA, which is about to start in less than a year?"
    – Burhan Khalid
    Commented Oct 25, 2016 at 10:23
  • @BurhanKhalid 1. Yes, that's correct.
    – Jovana Dinić
    Commented Oct 25, 2016 at 11:05
  • @BurhanKhalid Numbers 1, 2. and 4. are correct. Considering statement number 3. - Business is registered, with a few employees. I was not receiving salary until today, since I was a student and I had a scholarship, so I was only an owner. I am the only owner of the business, and I am registered in all the legal documents. Starting today, I will start receiving salary, too, since I am not a student anymore. Considering the solution given, my masters program starts in 11 months, so I don't think that it's possible for me to get visa before that date as a student.
    – Jovana Dinić
    Commented Oct 25, 2016 at 11:12
  • @BurhanKhalid Furthermore: 1. I have been the owner of a family business since 2012, but I wasn't receiving a salary because I was a student and I had a scholarship which prohibited me to do so. 2. From today, I am employed and receiving salary at our business, since So, do you think that I should write a letter explaining my situation? And should I attach an offer letter from the University of Arts London and a receipt that I have paid my deposit fees, as a proof that I will go to my MA studies in September and that, therefore, I would not jeopardize that with illegal stay?
    – Jovana Dinić
    Commented Oct 25, 2016 at 11:20

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