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My mom was issued a two year multi-entry visa in July 2015. She came to the UK on the 5th July and returned on the 4th Jan 2016. We calculated six months from the date of entry however we have read that stay should not exceed 180 days. She wishes to return for a visit in Spring 2017 for two months.

Will there be a problem as when she came last she stayed 183 days?

The reason she stayed the maximum time was I hadn't been well and hence she was here to help out. I can't seem to find anywhere this information.

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    Your mother was actually in the UK for 184 days: 27 days in July 2015, 31 in August, 30 in September, 31 in October, 30 in November, 31 in December, and 4 in January 2016.
    – phoog
    Commented Jan 9, 2017 at 18:44

1 Answer 1

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Whether "six months" means six calendar months or 180 days is a fascinating question, but ultimately not an important one in this situation.

Even if your mother did technically overstay for 4 days in her last visit, such a short overstay does not attract a re-entry ban (when leaving voluntarily, on her own expense after less than 90 days overstay, and with no other aggravating circumstances). So whether she will be allowed in again will depend on whether she can convince the immigration officer that she is a "genuine visitor" at that time. This is exactly the same standard as if she haven't overstayed!

Sure enough, the IO will be able to see the overstay (if an overstay it is) when making this determination -- but her travel history is available to them anyway. And the crucial information they will get out of that, no matter whether it's technically an overstay or not, is that she stayed for half a year and left right on the date when she reasonably believed she was required to. That is evidence of, on one hand, willingness to comply with the rules (which is a good thing), but on the other hand also of a desire to stretch her visit as long as possible (which could be cause for concern).

On yet another hand, the fact that she stayed out for more than a year after that long visit makes it less likely that she'll be seen as trying to live in the UK through long successive visits (which would be a really bad thing). So it could go either way -- but my unfounded wild guess would be that she'd probably be allowed in after some questioning.

At the end, in either case, it comes down to whether the IO finds her and her plans credible or not.

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    This fails to answer the question asked in the title.
    – JonathanReez
    Commented Jan 9, 2017 at 23:15
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    @JonathanReez I think "it doesn't matter" is a fairly reasonable answer to many questions, including this one.
    – phoog
    Commented Jan 10, 2017 at 2:41
  • @HenningMakholm following the admission by pnuts that he had no clue and was simply guessing, those comments became irrelevant. I have deleted them.
    – Gayot Fow
    Commented Jan 10, 2017 at 12:38
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    @pnuts the correct answer to the OP's question is "indeterminate", the rules are intentionally vague on what six months means. Henning's answer is reasonable and arguably as close as one can get given all that the OP provided.
    – Gayot Fow
    Commented Jan 10, 2017 at 18:17

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