With a two-year visitor visa for the UK, how soon can I re-enter after a visit?

Question

I am an Indian citizen and I have a two-year visitor visa to be with my son, who is a UK citizen. I visited the UK on January 1st, 2018 and will leave on June 30th, 2018. When can I enter the UK again on my two-year visa?

Answer 1

You can re-enter as soon as you like. The only (but extremely important) limiting factor is the fact that you have to convince them that you are not trying to live in the UK for extended periods by exploiting the visa conditions.

A standard visitor visa is not there to grant you long-term residency. Even if the visa is for 10 years you can stay for a maximum of 6 months per visit and you can't just reset your 6 months the very next day without making them suspicious of your intentions.

Therefore, if you want to live there long-term, please apply for a different visa that lets you. Trying this on a standard visitor visa may go south very quickly on your subsequent visits and a refusal of entry is not something to be taken lightly.

This page gives guidance on the frequency and duration of visits when deciding general visitor applications.

Frequency and duration of visits

Visitors cannot live in the UK on a continuous basis, even if they leave the UK for short periods to avoid overstaying.

There is no specific limit on the number of visits an individual can make to the UK, such as a definitive rule which states a visitor can only remain in the UK for ‘6 months in a 12 month period’. Visitors, however, must not be living in the UK for extended periods because of frequent, successive visits. For example, where an individual:

• spends five or six months in the UK during a visit and returns after a short break in their home country for a further five or six months, or
• is living in the UK for successive short periods and breaking this by leaving for a couple of days, for example, someone living in the UK during the week and breaking this by leaving the UK at the weekends.

This could amount to genuine residence. However this is not a hard and fast rule and you must consider the circumstances of each case on an individual basis.

Source: Home Office General Visitors Guidance, P.17