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Ok so i have a 5 year multi entry UK visa

Valid from may 2018 To may 2023

I have one stamp on (the visa page) August 18 2018

And other entry stamps on the opposite page

How do i calculate the 180 day per year thing

Is it january to december

Or august to august

Or what

And if I have entered the UK From august 2018 till august 2019 Total of 170 days

In october the count resets or what

It is very confusing as i have my sister studying here and my younger brother just started to study here as well So I come and go alot to check on them But calculating days is very confusing

Please advose

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  • Related question travel.stackexchange.com/questions/56348/…
    – Traveller
    Commented Jul 26, 2019 at 17:44
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    What "180 day per year thing"?
    – phoog
    Commented Jul 26, 2019 at 19:10
  • Some say that u can only stay 180 days per 12 months
    – Dsn
    Commented Jul 26, 2019 at 19:11
  • @Dsn Ask the ‘someone’ who says you can only stay 180 days per 12 months to show you where it says that in the UK Immigration Rules.
    – Traveller
    Commented Jul 26, 2019 at 21:15
  • 1
    @Dsn Yes, but even a 5 year multi entry visa doesn’t let you spend huge amounts of time in the UK, annoying as you may find it. You don’t seem to accept that there is no ‘180 days a year thing’. IOs have discretion to give you the full 6 months, or less, or nothing at all, every time you try to enter. You’ve spent close on 50% of your time there in the last 12 months. That’s not a typical visitor pattern. If the advice to stay away genuinely comes from an IO, you’d do well to heed it. Or risk a denial of entry and your visa being cancelled every time you try to enter.
    – Traveller
    Commented Jul 27, 2019 at 7:16

2 Answers 2

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It means maximum 6 months per entry. It means Nothing more. It means Nothing less.

There’s no December January in this.

Everytime you are granted entry and if the stamp says 6 months then you can stay for 6 months. Then you have to leave. You can again come back after that and be granted another 6 months if they decide to admit you again.

However that’s just theory. If you try to live there for extended period of times using successive long visits you will eventually be denied.

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  • I have never stayed for 6 months
    – Dsn
    Commented Jul 26, 2019 at 17:27
  • Usually my entries are between 3-6 weeks only sometimes just 1 week
    – Dsn
    Commented Jul 26, 2019 at 17:28
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    Then you don't have to worry. There is no such 180 days in a year limit for the UK.
    – Hanky Panky
    Commented Jul 26, 2019 at 17:48
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There is no such rule for the UK. Immigration Rule V4.2 states “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

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/immigration-rules/immigration-rules-appendix-v-visitor-rules

There is an explicit statement on frequent/successive visits in the Home Office Visit guidance https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/793361/Visit-guidance-v8.0ext.pdf#page17 that states “There is no specified maximum period which an individual can spend in the UK in any period such as ‘6 months in 12 months’. However, if it is clear from an individual’s travel history that they are making the UK their home you should refuse their application.”

Each time you visit the UK in theory you are allowed to stay up to 6 months, starting from the date of entry stamped in your passport. If the Immigration Officer doesn’t feel this length of time is justified because your pattern of visits isn’t that of a genuine visitor, he/she can curtail the usual 6 months or even deny you entry.

As a rule of thumb, you should spend at least as long outside the UK as in it after every visit. The basis of your original application may also be a guide, for example if you said you expected to visit 3-4 times a year for two weeks to check on your sister during her studies. It might also be wise to have with you evidence of your ability to support yourself while in the UK and of your ties to home, eg job, plus of course a return ticket, to show to Immigration if asked.

As an aside, you should also bear in mind potential tax implications if you spend more than 183 days in the UK in a given tax year https://www.expertsforexpats.com/expat-tax/statutory-residence-test/

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  • My main reason is that my brother and sister are here , if they graduate i wouldnt come as often i guess
    – Dsn
    Commented Jul 26, 2019 at 17:46
  • But someone told me that u should stay only 180 days in any 12 month period and that the start date is the stamp of original entry which is august 18
    – Dsn
    Commented Jul 26, 2019 at 17:49
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    @Dsn There is no such rule for the U.K. people confuse the standard 6 months entry with a defined ‘you’re allowed 180 days in 12 months’ misconception. We see quite a few questions on this topic on TSE. Frequent visiting doesn’t always end well. See e.g. travel.stackexchange.com/questions/59647/… A material change in circumstances since the original application might also matter see e.g. travel.stackexchange.com/questions/51734/…
    – Traveller
    Commented Jul 26, 2019 at 17:51
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    @Dsn It’s possible that the misconception about there being an Immigration rule on not visiting for more than 180 days in a year actually arises from the tax rules on potential liabilities that might kick in at 183+ days
    – Traveller
    Commented Jul 26, 2019 at 18:15
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    @Dsn There is no ‘180 day rule’, it doesn’t exist, so whether you’ve stayed that long in the last year or not is irrelevant. The Schengen area has a clear rule, the UK (and, AFAIK, the US) doesn’t. It’s a waste of time asking ‘why’ - it’s just the way the UK has formulated its visitor policy. The advice to stay away for as long as you visit is aimed at not falling foul of the ‘frequent and successive visits’ element of UK Rules. You’ve asked a similar question before travel.stackexchange.com/questions/114256/…
    – Traveller
    Commented Jul 26, 2019 at 18:52

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