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I know that we need to show healthy funds balance in our bank statement for UK Visa, and I don't have funds for the entire trip.

I have been invited by a Tech company (A rated sponsor) for job interview, and have received an invitation letter which clearly states that they would bear my reasonable living expenses, flight and accommodation.

The invitation says,

"I confirm that during the course of their business visit in the UK, ***(company), United Kingdom will pay all reasonable living costs and expenses. We will also bear the cost of their flights and accommodation."

More info from invitation letter:

" will be restricted to the permitted activities of visitors and will not engage in any productive work or be required to sell goods or services directly to the public during their visit." " In the circumstances we request that be granted leave to enter the UK as a standard visitor in accordance with the Immigration Rules, Appendix V: Visitor Rules, to undertake permitted business related activities, as set out in paragraph 5(a) of Visitors Appendix 3: Permitted Activities for all Visitors."

Will the fact that I do not have enough money to pay for the trip myself prevent me getting a visa?

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  • If they mean they will reimburse your expenses after the trip, you'll still have to pay up front, but perhaps you can do that with card payments.
    – Weather Vane
    Commented Oct 10, 2019 at 16:02
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    @M.D. Karthik Do you mean ‘if a sponsor is paying most/all of my trip expenses, will my visa application be refused based on lack of personal funds’? You’ll still need to provide personal bank statements and proof of ties to your country of residence, but having a sponsor is permitted under UK Immigration Rules 4.3 gov.uk/guidance/immigration-rules/…
    – Traveller
    Commented Oct 10, 2019 at 16:09
  • The invitation says, "I confirm that during the course of their business visit in the UK, ***(company), United Kingdom will pay all reasonable living costs and expenses. We will also bear the cost of their flights and accommodation."
    – rajaraja chola
    Commented Oct 10, 2019 at 16:16
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    Unless they are booking a hotel for you and sending you a plane ticket, you'll have to initially pay for them. But in that case they would not need to say "reasonable" expenses.
    – Weather Vane
    Commented Oct 10, 2019 at 17:46
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    @M.D. Karthik I did not mean to sound negative. If your sponsor is of the standing you indicate, and there is nothing adverse in your travel history or background, all you can do is present your application to the best you can. Don’t be tempted to resort to dubious strategies to try to strengthen your circumstances.
    – Traveller
    Commented Oct 10, 2019 at 18:06

1 Answer 1

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If you have been invited to an interview with a reputable company who has promised to pay your expenses then the burden of payment is not on you. The Visa office will not expect you to show you can afford to pay for the trip because you will not be paying for it - the company will. When you fill in the questions about payment you can say that you will be paying nothing towards the trip - or maybe a small amount to cover anything the company won't - because you won't be. You attach the company's letter as evidence they will be paying.

That is not to say that they will not be interested in your finances, and you must attach evidence of them, but there is no need to show you have the money to pay for the trip. However if you are staying longer than is necessary for the interview (or longer than the company will pay for) then you will need to show you can pay for any additional part.

With regard to actually paying for it, the most expensive item will be the air ticket. Big companies usually like to book those themselves, rather than have you book your own and pay you back. They can get better prices than you can. Ask them to do that. The same probably applies to a hotel. If they won't book one or both of those (unlikely), then you should do it on a credit card and claim the expenses back from the company. A hotel will usually not charge your card until you show up.

This leaves you only with meals. A credit card is absolutely what you need.

Once you have been to the interview you make a claim with the company for any expenses they didn't pay for. They should reimburse you in a few weeks.

If you don't have a credit card that will cover all these expenses you may have a problem . Ask another question here about that.

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  • Worth noting that UK guidance states that travel and accommodation should not be booked until the visa decision is known. Proof of travel and accommodation bookings is explicitly not required when submitting an application - see section 4 gov.uk/government/publications/…
    – Traveller
    Commented Oct 11, 2019 at 7:19
  • Thank you for answering. Yes I have multiple credit cards. Infact I live on credit cards. But pay everything on time, that's perhaps why my debit statement sucks. I'll mention about my credit card report or credit report to back that up.
    – rajaraja chola
    Commented Oct 11, 2019 at 9:22
  • Also, as the company is going to pay only for three days, I am planning to be there only for 3 days. In the approximate expenses section of visa application, I have added the same amount as much as what the company would sponsor. I added a conservative amount of 1500 GBP. I have to travel from India. Flights are around 250-300 GBP, hotel 180, 100 each day living.
    – rajaraja chola
    Commented Oct 11, 2019 at 9:27

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