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I'm applying for my parent's UK standard visitor visa, my dad is self-employed and my mother is now a housewife.

I'm planning to show my mother's income from rent in her application. She owns a property with a few silent partners and she receives rent in her bank account, only her name is on the tenancy agreement.

Will having a joint owner on the property affect any decision-making? Do I need a signed affidavit from all partners?

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Home country real property is relevant to a visa application because it's a tie between the applicant and the home country. Ties to the home country are used by visa examiners as a proxy for assessing whether the applicant will leave the UK and not overstay.

The applicant's ownership share of this property will be diminished because she is only one of several owners. In addition, a property owner does not have to be physically present at or near the home country property in order to benefit from its ownership, further reducing the strength of a real property owernship tie to the home country.

In any event, your mother's visa application should be honest and complete. The application should be clear about what amounts are claimed by her if they're less than the funds deposited into her account. And if she says that only a portion of the rent received is hers, she must be ready to explain why she holds other people's money in her account.

Note that the multiple ownership could be disclosed by her in the application or independently discovered by the visa examiner. Visa examiners have lots of sources of information, and if things feel "off" or unusual, the examiner may search for information in addition to what's presented in the application itself. Holding money for others will generate concern and interest and maybe suspicion by the visa examiner.

If the application does not disclose or obscures the multiple ownership, and the multiple ownership is discovered by the visa examiner, her application will surely be denied as she'll be seen to have lied on her application.

If your mom is the rent collector, a much more appealing picture would exist if, every month after collecting the rent, she disbursed each other owners' share to them in a traceable form, i.e., by writing a check to each of the other owners. There would then both be regular deposits into her account, and payments out to the other owners. That's clearer and more reassuring than the current situation.

You and your parents should consider putting this trip off for a time, so that a more transparent and representative accounting system can be put in place, and generate some history. If you do that, there'd be greater clarity in her financial situation, far less to explain, and you will increase the liklihood that her visa application will be successful.

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  • Thanks, David for the detailed answer, the point is all other owners except my mum are silent investors, and my mum invested in the property even after buying it to make it commercial and rented it out, even the rent agreement has only her name on it. do you think adding a signed affidavit from the rest of the owners of NOC to rent the property and collect rent will work?
    – theukvisitor
    Jan 16, 2022 at 23:41
  • @theukvisitor She still has to explain that what reality looks like here isn't what's really in place. Your mother could also create a formal, written partnership agreement among the owners, but even that wouldn't have the persuasive weight of a payment record through an established financial institution. Without bank records, the application will suggest that someone is not declaring income in order to avoid taxes. That is not a good look. Learn more here.
    – DavidRecallsMonica
    Jan 17, 2022 at 0:46
  • I understand your point @davidsupportsmonica. what if we delay the trip a few months and get a new tenancy agreement (which is due to be renewed next month) and only transfer 1/4th (4 joint owners in that property) of rent in my mother's bank account, and explain those deposit in bank account along with new tenancy agreement. Will that give a better picture to ECO?
    – theukvisitor
    Jan 17, 2022 at 10:05
  • This arrangement is still based upon private cash exchanges. Private documents and individuals' letters and accountings are far less persuasive than institutional documents. Even with this change, money will pass through your mother's hands — by her admission, to the other owners — which funds don't appear in the bank account. This will be significant to the ECO, because mischief and dishonesty and tax avoidance would be easy. As above, money that isn't seen is not a good look. I would not take this course.
    – DavidRecallsMonica
    Jan 17, 2022 at 15:37
  • I didn't understand the above statement funds don't appear in the bank account.. for e,g: if the rent agreement is in name of 4 owners and the tenant pays rent to owner no 1, and then owner no 1 transfers share of other 3 owners including my mum in their respective bank accounts, we will have proof of 1/4th of rent coming in mum's bank account. How will this be considered dishonesty or mischief?
    – theukvisitor
    Jan 17, 2022 at 16:23

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