Border experience of fiance's long visit to the UK

[tetlee 0]

Hey, I thought I'd share our experience on this

We are in the process of filling for the K1 and couldnt stand to be apart ...you know how it is

As my Fiance is out of work we decided she may as well come stay with me in Nottingham whilst we wait.

We booked her return flight for late March so she'd be here for 5 months, so we expected some extra questions to be asked at immigration.

She flew direct from Phoenix to Heathrow, and sure enough was stopped at immigration for some extra questions once they ascertained how long she'd be coming for.

We had printed out her return ticket and a copy of the K1 packet we'd submitted.

He looked at it all, not thoroughly but it appeared to count in her favour.

He asked all the questions you'd expect; why are you coming for so long, where are you staying, what I did for a living. Nothing challenging that sticks out.

He then asked for my phone number and called me.

That followed a similar line, "are you expecting someone into the country?", then all the same questions he'd asked her.

At the end of our conversation he told me, that was all good and she'd be through shortly.

All in all, nerve racking but straight forward

All the best and happy Christmas!

[tetlee 0]

Ohh yeah, not sure why what I do for a living was important but for the record I'm a Computer Programmer

[lost_at_sea 995]

Ohh yeah, not sure why what I do for a living was important but for the record I'm a Computer Programmer

It would have either have been to see that you have a job at all (to check you can support a visitor for that long) or just a quiz question to see if you answered the same (to check if she was being truthful and really knew you well).

[QueenOfBlades 224]

Hey, I thought I'd share our experience on this

We are in the process of filling for the K1 and couldnt stand to be apart ...you know how it is

As my Fiance is out of work we decided she may as well come stay with me in Nottingham whilst we wait.

We booked her return flight for late March so she'd be here for 5 months, so we expected some extra questions to be asked at immigration.

She flew direct from Phoenix to Heathrow, and sure enough was stopped at immigration for some extra questions once they ascertained how long she'd be coming for.

We had printed out her return ticket and a copy of the K1 packet we'd submitted.

He looked at it all, not thoroughly but it appeared to count in her favour.

He asked all the questions you'd expect; why are you coming for so long, where are you staying, what I did for a living. Nothing challenging that sticks out.

He then asked for my phone number and called me.

That followed a similar line, "are you expecting someone into the country?", then all the same questions he'd asked her.

At the end of our conversation he told me, that was all good and she'd be through shortly.

All in all, nerve racking but straight forward

All the best and happy Christmas!

I had exactly the same thing back in July. My USC fiance arrived at Heathrow to come and live with me in Leicester for 4.5 months to wait it out with me while my K1 visa finished. I'd written a letter of sponsorship and signed it and he had it with him with my phone number, address and working situation on it and they took him into secondary and called me and gave me a bit of a grilling too. He sounded quite sarcastic and then at the end just said "Thank you, you've answered all my questions" but didn't say whether he was letting him through or not and I had to stand like a nervous wreck for another 20 minutes or so. My mom was there and complaining to airport staff and she was about to try and get through the No Entry doors when he came out XD.

Funny how I'd spent months worrying about the medical/interview, yet I found the airport much more nerve wracking waiting for him to arrive.

[LocketShark 0]

May I ask? Did any of you or your girlfriends/boyfriends need a special visa to visit? I am planning a visit for 3 months, from the USA to UK, and am wracking my brain trying to figure out if a current passport is all I need, or if there is some special girlfriend/boyfriend visa. I have a job to come back to, a return ticket, plenty of money, and staying with family on my return to the US from England. But, ugh, want to be thorough. Thank you so much! This post really helped a lot, thank you!

I hope all of your visa journeys are going great!

[lost_at_sea 995]

May I ask? Did any of you or your girlfriends/boyfriends need a special visa to visit? I am planning a visit for 3 months, from the USA to UK, and am wracking my brain trying to figure out if a current passport is all I need, or if there is some special girlfriend/boyfriend visa. I have a job to come back to, a return ticket, plenty of money, and staying with family on my return to the US from England. But, ugh, want to be thorough. Thank you so much! This post really helped a lot, thank you!

I hope all of your visa journeys are going great!

No. A vacation-type visit doesn't need a visa.

[QueenOfBlades 224]

May I ask? Did any of you or your girlfriends/boyfriends need a special visa to visit? I am planning a visit for 3 months, from the USA to UK, and am wracking my brain trying to figure out if a current passport is all I need, or if there is some special girlfriend/boyfriend visa. I have a job to come back to, a return ticket, plenty of money, and staying with family on my return to the US from England. But, ugh, want to be thorough. Thank you so much! This post really helped a lot, thank you!

I hope all of your visa journeys are going great!

No, but another suggestion might be to get your partner to write you a letter of sponsorship, scan it, send it to you on e-mail and then you print it out (with their signature on it). Just basically saying you'll be staying with them, sponsoring your visit and add their phone number to call if they have any questions. I did this and they DID actually call me, and he probably wouldn't have been let through had I not done it.

You don't need a visa for a visit under 6 months.

Edited January 13, 2014 by QueenOfBlades