UTIAC In visit visa cases:
(i) There is no restriction on the number of visits a person may make to the UK, nor any requirement that a specified time must elapse between successive visits.
(ii) The periods of time spent in the United Kingdom and the country of residence will always be important.
(iii) Both the expressed purpose of the visit and what the appellant has done in the past and intends to do in the future is material, together with the length of time that has elapsed since previous visits. In cases of this type, the appellant will be visiting a relative, often a parent visiting a son or daughter, often a son or daughter visiting a parent. In the case of a parent visiting a son or daughter, the parent will often fully participate in helping in the house, providing child care. In the case of a son or daughter visiting a parent, the adult child will often assist in care arrangements. None of these activities, for that reason alone, will take the individual outside the definition of a genuine visitor.
(iv) The links that the appellant retains with her country of residence will be a material consideration. The presence of other family members will be a material consideration.
(v) The Tribunal is required to ascertain what is the reality of the arrangement entered into between the appellant and the host in the United Kingdom. Is the reality that the appellant is resident in the United Kingdom and intends to be for the foreseeable future?
(vi) The issue may be approached by considering whether the reality is that the appellant is now no more than a visitor to her country of residence as the purpose of the return home is confined to using his or her presence there solely as the means of gaining re-admission to the United Kingdom.
(vii) This does not preclude the appellant from remaining in the country of residence for the least amount of time sufficient to maintain her status as a genuine visitor.
(viii) Family emergencies, whilst likely to result in a longer visit than the established pattern, should not be regarded as taking up residence without adequate supporting evidence to that effect. Thus, the pregnancy of a daughter or daughter-in-law or the aftermath of the birth might explain a more-protracted stay (within the 6-month duration of a single permitted visit); so, too, a serious medical condition.
(ix) There may be comparisons with the person who owns homes in two different countries. Is he resident in both or a visitor to one of them?
Citations:
[2012] UKUT 161 (IAC)
Links:
Jurisdiction:
England and Wales
Immigration
Updated: 31 October 2022; Ref: scu.459656