I am a US citizen who will travel to the UK to research and interview for jobs in London, in addition to touring for pleasure. I will not work in the UK until I have a work visa, but I imagine this process will take some time in this economy and so I plan to travel throughout the UK. I do plan to return to the US to apply for a work visa, but would like to stay in or near the UK until a job is secured if possible, to minimize expense.
I'd like to know if there is a way to reset the 90 tourist visa for the UK by traveling to another country for a few days and then returning. how many days do you have to stay out of the country? can one do this repeatedly? Is there a limitation on how many days you can stay within a period of time (90/180 days)? With the current changes in UK immigration law, it seems impossible to find out how to stay in the country within the bounds of the law.
Posted by
Corsicana, Texas, USA
354 posts
Type "visa" or "work visa" into the search box at the top of your browser screen. You will find many, many previous discussions on this topic, though can't be certain your specifics were discussed. The search function is a little weak, so you'll have to ignore the results that deal with visa credit cards.
Posted by
Freedonia
16411 posts
First, you need to learn the visa rules. The UK tourist visa is valid up to six months, not three.
And if you tell the immigration people you're there to look for a job, you'll be put on the next plane back to Auckland.
Posted by
OP
Auckland
3 posts
I would not tell Immigration I'm going to look for a job. that is off the record. However, I have spoken previously to an immigration lawyer who said that it is perfectly legal to conduct job research while in the country so long as you don't work without a permit.
I will be there on a tourist visa, which I'm thrilled to know is 6 months rather than three. I was confused by this statement on UK border control's website.
"If you were granted leave to enter for three months (this will be stamped in your passport) and you would like to extend your stay to a maximum of six months you will need to apply using the application form FLR(O)."
I am looking for constructive information on whether a tourist visa can be reset, trying to be as open as possible to get the most helpful responses.
Thanks to those who responded. It seems that one can stay for 6 months, that you can not "reset" a visa by leaving the country, and that one can stay 6 out of 12 months.