Posted: Thu Apr 03, 2008 8:32 am-
hi everyone
some rather helpful info on here! after my hours of reading british visa and immigration sites i was pretty up on the ins & outs but it helps to have it all laid in normal speak, in just a few lines. somehow those british gov.uk sites manage to take a whole page to say something that should just be a few sentences.
anyway - my story. I have an English boyfriend that i met on a visit here, thru a friend. we're rather certain we want to spend our lives together. i'm currently in the uk on my third visitor visa since my first visit in late october. this was to be my 'move' here, assuming i'd be granted another 6 month visitor visa when i arrived at customs, giving me 6 months to sort out how i'd manage working here, getting a work permit, or setting up a business of some sort, or even going to uni. however, i was only given 1 month.
my questions.
what is the risk of being here past the date in my passport? will they hunt me down at the address i put on my landing card? and will they do that promptly?
and when i leave, can i perhaps go to another country in europe for a bit and then return to the uk, hoping for another visitor visa of a longer duration? and what can i do at customs to encourage that?
should i be honest about my relationship? how do customs officials react to that? will they immediately flag me as a threat because i may want to marry an englishman and try to stay and work here? should i keep the 'boyfriend' thing under wraps or come clean?
lots of questions, i know. sorry. i'm just at a bit of a loss and not keen on the idea of heading back to canada. want to stay here with my love.
to avoid replies with info i've already sourced - i can't get an
ancestry visa as my UK ancestors are in the great grandparent category, and i'm 33 so no
working holiday visa. i think my only options are student visa or fiancee visa. but right now, my main concern is figuring out how to legally stay in the country. sorting out how i'll make an income comes next.
so i'm hoping for the Visitor Visa, then maybe i can change to student, or make some contacts while I'm here and arrange a job with a company that will be willing to apply for a work permit to employ me.
whew! sorry so long - but desperately seeking some counsel on how i should proceed.
thanks so much
klm