Holiday visit to UK with a C-Visit visa which I got for a business trip that never happened; meantime I left the company that backed my application
- By
- Aparna Patel
- |
- 19 Jul, 2023
- |
What you described comes under the generic term, “change of circumstances”. This occurs when the premise of person’s application is no longer valid. This is a different case from a person who obtains a visa and then uses it multiple times for business and pleasure.
When you applied for the visa you signed an agreement to keep them informed about a change of circumstances; you are also obligated to tell the IO when you arrive if there has been a change of circumstances. If you use deception by silence (per the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999) to not inform them, you risk becoming an illegal entrant.
When they learn of a change in circumstances, the critical question the ECO (or IO) will ask himself is: “would the change have altered the decision to grant the visa?” If the answer is ‘no’, it’s not significant enough, then your visa is still valid. If the answer is ‘yes’, then the visa is no longer valid.
The controlling technical reference for this is Paragraph 321 (ii) of the Immigration Rules, which says…
A person seeking leave to enter the United Kingdom who holds an entry
clearance which was duly issued to him and is still current may be
refused leave to enter only where the Immigration Officer is satisfied
that:a change of circumstances since it was issued has removed the basis of
the holder’s claim to admission, except where the change of
circumstances amounts solely to the person becoming over age for entry
in one of the categories contained in paragraphs 296-316 of these
Rules since the issue of the entry clearance; or
Based upon what you wrote, it’s reasonable to conclude that your visa is no longer valid, but if you have doubts there’s three paths you can follow…
- arrange a consultation with a solicitor; or
- use full transparency in your landing interview and hope for
discretion in your favour; or - apply for a new entry clearance.
Of these choices, the safest and least expensive is option (3).
Credit:stackoverflow.com‘