# Visitor Visa - Calculation of 6 Months



## RoyalAncient (Jul 15, 2014)

Hi there,

I visited the UK for a week in March 2014. I am currently here now on a visitors visa as well. I have been here since September 2014 and I am leaving next week. I am hoping to come visit again next year in February, but I wanted to get a better understanding as to how the days are counted as part of the 6 months remain to leave calculation, so I can determine which day I will need to be returning. 

As I understand it, upon entering the UK, as a US citizen, I am allowed to stay for a total of six months before needing to return home (pending entry clearance of course). I believe that I am allowed in the country for 6 months over 1 calendar year. So, if I am planning on coming back to the UK in February, will that be added to the total amount of time I have already spent (since first arrival in March 2014)? Also, if I was here and stayed through the 1 year mark of my last trip (March 2014), will those days count for a new year, and not be added to the total? 

Essentially, what I am trying to get at is do the UK Border Control count my stay by the day over a calendar year? So, that from your first visit, they add up your total days here over that calendar year, and then reset upon a new calendar year (1 year from the day of your first visit? Or is each entry a reset of its own (i.e. every time you enter, they reset your six months leave)? 

Any help you all can give is much appreciated!

Best,
RoyalAncient


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## Joppa (Sep 7, 2009)

There is no hard-and-fast rule about how long you can stay within a year etc (unlike Schengen's 90-in-180 days rule). So the rule doesn't stipulate how long you have to stay away if you have already spent x number of days. It's all in the judgement of the immigration officer whether you meet the requirement of a visitor or somehow you are trying to live in UK using visitor leave, which isn't allowed. Every time you receive leave to enter as visitor, you are (normally) stamped 6 months. Provided you leave within the 6-month period, you comply with the rules. But if you have already spent, say, 3 months in UK and depart and re-enter after only a week, the immigration officer will want to know what your intentions are. If you state you want to stay for 5 more months, chances are you will be denied entry (because they suspect you are trying to live in UK and not just visit). But if you say two weeks, you are likely to be allowed in, again with a fresh 6-month leave. But this time, instead of leaving after 2 weeks, you go on to stay 4 months (still within the leave). If you are then to return after 2 weeks and request another leave, you are likely to be refused entry, and so it goes on. So what the immigration officer will look at is your overall pattern of movement in recent past, and if they think you aren't a genuine visitor, they will refuse you further leave and put you on the next flight home. 
There is an unofficial yardstick of no more than 6 months in a 12-month period, but this is just one of the criteria they use and it's not set in stone. If they think there are genuine reasons about your visits, you may be allowed more than 6 months in total in 12, but if they interpret your pattern as fishy, you may be denied entry even if you stay within the 6-in-12 months.


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