# Living in UK on a Visitor Visa Possible?



## Guest (Jan 24, 2012)

I currently have a UK Entrepreneur Visa stamped on my Passport, however after carefully viewing the Business situation in UK, as well as the crime / difficulty of owning a business and the economic environment - I have decided not to buy a Business there any more. If I switch to a long term tourist visa and just buy a property in Central London - then would it be a huge deal if I come and go freely in and out of London and own a car, apartment etc.? I have more than enough income from independent sources and enough cash, assets - so if I carry proof of my finances all the time with me would they still hassle me a lot even if I make a 100 trips in and out of UK? I do not plan to spend more than 6 months a year in UK and I do not want the hassle to invest in a business or go with the £1 million investor visa - as it makes no sense to lock up £1 million for 5 years in low yielding bonds. Why would the UK government not allow people to come and freely spend time in UK especially if we can afford to buy property there and have enough overseas income? All I want to do is enjoy my life and spend money in UK but I do not want to invest in a business as I don't need to do a business nor do I want to. I got the Entrepreneur visa only because I genuinely thought it would be easy to use that in order to establish a base in UK - but I realized that the headache of doing business in UK is so not worth it right now - and the visa is still very restrictive in many ways. I just want a long term tourist visa and travel freely, own a property in central london and keep a car there to spend 6 months a year in UK nothing more. I hope they come up with better visa options for people like me.


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## Whatshisname (Aug 15, 2010)

UKvisitor said:


> I currently have a UK Entrepreneur Visa stamped on my Passport, however after carefully viewing the Business situation in UK, as well as the crime / difficulty of owning a business and the economic environment - I have decided not to buy a Business there any more. If I switch to a long term tourist visa and just buy a property in Central London - then would it be a huge deal if I come and go freely in and out of London and own a car, apartment etc.? I have more than enough income from independent sources and enough cash, assets - so if I carry proof of my finances all the time with me would they still hassle me a lot even if I make a 100 trips in and out of UK? I do not plan to spend more than 6 months a year in UK and I do not want the hassle to invest in a business or go with the £1 million investor visa - as it makes no sense to lock up £1 million for 5 years in low yielding bonds. Why would the UK government not allow people to come and freely spend time in UK especially if we can afford to buy property there and have enough overseas income? All I want to do is enjoy my life and spend money in UK but I do not want to invest in a business as I don't need to do a business nor do I want to. I got the Entrepreneur visa only because I genuinely thought it would be easy to use that in order to establish a base in UK - but I realized that the headache of doing business in UK is so not worth it right now - and the visa is still very restrictive in many ways. I just want a long term tourist visa and travel freely, own a property in central london and keep a car there to spend 6 months a year in UK nothing more. I hope they come up with better visa options for people like me.


What you are proposing/want to do is the quickest way to end up on the TV show ~ "UK Border Protection"...;-(


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## Guest (Jan 24, 2012)

No you can not just live in the UK or most other developed countries on a tourist visa! 

As you have decided not to make your investment has your visa not now been cancelled?


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## Joppa (Sep 7, 2009)

UKvisitor said:


> I currently have a UK Entrepreneur Visa stamped on my Passport, however after carefully viewing the Business situation in UK, as well as the crime / difficulty of owning a business and the economic environment - I have decided not to buy a Business there any more. If I switch to a long term tourist visa and just buy a property in Central London - then would it be a huge deal if I come and go freely in and out of London and own a car, apartment etc.? I have more than enough income from independent sources and enough cash, assets - so if I carry proof of my finances all the time with me would they still hassle me a lot even if I make a 100 trips in and out of UK? I do not plan to spend more than 6 months a year in UK and I do not want the hassle to invest in a business or go with the £1 million investor visa - as it makes no sense to lock up £1 million for 5 years in low yielding bonds. Why would the UK government not allow people to come and freely spend time in UK especially if we can afford to buy property there and have enough overseas income? All I want to do is enjoy my life and spend money in UK but I do not want to invest in a business as I don't need to do a business nor do I want to. I got the Entrepreneur visa only because I genuinely thought it would be easy to use that in order to establish a base in UK - but I realized that the headache of doing business in UK is so not worth it right now - and the visa is still very restrictive in many ways. I just want a long term tourist visa and travel freely, own a property in central london and keep a car there to spend 6 months a year in UK nothing more. I hope they come up with better visa options for people like me.


Are you an Indian national? Then you need a visitor visa to come to UK, and even with a 5-year visa, you can only stay in UK for 6 months at a time, and usually only 6 months within 12 months. 

There is a list of 'permitted activities' attached to different kinds of visitor visa. You need to be examined each time you arrive at UK border, and provided the immigration officer is satisfied that you meet all the conditions of your stay, you should be allowed in. You know all the usual conditions - no work, enough money to pay all your expenses, and intention to return home at the end of your visit, such as return ticket. They will want to know that there is no chance of your working in UK - paid or unpaid, permanent or temporary. You can buy a residential property as a visitor, and use it while you are in UK. They will also want to know whether you have anyone that may make you want to overstay in UK, such as family, boy/girlfriend, fiancé(e) etc. Also they will be keen to establish you have a permanent home elsewhere, with a job, business, family etc that will necessiate your leaving UK. So carry some documentary evidence of that.



> I hope they come up with better visa options for people like me.


Unlikely, as you said in another thread, they don't want people who won't make a long-term commitment in UK, such as investor, entrepreneur, family reunion or sponsored work.


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## Guest (Jan 24, 2012)

I'm a multi-millionaire... I have more than £500k in my bank account and can show the border officers each time I come in proof that I do not need to work. Why would I want to work in UK - it's such a bad environment, I don't feel comfortable even outside the rich areas of London - it's full of crime and racism...but I enjoy living in Central London and travelling around Europe that's why I need a base in London for European Travels. I have no interest in "settling" down in London....does this make sense now?? Many Indians and Arabs own apartments in London and come and go like this - as long as you are rich and can prove it - is that still a problem??


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

UKvisitor said:


> I'm a multi-millionaire... I have more than £500k in my bank account and can show the border officers each time I come in proof that I do not need to work. Why would I want to work in UK - it's such a bad environment, I don't feel comfortable even outside the rich areas of London - it's full of crime and racism...but I enjoy living in Central London and travelling around Europe that's why I need a base in London for European Travels. I have no interest in "settling" down in London....does this make sense now?? Many Indians and Arabs own apartments in London and come and go like this - as long as you are rich and can prove it - is that still a problem??


so you can spend I think 6 months of every 12 in the UK

why not approach the border agency & see if they have any suggestions? - they will have the final say in any case


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## Guest (Jan 24, 2012)

xabiachica said:


> so you can spend I think 6 months of every 12 in the UK
> 
> why not approach the border agency & see if they have any suggestions? - they will have the final say in any case


Yes - I think this is why UK has the 6 month maximum stay allowance on a visitor visa instead of 3 months in Schenghen countries - because in most other EU countries you can get what is called a LONG Stay visa which allows you to stay on for 1 year as long as you can prove you are rich enough to afford living there - and this visa is renewable each year quite easily. As I said - lots of people own properties in UK and come and go like this - if I obtain a long term visa and can prove that I don't need to work there then why would they have any issue??


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## Joppa (Sep 7, 2009)

UKvisitor said:


> Yes - I think this is why UK has the 6 month maximum stay allowance on a visitor visa instead of 3 months in Schenghen countries - because in most other EU countries you can get what is called a LONG Stay visa which allows you to stay on for 1 year as long as you can prove you are rich enough to afford living there - and this visa is renewable each year quite easily. As I said - lots of people own properties in UK and come and go like this - if I obtain a long term visa and can prove that I don't need to work there then why would they have any issue??


Retired Person of Independent Means visa was abolished late in 2008 because there were so few take-ups, just a hundred or so a year, and millionaires were able to get other type of visas like investor or entrepreneur to achieve their aim of making UK (esp London) their global centre of activities, like Mr Abramovich. Or maybe he only has tourist visa? Because of his previous long UK residence (his main home is now in Moscow), he may well have got ILR. 

I can see a situation where a Schengen-type longstay, non-working visa is introduced in UK, but probably with much higher financial requirements - i.e. only for those who are likely to make positive impact on UK economy, just like in tax havens like Monaco and Channel Islands. 

The reason why Schengen countries (usually) have long-stay non-working visa has nothing to do with 90-in-180 days rule for tourist stay. While the latter is mandated by Schengen agreement, the former is a national visa (called type D) and each country has its own rules on eligibility etc. BTW, the UK government has stated its aim of cutting visitor's leave to just 3 months, to bring it in line with most other Western countries/zones, such as US and Schengen, but hasn't acted yet.

Another complicating factor is relatively high taxation in UK. With 50% top-rate tax for an income of £150k plus, most other European countries will be cheaper for the rich, and many net high worth individuals have now left UK and relocated, of all places, to Switzerland. It has probably one of the most restrictive visa rules for non-EEA citizens, but can be surprisingly generous to the super rich.


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## Veronica (Apr 5, 2008)

Without proof of how you have earned your "millions" the UK border agency will probably assume you are a mister big in the drug world and give you major hassel every time you enter the UK


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## Guest (Jan 24, 2012)

Veronica said:


> Without proof of how you have earned your "millions" the UK border agency will probably assume you are a mister big in the drug world and give you major hassel every time you enter the UK


Puhleaze...that is the most ridiculous thing I ever heard - not worried about it as I did not earn my millions at all - I simply inherited it and I have a recognizable last name, they can google it. Also I will have proof of my income / earnings / sources etc...I've already been to the UK a 100 times on tourist visas before and all my information is already int he UKBA systems. ...now I just want to buy a property and be free to move in and out of London...the other visas are "settlement" visas and I have no desire to settle anywhere at the moment.


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

UKvisitor said:


> Puhleaze...that is the most ridiculous thing I ever heard - not worried about it as I did not earn my millions at all - I simply inherited it and I have a recognizable last name, they can google it. Also I will have proof of my income / earnings / sources etc...I've already been to the UK a 100 times on tourist visas before and all my information is already int he UKBA systems. ...now I just want to buy a property and be free to move in and out of London...the other visas are "settlement" visas and I have no desire to settle anywhere at the moment.


so keep going as a visitor.............there are no other options - check the UKBA website


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