Mustey

Hello,

I am a Bulgarian National living and working in the UK for about 2 years under the EU work permit.

My friend from Ukraine wants to visit me for 3-4 weeks. She is a 22 year old woman with no current employment or studying.

So far, only she had a look into the visa issue and she reported to me that their console in Lviv advised that her visa application will most likely be denied due to her not having a job and being a young woman from a high-risk country.

Personally, I don't believe that it should be so hard. So, I am also researching the question.

Can you please comment on what requirements she has to fulfill in order to visit me? I'd love to hear if someone had similar experience and what challenges did they meet.

Thank you very much.

formula

That's true. Look at it from UKVIs point of view, with no job, never worked, you in the UK, comes from a high risk country, what is there for her to return to if she is granted a tourist visa to enter the UK?

She will need to show she will return home by showing she has a job and property to return to. She will need to show thousands of pounds to finance her stay as a visitor/tourist, and to pay for all her trips out to tourist places. She will also need to show how she got those funds as she had never worked.

Mustey

Thank you for your reply,

What do you suggest? Is there something I can do (vouch for her return with a deposit or declaration letter)
Is there something she can do (find a job, etc)?

scot47

The Home Office are totally paranoid. That is their job - to keep foreigners out.

Mustey

They don't seem to be particularly effective at that

mikelincs

She needs to ensure that she has strong ties to her own country, job, property etc.

Mustey

About Job: How long does she have to be employed before applying for a visitor visa and at what monthly wage?

BritInParis

Ukraine is a high risk country due to the ongoing conflict with Russia. A 22 year old Ukrainian woman with no job or studies has little reason to return and therefore will almost certainly be refused a visitor visa. Even if she was employed the Ukrainian currency has crashed in value so even someone with a relatively well-paid job in Ukraine would struggle to fund a trip to the UK.

Since Bulgarian citizens can visit Ukraine visa-free I suspect you'll have to go to her.

Mustey

I asked about Job because I can register a company in Ukraine and pay her the necessary wage to qualify for a visa, if there are no requirements regarding how long she has held this job prior to submitting her visitor application - are there?

formula

That depends on how much you like living in the UK. You risk your own stay in the UK by doing that as you will be helping someone use deception to gain entry to the UK.

The UK can and does, deport and ban EU nationals and since 2010 have been doing this even if they simply cease to be a qualified person for free movement and have therefore lost their right to reside in the UK. In some cases, EU citizen criminals will serve jail time in the UK before they are deported and what you suggest is a crime. Your girlfriend would receive a 10 year ban and ruin her immigration history for many countries.

She will need to get a proper job and, as we have already said, will need to show strong ties to her (high risk) country. Something that proves she must return home after her 3 week visit. A letter from her proper (not faked) employer will be a start but she needs more than that as she could easlily leave her job. i.e. a mortgage on a house she has owned for a long while; proof she is in the middle or near the end of a 3 year student course in her country and needs to return to finish her degree.

From what you have said she can't do any of that and as she was already advised at the console in Lviv, her application will most likely be denied. You could always visit her for those 3 weeks. 3 weeks out of the UK won't mean you have lost your right to reside in the UK as a qualified person under free movement.

Mustey

Thanks for the heads up

I spent my yearly paid leave allowance on visits to Ukraine and would visit more if I didn't have a job I'd like to keep :/
To be honest, I got a little frustrated and that's why I suggested something like that - for us, it really is a case of trying to meet, not trying to illegally immigrate her to here.
It's a pity that the UK imposes a practical ban on all visits from Ukraine (the UK console in Lviv told her that she'd need a monthly wage of 350 GBP to cover the job criteria - a salary well high up the top 5%).

Mind if I use this topic to ask about student visa for her?
She is not very academic but this is something I am trying to convince her about anyway.
Does she have to be especially invited (having qualified to a programme by merits) by a university or can we just enroll her in a paid university and then she gets a visa invitation and can come here?

scot47

Fees for non-EU students are very high.

BritInParis

Reading between the lines it sounds like you have a romantic interest in the young lady. If that is the case then you could marry in Ukraine and she could be in the UK the next week on an EEA Family Permit.

scot47

And once here, she could apply for a NiNo and start working ?

BritInParis

On an EEA Family Permit? Sure. She could work, study or do nothing.