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Ok so i have a 5 year multi entry UK visa

Valid from may 2018 To may 2023

I have one stamp on (the visa page) August 18 2018

And other entry stamps on the opposite page

How do i calculate the 180 day per year thing

Is it january to december

Or august to august

Or what

And if I have entered the UK From august 2018 till august 2019 Total of 170 days

In october the count resets or what

It is very confusing as i have my sister studying here and my younger brother just started to study here as well So I come and go alot to check on them But calculating days is very confusing

Please advose

DavidRecallsMonica
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Dsn
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  • Related question https://travel.stackexchange.com/questions/56348/is-there-a-limit-to-a-total-number-of-months-a-holder-of-uk-multiple-entry-visit – Traveller Jul 26 '19 at 17:44
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    What "180 day per year thing"? – phoog Jul 26 '19 at 19:10
  • Some say that u can only stay 180 days per 12 months – Dsn Jul 26 '19 at 19:11
  • @Dsn Ask the ‘someone’ who says you can only stay 180 days per 12 months to show you where it says that in the UK Immigration Rules. – Traveller Jul 26 '19 at 21:15
  • He said the following , my friend works as an IO , and he told me that , it doesnt matter how many days u stay even if it is under 180 eg 170 or 160 per year , even when the year ends after august u shouldnt come until after 4-5 months , and i honestly dont know why he says that or if they are “supposed to says that” because i have a MULTI ENTRY VISIT VISA OF 5 years which what i know allows u to visit for up to 180 “each” visit , so even if lets say they calculate it as 180 per year as he says , why would i have an issue or need a gap since im under the 180 per year thing , its so annoying – Dsn Jul 26 '19 at 23:18
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    @Dsn Yes, but even a 5 year multi entry visa doesn’t let you spend huge amounts of time in the UK, annoying as you may find it. You don’t seem to accept that there is no ‘180 days a year thing’. IOs have discretion to give you the full 6 months, or less, or nothing at all, every time you try to enter. You’ve spent close on 50% of your time there in the last 12 months. That’s not a typical visitor pattern. If the advice to stay away genuinely comes from an IO, you’d do well to heed it. Or risk a denial of entry and your visa being cancelled every time you try to enter. – Traveller Jul 27 '19 at 07:16

2 Answers2

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It means maximum 6 months per entry. It means Nothing more. It means Nothing less.

There’s no December January in this.

Everytime you are granted entry and if the stamp says 6 months then you can stay for 6 months. Then you have to leave. You can again come back after that and be granted another 6 months if they decide to admit you again.

However that’s just theory. If you try to live there for extended period of times using successive long visits you will eventually be denied.

Hanky Panky
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There is no such rule for the UK. Immigration Rule V4.2 states “The applicant must satisfy the decision maker that they are a genuine visitor. This means that the applicant:

(a) will leave the UK at the end of their visit; and

(b) will not live in the UK for extended periods through frequent or successive visits, or make the UK their main home

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/immigration-rules/immigration-rules-appendix-v-visitor-rules

There is an explicit statement on frequent/successive visits in the Home Office Visit guidance https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/793361/Visit-guidance-v8.0ext.pdf#page17 that states “There is no specified maximum period which an individual can spend in the UK in any period such as ‘6 months in 12 months’. However, if it is clear from an individual’s travel history that they are making the UK their home you should refuse their application.”

Each time you visit the UK in theory you are allowed to stay up to 6 months, starting from the date of entry stamped in your passport. If the Immigration Officer doesn’t feel this length of time is justified because your pattern of visits isn’t that of a genuine visitor, he/she can curtail the usual 6 months or even deny you entry.

As a rule of thumb, you should spend at least as long outside the UK as in it after every visit. The basis of your original application may also be a guide, for example if you said you expected to visit 3-4 times a year for two weeks to check on your sister during her studies. It might also be wise to have with you evidence of your ability to support yourself while in the UK and of your ties to home, eg job, plus of course a return ticket, to show to Immigration if asked.

As an aside, you should also bear in mind potential tax implications if you spend more than 183 days in the UK in a given tax year https://www.expertsforexpats.com/expat-tax/statutory-residence-test/

Traveller
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  • My main reason is that my brother and sister are here , if they graduate i wouldnt come as often i guess – Dsn Jul 26 '19 at 17:46
  • But someone told me that u should stay only 180 days in any 12 month period and that the start date is the stamp of original entry which is august 18 – Dsn Jul 26 '19 at 17:49
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    @Dsn There is no such rule for the U.K. people confuse the standard 6 months entry with a defined ‘you’re allowed 180 days in 12 months’ misconception. We see quite a few questions on this topic on TSE. Frequent visiting doesn’t always end well. See e.g. https://travel.stackexchange.com/questions/59647/cancelled-uk-visa-at-airport-but-still-allowed-in-for-3-weeks-why-did-it-happen/59648#59648 A material change in circumstances since the original application might also matter see e.g. https://travel.stackexchange.com/questions/51734/cancelled-uk-visa-on-entry/51739#51739 – Traveller Jul 26 '19 at 17:51
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    @Dsn It’s possible that the misconception about there being an Immigration rule on not visiting for more than 180 days in a year actually arises from the tax rules on potential liabilities that might kick in at 183+ days – Traveller Jul 26 '19 at 18:15
  • U know whats weird is that i have never stayed for long during one trip i just come alot for my siblings as they are here and a friend of mine told me that u should always stay away for as long as ur last stay inside the uk , my question is (why) if i am , 1- not staying more than 180 days in any year, 2- i am not staying more than 1-2 months each trip, 3- i come here to visit and check up on them , go out , shop etc then leave this is why am curious about this – Dsn Jul 26 '19 at 18:38
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    @Dsn There is no ‘180 day rule’, it doesn’t exist, so whether you’ve stayed that long in the last year or not is irrelevant. The Schengen area has a clear rule, the UK (and, AFAIK, the US) doesn’t. It’s a waste of time asking ‘why’ - it’s just the way the UK has formulated its visitor policy. The advice to stay away for as long as you visit is aimed at not falling foul of the ‘frequent and successive visits’ element of UK Rules. You’ve asked a similar question before https://travel.stackexchange.com/questions/114256/how-long-can-i-remain-in-the-uk-on-a-visit-or-short-term-study-visa – Traveller Jul 26 '19 at 18:52