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I am applying for a Standard UK Visit Visa and during filling in the application form I came across the question in the title but am not sure what this question refers to since it's not very clear. Since it does not ask what I estimate I will spend, it seems it's not referring to what I would estimate I will spend in the UK. The previous question seemed to cover that anyway

So it's about what expenses I will still have to deal with in my own country during my stay in England? If so then it would be ZERO since the house I'm renting in my own country will end and I will find another place when I return, so that cost will be gone, and obviously with no food costs etc there would be no other costs whatsoever....not sure why they assume I would definitely have some costs since they don't allow zero here.

Below for extra information it says "Include living costs, money given to dependants, rent or mortgage, and any other bills or costs." which seems to be talking about my stay in England since I don't see what living costs I'd have for my own country while I'm not there?

If it was referring to what I think I will spend during my stay in England it should say "What is the total amount of money you estimate you will spend each month during your stay?"

If it was asking about what I normally spend in my own country it should say "What is the total amount of money you normally spend in your own country each month?"

If it was asking what I will still need to spend for my own country whilst staying in England it should say "What is the total amount of money you will need to spend each month in your own country during your stay in the UK?"

As it is I've no idea what it refers to or why it doesn't allow zero as an answer.

EDIT: My question is about a question that has a lack of clarity...the irony to close my question due to a lack of clarity also. After no-one being able to come up with a clear answer they decided to close my question instead for not being clear....very odd indeed. I guess it's easier to blame the person asking rather than yourself for not being able to come up with a clear answer.

Hasen
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    Don't you have any belongings that you won't bring with you? I will probably cost money to store those somewhere while you're away. Not leaving anything in your home country is another red flag. – Henrik supports the community Feb 24 '22 at 10:18
  • @Henrik supports the community They will just be stored at my house or my parents house in my home country for free. – Hasen Feb 24 '22 at 12:12
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    What’s the purpose and intended duration of your visit to the UK? The vast majority of people keep the place they usually live in while they are in the UK, as terminating your lease, moving out (where to?), finding a new place, signing a new lease and moving back when you return is cumbersome for just a few days/weeks, and something people would do if they intend to stay indefinitely in the UK, or at least spend several months there. As others have stated, this can be a huge red flag. – jcaron Feb 24 '22 at 12:45
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    not only are you overthinking this, you're overthinking in the wrong direction. You seem to feel the less money you'll be spending at home while in the UK, the better, since it will free up money for you to spend in the UK. In fact, the more money you normally spend at home the better (since this trip will be more affordable for you compared to your usual expenses) and the more expenses will continue while you're away the better (since they indicate your ties to home and your need to return there to care for all that stuff you're paying for.) Don't work hard to prove you're not a good visitor. – Kate Gregory Feb 24 '22 at 19:03
  • @jcaron Well a standard visitor visa is valid for six months, so assuming a stay of only a week is not really gonna apply for all cases. Also the UK may just be my first stop, I may be doing a tour of the world....who knows, you can't just assume that I'll continue paying rent in my home country because I'll be back in just a week's time...that's only one case. – Hasen Feb 25 '22 at 03:14
  • @Kate Gregory It's not about 'better' or 'worse', it's about understanding exactly what the question is asking so as to be able to answer it accurately and truthfully. If you lie it's just gonna backfire on you. – Hasen Feb 25 '22 at 03:15
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    If you are going to spend a significant amount of time away from your home country you’ll have to explain how you are going to support yourself during that time. Either you have significant savings, or a source of income which does not require you to work, or you’ll have to work, and then there’s yet another issue. I don’t know your circumstances, but even if you are not in the most common case, unless you are filthy rich, there seem to be some incompatibilities between what you tell us here and what any government expects to grant you a visa. – jcaron Feb 25 '22 at 10:00
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    Remember, a visa is not a right. They don’t have to give you one because you want to travel and have this plan in your head. You need to fit into the boxes they have drawn. They expect you to have enough funds to support yourself without working while in the UK, and to prove you have every reason to go back home and not try to stay indefinitely. A weak application with the intent to stay for months is not likely to be granted IMHO. – jcaron Feb 25 '22 at 10:02
  • @jcaron You're going WAY off topic now, all I'm trying to do is ascertain what the question is actually asking...which interestingly nobody seems sure of. – Hasen Feb 26 '22 at 00:47
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    @Hasen you are the only who isn’t sure about it. All other comments and answers say exactly the same thing. – jcaron Feb 26 '22 at 11:22

2 Answers2

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The question is aimed at understanding your financial situation in your home country. That is important, because it is one of the indicators of your intention to return there, and of your ability to support yourself while visiting the UK.

UKVI wants to know what you normally spend. They’ll tie that up with your stated income, declared savings, and your bank statements. They’ll also take it into account when assessing the affordability of the visit.

You don’t state how long you plan to stay in the UK. Remember that holding a visitor visa does not guarantee entry. Not having a fixed address to return to at the end of your stay is likely to be a red flag if you are asked about ties to your country of residence during a landing interview.

Traveller
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  • Ok so to be clear what they're actually asking in this question is "What is the total amount of money you normally spend in your own country each month?" – Hasen Feb 24 '22 at 12:17
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    It's asking how much money you normally spend per month. It's not asking you to speculate about the future, or to partition your expenses by country. It's asking you, what is the total amount of money you spend per month. – Sneftel Feb 24 '22 at 12:26
  • @Sneftel It just seems to me that they're assuming or possibly assuming that these costs would continue whilst staying in the UK and thus affect my qualification based on my stated income and savings. Like they list for example mortgage payments or dependants, which they list as examples...well these costs might well continue while I'm away....whilst a cost like rent would likely cease..that's what's really not clear about this question. – Hasen Feb 24 '22 at 12:34
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    Your assumptions about their assumptions aren't really relevant to the question they've asked. Answer truthfully, not tactically. – Sneftel Feb 24 '22 at 12:37
  • @Sneftel It's important to understand exactly what is being asked so as to not answer INCORRECTLY, it's nothing to do with the truth. If they are indeed asking about costs that I have that will continue whilst I'm in the UK, then answering as you have directed, truthfully, would get my visa refused. What I'm trying to do is confirm exactly what is being asked here so as to answer it correctly, which is exactly what the question is about. – Hasen Feb 24 '22 at 12:48
  • @Sneftel Also could you explain "partition your expenses by country"? I didn't understand what you meant by that. – Hasen Feb 24 '22 at 12:52
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    @Hasen You’re over-thinking this, IMHO. State your normal expenses as they are at the date you apply. UKVI should then be able to tie up the info you state in the application with the supporting evidence you provide. That is exactly what is being requested, and what millions of previous applicants have done before you. If you can only pay for your trip expenses because you won’t be paying rent, my advice is don’t apply. UKVI will likely conclude you are not a genuine visitor and that you may work illegally in the UK and/or overstay. – Traveller Feb 24 '22 at 13:51
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    IIRC, the application asks for your current address and the ownership status of your home. If you state ‘rented’ but don’t show rental costs without explaining why, UKVI will query the veracity of your application. If you say you are planning on giving up your rental before your visit, UKVI will query your ties to your home country. If you’ve not already done so, reading https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1019544/Visit.pdf will be useful – Traveller Feb 24 '22 at 14:02
  • @Traveller That sounds odd I must say. For the average person rent and utility bills are normally the biggest chunk out of a person's income, at least 50%...otherwise you're living below your income level. So it wouldn't make sense that they could afford that AND a more expensive hotel at the same time. – Hasen Feb 25 '22 at 01:39
  • @Traveller There seems to be a lot of beating around the bushes but from what everyone said it seems the question is indeed asking "What is the total amount of money you normally spend in your own country each month?". – Hasen Feb 25 '22 at 01:42
  • @Hasen - so you've come full-circle, because to me it looks like you've just slightly reworded the question in the title of your question... – brhans Feb 25 '22 at 02:16
  • @brhans I don't think you read my question or you'd understand what I meant. The title is what they ask in the actual application form, I gave three reworded questions in my question attempting to interpret what that question is actually referring to. – Hasen Feb 25 '22 at 03:05
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The answer should correspond to the amount you spend usually in your home/residence country, so it will definitely be above zero.

The immigration officer will use this information to check the financial validity/credibility of your trip and visa application for the purpose stated (visitor).

For example, if you say you spend 2000 euros per month but your stated income is 800, it will raise a red flag.

If you say you spend 200 euros per month usually, but you also say that you plan to spend 4500 euros for a 7 day trip to the UK, it will raise a red flag (7 day expenses as high as 2 years worth of usual expenses).

meego
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    Ok so what you're saying is that it's actually asking - "What is the total amount of money you normally spend in your own country each month?" And not what I would need to CONTINUE spending in my own country whilst staying in England...? – Hasen Feb 24 '22 at 12:16
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    @Hasen yes, they want to know what you currently usually spend (which they will be able to compare to your stated income and movements on your bank statements), but for the vast majority of people it is also something you will continue to pay during you stay. – jcaron Feb 24 '22 at 12:48
  • @jcaron Well therein lies the problem. For me it definitely won't continue during my stay since rent and utility bills will cease since I will be gone and will find a new place when I return...so I've no idea what to put there since I don't know how they'll interpret it. – Hasen Feb 25 '22 at 03:06
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    @Hasen I’d stop worrying about what to put for expenses and start worrying about how you’ll prove ties to your home country https://travel.stackexchange.com/questions/92121/uk-visa-refusal-on-v-4-2-a-c-and-sometimes-e – Traveller Feb 25 '22 at 08:36
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    @Hasen like all other answers and comments, the answer is simple: you should put what you current spend, as this is what they can compare your bank statements to, and give them an idea of how your trip budget compares to your means. – jcaron Feb 25 '22 at 09:55
  • @Traveller Those are completely separate and independent issues which there is no need to even mention here. I've not mentioned anywhere that I have problems proving ties to my home country, I certainly don't but it's not relevant anyway. All I'm trying to ascertain is what the question exactly is referring to so that I can answer it truthfully and accurately. You can be refused on a million different issues so there's no point just concentrating on one thing and getting refused on another.. – Hasen Feb 26 '22 at 00:51
  • @jcaron It's clearly NOT that simple otherwise someone at some point would have said yes it means to ask "What is the total amount of money you normally spend in your own country each month?" since I asked that in my question and in the comments several times. Everyone seems to want to rather make everything more complicated that it needs to be by talking about other issues and things that aren't relevant. – Hasen Feb 26 '22 at 00:53
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    @Hasen you continue adding “in your own country” but even though that’s probably true for a majority of people (probably your case as well, but we have no way of knowing), this is not a correct definition. The correct definition is what you currently normally spend each month, currently meaning over the period covered by your bank statements, because they are going to compare to that. Not what you will spend, what you currently do. And that’s what every answer and comment has repeated. You apparently don’t like it, but that’s the way it is. – jcaron Feb 26 '22 at 11:32
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    @Hasen There is zero ambiguity in the question. It means exactly what it says. You seem to want the question to have some kind of hidden meaning that would allow you to interpret it in your favour, but it doesn’t. State what you normally spend as at the date you apply and provide your supporting evidence. That’s it. Nothing further to debate. – Traveller Feb 26 '22 at 21:25
  • @jcaron Ok then it should say What is the total amount of money you normally spend in your country of residence each month?". It's clearly not fine the way it is since there have been other posts asking what exactly it's referring to. – Hasen Feb 28 '22 at 01:58
  • @jcaron What’s least clear is whether they want what you are spending right now or what you are spending right now that will continue during my stay in England. Nobody has been clear on that. Since the examples they give are ‘rent, mortgage payments, dependants’ rather than ‘food, entertainment’ etc it seems in fact they are interested in payments that WILL continue….that’s also why it’s not clear and nobody here seems clear on that either. – Hasen Feb 28 '22 at 01:58
  • @jcaron If they’re simply asking how much you spend per month in your country, what’s the point in the question? You live in a cheap country, thus have little outgoing costs so when you go to England, an expensive country you’ll need to spend a lot more and thus they'll refuse you for the visa lol. So should I have rented an extra house for the past six months to make me into a big spender? Maybe the UK should just deny all poorer countries since no matter how much you earn, since if your country has super low cost of living you won’t qualify. Therefore I think it has to be about ongoing costs – Hasen Feb 28 '22 at 02:25
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    @Hasen the reason for the question has been explained in the answers, and there is absolutely ZERO ambiguity in that question. You want it to mean something different, but it doesn’t. I’ll stop here because you obviously don’t want to hear what everyone tells you. Nobody prevents you from interpreting it any way you want. Answer the question the way you want, and see the result, which will likely lead to a rejection on the grounds of your answers not matching your bank statements. – jcaron Feb 28 '22 at 08:35
  • @Hasen Go right ahead and answer the question as you see fit. That way a) you’ll only have yourself to blame if (more likely when) you are refused; and b) you can post another question asking for help on reapplying after a refusal and then endlessly argue the toss with the people foolish enough to try to help. – Traveller Mar 01 '22 at 00:14
  • @Traveller I never got any clear answer, everyone seems as confused as everyone else. The irony of closing my answer for lack of clarity when my question is actually regarding a question that is as clear as mud...I can't answer my own question now anyway since it's been closed. – Hasen Mar 02 '22 at 01:36
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    @Hasen The only person confused is you. There is nothing unclear about “what is the total amount of money you spend each month”. Both answers and the numerous comments have explained it but you refuse to accept that. You just want the question to mean what you would like it to mean, but it doesn’t - it means exactly what it says on the tin. – Traveller Mar 02 '22 at 07:32
  • @Traveller 1. There are many people confused by this question, it's commonly asked, in fact I found many people that even wanted to put ZERO for it too. 2. I have not refused to accept the answers, I have asked many follow up questions which everyone refuses to answer. If you could see the wood for the trees you'd notice I have THREE follow up questions to jcaron just right above the comment you just made - all unanswered, by anyone, never mind him. – Hasen Mar 03 '22 at 23:53