If I have estranged relatives in the UK, what do I submit in a tourist visa application?












33














My parents are planning to visit the UK and Europe, and have engaged a tourism company for this. While reviewing the documents they sent us, I noticed that the field asking about friends or relatives in the UK was filled "no". As it happens my parents do have relatives there - an estranged sister and her family. But we haven't managed to contact them and get their details (messages have been ignored).



What information should we submit in this case? The travel agent is recommending that we lie and say we don't have relatives. I feel it would be best to say we do, and fill in the details as best we could (we know the city they live in, but no more), and mark the rest as unknown.



My parents have no intention of going anywhere near them.










share|improve this question



























    33














    My parents are planning to visit the UK and Europe, and have engaged a tourism company for this. While reviewing the documents they sent us, I noticed that the field asking about friends or relatives in the UK was filled "no". As it happens my parents do have relatives there - an estranged sister and her family. But we haven't managed to contact them and get their details (messages have been ignored).



    What information should we submit in this case? The travel agent is recommending that we lie and say we don't have relatives. I feel it would be best to say we do, and fill in the details as best we could (we know the city they live in, but no more), and mark the rest as unknown.



    My parents have no intention of going anywhere near them.










    share|improve this question

























      33












      33








      33


      0





      My parents are planning to visit the UK and Europe, and have engaged a tourism company for this. While reviewing the documents they sent us, I noticed that the field asking about friends or relatives in the UK was filled "no". As it happens my parents do have relatives there - an estranged sister and her family. But we haven't managed to contact them and get their details (messages have been ignored).



      What information should we submit in this case? The travel agent is recommending that we lie and say we don't have relatives. I feel it would be best to say we do, and fill in the details as best we could (we know the city they live in, but no more), and mark the rest as unknown.



      My parents have no intention of going anywhere near them.










      share|improve this question













      My parents are planning to visit the UK and Europe, and have engaged a tourism company for this. While reviewing the documents they sent us, I noticed that the field asking about friends or relatives in the UK was filled "no". As it happens my parents do have relatives there - an estranged sister and her family. But we haven't managed to contact them and get their details (messages have been ignored).



      What information should we submit in this case? The travel agent is recommending that we lie and say we don't have relatives. I feel it would be best to say we do, and fill in the details as best we could (we know the city they live in, but no more), and mark the rest as unknown.



      My parents have no intention of going anywhere near them.







      visas uk india






      share|improve this question













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      asked Dec 6 at 14:24









      muru

      1




      1






















          3 Answers
          3






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          63














          Don't lie, regardless of what a travel agent says: it's an immediate family member, not some distant, tangential relation. Include what information they do have (name, city, email etc.). While your parents may not now plan to connect with them while they're in England, they did attempt contact for some reason, and were ignored.



          UKVI is adept at spotting discrepancies and a potential refusal for this (deception) would be a serious ding on their immigration records. Your instincts are spot on: the tour company has little to lose, your parents have much more at stake.






          share|improve this answer



















          • 15




            The visa application has space to include free form explanations of answers. OP could note here that they are estranged from their relatives.
            – MJeffryes
            Dec 6 at 14:36










          • Thanks. The contact was via Facebook to ask about such details for the visa application - they're still "friends" there FWIW.
            – muru
            Dec 6 at 14:52






          • 24




            I tried filling in an application myself, and @MJeffryes is right. There's a box with a 500-character limit for the "I cannot contact my relative" option: i.stack.imgur.com/A3dT5.jpg This might be worth adding to the answer.
            – muru
            Dec 6 at 15:49






          • 11




            I would suggest that when you fill the "I cannot contact my relative", you state the current date ("As of December 6th, 2018 I have received no reply") just in case your relative decides to contact back at a later date.
            – SJuan76
            Dec 6 at 18:40






          • 4




            The fact that you cannot contact them does not mean you are estranged. Don’t give room for confusion. If you’re estranged simply put estranged. Estranged is more powerful/definite than I cannot contact them? Estranged means they won’t even help you abscond, the latter could imply once you are able to reach them, they may be able to help you abscond (if that were your intent).
            – Honorary World Citizen
            Dec 7 at 6:07



















          25














          Absolutely mention them. Describe your relationship in one word: "estranged". UKVI will get it.



          Lying about it is suicide. The typical punishment is not only refusal to enter, which will then make you ineligible for visa waiver, but also bias future visa applications as well. (In the harsher USA, lying is a lifetime ban.)



          Also, from immigration's perspective, they are mainly looking for people who want to overstay and seek employ or collect social assistance. Their first impression of lying about a sister is "she is sneaking you in to hire you illegally under the table". They don't know you.



          Of course full examination of the facts and circumstances of your lives would debunk that, but that only works for documents you actually submit, and if you send the wrong stuff it could backfire. If you send documents often faked, then that only further prejudices the matter. You never get a second chance to make a first impression.






          share|improve this answer































            1














            Coming from India you can expect your application to have careful scrutiny.



            I would give a brief explanatory note describing relatives:



            A.N. Other last known address 123 High Street, Anytown AN2 2BC



            O.P. Other last known address 456 Another Street, Anothertown, AN3 4BC



            No active contact with either






            share|improve this answer





















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              3 Answers
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              3 Answers
              3






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              active

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              active

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              63














              Don't lie, regardless of what a travel agent says: it's an immediate family member, not some distant, tangential relation. Include what information they do have (name, city, email etc.). While your parents may not now plan to connect with them while they're in England, they did attempt contact for some reason, and were ignored.



              UKVI is adept at spotting discrepancies and a potential refusal for this (deception) would be a serious ding on their immigration records. Your instincts are spot on: the tour company has little to lose, your parents have much more at stake.






              share|improve this answer



















              • 15




                The visa application has space to include free form explanations of answers. OP could note here that they are estranged from their relatives.
                – MJeffryes
                Dec 6 at 14:36










              • Thanks. The contact was via Facebook to ask about such details for the visa application - they're still "friends" there FWIW.
                – muru
                Dec 6 at 14:52






              • 24




                I tried filling in an application myself, and @MJeffryes is right. There's a box with a 500-character limit for the "I cannot contact my relative" option: i.stack.imgur.com/A3dT5.jpg This might be worth adding to the answer.
                – muru
                Dec 6 at 15:49






              • 11




                I would suggest that when you fill the "I cannot contact my relative", you state the current date ("As of December 6th, 2018 I have received no reply") just in case your relative decides to contact back at a later date.
                – SJuan76
                Dec 6 at 18:40






              • 4




                The fact that you cannot contact them does not mean you are estranged. Don’t give room for confusion. If you’re estranged simply put estranged. Estranged is more powerful/definite than I cannot contact them? Estranged means they won’t even help you abscond, the latter could imply once you are able to reach them, they may be able to help you abscond (if that were your intent).
                – Honorary World Citizen
                Dec 7 at 6:07
















              63














              Don't lie, regardless of what a travel agent says: it's an immediate family member, not some distant, tangential relation. Include what information they do have (name, city, email etc.). While your parents may not now plan to connect with them while they're in England, they did attempt contact for some reason, and were ignored.



              UKVI is adept at spotting discrepancies and a potential refusal for this (deception) would be a serious ding on their immigration records. Your instincts are spot on: the tour company has little to lose, your parents have much more at stake.






              share|improve this answer



















              • 15




                The visa application has space to include free form explanations of answers. OP could note here that they are estranged from their relatives.
                – MJeffryes
                Dec 6 at 14:36










              • Thanks. The contact was via Facebook to ask about such details for the visa application - they're still "friends" there FWIW.
                – muru
                Dec 6 at 14:52






              • 24




                I tried filling in an application myself, and @MJeffryes is right. There's a box with a 500-character limit for the "I cannot contact my relative" option: i.stack.imgur.com/A3dT5.jpg This might be worth adding to the answer.
                – muru
                Dec 6 at 15:49






              • 11




                I would suggest that when you fill the "I cannot contact my relative", you state the current date ("As of December 6th, 2018 I have received no reply") just in case your relative decides to contact back at a later date.
                – SJuan76
                Dec 6 at 18:40






              • 4




                The fact that you cannot contact them does not mean you are estranged. Don’t give room for confusion. If you’re estranged simply put estranged. Estranged is more powerful/definite than I cannot contact them? Estranged means they won’t even help you abscond, the latter could imply once you are able to reach them, they may be able to help you abscond (if that were your intent).
                – Honorary World Citizen
                Dec 7 at 6:07














              63












              63








              63






              Don't lie, regardless of what a travel agent says: it's an immediate family member, not some distant, tangential relation. Include what information they do have (name, city, email etc.). While your parents may not now plan to connect with them while they're in England, they did attempt contact for some reason, and were ignored.



              UKVI is adept at spotting discrepancies and a potential refusal for this (deception) would be a serious ding on their immigration records. Your instincts are spot on: the tour company has little to lose, your parents have much more at stake.






              share|improve this answer














              Don't lie, regardless of what a travel agent says: it's an immediate family member, not some distant, tangential relation. Include what information they do have (name, city, email etc.). While your parents may not now plan to connect with them while they're in England, they did attempt contact for some reason, and were ignored.



              UKVI is adept at spotting discrepancies and a potential refusal for this (deception) would be a serious ding on their immigration records. Your instincts are spot on: the tour company has little to lose, your parents have much more at stake.







              share|improve this answer














              share|improve this answer



              share|improve this answer








              edited Dec 6 at 14:38

























              answered Dec 6 at 14:35









              Giorgio

              31.5k964177




              31.5k964177








              • 15




                The visa application has space to include free form explanations of answers. OP could note here that they are estranged from their relatives.
                – MJeffryes
                Dec 6 at 14:36










              • Thanks. The contact was via Facebook to ask about such details for the visa application - they're still "friends" there FWIW.
                – muru
                Dec 6 at 14:52






              • 24




                I tried filling in an application myself, and @MJeffryes is right. There's a box with a 500-character limit for the "I cannot contact my relative" option: i.stack.imgur.com/A3dT5.jpg This might be worth adding to the answer.
                – muru
                Dec 6 at 15:49






              • 11




                I would suggest that when you fill the "I cannot contact my relative", you state the current date ("As of December 6th, 2018 I have received no reply") just in case your relative decides to contact back at a later date.
                – SJuan76
                Dec 6 at 18:40






              • 4




                The fact that you cannot contact them does not mean you are estranged. Don’t give room for confusion. If you’re estranged simply put estranged. Estranged is more powerful/definite than I cannot contact them? Estranged means they won’t even help you abscond, the latter could imply once you are able to reach them, they may be able to help you abscond (if that were your intent).
                – Honorary World Citizen
                Dec 7 at 6:07














              • 15




                The visa application has space to include free form explanations of answers. OP could note here that they are estranged from their relatives.
                – MJeffryes
                Dec 6 at 14:36










              • Thanks. The contact was via Facebook to ask about such details for the visa application - they're still "friends" there FWIW.
                – muru
                Dec 6 at 14:52






              • 24




                I tried filling in an application myself, and @MJeffryes is right. There's a box with a 500-character limit for the "I cannot contact my relative" option: i.stack.imgur.com/A3dT5.jpg This might be worth adding to the answer.
                – muru
                Dec 6 at 15:49






              • 11




                I would suggest that when you fill the "I cannot contact my relative", you state the current date ("As of December 6th, 2018 I have received no reply") just in case your relative decides to contact back at a later date.
                – SJuan76
                Dec 6 at 18:40






              • 4




                The fact that you cannot contact them does not mean you are estranged. Don’t give room for confusion. If you’re estranged simply put estranged. Estranged is more powerful/definite than I cannot contact them? Estranged means they won’t even help you abscond, the latter could imply once you are able to reach them, they may be able to help you abscond (if that were your intent).
                – Honorary World Citizen
                Dec 7 at 6:07








              15




              15




              The visa application has space to include free form explanations of answers. OP could note here that they are estranged from their relatives.
              – MJeffryes
              Dec 6 at 14:36




              The visa application has space to include free form explanations of answers. OP could note here that they are estranged from their relatives.
              – MJeffryes
              Dec 6 at 14:36












              Thanks. The contact was via Facebook to ask about such details for the visa application - they're still "friends" there FWIW.
              – muru
              Dec 6 at 14:52




              Thanks. The contact was via Facebook to ask about such details for the visa application - they're still "friends" there FWIW.
              – muru
              Dec 6 at 14:52




              24




              24




              I tried filling in an application myself, and @MJeffryes is right. There's a box with a 500-character limit for the "I cannot contact my relative" option: i.stack.imgur.com/A3dT5.jpg This might be worth adding to the answer.
              – muru
              Dec 6 at 15:49




              I tried filling in an application myself, and @MJeffryes is right. There's a box with a 500-character limit for the "I cannot contact my relative" option: i.stack.imgur.com/A3dT5.jpg This might be worth adding to the answer.
              – muru
              Dec 6 at 15:49




              11




              11




              I would suggest that when you fill the "I cannot contact my relative", you state the current date ("As of December 6th, 2018 I have received no reply") just in case your relative decides to contact back at a later date.
              – SJuan76
              Dec 6 at 18:40




              I would suggest that when you fill the "I cannot contact my relative", you state the current date ("As of December 6th, 2018 I have received no reply") just in case your relative decides to contact back at a later date.
              – SJuan76
              Dec 6 at 18:40




              4




              4




              The fact that you cannot contact them does not mean you are estranged. Don’t give room for confusion. If you’re estranged simply put estranged. Estranged is more powerful/definite than I cannot contact them? Estranged means they won’t even help you abscond, the latter could imply once you are able to reach them, they may be able to help you abscond (if that were your intent).
              – Honorary World Citizen
              Dec 7 at 6:07




              The fact that you cannot contact them does not mean you are estranged. Don’t give room for confusion. If you’re estranged simply put estranged. Estranged is more powerful/definite than I cannot contact them? Estranged means they won’t even help you abscond, the latter could imply once you are able to reach them, they may be able to help you abscond (if that were your intent).
              – Honorary World Citizen
              Dec 7 at 6:07













              25














              Absolutely mention them. Describe your relationship in one word: "estranged". UKVI will get it.



              Lying about it is suicide. The typical punishment is not only refusal to enter, which will then make you ineligible for visa waiver, but also bias future visa applications as well. (In the harsher USA, lying is a lifetime ban.)



              Also, from immigration's perspective, they are mainly looking for people who want to overstay and seek employ or collect social assistance. Their first impression of lying about a sister is "she is sneaking you in to hire you illegally under the table". They don't know you.



              Of course full examination of the facts and circumstances of your lives would debunk that, but that only works for documents you actually submit, and if you send the wrong stuff it could backfire. If you send documents often faked, then that only further prejudices the matter. You never get a second chance to make a first impression.






              share|improve this answer




























                25














                Absolutely mention them. Describe your relationship in one word: "estranged". UKVI will get it.



                Lying about it is suicide. The typical punishment is not only refusal to enter, which will then make you ineligible for visa waiver, but also bias future visa applications as well. (In the harsher USA, lying is a lifetime ban.)



                Also, from immigration's perspective, they are mainly looking for people who want to overstay and seek employ or collect social assistance. Their first impression of lying about a sister is "she is sneaking you in to hire you illegally under the table". They don't know you.



                Of course full examination of the facts and circumstances of your lives would debunk that, but that only works for documents you actually submit, and if you send the wrong stuff it could backfire. If you send documents often faked, then that only further prejudices the matter. You never get a second chance to make a first impression.






                share|improve this answer


























                  25












                  25








                  25






                  Absolutely mention them. Describe your relationship in one word: "estranged". UKVI will get it.



                  Lying about it is suicide. The typical punishment is not only refusal to enter, which will then make you ineligible for visa waiver, but also bias future visa applications as well. (In the harsher USA, lying is a lifetime ban.)



                  Also, from immigration's perspective, they are mainly looking for people who want to overstay and seek employ or collect social assistance. Their first impression of lying about a sister is "she is sneaking you in to hire you illegally under the table". They don't know you.



                  Of course full examination of the facts and circumstances of your lives would debunk that, but that only works for documents you actually submit, and if you send the wrong stuff it could backfire. If you send documents often faked, then that only further prejudices the matter. You never get a second chance to make a first impression.






                  share|improve this answer














                  Absolutely mention them. Describe your relationship in one word: "estranged". UKVI will get it.



                  Lying about it is suicide. The typical punishment is not only refusal to enter, which will then make you ineligible for visa waiver, but also bias future visa applications as well. (In the harsher USA, lying is a lifetime ban.)



                  Also, from immigration's perspective, they are mainly looking for people who want to overstay and seek employ or collect social assistance. Their first impression of lying about a sister is "she is sneaking you in to hire you illegally under the table". They don't know you.



                  Of course full examination of the facts and circumstances of your lives would debunk that, but that only works for documents you actually submit, and if you send the wrong stuff it could backfire. If you send documents often faked, then that only further prejudices the matter. You never get a second chance to make a first impression.







                  share|improve this answer














                  share|improve this answer



                  share|improve this answer








                  edited Dec 8 at 2:17









                  Community

                  1




                  1










                  answered Dec 7 at 0:32









                  Harper

                  9,47131848




                  9,47131848























                      1














                      Coming from India you can expect your application to have careful scrutiny.



                      I would give a brief explanatory note describing relatives:



                      A.N. Other last known address 123 High Street, Anytown AN2 2BC



                      O.P. Other last known address 456 Another Street, Anothertown, AN3 4BC



                      No active contact with either






                      share|improve this answer


























                        1














                        Coming from India you can expect your application to have careful scrutiny.



                        I would give a brief explanatory note describing relatives:



                        A.N. Other last known address 123 High Street, Anytown AN2 2BC



                        O.P. Other last known address 456 Another Street, Anothertown, AN3 4BC



                        No active contact with either






                        share|improve this answer
























                          1












                          1








                          1






                          Coming from India you can expect your application to have careful scrutiny.



                          I would give a brief explanatory note describing relatives:



                          A.N. Other last known address 123 High Street, Anytown AN2 2BC



                          O.P. Other last known address 456 Another Street, Anothertown, AN3 4BC



                          No active contact with either






                          share|improve this answer












                          Coming from India you can expect your application to have careful scrutiny.



                          I would give a brief explanatory note describing relatives:



                          A.N. Other last known address 123 High Street, Anytown AN2 2BC



                          O.P. Other last known address 456 Another Street, Anothertown, AN3 4BC



                          No active contact with either







                          share|improve this answer












                          share|improve this answer



                          share|improve this answer










                          answered Dec 12 at 13:30









                          John MacLeod

                          311




                          311






























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