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I will soon be applying for my Tier 4 and have hired the services of this "UK visa advisor" in my country in order to get things done correctly and efficently.

Thing is, I have a boyfriend in the UK and will be living with him throughout this 1 year and me and my advisor think differently on whether I should be up-front about it or not.

The advisor responsible for my case said we should not mention my boyfriend in the application. My idea was to have a letter from him stating I would stay with him during this one year, but she said I should not mention him.

My question is: could this omission be considered deception? Deception, as I am aware, would REALLY lead me to be refused and even a 10 year ban. I am sure she has more experience on the subject than I have, but I can't shake the feeling this would get me in trouble.

Another thing that worried me is the part in which I list the times I have been to the UK. I have gone to the country to visit my boyfriend three times, and have always been honest about it with immigration officers. In this part, I'm sure I'd get in trouble if I stated I went there for tourism, as that would be a lie in many ways.

I will be going to meet her on Wednesday, and I need some help on figuring out whether I should just go with her advice or stand my ground on this.

mts
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L.R
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    Omitting relevant information is deceptive and, on any visa application, you are expected to be open and honest, anything less has risks (and your UK immigration history will be known to the ECO). You may be better served by a UK solicitor whom you can locate through the Law Society or the Immigration Law Practitioners’ Association e.g, via Skype. – Giorgio Jul 31 '17 at 19:10
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    The generic rules when dealing with immigration are (i) answer any questions you are asked directly and truthfully, and (ii) don't answer questions you aren't being asked (if they want to know they will ask). I don't know what a Tier 4 visa application entails but you haven't mentioned the question on the application for which your boyfriend is the answer (the advisor apparently thinks there isn't one) and to be sure to avoid violating (ii) you probably want to start with that. – Dennis Jul 31 '17 at 20:16
  • I really do not need to state where I will be living, and I am okay with not providing documentation for that as it is only required from minors. The section that worries me is the one in which I need to detail my immigration history. I have visited my boyfriend at least twice in the past year and have been honest about it to UK immigration. Omitting my boyfriend in the application as a whole, as she suggested, would get me in big trouble. – L.R Aug 01 '17 at 12:28

  • hired the services of this "UK visa advisor" in my country in order to get things done correctly and efficently. -- sounds like a crook to me. There's no such thing AFAIK. Not officially at least. If he advises wrongly what's your recourse? Nothing, I suspect.

     – chx Aug 02 '17 at 11:35
  • @L.R have you seen this somehow related question? – mts Aug 25 '17 at 16:29

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As commented by @Dennis

The generic rules when dealing with immigration are (i) answer any questions you are asked directly and truthfully, and (ii) don't answer questions you aren't being asked (if they want to know they will ask).

I did not bother to set up an UK visa account, but took the application form for people living in North Korea and will assume that in your application you might face similar questions. Let me also repeat that you should read the full guidance before you apply.

Now the application form feature a question that is:

7.1 Have you travelled to the UK in the last 10 years?
If yes, provide details of any trips in the UK. Include the date, destination, purpose and duration.

Followed by a big box with plenty of space to write in. Now this is my personal opinion, but not mentioning visiting your boyfriend as a purpose seems a notch too far from the truth. I would definitely mention, especially given you will want to live with him.

Given that, I would go as far and have second thoughts about the competence of your "UK visa advisor". If you want to get someone with good and proven qualifications, look here and be ready to spend money.

mts
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  • I did question her competence when I read her email. Unfortunately I have already paid this company a high amount of money, but I am considering dropping tjem after her suggestion. It is the most reputable company in my country for visas and when I emailed another advisor in February they told me my relationship would not be an issue in the application process, so I am confused by my current advisor's stance. I will talk to her on Wednesday to see if I misunderstood her, but I know that lying is not the answer here. I will look into the link you provided, thank you! – L.R Aug 01 '17 at 12:30