Travel before submission of UK visit visa application

I am about to submit my application for a UK visit visa in Pakistan where I intend to go for a family visit either end of March or in April. However, I have a travel (tourism purpose) scheduled for the first two weeks of March. This was pre-booked and I am doing it as some of my leaves will lapse mid-March. I have two questions:

If I submit my application but have not received my passport back from the UK visa centre in time, can I ask for my passport back without withdrawing the application? I will need my passport for travel.
If I submit the application at the end of February (just before travelling), and schedule my appointment with the visa centre two weeks later (after my travel) as it generally takes 1-2 weeks to get an appointment, how do I disclose that country as part of my travel history? I will not have travelled yet, but by the time I hand in my passport that country's stamps/visa will be on it. Will they look at at as a deception, considering that at the time of my application submission, I had not travelled to that country.

Any other suggestion in this situation would be welcome.

visas uk standard-visitor-visas

Best Answer

I've been in the same situation just a few weeks ago.

I dismissed option 1 (as described in your question) because one needs to withdraw the application to get the passport back.

I went with the option 2 (to schedule the appointment right after my travel) and mentioned the details of my upcoming trip in the "additional information" section of the application.

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Quick Answer about "Travel before submission of UK visit visa application"

3 months before your planned travel date for visit visas.

3 months before your employment start date for most work visas.

6 months before your course start date for Student and Child Student visas.

Can I travel to the UK before my visa starts?

Normally you cannot travel to the UK before the start date of your visa, as you must enter after the start date in order to 'activate' your Student visa status.

Can I travel outside the UK while waiting for a decision on my immigration application?

Travel outside the UK while waiting for an immigration decision. Under the new immigration application system, if you apply for further leave to remain or settlement through UK Visa and Citizenship Application Services, you will keep your passport throughout the application process.

Can I travel while my UK visa is being processed?

Applicants submitting an immigration application from inside the UK can keep their passport whilst the application is processing. But there are risks if they want to travel outside the Common Travel Area.

Should I book flights before applying for UK visa?

Do I Need to Book a Flight Ticket Before Applying for a Visa? No. You don't have to buy a flight ticket before you apply for a visa. Instead, you can present a flight itinerary which you can book without paying the full price of the travel ticket and once you obtain your visa you can purchase the real flight ticket.

How to fill UK Visitor Visa application form

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Images: Spencer Davis, Mateusz Sałaciak, Pixabay, Dominika Gregušová