Extended period out of the country on a bridging visa (461)

[jimboallen95]

Hi all,

I currently have an on-shore application for a 461 visa since Feb 2019, i'm on a bridging visa.

My partner and I potentially have to return to England for an extended period (unsure of length but could be 1-2 years) due to personal family issues so am considering either applying for repeated Bridging visa B's and returning each time until a decision is made (up to 26-28 months) or potentially withdrawing my visa and re-applying off-shore so I am able to leave the country for a longer period.

Does anyone have any advice on this? Do you know if I withdrew my bridging A and left the country, could I re-apply off-shore for the 461 almost right away or is there a cooling off period in between applying for the same visa?

It appears you can't switch to an off-shore once you have applied onshore and the processing time is so long it appears we wouldn't have a grant before needing to leave.

I know we won't get a refund but my main concern is withdrawing and then having to wait a year to re-apply and then the processing time of 2 years.


Thanks.

[paulhand]

Correct that you can’t switch your application. You can withdraw it (you withdraw the 461 application, not the BV). There is no cooling off period and London 461s do seem to be processing faster than onshore ones by a fair margin at the moment.