Staying in the UK for over six months
 

My cousin who has lived in Australia for over forty years has a British passport. She and her husband who is an Australian citizen and has an Australian passport are planning to visit the UK for tourism purposes in the second half of 2015 for a period of nine months. As far as I can see an Australian citizen does not require a visa to enter the UK, but permission to stay is for six months. To whom should they apply to enable them to come for a nine month stay?

The UK consulate closest to where they live in Australia.

https://www.gov.uk/government/world/australia is the website of the UK High Comission in Australia.

https://www.gov.uk/check-uk-visa shows you what visa you need to apply for.

If you are planning on visiting family you can probably get a family visa.

You will also need health insurance, and it is doubtful your Australian insurance will cover you for such a long time out of Australia, so you will need to find an alternative insurance, for your wife as well as yourself, since she hasn't paid into the Health service in many many years.
Whilst you may not be charged if you are ill it is better to be prepared.

There is a reciprocal healthcare agreement between Britain and Australia, but not everything may be covered in the same way as you are used to, and it may depend on a doctor's judgement as to whether treatment could wait until you get home, so you may well need additional medical insurance:
http://www.nhs.uk/nhsengland/aboutnh...-services.aspx
http://www.humanservices.gov.au/cust...-countries#a13

All the information you need on visas is here..

https://www.gov.uk/government/organi...nd-immigration

I'm grateful for the replies. My cousin has rightly decided to go to the UK consulate in Melbourne to check everything out. The key issue really is whether the fact that they are coming to the UK as tourists for over six months(they are coming for nine months) is problematic, as Australians don't require visas for a stay of up to six months. So really the question she needs to be clear about is whether her husband needs to ensure he has permission to stay nine months before they travel next year, or whether he will have to seek an extension while here in the UK. The latter sounds full of hassle and requiring time and energy during their holiday; the former would give peace of mind before they set off, so checking with the UK consulate in Melbourne should bring an official answer.

Good luck, but I hope they're not disappointed. My understanding is that there's a definite limit of six months for a visit/tourism visa which can't be extended under any circumstances.

Visitor cannot stay in UK longer than 6 months. The exception is for those coming for private medical treatment, archaeological dig or academic visitor (e.g. professor etc). If he enters UK as a visitor, he will be stamped 6 months with employment and public funds prohibited. There is no mechanism for extending his stay beyond 6 months, and just staying on makes him an illegal overstayer. Neither can he do a visa run to France, for example. He will in all likelihood be refused leave to enter at UK border, and will be sent back.
UK doesn't offer long-stay, non-working visa unlike some other European countries.
There are a couple of possibilities. If he has UK-born grandparent, he can get 5-year ancestry visa, and if he is aged 30 or under, he can get two-year working holiday visa called Tier 5 youth mobility scheme visa.

UK consulate or embassy don't give immigration advice. You will simply be directed to the official website quoted above. There is an expensive call centre in UK, but their advice is simply taken from the website accessible to anyone. You can consult an immigration advisor or lawyer, but you will be told the same as above.