Visa to Scotland?
 

Hello,

I am an American student studying in Spain for the year. I have a student visa until June 30, 2012, but I am going to spend the summer (June 15 - August 15) on a farm in Scotland. The issue is how I'm going to get into Scotland. I am not sure if I should try and extend my Spanish student visa until the end of August, or if I should go ahead and apply for a UK working (Tier 5- temporary worker: charity) visa. The hard thing about getting the UK visa is that I'm currently in Spain, and I have to send my documents back to the US.

Does anyone have any experience with this type of issue?

Thanks,
Katherine

Spain is in the Schengen Zone and the UK is not. So I suspect that your student visa, which allows you to be in the Schengen Zone longer than the 90 days allowed for tourists, has no bearing on travel to Scotland. When you got to Scotland, you'll go through passport control and have to show that you are eligible for entry into the UK.

If you are travelling to Scotland as a tourist, then normal tourist rules apply - need a passport, evidence of onward ticket within the allowed time, etc. Since you are going for work, you will need to get a visa.

"Please note that charity workers, religious workers, and other temporary workers -- even those performing unpaid duties -- are required to obtain a visa prior to traveling to the United Kingdom. You can find information on temporary workers on the UKBA website."

More info is on the following site:

http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_p...y_requirements

You will be able to apply for your UK visa in Spain at the British consulate, as you have a long-stay visa for Spain. Your Scottish contact should be able to supply documents required for application, such as certificate of sponsorship.

Alec is slightly wrong; you will have to apply in the US. You absolutely need a visa. And as a student you can only apply in Spain for 2 or three categories and charity worker isn't one of them; and you'll need to go home to enrol your biometric information.

UKBA rule is if you have a visa allowing you to stay in Spain longer than 6 months (OP has a 12-month student visa), it should be possible to apply in Spain. I know you are an immigration solicitor but this is the normal rule for applying for UK entry clearance outside UK.

It would certainly do no harm to ask at the nearest British consulate, or the UKBA direct - might as well get it from the horse's mouth.

I refer you to:-


http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/co...=UK%20English#

which says, inter alia:-

"If you currently have temporary permission to stay in Spain, Balearic Islands, Andorra, Canary Islands, Ceuta and Melilla, or the Azores (for example, as a student or a visitor), you can only apply for some types of UK visa"

"If you have temporary permission to stay (for example, as a visitor) and you do not have a valid resident permit, you cannot apply for most types of UK visa in that country. You can only apply for:

a visitor visa
a Tier 5 (Temporary worker - creative and sporting) visa
an EEA family permit"

"To apply for any other type of UK visa, you must apply under the procedure for your country of residence."

As you say, I'm an immigration lawyer; but I know pretty much nothing about Spanish immigration law, so I don't know if the OP has a Spanish Residence Permit or not. On a 12 month visa, I'd assume not. That, however, will determine the situation.