Can a Religious Sister visit a UK Congregation on a Visitor Visa?

Ordinarily, an overseas Sister must apply for a visa under the T2 Minister of Religion or T5 Religious Worker route before she may travel to the UK to work within a Congregation. The Congregation must be registered as a sponsor before it can sponsor any overseas Sister under either of these routes.

In certain circumstances, it may be possible for an overseas Sister to enter the UK under the Standard Visitor route, thereby avoiding the need for sponsorship by the Congregation.

The Standard Visitor route is likely to be the appropriate immigration route when the overseas Sister is only required to be in the UK for a short amount of time, either to visit other Sisters or for a specific time-limited reason, such as to attend a Congregational meeting.  Before choosing this option, it will be necessary to undertake a careful assessment of the purpose of the visit to ensure that the requirements of the visitor visa route are satisfied.

Requirements of the Standard Visitor route

To qualify under the Standard Visitor route, Appendix V of the Immigration Rules states that the Sister must:

•    be visiting the UK for 6 months or less; 
•    intend to leave the UK at the end of her visit (this could be evidenced by a pre-booked return ticket and letter from the overseas Congregation); 
•    not live in the UK for extended periods through frequent or successive visits, or make the UK her main home (while it is possible to enter the UK for up to 6 months on each occasion, the UKVI will consider the pattern of travel); 
•    be genuinely seeking entry for a purpose that is permitted under the Visitor route;
•    not undertake any prohibited activities; 
•    have sufficient funds to cover all reasonable costs in relation to her visit without working or accessing public funds. 
-    Note: As it is very uncommon for a Religious Sister to have her own bank account, or receive an income, it is possible for proof of sufficient funds to be provided by the Congregation, provided there is a genuine professional or personal relationship. To satisfy the evidential requirements, the Congregation would need to prepare a clear written undertaking confirming full financial support, outlining the relationship with the Sister and clearly explaining the nature of a Sister’s role, i.e. that she does not have (nor can she hold) a bank account or any assets in her own name in accordance with her vow of poverty.

Permitted Activities

To determine if the Standard Visitor route would be suitable for any Sister’s visit to the UK, it is necessary to consider whether the proposed activities would fall within the permitted activities listed in Appendix Visitor of the Immigration Rules.  PA 13 states that religious workers overseas may visit the UK “to preach or do pastoral work” and are permitted to undertake pastoral duties, which can include one-off engagements provided these are one-off engagements for which they are not receiving payment and they continue to be in employment overseas.

It is also possible for a Sister to undertake general business activities including attending meetings, conferences, seminars or interviews under the visitor visa route.

Prohibited Activities

The overseas Sister must not seek to work for a UK organisation or take up an office, post or appointment in the UK under the Standard Visitor route. She must further not receive payment from a UK source for any activities undertaken in the UK. There are, however, limited exceptions to this, including payment for reasonable expenses to cover travel/subsistence costs.

As such, if the intention is for a Sister to come to the UK for a short duration to take part in activities such as attending meetings within the Congregation (for example, a Trustee meeting or the General Chapter), or sharing in the religious life with other Sisters in the UK and thereafter returning to their community abroad, it is possible that the visitor visa route could be applicable. If, however, the Sister will be active as a Religious Sister during the visit or undertake activities for the UK Congregation which amount to working in the UK, the visitor visa requirements would not be met.  It will therefore be important to consider the specific purpose, length and intended activities of the Sister’s trip.

Entering the UK as a Visitor 

Citizens of countries on the visa national list, found here, must apply for a visa in advance of travelling to the UK. If the overseas Sister is a visa national, she must apply online for a Standard Visitor visa in her country of residence in the three-month window before her planned date of arrival in the UK.  Current processing times under the standard service are three to six weeks from the date of the biometric appointment. A priority service, which aims for a decision to be made in five working days, may also be available to purchase for an additional fee.

Non-visa nationals who are not on the visa national list (including EEA nationals, US, Canadian and Australian nationals, among others) do not need to apply for a visa in advance of travelling to the UK. If the Sister is a non-visa national, she must make a request to enter the UK as a Standard Visitor at the UK border, i.e. when her flight lands in the UK or she seeks to board the Eurostar.  While non-visa nationals do not need to apply for the visa in advance of travel, they must still meet the same legal and documentary requirements outlined above.

In both cases, entry to the UK is not guaranteed and the border official can refuse entry to the UK if they are not satisfied that the Sister’s planned activities in the UK are permitted under the Standard Visitor route or that the other eligibility or suitability requirements are met.

Making a Successful Visitor Visa Application

Through our work with faith-based organisations, we have recently seen a rise in the number of reports that a Religious Sister’s visitor visa application has been refused.  

In our experience, the Home Office can scrutinise such applications for religious workers and will commonly refuse an application if the supporting documentation does not make clear how the purpose of the trip falls within the permitted religious activities, how the financial requirement is satisfied if a Sister does not receive any income, or if sufficient evidence demonstrating an intention to return is not provided.

Our services

We regularly complete Visitor Visa applications for Religious Sisters and have a 100% success rate. We offer different levels of support and can either complete the entire application process on a Sister's behalf, including preparing all required correspondence such as a detailed Letter of Representation outlining how the legal requirements are satisfied, or check an already prepared draft application for accuracy before it is submitted.

We also offer an Entry as a Visitor package for a non-visa national Sister to present to a border official upon their arrival to the UK.  This package includes a Letter of Representation, a list of the evidence in support, and template letters of support (which we can prepare on your behalf) from the UK Congregation and the Sister’s community overseas, outlining the purpose of the visit and supporting with demonstrating an intention to return.

Please contact Julie Moktadir, our Head of Immigration and the Head of Stone King’s Faith Sector, at juliemoktadir@stoneking.co.uk should you wish to discuss this further.