Varying a visa with Discretionary Leave to Remain
‘Varying’ your visa means
- extending it so you have more time in the UK, or
- renewing it
- changing the type of visa to match new circumstances
Visitors visas
Inside the UK you cannot
- vary a Visitors visa, or
- extend the time you can be in the UK if you already have a 6 months Visitors visa
You must go back to your country of origin to vary a Visitors visa.
Conditions still apply to visas
The same restrictions and conditions will apply to any new visa you get. The conditions depend on when you got your last visa
Discretionary leave to remain before July 2012
If you got a visa with Discretionary Leave to Remain before July 2012 the same conditions will apply to any new visa. You will get:
- no extra conditions, and:
- 3 years Discretionary Leave to Remain in the UK
You can apply for Indefinite Leave to Remain after you have lived in the UK for 6 years lawfully and continuously with Discretionary Leave to Remain.
Discretionary leave to remain after July 2012
If you got a visa with Discretionary Leave to Remain after July 2012 the same conditions apply to any new visa. You will have:
- no recourse to public funds, and
- 30 months (2.5 years) Discretionary Leave to Remain in the UK
You can apply for Indefinite Leave to Remain after you have lived in the UK for 10 years lawfully and continuously with Discretionary Leave to Remain
What to do now
This depends on when your visa expires. Check today’s date and the date that your visa expires.
Choose 1 of the 4 options below
Option 2 – My visa expired less than 28 days ago
Option 3 – My visa expired more than 28 days ago