# Honorary Consuls and Visas **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 21, 2010, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/honorary-consuls-and-visas/536814 "2010-04-21T02:04:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2010, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/honorary-consuls-and-visas/536814/1 "2010-04-21T02:04:31Z")
American citizen in the U.S. I’m going to need to travel to England to check in with my doctorate advisor. It will only be a few times a year and no more than a week at a time. However, I have a suspicion growing that since it is school business, I will need a student visa. Sure I might be passed on by the border authority at Heathrow, but it is my school’s mandate to collect passport/visa numbers that may demand it. In Phoenix, we have is an honorary consul. Could they get me a visa within say a month? Do they grant visas at all? ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2010, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/honorary-consuls-and-visas/536814/2 "2010-04-21T02:13:23Z")
You do not need a student visa to visit England for a week. Just go and have a pint or twelve. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2010, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/honorary-consuls-and-visas/536814/3 "2010-04-21T03:02:07Z")
Here’s what the UK Border Agency says: > [@](#): > > Do I need a visa to visit the UK? > You will need a visa to visit the UK if any of the following apply to you: > you are a national of one of the countries listed in the visa and transit visa nationals page on this website _(The US isn’t on the list -RC_); > you are applying to visit the UK in order to get married; > you are applying as an Academic Visitor and intend to stay in the UK for more than 6 months; > you are applying as a parent of a child at school and intend to stay in the UK for more than 6 months; > you are applying as a Prospective Student; > you are stateless (you do not have a nationality); > you hold a non-national travel document (a travel document which does not give you the nationality of the country that issued it), or > you hold a passport issued by an authority that is not recognised in the UK. None would appear to apply to you. ---
**Author:** ![Keeve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f07891/32.png) [@Keeve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Keeve)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2010, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/honorary-consuls-and-visas/536814/4 "2010-04-21T03:02:20Z")
> [@friedo](#): > > You do not need a student visa to visit England for a week. I think his point was that although it is likely that neither government cares which visa he uses, it’s quite possible that his school - which collects the visa information - does care, and he does not want to get in trouble with his school. ---
**Author:** ![Svejk\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ea666f/32.png) [@Svejk\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Svejk_1)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2010, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/honorary-consuls-and-visas/536814/5 "2010-04-21T03:25:15Z")
That makes no sense. Why would the school care if he is in the UK all nice and legally, and has no designs on outstaying his welcome? I don’t even know how they’d find out, and why they would care if they did. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2010, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/honorary-consuls-and-visas/536814/6 "2010-04-21T03:38:51Z")
> [@Svejk\_1](#): > > That makes no sense. Why would the school care if he is in the UK all nice and legally, and has no designs on outstaying his welcome? I don’t even know how they’d find out, and why they would care if they did. because to enroll (oops British enrol) I need to pick a visa from a pulldown menu ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2010, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/honorary-consuls-and-visas/536814/7 "2010-04-21T04:23:35Z")
> [@Saint\_Cad](#): > > because to enroll (oops British enrol) I need to pick a visa from a pulldown menu It doesn’t offer you the choice of “none”? ---
**Author:** ![Ravenman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ravenman/32/2929_2.png) [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2010, 11:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/honorary-consuls-and-visas/536814/8 "2010-04-21T11:54:37Z")
Some countries farm out some basic visa work to honorary consuls, but that doesn’t include the UK. In fact, it appears that the UK requires Americans to apply for visas online now: [link.](http://www.ukvisas.gov.uk/en/howtoapply/wheretoapply/unitedstates) I’m not fully convinced you need a visa for this, but whatever. I would be surprised if you were required to fill out an online form for enrollment and not able to speak to someone to explain that you are almost certainly covered by the visa waiver program. ---
**Author:** ![Ravenman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ravenman/32/2929_2.png) [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2010, 12:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/honorary-consuls-and-visas/536814/9 "2010-04-21T12:08:29Z")
One more thought: if you pursue the student visa, it is very likely that you will have to show that you have financial support to live in Britain for the entire period of your student visa. Based on my experience, the argument that “I’m only going to be here for a few weeks here and there” probably will not help your cause, because a student visa allows you to live and work a part-time job in the UK, regardless of one’s assurances of the frequency of travel. ---
**Author:** ![elbows](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b3f665/32.png) [@elbows](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elbows)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2010, 1:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/honorary-consuls-and-visas/536814/10 "2010-04-21T13:04:31Z")
They only want your visa number. If you enter via Heathrow, as an American, you will be issued a visa then a there, a visitors visa. The number of that visa, while only a visitor’s visa, will meet your school’s requirement, and they will use that number quite happily. They just want to know you have a visa and are not there illegally. Visitor’s or student doesn’t matter to them, unless you’re planning on staying a whole semester. Student visa’s are intended for persons staying for one or more semester, longer than a visitor’s visa would cover. In fact, there may well be a cap on how many student visas are issued and you could be causing someone else to miss out by your actions. There is also the very likely probability that you would not qualify as you only need be in England for a week. They may view this as over reaching for the intention of overstaying when you need only be there for a week at a time. In short, a student visa is not required for your purposes, was not intended for persons such as yourself, and will be much more difficult, paperwork wise, to acquire and you may find yourself turned down as you don’t really need it. Go with the visitors visa, less work for you, and will satisfy their requirement that you produce a visa so they can record the number. You’re making this a lot more complicated than it needs to be, quit over thinking it. ---
**Author:** ![Some\_Whelks](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ba9def/32.png) [@Some\_Whelks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Some_Whelks)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2010, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/honorary-consuls-and-visas/536814/11 "2010-04-21T16:33:59Z")
**Saint Cad** - If you are not undertaking a course of study but simply having a meeting with your academic advisor you can do this as a general visitor and you will not require a UK visa. If however you are undertaking formal study for a period of less than 6 months then you are a Student Visitor [http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/studyingintheuk/student-visitors/](http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/studyingintheuk/student-visitors/). It might be advisable to carry a letter or some formal document explaining exactly what you will be doing but you are unlikely to run into problems - overseas PHD students and the like are seen pretty frequently at the UK border. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2010, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/honorary-consuls-and-visas/536814/12 "2010-04-21T19:25:19Z")
> [@Some\_Whelks](#): > > **Saint Cad** - If you are not undertaking a course of study but simply having a meeting with your academic advisor you can do this as a general visitor and you will not require a UK visa. If however you are undertaking formal study for a period of less than 6 months then you are a Student Visitor [http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/studyingintheuk/student-visitors/](http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/studyingintheuk/student-visitors/). It might be advisable to carry a letter or some formal document explaining exactly what you will be doing but you are unlikely to run into problems - overseas PHD students and the like are seen pretty frequently at the UK border. I know all this I knew which is why I didn’t worry about it before, but I’m worried that when I hear back from the University that THEY will require a visa considering “none” is not a choice. Ah well, I guess I’ll worry about it then.