Do you know someone in the United Kingdom? This question stands tall among the many travel-related questions readers send to Jetsanza.com.
As this may sound very simple with a YES or NO answer, it can really influence the outcome of your visa application as you may end up lying or giving out false information.
This question appears on almost all visa application forms but readers who sent in questions asked in relation to UK visa applications. The answer to this question applies to all countries.
Do you know someone in the UK?
Almost every Ghanaian knows someone in the UK. If even you don’t have a relative, you may have friends, school mates or even people who got to know through friends and social media. So the likelihood of you answering YES to this question is very high.
Do you really know someone in the UK?
You might have answered YES already but do you really know someone in the UK? If you know someone, you are expected to know much about he person or at least some basic information that you may be asked. Most of these Visa Forms go ahead to ask you names, addresses, telephone numbers and even more about the person you claim to know.
So now ask yourself again, do you really know someone in the UK or the country you are applying a visa for? If you don’t have any information about the person(s) you are claiming to know, you don’t know him. If you know someone, you should be able to know their marital status, children, and even their religious background.
How do you answer then?
If you actually know the person and have all information about him/her, go ahead and answer YES. If you don’t have the information but can obtain from them, go ahead and answer YES. As you answer YES, make sure you have notified all the persons you’ve mentioned since they may deny knowing you if the embassy happens to crosscheck from them. If you have been told by your parents that your grannies or aunties live in the UK but you have no information about them and their whereabouts, or you know someone in the UK but have little information about them and cannot obtain further details from them, answer NO. You don’t ‘know’ them.
But answering NO isn’t entirely true because you somehow know them. You see how tricky this could be? And remember it’s hard to defend lies throughout your many travels and as such it would be in your best interest to provide accurate information at the time of applying for visa.
What do you do then?
If you don’t really know anyone, then you can go ahead and answer NO and that’s all but if you know someone but have very little information about them or they play no role in your travel, take advantage of the additional information section to tell the visa consular about this. State that you know people in the UK but have very little or no information about them and that’s why you answered NO to that question.
Why is this question very important?
Like any other question on a visa application form, this is equally important. The status of the person you know could influence the outcome of your visa application. Knowing a wanted criminal or the Queen can affect the outcome of your application negatively and positively, respectively. It can also tell if you have people to count on for assistance when the need arises. It could also mean that such people would make it easy for you to remain in the country as an illegal immigrant should you decide not to return to your home country.
Disclaimer: This is just an answer to a question and adhering to this does not guarantee the issuance of a visa.
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