My girlfriend is an Iranian citizen resident in the UK where she’s a Ph.D. student. She will defend her thesis the next 13th of December. At the moment she has a “Tier 4 student visa” until the 31st of January 2017. After the defense of her thesis, she will be able to change her visa for a working visa and she will have a research contract, still in the UK. I am an Italian and British citizen, resident in Florence.
Would it be possible to her to apply for a visa to visit me and my family during the next Christmas holiday?
While we understand that she cannot apply for a “long-term Schengen visa with multiple entry” (since she will soon have a transition from student to working visa), it’s not clear to us if she can apply for a “single-entry visa” for just the period of the Christmas holiday, say 15 days, clearly with a re-entry in the UK before the 31st of January 2017 (ideally on the 6th of January).
Does the Tier 4 need to be valid at least three months after the UK re-entry date?
[Gayot's (edited) edit, moving low quality answers into the question]:
(Regarding: Are you in a "durable relationship"?)
@phoog: Yes, we are. We have been together for over three years, but with no official status. Does it help?
(Regarding: I believe her current British visa should be valid for at least three months. / Did you check the VFS website, I believe Italy uses VFS?)
@dumbcoder: I was afraid so, do you have any official link? I searched the whole web but couldn't find anything relevant.