UK visa for Thai wife/girlfriend

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Khundon1975
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Re: Thai g/f to England

Post by Khundon1975 »

Big Boy wrote::oops: Missed that :wink:
No, BigBoy I don't think you did.

I have to own up. I did an edit when I realized I had not put the word "sometimes" in my post. :twisted:

I think you read the original post correctly, during which time I had done my edit and re-posted with the edit included.

I could let you believe that you are getting dementia and not fit for the role of moderator, but I would hate to see a grown man cry. :wink:

You can sleep peacefully tonight, safe in the knowledge that you are sane, at least for now. :thumb:

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Re: Thai g/f to England

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:thumb:
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Re: Thai g/f to England

Post by Midsman »

Yes I took all the advice onboard which I thanked everyone for.

I will be making a genuine claim with no bullshit.

I asked the question because now if you ring the Embassy there is no one you can talk to about criteria needs etc and its all online.Call me old fashioned but I still like to talk to someone.

I dont think the Embassy staff stereotype everybody before they meet you.Thats the whole idea of the process to weed out the scammers.They probably deal with more genuine cases than scams.

Once again thankyu for your advice
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Re: Thai g/f to England

Post by Big Boy »

Midsman, if you do everything right, and you're living here, you will probably sail through the process. However, please be under no misapprehension regarding the Embassy staff. I have known several very genuine cases rejected on the basis of fiction.

If you fail, and are given the right of appeal, I've not known a single appeal hearing not laughed out of court in the UK by the judge - these guys write fairy tales, which I sincerely hope you don't have to find out for yourself.

The stereotype information is amongst the best you've received. Provide as much information as possible, and a bit more. Underestimate them at your peril.
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Re: Thai g/f to England

Post by caller »

Midsman wrote:I dont think the Embassy staff stereotype everybody before they meet you.Thats the whole idea of the process to weed out the scammers.They probably deal with more genuine cases than scams.
I think they keep an open mind, but not sure where the meeting bit comes from? And yes, most applicants are successful. For a vv, judging by all you have said, you shouldn't really have any issues. 'Proving' the reason to return is very important.

It's still a fact that ladies don't return. I knew one working illegally as a cleaner (own business) and I sometimes wonder what happened to her and her boyfriend, they were both really nice people, knew exactly what they were doing, planning a future in Thailand etc, but the stakes have got much higher now, if caught.
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Re: Thai g/f to England

Post by J.J.B. »

You also have to factor-in that the embassy will outsource all of this work to a third party. Gone are the days when you can call someone at the embassy and strike-up a rapport through your impeccable Queen's English. Everything will be based on a points system and much of it semi-automated. If the final assessor smells a rat because there are some inconsistencies or your application requires too much human intervention, you could be refused. I daresay creating too much fuss won't work in your favour. It strikes me getting a visa is similar to getting a loan or car insurance these days: you're guilty until proved innocent!
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Re: Thai g/f to England

Post by Jose »

Ok

here is my experience for what it is worth, this took place Nov- Dec last year so under 6 months old

I applied for a tourist visa for my gf and her 6 year old son

she is same age as me and has a good job at the same international school, she has her own business in her hometown as well.
she needed bank statements and letter from employer, the letter from the employer stated that she had 4 weeks holiday and would return to her job after that.
I needed to to provide proof of accommodation, this was a letter from my father offering to look after us with photos of rooms.
I provided both Thai and UK bankstatements and Uk investments, I used photocopies

We also had proof of travel together, Hong Kong and Malaysia, photos and flight and hotel bills.

We fucked several things up, such wrong sized photos, not getting documents certified till the last second, I filled in the wrong form for her son.

We were still successful, as long as your gf has a job for a real company not mom and pop then it should be ok.

If your a 90 year old German that has just met a 18 year old ladyboy in Pattaya then your milage may very
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Post by dalmatiandave »

The main reason for rejection is based on the view that the girl has no reason to return to Thailand or can not support her stay in UK.

If she has good finances, a job to return to and property she owns then as a visitor she is quite capable of receiving a visitor visa without a foreign boyfriend intervention although having a boyfriend offering accommodation is a plus.

My girlfriend has been to the UK 3 times, she has no job, no real money, no property.
She has a partner though she has lived with for 5 years, can show proof in pics and emails, can show proof of previous trips abroad in those 5 years, can show offers of accommodation, supporting letters from family and friends and proof of significant finances that would cover all gfs expenses including flights/spending money.

Now we live in Thailand so proof of address, reason for both returning etc also helps.

The main thing though for me and is shown on the application form is 'as long as you tell the truth' it is likely she will get a visa.

If you need to lie to offer substantiation for offer of visa you are setting yourself up for a big fail.

I have spoken with guys whose gfs were rejected; longevity of relationship and lack of evidence of that relationship could lead to rejection.

The filling in of the application form is laborious but a little effort with all supporting documentation should see u ok.
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Re: UK visa for Thai wife/girlfriend

Post by buksida »

Anyone done this recently? Any updates to the process/requirements?

Currently going through the forms at: http://www.visa4uk.fco.gov.uk

There seems to be a lot of different visa types which adds to the confusion ...
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Re: UK visa for Thai wife/girlfriend

Post by Khundon1975 »

Hi buksida :) Yes did 4 visas a couple of weeks ago from the UK.
Paid visa costs by card, no problem.

I fill out online applications, then send them by post to Thailand for them to check, only changes being countries they have visited (stamps in passport) since I applied for their last UK visa.

They take completed application forms and all supporting documents to interview in BKK. I always ensure that I have completed section that says someone else has completed the applications for them.

2 x 10 year visas (wife's parents) and 2 x 2 year visas (wife's niece and mother). All went well, but my problem is getting 4 interview slots on the same day in BKK! :cuss:

I usually book the interview dates from the UK, then print out Interview letter and send that later, as an attachment to an e-mail.

I'm lucky, in that they have all been to UK a few times before, on 6 month family visas. We decided to go for the longer Visas, so we don't have the hassle of going through the application process every year. They can now just book a flight and come over any time. :P

Not sure about "Any updates to the process/requirements?" except that going for the longer visas, was just as easy as the 6 month visas.
Like everything that we have to do when dealing with BKK Immigration, just make sure that you have all the correct documentation, supporting evidence, ETC and you should be fine.

Good luck. :cheers:
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Re: UK visa for Thai wife/girlfriend

Post by buksida »

Thanks for that, did you use the link I posted above or a different one?

I've completed the initial two stages online and its now asking us to book an appointment but has not told us what supporting documents (or what translations) to bring. I dont want to drive 7 hours to Bangkok only to be told to go back and get xyz.
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Re: UK visa for Thai wife/girlfriend

Post by Khundon1975 »

Yes buksida I used the Visa4UK, same as you.

I always err on the side of caution and go OTT, on what they may require.

I always make sure that they include proof of money in bank, theirs and ours, proof of their properties (Full Chanotes not copies), proof of where they will be staying in the UK, proof (letters from my family and friends they have made on previous trips) that they will be visiting in the UK. I include Towns and Cities they will be visiting.

I did not translate English supporting evidence to Thai, but always had Thai documents translated (Certified and stamped) into English. I have some pics (head and shoulders) taken on their last visit, which I use for passport sized photos. I use a free, online site, to compose and print them off, then send them with their application forms to Thailand. Again, just in case.

A pain in the proverbial, but you can bet that any document they ask for in English, is the one that you have not had translated.
I also always get them to take colour copies of their passport pages, old and new and copies of anything else that you submit with your application, such as expired passports, just in case you meet an interviewer with a hangover who wants to make life difficult. :wink:

The only problem I ever encountered was, as I mentioned, getting a block booking for the interviews.
My wife was in BKK for one application I was making for them and I had told her that I was finding it very difficult getting them all in on the same day.

She went to see a certain company, who I won't name, who, I believe, submit the applications to BKK Imm. They said, for a fee of Baht 16,000 each application, :cuss: they would walk them across the road and get them all in together.
Needless to say, the wife put her straight on that little scam. :naughty:

Eventually, I managed to get a block booking online, but had to stay up until the early hours on several nights, to wait for people to cancel their appointments, then grab them, when 4 slots on the same day came free.
Hence the application for 10 year visas.

All turned out fine and they all received their passports back, complete with the visa stamp, within 7 days by post.

Wrap your application up in a nice ring binder and you will be fine. :thumb:
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Re: UK visa for Thai wife/girlfriend

Post by buksida »

Just completed this process using the above link, very quick and efficient service, passport was EMS mailed back to us 9 days after the appointment complete with a 6 month UK visit visa. Application and visa fee was $110 USD.

:cheers:
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Re: UK visa for Thai wife/girlfriend

Post by Big Boy »

Congratulations - the perfect Christmas present.
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Re: UK visa for Thai wife/girlfriend

Post by Khundon1975 »

Well done Buksida, Merry Christmas and enjoy your visit to Blighty.
:cheers:
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