Visitor Visa To Uk Requirements

[keebone]

I'm thinking of bringing my Thai GF over to the UK for a visit on a visitors visa. She has a good job as a fairly senior nurse in a major hospital and has a house worth about 3 million baht in her name. She says that if as planned she came for around a months stay she can get a letter from her employer to the effect that she has to return to work on a specified date, she has also visited family in Germany in the past and would have the stamps in her passport to show she returned to Thailand. Whilst in the UK she would stay at my home.

So what would our chances be of getting a visitors visa ?

I can put money into her bank account to show she has enough to support herself during the trip but how much approximately should this be and would it have to be merely enough for the proposed months stay or enough to cover whatever the full length of a visitors visa is be that 60 or 90 days or whatever.

Would I have to be a sponsor and if so what would I have to prove to be such ?

[the scouser]

From the circumstances you have described, your girlfriend stands a perfectly good chance of getting a visit visa. That she has a good job to return to and has previously visited Europe both stand her in good stead.

She would have to demonstrate the length of your relationship, and you would have to show that you have the funds available to pay for the trip and room enough to accommodate her.

Scouse.

[the scouser]

PS. You don't need to put any money in your girlfriend's bank account for the purposes of her getting the visa. It is sufficient for you to display that you have the funds available in your account in the UK.

Scouse.

[keebone]

Thanks for the very swift reply Scouse.

What would count as evidence of the length of our relationship ?

We've been together 2 1/2 years but I cant think of any concrete proof we'd have apart from a few xmas/birthday cards and the stamps in my passport from visits which dont prove anything really. I may have some emails from airasia confirming we travelled together and we've got plenty of digital photos of times together if these are any help.

Is it enough merely to show sufficient funds for the visit or would proof of employment also be needed ?

[the scouser]

All that you've mentioned is good evidence of a relationship, but also show phone bills, letters, etc. if you have them.

With her application, you should submit your bank statements for the last 6 months and your apy slips for the last 3-4 months. A letter from your employer would also assist.

Scouse.

[Mahout Angrit]

See Notes for Visitors and Notes for Sponsors , provide what they suggest and she has a good chance.

[chiang mai]

The process for genuine applications where all the sensible and reasonable requirements are met is a lot easier than one might think. I applied recently for a UK tourist visa for my girlfriend and it was approved without anyone checking any of the information supplied and without an interview. Having a reason to return is important and home ownership and a decent job satisfies the requirements easily. Most important is that the Embassy is satisfied that all the costs of the trip can be met and that there will be no recourse to public funds. I included a cover letter with our application and set out an overview of the reasons why, who pays what and how much, reasons for returning to Thailand etc. I think that the easier you can make it for Embassy staff the better of you will be. Don't sweat the proof of the relationship aspect. I couldn't include anything to prove we have lived together for two years simply because we didn't have anything and it turned out not to be important. Go ahead and send in the application and let us know how it turns out.

[stament]

Thanks for the very swift reply Scouse.

What would count as evidence of the length of our relationship ?

We've been together 2 1/2 years but I cant think of any concrete proof we'd have apart from a few xmas/birthday cards and the stamps in my passport from visits which dont prove anything really. I may have some emails from airasia confirming we travelled together and we've got plenty of digital photos of times together if these are any help.

Is it enough merely to show sufficient funds for the visit or would proof of employment also be needed ?

Don't think you'll have a problem at all. The main stumbling block is "reason to return" However, in your case your TG is going to have a letter from her employer (saying she has a job to go back to) and a THB 3m house in her name!!! I'd be very surprised indeed if she didn't get one. You only need to prove the relationship - hols together (passport visa dates same), hotel bills/flights, emails, etc, etc.

Just for info my TG has visited me 3 times in England now and she doesn't own and land nor have a job to return to. I sponsored her and met all the conditions and proved the relationship existed.

There are some good threads on here and on www.thailand-uk.com - check them out

Cheers,

Stam

[teacher]

PS. You don't need to put any money in your girlfriend's bank account for the purposes of her getting the visa. It is sufficient for you to display that you have the funds available in your account in the UK.

Scouse.

i agree you dont need to put money into her account as the Embassy will only want to know where it's come from and possibly know you will take it out when she gets the visa anyway.

Having said that i do disagree with the quote above.

Your girlfriend MUST show she has the ability to fund the trip herself. Although the sponsor has a roll to play and his finances will be taken into consideration the emphasis must be on the applicant to show funds and in many cases assets like land, house, car etc. your lady will have a good enough reason to return with her employment.

The Schengen visa system (for EUROPE) has a chart i think it's mimimum of 265 euro plus 37 euro for every day they stay there and some immigration controls at the airport are now asking to see her money before entry.

This will cover her hotel bills etc should anything happen like, you two have a dissagrement and split up. ALL VISITORS VISAS TO THE UK HAVE THE FOLLOWING WORDING STAMPED IN THE VISA NOW.

NO RECOURSE TO PUBLIC FUNDS.

[the scouser]

There is no requirement upon the visa applicant to demonstrate that they can fund the visit from their own resources. The Immigration Rules (para 41) state, inter alia:-

(vi) will maintain and accommodate himself ... adequately out of resources available to him without recourse to public funds or taking employment; or will ... be maintained and accommodated adequately by relatives or friends; (my emphasis)

Additionally, the UK is not part of Schengen, so to cite their rules in relation to UK applications is to muddy the waters. However, the Schengen countries, too, accept financial sponsorship by someone other then the visa applicant.

The relevance of the visa applicant demonstrating employment and assets is not to establish that they have the ability to fund the trip, but that they have an incentive to leave the UK at the conclusion of the visit.

Scouse.

[keebone]

Thanks to all for the advice offered.

It seems her side of the requirements is pretty much covered but I'm not so sure my side is. I've been sharing my time between the UK and Thailand for the last year and have not been employed during this time. Although I'm planning on going back to full time work in the near future I'd like to bring my GF over before then so I can devote plenty of time to her during her visit. I've no problem financing her visit but obviously I've not got pay slips etc to show income. I thought that maybe if I were to put money into her account so in effect she is financing the trip herself then all that I would have to prove is that I have somewhere for her to stay but looks as though this is probably not the case.

[the scouser]

If a large deposit suddenly appears in your girlfriend's account, the visa officer might perceive that you're trying to bolster her application. This would be a shame as, from the circumstances you've described, she otherwise has a good chance of getting the visa.

It's not a prerequisite that your are in a job: you just have to demonstrate that you have money to pay for the trip. Therefore, if you have sufficient savings, there's no reason why those shouldn't be accepted.

Scouse.

[gregchambers]

The lady would perhaps be better off applying on her own, as she seems to meet all the criteria for a visitor's visa to the UK - why put her under greater scruntiny by having a sponsor - unless the poster wants to take things further with the lady in the future and use the visit as proof of relationship, etc

[Trevor]

Thanks for the very swift reply Scouse.

What would count as evidence of the length of our relationship ?

We've been together 2 1/2 years but I cant think of any concrete proof we'd have apart from a few xmas/birthday cards and the stamps in my passport from visits which dont prove anything really. I may have some emails from airasia confirming we travelled together and we've got plenty of digital photos of times together if these are any help.

Is it enough merely to show sufficient funds for the visit or would proof of employment also be needed ?

Don't think you'll have a problem at all. The main stumbling block is "reason to return" However, in your case your TG is going to have a letter from her employer (saying she has a job to go back to) and a THB 3m house in her name!!! I'd be very surprised indeed if she didn't get one. You only need to prove the relationship - hols together (passport visa dates same), hotel bills/flights, emails, etc, etc.

Just for info my TG has visited me 3 times in England now and she doesn't own and land nor have a job to return to. I sponsored her and met all the conditions and proved the relationship existed.

There are some good threads on here and on www.thailand-uk.com - check them out

Cheers,

Stam

Stam, very lucky to get a visa when the TG has no job or property! Normally the embassy will say she has nothing to return to.

When I attempted this many years ago the British official told me bluntly that she could disappear out of the gates of Heathrow, never to be seen again. What exactly did your 'sponsorship' entail? Given her economic status, was it not a fiancee visa you applied for? But then they let her back twice more ...

I thought, and a poster here confirms, that the Thai party has to 'sponsor' her own travel arrangements as a tourist, and that the host's invitation was a much lesser factor. Thanks.

Edited May 21, 2007 by Trevor

[gregchambers]

I did the same thing four years ago, got gf with no land or job vv to UK (visa agent wanted 50k to do the fiancee visa route, gotta laugh) - but I could prove that I had to return to Thailand and could not stay UK for more than three months due to tax reasons. I also had a bit of work history for the girl in factory and bakery and no mention of anywhere like Pattaya... the embassy seemed happy enough with the likelihood of her coming back with me and the interview was less than five minutes. Also had good proof of relationship with joint apartment lease and identical visa stamps for visits to nearby countries going back six months. I think I was lucky to get so little hassle. Esp as twenty year age difference, she then 26.

So it is not impossible, you just have some very good paperwork and as sponsor good financial standing and reason for coming back to Thailand.