ldma

Handed in on Monday, VAC had it completed for collection by Wednesday morning, but had to schlep up from the South so didn't get it til the Friday....I figure that means the Embassy can be done with it in as little as two days.

If your bank account runs to five figures, I think you can afford a tenner, noh?

Yeah, but I'm a cheapskate!

Seriously thanks for the advice.

Cheers Scouser, can I also ask, whether the sponsor's bank account has any bearing on decisions, or whether their more interest in job prospects.

Any idea where I can obtain a moody copy of the Life in The UK test handbook on pdf?

My family is looking to move back to the UK (Thai wife and Dual Nat daughter) next April (2008). We'll have been married for 6 years by then and I understood she can apply for indefinite right to remain immediately. Is this still true? I heard there is now a UK general knowlege test to pass. This isn't a problem as my wife is perfectly capable in English.

The other thing is what documents do we need to produce exactly?

With me as her sponsor I have adequate funds in the bank (5 figures), and I have a contact in the UK with a medium-sized and well-established import export warehousing business willing to provide a letter offering me employment. Would this be enough to satisfy sponsor the embassy of my ability to get employment?

Can anyone elaborate on the kind of documentation need for this other than previously mentioned?

Also what kind of documentation is required to prove the accommodation requirement? My parents are no longer in the UK, but my cousin has said she'd be able to arrange rented accommodation. How can I prove such accommodation is/will be available?

I'm not willing to come back first as it's a heavy burden on my wife to bring our daughter on her own, and I'm equally unwilling to keep hopping backwards and forwards to Thailand.

My wife believes she has good job prospects in the uk...she has an MA(Dist) from a top British Uni and has been a Uni department head here in Thailand. Would this kind of information make her application any more favourable?

Finally, how much is it going to cost during the application process?

Thanks for all and any info...

Just been working out the ramifications for Songkhla/Hatyai....conclusion...90% of mom/pops will be banned, plus Lotus, Big C and Carrefour are all next to or opposite schools and temples.

More pissing in the wind....

So how does my Thai wife prove her income then?

Ok, so I know it's a joint family income of 40k+ a month, but what documents will I be expected to provide to prove it. Will a letter from my employers certifying the last three months salary be enough? Ditto for my wife?

The reason I ask is because my last month's salary wasn't banked but given to me in cash and so my bank book would likely show a missed month's salary if that was the proof needed.

Good thread...possibly the first time I've come to TV with a specific question in mind and bang...there's a guy with exactly the same circumstances as me asking the exact same question I had in mind there on the front page . Good info guys!

I'll give one more very good reason for wanting to convert from Non-B status to Non-O status.

Incompetant Thai school admins who botch up extension applications every time, and leave everything til the last minute leaving me wondering whether I'm going ot be forced out of the country to get a new visa.

At least with Non-O, most of the onus of getting my extension is on my wife and I, plus I'm not going to get my visa cancelled should I change my job and they screw that up too. (As happened two weeks ago at my school!)

I need to know that my living in Thailand is because of my family not because of the whim of my school.

Incidently like the site redesign....has Invision Power Board had an upgrade just lately then?

Now what solecisms could you be referring to now Mr Scouser?

Ok, anyway...we're feeling a lot more confident about it all. It's such a shame Thailand is not so accomodating to foreign husbands.

As you have been married for so long, it is probable that instead of being given a spouse visa, which has to be converted to Indefinite Leave to Remain after 2 years, she will be granted Indefinite Leave to Enter, which means she can live in the UK indefinitely. Either way, she will be able to work immediately.

As you have been living (and working?) in Thailand for so long it is understandable that you may not have a job or accommodation in the UK. This need not be a problem if you have friends or relatives who can temporarily accommodate you and your family, and if necessary support you until you find work. Any savings you may have can be used for this as well, of course.

Obviously, the better your employment prospects the easier this will be, so it would be a good idea to have some interviews lined up for when you return, if possible.

Thankyou very much for that, both my wife and I are feeling a lot more confident for it.

I do have family I could write down as initial hosts, though it would be more than lilkely that we'd do little more than dump our luggage there and head off to look for our own place immediately.

From the information you have sent me it seems that they would take not just my own employment prospects but those of my wife into consideration. Is that a reasonable assessment? It's just that I'm in the unusual position (for Thailand) where my wife is likely to have a greater earnings potential in the UK than myself.

I have a few questions regarding a UK settlement visa for my wife who will be coming back along with our daughter (who holds dual nationality Thai/UK).

We have been married 4.5 years and are planning to relocate back in the Uk in around 18 months time.

My wife has a sucessful career here as a University admiistrator and head of department and has a Masters with Distinction from a top UK University and we both feel that she is eminently qualified to take up a similar position back in the UK.

Looking at the VAF2 form and instructions, it appears that as a married couple, she would be entitled to work straight away. Is this correct or would she need an additional work permit? Would there be anything barring her under a settlement visa from taking up a job as outlined before? I noted that fiancees are barred from working for six months, but it said nothing about wives.

The other thing that concerns me is the apparent need for me to have somewhere for us to live and for me to have a job myself. How realistic is it going to be for me to be able to arrange this visa without having to return to the UK to arrange stuff like this? I've probably got enough savings and a fairly stable residual income to last a good few months before we're on the breadline so is this a mitigating factor?

Thanks in advance to any answers you can give me an apologies if it's been asked many (many) times before.

Thanks Scouser. When I spoke to this Spanish guy he conceded that the visa could be free but would not concede that other documentary evidence or non-disclosure of certain application form questions was ok for family members of EU citizens. What exactly should I be expecting from them here? They don't seem to like answering questions over the phone...that was most of the gist of the conversation.

Sorry to reply to my own post, but I just called up myself, and spoke to somebody Spanish. While he was equally unhelpful over what documents the relative or dependants of an EU citizen must provide I did establish that for them to accept a marriage certificate it mut be one registered with the British embassy. They said they would also accept the british birth certificate of my daughter. He just kept saying though that I'd have to come in person with my documents, and was not at all sympathetic that we live 1000km away.

Ok, a quick update on this topic. My wife finally got aropund to calling the Spanish Embassy. After 5 attempts where they didn't even pick up the phone she spoke to a very rude Thai person, who told her that in no uncertain terms there were no exemptions in the Schenegn visa process for Thai citizens no matter who they were related to.

My wife was mid-way through her seecond question when the phone was slammed down on her. She called again and was told to call back because "everyone is too busy dealing with visa applications to answer your questions", what information she did get was that she had to get insurance though a certain company, but she would have to read the notice outside the embassy. My wife told her that she was down here in Songkhla and couldn't get up to read it easily, and was told the name quickly and again had the phone put down on her. Disgusting in my view!

She's now understandable sick of having to deal with these people, so my question is, can the Schengen visa be obtained from another country's embassy and still be valid to enter Spain.

If so, which is the best Embassy to do thiss...ie it actually abides by EU laws and does it withiut too much documentation or worries.

re: the barney with the Spanish Embassy.

Will this be due to merely trying it on for some extra cash or do they have a right to insist on the visa being paid for....is there some EU directive I can wave in their face, and if so is there another EU directive they might wave back in mine?

So purchase insurence (upto 30k Euros) and bring some bank statements and translations of marriage certs along. Sorted!

Thanks Scouser.

Many thanks for your replies so far. I'm certainly going to apply for a British passport for my daughter, as reccommended.

So, if I understand this Schengen visa thing correctly, most of the supporting documents are unneccessary if the applicant is related (by marriage or otherwise) to an EU citizen. It seems that even most of the application form does not require filling in if it's as my wife. So, I'm guessing that all I'll need is our marriage cert and other proof of ID.

Will I still need evidence of flight bookings and so forth as the application for states that I need not even state when we intend arriving or departing?

I'm British...I've considered the British passport option but my wife is unsure how the whole stamp out on a Thai passport stamp in on a brit passport stampback into Thailand on the Thai passport works or whether there will be any problems with it, so for expediency will be using her Thai passport for now.

Also my mum isn't exactly minted would that count against the applicatiuon?

I've read a few bits and pieces on here about this and have already downloaded the forms and am now thoroughly confused.

My wife and 1 year old daughter with be travelling on separate Thai passports. We will be staying at my mum's house in Spain, but we are financially independant, so therefore not considering her as a host as defined in the blurb at

http://www.embesp.or.th/consular/CONSULAR/HTML/sch_v.html

so given the lack of hotel reservation will my mother need to provide any supporting documentation?

Also is this correct that we'll need to book flights first?

Any thoughts on this predicament prior to calling them on the number I just found on another thread would be most helpful.

Oh dear, do I have a marketing agent now? I'm flattered "Big Tony" that you think my podcasting effort is worthy of spamming on other forums, but I was not intended as anything but a bit of an arse around and exploration of an emerging web technology for the amusement of people who know me on Ajarn and yahoo.

I'm not really looking for the big time...I mumble too much for that...you're welcome to listen of course, but don't expect it to be of that much interest....unless you like strange music and rambling forum reviews..

Podcasting...radio broadcasting for any old muppet with a mic....kindda rocks though....

Thai Norman = Dirty Dog......yawn

Yeah,

I haven't been able to access it since 4:00 yesterday afternoon. I got on the phone this morning with a "service Representative and have talked to three since her. The last one told me she was able to access the site and the problem had to be with my account. However the one's this morning told me they couldn't. Also this one claims nobody has called in with this problem. So if you're having the same problem please call them at (02) 900- 9898 (hit 9 for English 4 for problems and 1 for internet problems)

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Well it looks like they were kind of right...it seems that they changed their dns settings yesterday which led to the apparent blocking.

These courtesy of Keeshou

Change the DNS settings in the True properties

go to the settings on the "properties" button of

True's icon (if you have the internet on right click

the "Double Computer icon in the tray, then click

"Status" then "Properties")then under the "Network"

tab is the "internet protocol" setting(Highlight it

then click on "Properties") . Here is the correct DNS

address select "Use the following DNS server

addresses" and then enter these numbers into the

boxes.

Primary : 203.144.255.72

Secondary: 203.144.225.242

Hi

Just to let anyone who can't currently access Ajarn Forum that it is apparently TRUE internet's fault as they have for some unknown reason blocked our site.

We are in contact with TRUE and we're trying to get to the bottom of what is going on.

If you are a True subscriber, please be sure to bombard their customer services line at 02 900 9000 with your complaints.

Regards to all at Thai Visa

Louis Minson

(LDMA)

Ajarn Forum Admin

My sister-in-law was coming out of the side entrance of Carrefour when it went off.

Massive explosion, and she saw a number of people lying around and lots of blood.

Another friend of ours lives just a minutes walk from the Greenworld Hotel and she said the explosion shook her whole house. Three people were slightly injured here and the hotel entrance arch has apparently collapsed. This is pretty scarey shit as it's just a 5 minute drive from my place.

He didn't actually threaten bodily harm to anyone!

Should LDMA get beheaded by the muslims in the South?

Yep, I'll help em'''

Yep, I'll help em'''

Yep, I'll help em'''

Yep, I'll help em'''

Yep, I'll help em'''

Yep, I'll help em'''

Otter...

By the way I never suggested that Harry hacked Ajarn as in got into the admin controls and deleted it, as you are right I can't prove it. Actually it could have been any idiot who knows how to use google and a text editor. What i can prove however is that after twisting my arm to allow the posting of html img tags he exploited a bug in this feature repeatedly which pretty much crippled the Virtual Pub for the night. I have these posts in the recycle bin for posterity, and I would be happy to give you access to these topics Ken, before you Murderate me again...(lol this is well funny, getting modded by Ken...must come here more often)

Prasert was the first name I think. And then Domunique, along with Mr Evilution (sp?), Wolfslayer, Thomas Harris (can't remember the nik he used with that one), Goolies (sp?) more recently, Linda, Sammy, Meth a something man on Stickman etc. He does try bless him. 

He was a bit daft though as he's used Observer before!

Harry P. can be annoying but relatively harmless IMO! This chap is basically mental!

IJWT,

I'm pretty sure that cutting and pasting from TES (or is it TIS?) would be acceptable! It's more for a laugh than info per se!

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

<Sorry to have remove this. KK>

So, Thai Visa...the last refuge of Smeg eh? I don't forgive people who threaten to slit my throat that quickly. So I guess he'll have to preach to the converted on here, and judging from the responses everyone thinks he's a tosser here too.

Yeah get those TES quotes out they were hillarious.