bangkockney

Bangkockney, it is true that they could travel to Thailand when the fiance visa expires, marry and then apply for settlement as a spouse. Which would mean two settlement applications at £810 each plus return flights to Thailand in a period of just over 6 months. Expensive way of doing it. Plus, the OP says that they are not yet ready to marry; what if they are still in that position at the end of the fiance visa? The chances of getting a visit visa immediately after the expiry of a fiance visa would, in my opinion, be next to zero.

Cost is relative.

What the OP actually says is this:

we were both discussing possibly getting married but thought another 6 months together would be good before we made such a big step....

Having said that I would rather marry her a bit earlier than not see her at all for extended periods of time, 6 months apart every year is a bit much for us both to take !!!

And:

We wouldnt get married to obtain a visa, we would get married to be able to continue a relationship together, no serious relationship can survive with 6 months apart every year....

Clearly then, a fiance visa is highly applicable to their situation:

• Wants to be with GF quicker then VV allows
• Has discussed marriage with GF and both want to
• Ethically, they want to be sure they are marrying for the right reasons - a further period together would allow this
• They could make their minds up faster, allowing the opportunity of marrying in the UK during the 6 month period

I stand by my comment; a fiance visa should not be thought of as a glorified, and easier to get, visit visa.

I never suggested that a fiance visa should be used as a glorified visit visa, as the above clearly demonstrates.

No they would marry in Thailand instead of a second fiancé visa. Nothing in the immigration rules that says you can't change your mind.

Or circumstances change meaning they can't marry during that period for any conceivable reason.

The fact that one has a fiancé visa but did not marry in the UK would not mean a future spouse application could be refused.

I would strongly advise against using a fiance visa as a glorified visit visa. It is a settlement visa, only obtain one if you intend to marry in the UK during it's 6 month validity and then apply to settle in the UK (Further Leave to Remain). If not married at the end of it's 6 month validity she would have to leave the UK and when next applying explain why she did not marry and apply for Further Leave to Remain.

As for a student visa, see Tier 4, General and Child Student

Fiancé visa or student visa gives you more time together to decide if you want to marry.

No need to jump in and decide to marry or spend long periods of time separated.

VP - I have seen occasional embarkation checks at T3, could they or would they have an interest in any over-stayers at this point or are they looking for something, or someone, in particular?

Me too; when I experienced it they stopped students (from the 3 of 4 that were in ear shot) .

And it seemed at the time they did know who they were looking for as they approached individuals after they passed the boarding card check at the gate.

Officials checked their visa, asked them where they were travelling and why, and also questioned them about their education provider. They also searched through all their hand luggage. It all seemed friendly enough though, with everyone smiling and complying.

I saw this at Gatwick.

I wonder if they were interested in students of particular colleges, or anyone in general who becomes flagged on their system.

Hi,

My wife did the BULATS (Cambridge) test a few weeks ago. Its offered through Vantage Siam on Rama9 in Bangkok and is included on the new list. Test was 5600baht and is made up of two tests, a speaking test and an online computer test for reading and listening. My wifes English is fine for speaking to me but she was worried about the computer test. After all the worry she did a lot better than she thought and achieved an A1 for the speaking and B1 for the reading and listening part

"the link only shows the uk where is the thai list for after 17th of july"

There isn't one yet. The link on the VFS Thailand website is still showing the old test centres.

How are you so sure it is on the new list yet say the new list has not yet been published?

Also, what I fail to understand is how UKBA could approve the BULATS test: you need a score of 0 - 19 to be graded at A1. In other words, you could do nothing for the entire test and still pass.

Highly irregular.

It shows reduced battery performance. Still charging to 99% is OK. Mine currently only charges to 74% and I've been too lazy to replace it.

When it is charged to 99% and you put your mouse over the battery icon in the taskbar, does it say something like: "99% available (plugged in, not charging) Consider replacing your battery." ?

If you don't have the battery icon in your taskbar you can add it using Control Panel.

i believe your gf can take the A1 test in the uk, even on a tourist visa. (she wont however be able to take a higher level tes, unless on a student or settlement visa ) - but A1 is fine.

She can sit any English test, including those that grade right up to native speaker level e.g. IELTS.

Proof of identity is required to sit any English test, not proof of immigration status.

OK, I have been mulling this over for sometime now.

My conclusion is that you in fact have nothing to worry about. You can keep the claim in your wife's name and it won't impact on the ILR application.

Yes, Child Benefit is usually considered a Public Fund for the purposes of Immigration. However, there are several exceptions to the rule of public funds.

If a person is subject to immigration control and lives with a family member who is a British citizen or a national of a country in the European Economic Area (EEA) they can claim certain public funds if they have a right to reside in the UK.

Child Benefit is on this list. The full list is:

• Attendance Allowance

• Carer's Allowance

• Child Benefit

• Child Tax Credits

• Working Tax Credits

• Disability Living Allowance

• Contributory related Employment and Support Allowance - ESA ©

• Severe Disablement Allowance

• Social Fund Payment

Now, assuming you are a British Citizen, this makes your wife exempt from the no recourse to public funds endorsement, with regards to the above list.

Now let's progress assuming that you accept that your wife is exempt. What to do when the ILR application is prepared: does she tell UKBA about her CB claim or not?

Reading the UKBA Refusal Formula, you will find the following:

When an applicant has not disclosed material facts which relate to a current application, you must refuse their application under paragraph 322(1A).

When a material fact was not disclosed in a previous application you must refuse the application under paragraph 322(2).

A material fact is one which is relevant to your decision to grant leave to remain. You must not refuse an application when the information the applicant has withheld is not relevant to your decision or when failure to reveal information is an innocent mistake. For example:

• An applicant has applied for indefinite leave to remain as a spouse.

• Your casework checks show that the applicant receives Child Benefit but they have not declared this on their application form.

• The applicant is claiming child benefit legally under an exception to their conditions of leave which state 'no recourse to public funds.'

• You cannot refuse the applicant under paragraph 322(1A) because, if they had disclosed the information, it would be inappropriate to refuse their application.

If the applicant in the above example had been claiming Child Benefit illegally and had failed to disclose it, you could refuse their application under paragraph 322(1A) because the undisclosed information would be relevant to your decision.

So, you can see that it is entirely up to her whether she declares the CB claim or not.. They can't refuse the application if they subsequently discover the claim, as she is covered by the exception (i.e. had she told the UKBA about the CB, her application would not have been refused anyway).

Hope all of this makes sense to you. Welcome questions etc.

Some reading:

Guidance – public funds – v 4.0 Valid from 18 March 2011

General reasons for refusing Section 5 – v 6.0 Valid from 28 April 2011

Do you have a tape deck on your car stereo?

For how many months was she in receipt of child benefit?

Lol, she even put the commas in for you and you have to ask where the breaks are!

From 17 July 2011, an EMD test can no longer be used to demonstrate English language ability.

The new list, in place from that date above, is here: http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/sitecontent/applicationforms/new-approved-english-tests.pdf

Plenty of test centres in Thailand and UK.

What is her English level like now?

Standard translation with:

details of the translator or translation company's credentials;

confirmation that it is an accurate translation of the original document; and

the translator or translation company's contact details.

It must also be dated and include the original signature of the translator or an authorised official of the translation company.

.

For applications made in the UK, documents not in English or Welsh should be translated.

Include the original and the certified translation.

In fact just delete please, problem solved.

Homosexual behaviour has been observed in close to 1500 species, ranging from primates to gut worms.

Which rather rubbishes your argument of going against nature.

The irony of this is that if they were to make equal partners with equal rights in a gay marriage, this would probably mean that gay people would have stronger marriage rights than women.

Why not create a 4 th gender ? And then a 5 th ? OK 2 people same sex would live under a CONTRACT, from a government legal draft.

Don't call it a "marriage", nor a "wedding " please. There are reasons, and duties in marriage that cannot be met by "same sex".

There must be a limit as to bent the laws of Nature.

See the results in other fields, to swim against the laws of Nature.

If you are not attracted by the other sex, TO PROCREATE, which is the LAW of NATURE, you are suffering psycho disorders, like it or not. Certainly funny to have group masturbation when you are a pre-teen. The world is not to be put under control of pre-teens, indeed...

Good to be tolerant. Not that good to be SILLY... :jap:

Oops, wrong forum open on phone. Can this be moved? Sorry.

Any way to disable the True landing page?

I always end up loosing tabs to their landing page and it's becoming annoying.

Haven't look in the router settings yet, so apologies if an easy fix, but welcome all suggestions.

Cheers

The entire Internet works on this premise. You use services in exchange for personal info.

First of all as a heavy Facebook user I would like to say that Facebook is an excellent tool for business, especially for promoting web sites and generating traffic.

From my point of view, as a private individual, another reason to stay away from Facebook. To date, no one has given me a valid reason to join Facebook. It is a terrible risk to security and privacy. Facebook makes money by selling private information.

You beat me to it Bagwan!

Depending on time constraints, such as the Big Day, you might consider a fresh application.

Appeals can drag on.

With the future in mind, submitting fresh evidence in support of an appeal could be blocked, so best to ensure all supporting documents are presented first time.

Like I said 7by7, she can make a change of circumstance request to HO. If refused and leave is curtailed she has full rights of appeal against deportation (the same is true if husband has informed UKBA that the marriage is over).

She has a contact order so she should have no problem obtaining 1 yr in-country child access visa. ILR can be applied for after.

Should the HO refuse, she can cite Chwimba.

Working with kids etc

Anything needing a CRB check.

I know that a Thai police certificate (confirming no criminal record in Thailand) is not required for a visa application, but can anyone think of a reason for it being useful to obtain anyway, before one's partner comes to UK to settle?

Thanks

ZH is more relevant really; when comparing the two, ZH is about children, Zambrano, nationality.

The difficulty, again, is the level of contact with the other child.

Zambrano may have major implications for this lady and is probably more relevant to her than my sister in law. I have another link related to the case:

h**p://eudo-citizenship.eu/citizenship-news/449-the-zambrano-case-relying-on-union-citizenship-rights-in-internal-situations.

This judgement may have major implications particularly if the child is born in the UK.