bangkockney

I think the key to all this is who you are working for. If working for a Thai company or a Thai person(s) or doing business with any Thai entity then the law would be enforced.

I find it extremely unlikely that any work done in Thailand from the privacy of your own home for example a UK company would be punished. In these circumstances, the authorities would only be interested if the work was a front for something else, other work with a direct link to Thailand.

Employed and paid by a UK company, performing work that has nothing to do with Thailand, whilst in Thailand say on an O visa, would not see enforcement of the WP rules IMO. Unless you've made some enemies of course.

Great news that she passed Dave, congratulations. And fingers crossed for your settlement application. Do keep us posted.

Just to clarify - and despite that nonsense answer from UKBA - there is absolutely nothing wrong with someone taking an exam on a visit visa. They can not undertake a course of study, but sitting an exam (English, Life in the UK etc) is perfectly fine.

The law states that working without a work permit carries a prison term of up to 5 years and/or a fine of up to 100,000 baht.

5 years is unrealistic, but the consequences can be serious. Most times it involves a lot of money, but being deported and blacklisted is a real possibility.

This is the most extreme of punishments and reserved for people who take on job on the restricted list.

Penalties for working without a work permit or doing work not specified in one's permit include imprisonment not exceeding 3 months or a fine of up to Baht 5,000, or both.

People who do work reserved solely for Thais are liable to imprisonment of up to 5 years or to a fine from Baht 2,000 to Baht 100,000, or both.

A company or employer that hires a foreigner without a valid work permit is subject to more severe penalties, i.e., imprisonment not exceeding 3 years or a fine of up to Baht 60,000, or both.

I noticed this is written with an emphasis on Thai over-stayers.

Is it all over-stayers who get flogged or just Thai nationals?

She will have to leave the Uk again on her NZ passport in order to avoid overstay.

Best to sort her new UK passport with the fast track 1 day service IMO

If you want your wife to be with you for the whole time you are back in the UK you could consider the extended student visitor visa, allowing her to be in the UK for up to 11 months. She will of course have to study, but this is another option to consider. And the period of study could be beneficial depending on future plans.

Wow just when ya think u heard it all something like this comes up. Best guess is his Thai girl friend held him hostage........

This is either a big hoax or this guy is S-T-U-P-I-D. Really looks like an excuse to get out of an overstay.

Wow, just then ya think u heard it all................

It will be interesting to see how this is handled by the Thai police. Hopefully, the newspapers will follow it up and report on it.

It was first reported in the newspapers.

The key question is whether you mention her pregnancy at all.

If you chose to, then you could well add to your sponsors letter that you have deliberately asked for a visa of certain duration in order that your gf will return to Thailand before her third trimester and ultimately give birth in Thailand. Will you be travelling back with her for the birth? Be sure to include this detail to, and even a short description of your plans for the event e.g. travel dates, where you will stay, how long you will stay, future plans for you, the gf and child, what hospital is she booked into, how much have you paid etc.

Great piece and follow-up VP.

It really is quite shocking when you see Government estimated unit costs for the various visa categories: the fees for Settlement - Dependant Relative quoted in the discussion are more than 6 x cost!

In a way I'm not suprised at the response received from the Embassy: as you have pointed out, they are fantastic at waffle and they, quite consistently it seems, take liberties with the immigration rules themselves, so a liberal application of the guidance is probably to be expected.

Quite right too that British citizen sponsored settlement applications can not be prevented in any other way than through fees.

However, that does not mean settlement in general will not be targeted. Indeed, if the Coalition is to meet its immigration pledge, the settlement route will have to be clamped down on. And it is in fact the rate of settlement rather than net migration that the Coalition should be tackling, given their ever-constant citation of the pressure migration puts on public services. By far the biggest category of migrant gaining permanent settlement were those coming with family or work visas, accounting for a whopping 84% of all those granted the right to settle in 2004.

If the "Google-Meter" is a fair measure, (and online news stories are perhaps only the tip of the iceberg), then it is easy to conclude that the Thai police seem to have a very good track record of targeting foreigners. In fact, I am thinking that the skill and enthusiasm of the Thai police in these matters could perhaps be utilized to spawn a new "thrill-seeker" style of "realism-tourism".. (I'm also thinking that HousePainter could write a fine piece of humour from this angle…)

The Statistics, from a Web-Centric point of view..

If you do a "focused" Google (key words in parenthesis) you get the following raw results.. (I used http://www.google.com.sg for this exercise in relatively uncensored news gathering..)

"Thai Police" + "Extortion" = 29,400 results (and a few fit the profile…)

"Thai Police" + "kidnap" + "foreigner" = 4,190 results (I thought it would have been more..)

"Thai police" + "Murder" + "foreigner" = 13,900 results (I hoped for a lower number..)

A few no-parenthesis Googles..

Thai police murder British Couple - -

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murders_of_Adam_Lloyd_and_Vanessa_Arscott

Thai police kill Canadian (193,00 results, this story stays, and stays on the blogosphere..)

http://www.andrew-drummond.com/2008/07/19/canadians-protest-murder-by-thai-police-july-19-08/

Then there are other news stories, where the hidden story of the police crime against the foreigner is way more interesting than the public story..

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2007/04/14/headlines/headlines_30031870.php http://www.smh.com.au/news/world/thai-police-arrested-over-kidnapping/2007/04/14/1175971400598.html?s_cid=rss_smh

JD

"UK Police" + "Extortion" = 155,000 results

"UK Police" + "kidnap" + "foreigner" = 31,800 results

"UK Police" + "Murder" + "foreigner" = 51,200 results

Unqualified stats are meaningless.

To the routine annoyance of people within ear-shot, I can normally talk for England,

but this report, assuming it is totally accurate, makes me speechless with gloom and

sorrow.

Anyone else having second/third/fourth....thoughts about living in this cruel land ?

(given the endless stream of bad-news....perhaps just stop reading TV altogether.)

And before anyone jumps up with the usual: Bad things happen everywhere, even

in cuddly England...absolutely right....but I bet you cannot come up with any story of

a gang descending on and beating a lone woman for trying to sell a few items of fruit ?

Behind all the gold decor, posing in pastel shirts, and quaint mannerisms, Cruel LOS ?

It is sad for the lady, and I hope that she recovers soon. But.....................................

You are right - there will not be a case of people beating up others over selling fruit, on a beach in England.

1 they cannot afford the fruit

2 the local council would not let them sell it on the beach

3 the health and safety people would demand that they wear protective clothing 'in case it was tainted'

4 it's too cold on the beach

In all of my time of living in Thailand, this is the first time that I have heard of this. What does an isolated incident have to do with 'cruel LOS'?

In the UK yesterday there was a case of 'sexual grooming by two Asians on white girls'. (Not the first case.) Cruel LOS ?- I almost choked on my BBQ sweetcorn. (<deleted> ??)

Tropi - have you ever heard of trending - the violent acts that are reported are gruesome sure - but what about the ones that go unreported - ISOLATED INCIDENT ? MY ARSE

there is a very dark side to Thai's that needs to be brought to everyone's attention to bring awareness to the community so the general public and tourists can be on safe-guard for anything before it happens

there are tourists being robbed and beaten daily that does not get reported

the police shun any selection of tourist crime reports as unreported in their books - to save their lazy asses from doing anything that does not drop a baht into their greasy palms

the mafioso police consider themselves doing Thailand a favor because the crime rate index would be through the roof if they actually reported everything that came to their attention from tourists

tourists are to be used and abused in Thailand - and those of us that live here get the back-lash from that everyday

come on - wake up - this is serious news reporting - it goes much farther beyond a fruit vendor being assaulted over a 300 baht a day business

the Thai's are desperate for cash with the drop in tourism over the last few years and are doing many violent crimes which are in an upward trend - its only the big news breakers you see here

its only a matter of time before each and everyone one of us is a victim to some act of criminal minds no matter to what severity - its a cruel world out there - but the Thais will hit you with your back turned - they take a cowardly approach to most all of their life

remember that many Thais detest Farangs and only look at them as a source of income - whether from providing a service or commodity - all the way to being willing to take it off you by force

if you do not keep an eye over your shoulder here - it can happen to you too

Do you consider yourself one of life's victims? You use an article detailing Thai-on-Thai violence to tell us about how Thais hate farangs. Thanks but no thanks.

If you also consider a beach vendor getting battered a "big news breaker" then you really need to get out and live life more!

If similar logic is applied in this case then I would assume this may aid the poor girl's defence or at least lighten her sentence.

LIke many here, I was appalled to read about this accident and probably over-reacted when I first read about it, influenced no doubt by the loss of life and the terrible way these poor people died. I believe the law here states that drivers and front seat passengers must wear seat belts. But there is no requirement for others in a vehicle to do so. How many taxis have you been in with belts in the back, but no buckles? That seems to be the norm here.

Like in New York and London, I believe taxis in Thailand are exempt from seat belt regulations.

Seems like the driver of the white Honda should also share some of the blame. If only she'd slowed down and given way, instead of blasting the horn several times, fighting the van and infuriating the driver even more, things may have been different.

A good driver reads the road, observes the danger and adjusts their own driving accordingly.

I think there will be many significant changes, despite what is published now.

For example, yesterday 2 UK Appeal Court judges ruled that the immigration caps on Tier 1 and Tier 2 visas are illegal. Full judgement expected to be read 2pm GMT today (Friday).

Sounds like you need to bring a defamation suit against your sister-in-law's boss before doing anything else. Not just to deal with the 320 refusal, but to protect your sister-in-law's reputation.

Having a judgement in her favour against her boss will be one of only a small number of ways to overturn the statements he made during the telephone call with the ECO. No further submissions from the employer would be useful, as covered in other replies. You could consider overwhelming documentary evidence to discredit the statements made by the boss, but the biggest hurdle is the denial of all knowledge of the letter.

If it were me, I'd be suing the boss post-haste.

Child Benefit

This is claimed by just one person. That is, either parent can claim although probably in most households it is the wife that claims. However either parent is entitled to be the Child Benefit claimant.

As you rightly say your husband has a visa with the "No recourse toPublic Funds" restriction. Accordingly he must not claim Child Benefit. However there is absolutely nothing to stop you claiming Child Benefit, and you should do so as soon as possible.

When you make the claim there is nothing to stop you mandating the Child Benefit to your husband's bank account, if that is your wish.

Tax Credits

Where a couple live together a claim for Tax Credits needs to be made jointly by them. It would be wrong for Tax Credits to be claimed by one only of a couple living together.

At first glance this is a problem in view of the visa restriction. However "small print" in the Tax Credits legislation, namely, reg 3(2)Tax Credits (Immigration) Regulations 2003 comes to your rescue. That sub-regulation says that where one of a couple is a person not subject to immigration control (you) and the other is subject to immigration control (your husband) then for Tax Credits purposes onlythey are both treated as not subject to immigration control. Accordingly a claim for Tax Credits is totally OK ... for a couple in your circumstances.

This is reinforced by para 6B of the Immigration Rules.

Summary

Go for it ... get both claims submitted as soon as possible, and certainly within three months of the birth of the child, otherwise benefit will end up being lost.

Demonstrating English at CEFR A1 is compulsory for people applying from within the UK as well as visa applicants from overseas.

Interesting debate now about which test to take. My opinion is that if the candidate already has a good grasp of English they are better off taking a test which provides them the most benefit. IELTS is probably best as it provides the most flexibility for future use: employers love it and it would allow study with no further testing required, should the correct score be achieved. Or TOEIC but choice of study course becomes limited.

However, I agree that for candidates whose English is closer to beginner, simply meeting the requirement allowing the visa application process to progress is the more likely - and probably better - option.

This time? Lol And no apologies for having a life away from TV - you should try it VP!

I was posting from memory and the 1200 quoted was correct. However I hadn't remembered that the units were split. TOEIC's good for other routes though.

TOEIC grades right down to beginner hence it's suitability. It is not a robust academic test of English unlike others i.e. it won't be accepted by the majority of UK universities.

You need a score of 120 in L and R and 80 in S and W to be at CEFR A1.

There is no new test. Just a requiremen to be at a certain level of English.

Just take the TOEIC test which costs 1200 baht, no need to pay over the odds.

There are many different tests that could be taken and no such thing as the "new a1 English test" with fixed price.

True, except that proof of having reached A1 level in Thailand must be supplied by a UK Borders Authority approved school and at present there are only two, one in Bangkok and one in Chiang Mai and the cost there is Baht 3,500.

The certificate must be issued by a "...test provider [who has] been assessed as meeting the UK Border Agency’s requirements for testing English at A1 level in Thailand."

Currently there are five test providers operating in Thailand, with test centres in the usual places: Bangkok, Chiangmai, Pattaya etc.

http://www.vfs-uk-th.com/images/2010_11_17_A1_Testing.pdf

TOEIC is the cheapest, at only 1200 Baht is is perfectly acceptable for any visa application with an English language requirement (expect study courses with a work placement), as long as the correct score is achieved (obviously).

Everyone should remember that the requirement for a visa applicant to demonstrate their English language level is not a new thing - it has been in Tier 4 for a good while now. How do you think Tier 4 applicants demonstrate their level of English? They certainly are not limited to only two testing centres and one type of test at a fixed price!

There is no new test. Just a requiremen to be at a certain level of English.

Just take the TOEIC test which costs 1200 baht, no need to pay over the odds.

There are many different tests that could be taken and no such thing as the "new a1 English test" with fixed price.

So you applied for a visit visa, not a settlement visa or EEA Family Permit. You also did not disclose your refusal in 2005.

Reference is made to your non-disclosed 320 refusal in 2005, as well as some other irregularities:

...i) failure to disclose the refusal of an earlier aplication in 2005, ii) use of a

different identity in two applications and iii) what amounted to failing to declare a

previous marriage in obtaining his marriage certificate in lreland.

Your previous refusal under 320 gave you a 10 year ban so any application for leave to enter will be refused until the ban is spent (save for some specified circumstances).

Hopefully the embsaay or visa application centre will at some point be providing more details of where these tests can be taken in Thailand.

List of UKBA approved tests providers + Google. Don't see why the Embassy should be expected to tell people where and how to book an English test!

Also, you could contact the the awarding bodies of the tests and they will tell you what accredited testing centres are available around the world. Details also available on most of their websites too.

It says in her passport, no recourse to public funds , She will be able to get some after a year in the UK , also that may be Dependant on how much contributions she has made on her national insurance . I take it she has been registered ,

Healthcare and education do not count as public funds – immigration status affects whether one is eligible for them.

General healthcare is not linked to NI contributions.

Also remember that statutory maternity pay and the maternity allowance are work-related benefits and therefore contributions based.