Trebilcock

Congrats Scouse!

The Scouser is most definately a huge asset to this forum. 

totster 

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Hear hear. Not only does Scouse come up trumps every time, but he does it with tremendous patience and courtesy.

I agree with johnq, prices are astronomical!!!! 

6.20 a kilo for cucumber!!!!

29.99 for DVDs!!! 

Don't know where you live Trebilcock but if its London there are many small Thai supermarkets that offer the same at much much lower prices.

Yes, now I've looked a bit closer, £6.20 for a kilo of tang-kwa is a bit steep. Maybe useful for those hard to find items or a treat though, like a special DVD or something. No Thai supermarkets in my town unfortunately, just a Chinese one.

For Spudsie and anyone else in the UK worried that their newly-arrived partner might miss Thai food, movies, etc, my missus found a brochure for this at the local Thai takeaway today-

http://www.talardthai.com/index.asp#

So how's it going, Spudsie? Bought the ticket yet?

Yes, although you don't have to change the name if you don't want to. As they say in Thailand, "It's up to you!" 

Anyway, got to go to work now

TTFN,

Scouse.

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Thanks a lot, Scouse. Yet again, you've saved me (and the Missus) quite a bit of time and trouble. God bless.

The visa will constitute her leave to enter the UK and will be valid for 2 years from the date it was issued. Double check this by reading what's printed on it. If this is correct she doesn't need anything from the Home Office until about one month before the visa expires when you then make the application for indefinite leave to remain in the UK. When the time comes you fill in the relevant application form and send it off with the fee and supporting documents.

If the dates on her visa are not as I suggest then say so and we'll take it from there.

Cheers,

Scouse.

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Thanks, Scouse, you're a diamond. So all we need to do right now is to send the passport to the Thai embassy in London to get the name changed?

When did she arrive and what visa does she have?

Scouse.

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Thanks for the mega-fast reply, Scouse. My wife arrived about a week ago and is here on a settlement visa.

You apply to the Home Office for the new stamp and to the Thai embassy in London for the name change.

Scouse.

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Scouse, forgive my thickness, but how exactly do we go about getting the passport stamp from the Home Office for my recently-arrived wife? I've looked at the website, but still not sure. Thanks in advance for any help.

apologies if misquoted....

I can't believe you Daffid!  You could have had a bit of c*ck then!!!!

great series.  took a few watches to get it, but rapidly grew on me.

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Yeh but no but yeh but no you dont wanna listen to him right cos he's got one tit bigger than the other innit everyone knows it and it's true...

In the meantime I would suggest you look around for a half decent divorce lawyer just to be on the safe side as you never know your luck.

Remember one marriage in three ends in a divorce, the other two are just pending!

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Well, you're a real ray of sunshine, aren't you?

The woman should have been thrown out of the country for not knowing that Michael Palin played the publisher of the Hungarian phrasebook, not John Cleese. Unforgiveable.

I did all this recently, and it's not really difficult. Printed out my own affirmation, based on the model available from the Embassy website (being careful to put the relevant embassy visit date on it) before I left Blighty. Signed it before the lady at the window in the consular section, paid (I think) 2,300 Baht, and was told to collect it after the Easter break (normally next day, I believe) Next, over the footbridge to one of the many translation agencies on the far corner of Sukhumvit; cost 300 Baht, and took about 20 minutes. Next day, a bit of a trek to the Thai MoFA to have the translation verified (as required by the Amphur); I was told to take the Skytrain to the end of the line at Mo Chit and motorbike from there, but with hindsight a taxi would have been much better. To save time, take a photocopy of your passport (and original, to be safe), go to the third floor (not the ground floor, where I waited like a prat before someone took pity), take a ticket, and when your turn comes you'll be given a short form to fill in. When you've filled it in, submit it along with your dosh. I paid 800 Baht for the same-day service, and was told to come back about 2 hours later. Plenty of eating places just around the corner, to pass the time.

Got spliced in my tee rak's home town, registered it at the amphur, had a translation done back in Bangkok, and that's basically it. The most time consuming bit was the Thai MoFA, and to be frank there isn't a lot of info in English, so maybe that's where an agent would come into their own. Chog Dee Mak.

Be a pleasure to welcome you both to the Happily Married to Thai Wives Club.

Hear, hear. My missus arrives in the UK on Friday! Aw, shucks... I feel a group hug coming on...

Well done my son! One in the eye for all the cynics too, methinks. :

MCT, 571/1 Wireless Road. Right on the corner of Sukhumvit (same side as Nana, Majestic, etc) Did my affirmation recently in about 20 minutes for 300 Baht.

Just as a little aside to the various threads about the British embassy, given the consistently high number of people who need to visit each day, shouldn't they have more staff on hand? Or how about staying open throughout normal office hours, to avoid those horrendous twice-daily log-jams? And would it break the Bank to extend the awning a little further down the road, so that the poor devils at the back of the queue at least had some shade? I was there twice about a month ago, when the temp briefly hit 40 in BKK, and on both occasions I saw people taken ill. (Incidentally, if anyone else was in the Consular section on March 29th and saw the guy collapse, I'd like to know if he was OK) As a Brit, I found it rather embarrassing that the conditions at the embassy (which, after all is the "face" of the UK in Thailand) only seem to add to what is often already a stressfull situation. How do we compare with other embassies in BKK, ie US, French, German, etc?

The Thai passport office will amend the passport to show the married name as soon as she gets a new ID. That'll save you a lot of grief later.

Thanks for the rapid reply, Doc. The amphur gave her a new ID card to show she's married, so presumably that will quote my surname? So when she gets here, do we send the ID card and passport to the Thai embassy like Makavelli and his missus did?

I got married in LOS recently (including the legal way, at the Amphur) and as we're hoping to get her to the UK very shortly, we haven't changed the name on her Thai passport. So, legally speaking, will she automatically assume/adopt my surname when she gets here? I have a copy of the wedding certificate, so would that be sufficient to start referring to her by my surname, ie when registering with a GP or whatever? Thanks in advance for any advice.

With regard to the visa application, there is nothing preventing you from applying well before the date you intend your fiancée to come to the UK and asking for an interview date post-marriage. Generally, there is an approximate 12-week gap between applying for the visa and an interview.

My new wife did this. She applied about 8 weeks before our wedding earlier this month, and they gave her a very convenient appointment for the settlement visa interview shortly after the big day. The preparatory paperwork on my side was easy enough, if a little time-consuming, but of course you could always get an agency to do the legwork. As for where to actually tie the knot, I'd go for the Thailand option if you can. You won't understand half of what's going on in the religious ceremony, but I found it a really beautiful affair. At the amphur, it was basically just a matter of signing papers. Best of luck, whatever you decide to do, and congratulations on your engagement. PM me if I can be of any help.

Good to hear from you, Spuds. Good luck to you and your lady, and please let us know how things go.

Come on, Spuds. Whatever happens, we're with you.

It may just be possible to meet up for a pint. I'll be there 29/6 until 20/7.

Better look out, Scouse. There's a helluva lot of us here who owe you a Sing Yai.

A gay young boy from Khartoum,

Took a lesbian up to his room,

But they argued all night,

As to who had the right,

To do what, and with which, and to whom.

Trebilcock,

When you emerge from the embassy compound turn right and after about 150 yards you come to a crossroads. Using the footbridge carry straight on and on the corner there are a number of translation bureaux. Any one of these should suffice. I had to wait just over an hour when I had mine done at a cost of 500 baht.

Cheers,

Scouse.

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Thanks very much, Scouse. You're a gent.

Keep in mind also that the Brit embassy has a blacklist of Translation places......they wont accept translations from some places........

Can anyone tell me which places to avoid please, by PM if you don't like to name names here? Or alternatively recommend somewhere? Many thanks for any help.